USK EDMONTON

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URBAN SKETCHERS EDMONTON

THE SENSE OF PLACE & ART

SINCE 2011, USK EDMONTON HAS DOCUMENTED ITS HERITAGE BUILDINGS, BRINGING ATTENTION TO BOTH PROTECTED BUILDINGS, AND THOSE FACING DEMOLITION. BY MARLENA WYMAN

FAIRMONT HOTEL MACDONALD BY KAREN WALL

On June 6, 2021, as part of the Edmonton & District Historical Society’s Historic Festival, I featured some of our sketches in a Zoomed co presentation about the University of Alberta’s threatened Ring Houses. After hearing of the plight of these four historic homes on campus, our group sketched them over several months. We learned that originally there were 10 houses in a ring, built between 1911 and 1914 for the first university president and faculty. Six houses were demolished in 1970 to make way for a car parkade, and the four remaining are among the oldest structures on campus. Our Ring House sketches have been shared on social media. Although the demolition of the Ring Houses was delayed temporarily through the efforts of concerned citizens, the future of these historic buildings remains uncertain.

Art can be a way of drawing attention to the importance that heritage architecture contributes to the identity and vitality of a city. Although there are new buildings that possess architectural interest, unfortunately many are market-driven development projects lacking in any form of place-making other than undistinguished homogeneity.

Whether we get together at our sketch-meets, or sketch on our own as we have been doing during the pandemic, each of us is inspired by something that catches our eye and compels us to draw. Heritage architecture is engrossing to sketch; some might focus on the rich details of a heritage building, others on the elegant proportions of the building as a whole and how it connects to the streetscape.

The act of studying the form of a building in order to commit its essence to paper becomes a meditation that captures the building’s emotion and soul through our personal interpretation. We form bonds with the architects and craftsmen who took the care needed to create such intricate work, as well as with the developers of the time who understood the importance of fine craftsmanship and quality in construction. The resulting sketches are not simple observations; they make us feel that stories and memories exist behind those walls.

Sketching, like all art, can engage and help to activate change. In some cases, Urban Sketchers Edmonton has been able to help halt demolition and, in other cases, sadly not. But through our sketches we have documented both the grand and the modest of Edmonton’s built heritage, while capturing the heart and soul of our city. Marlena Wyman is co-founder of USK Edmonton, & PAST Historian Laureate for the City of Edmonton. f

RIGHT: RING HOUSE 4, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA BY MARLENA WYMAN

BELOW: RING HOUSES 2,3 & 4, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA BY JO-ANNE FARLEY

RITCHIE JR. HIGH SCHOOL BY MERTS BELMES

LEFT: RING HOUSE 2, UNVERSITY OF ALBERTA BY KAREN DEE

LOOKING FOR A SPECIAL GIFT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON? DIVE INTO THESE NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ON YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC....

FROM CAIRO TO BEIRUT BY SUNIL SHINDE

COLOR FIRST INK LATER BY MIKE YOSHIAKI DAIKUBARA VOYAGE AUTOUR DE MA CELLULE BY USK PARIS

DUBLIN IN SKETCHES AND STORIES BY RÓISÍN CURÉ NEWSLETTERS #1 – NOS ATELIERS DE DESSIN SUR LE VIF URBAN SKETCHERS BY BY USK PARIS

ZARAGOZA BY LAPIN

ADDICTIVE – AN ARTIST’S SKETCHBOOK BY ADEBANJI ALADE

AOÛT EN VAL D’AUBOIS BY LAPIN

URBAN SKETCHING HANBOOKS:

UNDERSTANDING LIGHT BY KATIE WOODWARD

PANORAMAS & VERTICAL VISTAS BY MÁRIO LINHARES

MOROCCO BY JOAQUIN GONZALEZ DORAO

THE WORLD IS YOUR STUDIO BY DEBORAH MCMAHON

DRAWING EXPRESSIVE PEOPLE BY RÓISