percolatedink

Ok, first - my apologies for the latelate update.

Secondly, here are a few venues and locations for other sketchgroups: there's the Cleveland Sketchcrawl, which meets the first Saturday of each month.  There's also www.meetup.com, which features local sketchgroups (their days/times vary.) Also, Utrecht is planning to start a group that occasionally meets (check their website for details.)  And finally, if people are interested in starting their own group, and want some info on what goes on behind the curtain of Percolated Ink, please email me.   We can meet up for coffee and I'll pass along the advice I was given.


And the third, but really important thing is that this has been an amazing summer! It was fun meeting everyone and I'm hoping we all had a great time.

We have a lot of people to thank, including the Cleveland Sketchcrawl for giving us the idea in the first place and for helping us promote ourselves; the staff of the W. 9th Phoenix for lighting the fire which motivated us to get this started, and also for providing the liquid courage that kept me awake during the morning draw; the staff of Utrecht and Prizm for giving some great tips on sketchgroups and media and also for promoting our group; the faculty at CIA's lifedrawing for graciously mentioning us to their students, the people at CWRU's Weatherhead School for their advice on how to organize groups so people have a good time, the police from both the Second and Third precincts for their help in helping me figure out the parking, and last, but so not least -- all of you who sat on sidewalks and got up early on Sunday mornings to hang out and draw.  It's been such a great summer, and I thank all of you for making that possible.

Formally, we will be on hiatus until next summer, and will post the first event/location on the first day of summer (June 21, 2010.)  

Informally, if there are people from this summer who would like to get together and draw, I'd love to stay in touch.  I believe I have everyone's email and/or Flickr, and my information is here on the site.  Please feel free to email me, and I'll take that same liberty of emailing you.  :)

Until we meet again,

-Blaine

Strictly speaking, it's already fall, but let's pretend it's not! For the final event of the summer (and the Percolated Ink '09 season) we'll be back at last week's location: there are a few things that are worth looking at again, and some people couldn't attend last week who wanted to attend.

This will be the final formal event of the season, but next Wednesday (not Tuesday) we'll have the final roundup, comments and places to check out until next summer.

Ok, for the third Sunday in September, we'll be doing another landmark. This time, we'll be going to the Fountain of Eternal Life. This sculpture was created by the artist Marshall Fredricks to commemorate the veterans from Cleveland who were casualties of WWII and the Korean War. The basin of the fountain is inscribed with the names of these veterans, and there's a central figure rising from the basin's center.

According to the Greater Cleveland Veteran's Memorial Site, Fredricks describes the figure:

"This Figure expresses the main theme of the Fountain, namely, the spirit of mankind rising out of the encircling flames of war, pestilence, and the destructive elements of life, reaching and ascending to a new understanding of life. Man rising above death, reaching upward to his God and toward Peace."

In addition to the fountain, the neighboring buildings are good examples of 1920's era neoclassical architechture, so there is a lot of really gorgeous stonework that is also interesting to draw.

A map to the location is given here:

Fountain of Eternal Life, near the intersection of NE St. Clair and E. Mall Drive . Parking is available along the street at the meters, which are free on weekends.

This is not a good wet-weather site, so use your better judgement in regards to the weather. However, the weather is predicted to be really nice, with a low chance of rain and only partially cloudy, so it should be a great day for drawing outside.

Again, if anyone wants to join me for coffee, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix Cafe before the event. Otherwise, we'll meet at the drawing site at 9. I'll be the lady in the blue t-shirt, and I will be waiting by the main figure (the green statue.)

Important information:
This will be the next to last event for the season. We'll extend the summer for another week by having the final event on 9/27, and then go into semi-hibernation until next summer. Next week, we'll post more information on how to keep updated about our future events, and references to other drawing opportunities in Cleveland.

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well. If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Hope to see you on Sunday,

Blaine

Ok, the place to park is along Moore Ct., which is off Lorain as you come down the bridge towards the west side. So take the bridge (from E. to West.) and there's street parking all along that side.

I will meet everyone on the bridge, at the street angel that faces the West Side.

Ok, for the second Sunday in September, let's go to a landmark. This week, we'll be looking at the Guardians of Traffic pylons at the Hope Memorial Bridge (this is also the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge.)   You can read more about this historic site here. This bridge should give a really great view of the area near the river, in addition to the actual pylons. 

Important Information
This is not a good wet-weather site, so use your better judgement in regards to the weather.  We'll be on the bridge itself, on the pedestrian sidewalk.  It's predicted to be partly cloudy (good, because there's no shade on the bridge) with a 20% chance of rain.  I'll be there, regardless of the weather.

I am still confirming the best (legal) location where we can park our cars.  I'll have that updated later (I'm double-checking my proposed locations w/the police department, and should have an answer soon.)  Check back on Saturday afternoon for where the precise location of where we'll meet at the bridge and a good place to park. 

