As an urban sketcher, I have developed an interest in sketching all types of structures and interesting architecture. Some things are stately and some are more modest. I was waiting for my daughter’s appointment the other day in a parking lot and noticed this bright blue Port-A-Potty sitting behind a truck. I liked the shapes and colors and it was a challenge in perspective, so I decided to sketch it. This modest structure is normally an object of scorn—who really likes to go in a Port-A-Potty? There’s nothing nice about it, but I wanted to sketch it. I sat on my stool and worked away. I was finishing up when I felt something crawling on my big toe. I looked down and shrieked, as a large cicada was sitting on my toe. I kicked my sandal off and the cicada too!
On Sunday, I sketched with the Urban Sketchers at the Bakken Museum on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. “The Bakken, previously known as The Bakken: A Library and Museum of Electricity in Life and known in the past as the Medtronic Museum of Electricity in Life, is the world’s only library and museum devoted to medical electricity”(Wikipedia). This stately old home (looked like a mansion to me) had beautiful lush grounds and amazing architecture.
After finishing our sketches, our group likes to lay our books out so others can look them over. We chose a piece of the lawn in the shade. After I laid out my book, a large green caterpillar inched its way across the sketch, getting delighted laughs from its onlookers!
I noticed the green skin was the same color I had chosen for the grass in my sketch!
I find beauty in stately and modest objects no matter what they are. Beauty can be found anywhere, even in a Port-A-Potty and green caterpillar!