Something's Brewing In Here

 

Some drawings from the visit to Seattle's Hale's Ales Brewery this past July with Dalvero group of artists. Our evening started with delicious, hearty dinner and a list of 'homemade' ales to chose from. The actual brewery was right there behind a glass wall. A good-looking guy was busy amidst the cisterns: turning dials, hosing, opening and closing lids, pouring liquids and making lots of steam... Naturally, I couldn't help but look and draw him.

  

 

And...I also thought their logo could use some updatin'.

Other memorable places I've visited in Seattle were the Gas Works Park (drawings here), Pike Place Market (drawings here) and Seattle Space Needle (drawing here) during the Gay Pride Parade (drawing here).

Seattle's Gas Works Park :: The Strangest Park in the World?

 "Gas Works Park is easily the strangest park in Seattle, 

and may rank among the strangest in the world." 

~The Seattle Times newspaper

First time in Seattle. I came with no expectations, except for, maybe, running into Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder on the street. Well...that didn't happen. But...Gas Works Park happened, and it was the most bizarre and fantastic park I've ever been to.

The centerpiece of the park on Lake Union is the last surviving coal gasification plant in America. Imagine a massive rustic metal structure of pipes, cylinders and cisterns. MASSIVE. Set in the midst of green hills (for kite-flying), surrounded by water with Seattle skyline on the other side, and sprinkled with gorgeous clusters of marina. Occasionally, you'd see a seaplane zoom above, and if you follow the seaplane, you might even catch it landing on water in a distance. The combinations of such contrasting aesthetics make Gas Works Park the most unusually beautiful place, and most surreal. No wonder Richard Haag, the landscape architect who made the park what it is, won numerous awards and recognitions. 

The park opened in 1975. The Wikipedia says that "the original structures qualify as industrial archaeology and are the last remaining examples of a type of technology." The incredible structures that were once considered ugly and intrusive, seem "adapted" by the surrounding landscape of wild grass and daisies. The metal feels organic and carries a certain romanticism of the industrial era. 

Gas Works is the venue for numerous music festivals and shows. Part of it is turned into a playground, and, apparently, houses a whole community of homeless folk. 

A place like this makes me contemplate the future, and the technological advances. Will there be a park built one day around a giant computer server room?  Or better yet, will there be a virtual park built within a giant server room, making the Nature as we know it obsolete. That's possible. 

Seattle's Pike Place Market

Named "the Soul of Seattle", Pike Place market was born in 1907 with the philosophy of "Meet the Producer".  To this day, it's the foundation of the Market.

The Pike Place Market is important as it reflects the national wave of immigration and remains a place for hope and opportunity for new residents.

Unbelievably fragrant flower stand with peonies, poppies and irises. I've never seen such gorgeous bouquets for just $10! The girls were wrapping huge bouquets in white paper and selling them like hot potatoes.

In late 1800's, immigrants from Japan began arriving in WA state to work in mining, lumber and railroad construction. Japanese made up 80% of the farmers and produced 75% of the region's berries and vegetables, and 30% of the milk. The Pike Place Market gave them the opportunity to have small owner-operated business. During the WWII, Japanese immigrants suffered through discrimination and labor camps, as well as prohibitions to buy land and become citizens. The Market stood empty. Only a handful of farmers recovered their land and returned to the Market after the WWII.

Today, the Market is a booming, colorful place filled with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, fish, flowers and hand crafts.

"Meet the Producer"

Seattle's Gay Pride & The Space Needle

To continue from the previous post, here are more drawings of the Seattle's Gay Pride 2011. The parade rumbled through the city and terminated at the Space Needle, where I was drawing.

 

Commemorative stamp for Seattle Gay Pride 2011

 

And it turns out, the iconic tower of Seattle, the Space Needle, will celebrate it's 50th birthday next year. It was originally built for the World's Fair of 1962 and had over 45 million visitors since. I put together a commemorative stamp for the Needle's 50th anniversary.

Visiting the West Coast :: Seattle's Gay Pride Parade

It's been 3 days since I returned from an amazing trip to Seattle and San Francisco with Dalvero Academy's group of artists. As I slowly get back in sync with New York time zone and pace, I will start posting drawings I brought back with me.

Here's one to start with: an icon of Seattle, the Space Needle, during the 2011 Gay Pride parade. The day before I heard the news about legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, so I can only imagine the intensity of this parade in Manhattan. Seattle's pride celebration was fun! The Space Needle was topped with the rainbow flag for the day.