Sketch Adventures: Chelsea Market

The 2010 Sketch Adventure have officially begun! SA's are weekly outings where a group of sketchers - we call ourselves the Sketch Adventurers; clever, I know - take to the streets, parks, museums, malls, eateries, etc. for a little social sketching fun. The group primarily consists of, but is not limited to, fellow students from Matt Archambault's drawing class. While sketching we enjoy the opportunity to experience places on a different level than if we were just passing through. All the sights, sounds, and smells are magnified as we explore the material and immaterial components that contribute to the images we are piecing together. What would usually be classified as background noise - something we ignore - becomes part of our consciousness and contributes to the experience.

Today's SA was at the Chelsea Markets, or as a good friend of mine calls it, "the caverns from Indiana Jones." It's a tighter area than we've explored in the past and we weren't quite sure where to start drawing. Eventually we settled on our first spot, a random junction with semi-interesting architecture, and began drawing. The first twenty minutes flew by and we were on our way before we knew it, stopping by a bread bakery with glass walls so we could watch the men make puffed loveliness.

After being privy to racks and racks of bread, we infiltrated a dairy shop for our second spot - it was an interesting bar-like eatery that served yogurt, milk, and ice cream instead of alcohol. Through the window we were able to watch people eating and walking by - a perfect spot to sit. Sometimes we all end up drawing the same thing, but at this spot we ended up drawing a lot of different things: Fritzroy was drawing from imagination, I drew a picture of a cow that was sitting on the table, Scott, Nina and Dana were drawing people (some gestures, some more detailed). I think at one point Dana was spotted by the couple she was drawing, making for an awkward staring session.

After we lavished in lactose we hunted for the next spot. Along the way we passed two little kids pressing random buttons of two ATMs. Scott referred to them as the "bankers" and suggested we ask them to file our taxes. We chose our third spot right by the ATMs and drew as the little bankers ran around and had their little banker fun. (Scott captured one of their souls in a sketch.) We were sitting right outside of the grocery store and could smell fresh fruits and vegetables as people went in and out. A long hallway provided a good, long opportunity to capture people as they walked towards us. There was also a very interesting steam-tank-looking cast iron wheel and pipe right next to us.

When all was said and done and drawn a couple of us got tasty gelato. I actually had rice pudding flavored gelato with actual rice in it. Mmmm.

Next week we're heading to the New York Public Library.  If you're interesting in coming to a Sketch Adventure (every Sunday at 4 PM) email me: razmarf@gmail.com.