Extracurricular #4 is the Cleveland Museum of Art chalk festival.  This will be the final extracurricular of the summer.  It is an annual festival and it's a great all-ages event.  This event starts on Saturday and ends on Sunday.  I'll be there on Saturday, starting at 11:00, and I'll be buying a big square for communal use.  If anyone would like to draw on that square, email me (percolatedinkatgmaildotcom) and I'll tell you how to find it (I'll put in a specific image, because I won't know the location until Saturday.)  It's my hope that people can come in and out during the entire event and add to that art.  So I'll be back on Sunday at 4:30 to take a look at the final product and take pictures.  Parking is along the street and in the lot, and is free at all meters during the weekend.   If you have your own pastels, do bring them, but otherwise I'll mark the pastel box with the same image that denotes the drawing site.  Sort of like the DaVinci Code, but Cleveland instead of Rome.  However, if anyone would like to join me for cavetelli at Mama Santa's, feel free to let me know.  :)

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well. If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Also, if you have ideas for places you'd like to have us draw, send an email or just add a comment to this post (comments are screened, but you don't need to have a Livejournal account to comment here.)

Hope to see you on Sunday,

-Blaine.

Ok, last week it was kind of cold, and we didn't stay at the site for very long, which was too bad. So this week, we'll be back down there at Settler's Landing. This is a great site, with a nice view of the waterfront, the bridges, the art paving and the etched glass display at the site. It's definitely a good wet-weather site (although we weren't anticipating the cold, which is why we left early!)

A map to the site can be found here:
Settler's Landing, 1025 W.Superior.

This stop is at street level. There are two parking-and-ride lots within sight-view of the stop, but it's also a regular rapid stop, so the RTA is a good choice here. There's also street parking on W. 10 and W. 9th where they intersect W. St. Clair. These streets are right around the corner from the W9th Phoenix.

Again, if anyone wants to join me for coffee, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix Cafe before the event. Otherwise, we'll meet at the drawing site at 9. I'll be the lady in the blue t-shirt, and I will be waiting at the street in front of the rapid stop.

The extracurricular #3 is the Cleveland Sketchcrawl, Saturday Sept. 5. We owe these guys a big debt of gratitude, because they helped inspire this group and also introduced us to some really amazing city landmarks. They meet on the first Saturday of each month, and on Sept. 5, they will be sketching at the Detroit-Superior Street Bridge. This is part of the city's triannual bridge tour,  where the bridge is completely closed to road traffic. This should be really fun, for both sketchers and photographers, so hopefully people can attend. I'll be in a green shirt that day, if anyone's looking for me. :)

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well. If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Also, if you have ideas for places you'd like to have us draw, send an email or just add a comment to this post (comments are screened, but you don't need to have a Livejournal account to comment here.)

Hope to see you on Sunday,

-Blaine.

Ok, for the last week in August, lets go down to the waterfront. We'll be at the Settler's Landing RTA station. From there, we can see the bridges and the artwork covering the waterfront line. This is a good wet-weather site, because the rapid station itself provides shelter. The weather should be cooler, but there's a chance of rain.

A map to the site can be found here:

Street directions to the Settler's Landing stop. This is at 1025 W. Superior, and the stop is accessible from the ground level. Unfortunately, this area of google maps doesn't have a street view, but this is accessible by car (it's just a street.) There's parking directly at the stop itself, if you've driven down there, and there's also parking on the side streets at the meters, which is free downtown on weekends (or just take the rapid.)

We'll be ending this sketchcrawl at 9:45, because there is a tour of the Settler's Landing area that starts at 10. It meets at our drawing site, if anyone wishes to go (I'm going). Information about the tour can be found here: Historic Gateway Tour. So this will be a short event for us, but a longer extracurricular event afterwards. I planned to do some drawing here, and check out potential future drawing sites. In fact, it was after Gateway's downtown tour that the Percolated Ink group got started, because I'd never before realized how much great architecture is in Cleveland. So I'm exited to see what else is down there that might be fun to draw.


Again, if anyone wants to join me for coffee, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix Cafe before the event. Otherwise, we'll meet at the drawing site at 9. I'll be the lady in the blue t-shirt, and I will be waiting at the rapid stop.

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well. If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Also, if you have ideas for places you'd like to have us draw, send an email or just add a comment to this post (comments are screened, but you don't need to have a Livejournal account to comment here.)

Hope to see you on Sunday,

-Blaine.

For the third week in August, let's get off of the concrete.

We will be drawing at the Free Stamp sculpture. This is in Willard Park, near the intersection of Lakeside and East 9th.

A map is here: the Free Stamp sculpture.

This is a great site, because there is so much to see. In addition to the stamp, there is an excellent view of the lake.

As usual, we will be outside for this event. There are benches in Willard Park, but not near the actual sculpture, so you'll want to bring a towel or campseat if you don't want to sit on the bare grass.

Sunday should be a gorgeous day for being outside: 70's and sunny. There's a low chance of rain, but if it should happen, we'll head to the adjacent building for shelter.

There's parking on the side streets at the meters, which is free downtown on weekends.

Again, if anyone wants to join me for coffee, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix Cafe before the event. Otherwise, we'll meet at the drawing site at 9. I'll be the lady in the blue t-shirt, and I will be waiting near the stamp itself.

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well. If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Also, if you have ideas for places you'd like to have us draw, send an email or just add a comment to this post (comments are screened, but you don't need to have a Livejournal account to comment here.)

Hope to see you on Sunday,

-Blaine.

This is a last minute type thing, but would anyone like to join me in drawing at the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy tomorrow afternoon? I was thinking of maybe being there at about 11 to draw the procession (this is after mass, at 11:15.)

If so, email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and we can arrange a place to meet/where to park.  I will email you with the relevant info, and how to recognize me, if you don't know that already.  I check my email for the last time at approximately 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Note: the Sunday event is unchanged. I just wanted to eat tiramisu for breakfast, and I don't want to draw alone.

For the second week in August, let's branch out a bit and include landscapes along with skyscrapers.

We will be drawing at the Carl B. Stokes Federal Courthouse on Huron. A map can be seen here:

Courthouse: Huron, W.9th, W. Superior intersection.

There's an amazing view of the bridges from that point, as well as the statue and the building itself.

As usual, we will be outside for this event. There's seating on the courthouse steps, but not chairs or benches. You may want to bring a towel or campseat if you're not keen on sitting on the ground. The day promises to be overcast with low chance of rain. If that proves false, we'll move back across Huron, because the building there has huge awnings that can give shelter. Because we meet early, we'll be done before it gets hot out. Also, there's parking on the street along W9th. Don't forget: meter parking downtown is free on weekends.

If anyone wants to join me for coffee, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix Cafe before the event. Otherwise, we'll meet at the drawing site at 9. I'll be the lady in the blue t-shirt, and I will be waiting on the steps that face the intersection.

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well. If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Also, if you have ideas for places you'd like to have us draw, send an email or just add a comment to this post (comments are screened, but you don't need to have a Livejournal account to comment here.)

Hope to see you on Sunday,

-Blaine.

For the second week in August, let's continue the perspective drawing and try skyscrapers. 

We will be drawing at the corner of W. 6th and St. Clair.  A map can be seen here:  W6th & St. Clair. 

There's a great view of the Keybank building and part of Tower City from that corner, and the buildings along these streets have some interesting facades.   If anyone wants to join me for coffee, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix Cafe before the event.  Otherwise, we'll meet at the drawing site at 9.  I'll be the lady in the blue t-shirt.    There's parking on the street along W6th and W9th (the coffee shop is w/in walking distance of the site) and there's shelter in case it gets rainy (I don't expect it to rain.)  Don't forget:  meter parking downtown is free on weekends.

As a reminder, we'll post the next week's drawing site each Tuesday, and the photolog will be updated then as well.  If you'd like to have your sketches added, please email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom, and I'll send an invite to the Flickr group.

Also, if you have ideas for places you'd like to have us draw, send an email or just add a comment to this post (comments are screened, but you don't need to have a Livejournal account to comment here.)

Hope to see you on Sunday,

-Blaine.

I thought this would be a fun thing to do.  You don't have to be a professional anything - I'm sure not. Just bring a good attitude and some stuff to draw with.


For Summer and Fall 2009:

We'll meet on Sundays from 9:00 - 10:30 at the drawing site and have a quick group show and tell. 

On Tuesday mornings, this website will be updated with the upcoming drawing location, and new photos will be updated to the flickr group .  Email me at percolatedinkatgmaildotcom to have your drawings added to the site.

I am in love with coffee.  So before heading over to the site location, I'll be at the W9th Phoenix to grab a cup.  If you come early, get a cup with me.  Otherwise, we'll see you at the drawing site at 9.

Hope to see you there!


FYI:  meter parking is free on weekends downtown. 


The West 9th Phoenix is at
1300 W 9th St (Near the corner of W St. Clair & W9th)
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 771-9696

There's so much downtown to draw, I'm not sure the topic can ever be exhausted.  The past few weeks have been spent drawing the huge statue in front of the courthouse.  In the next week, we'll branch out a bit and see some of the buildings nearby.

One of our members (lostinwonderart) has put her drawings online, and you can see them here:

Also, the Cleveland Sketchcrawl is meeting the Saturday after next at the West Side Market.  So that's two days of enjoying the gorgeous weather!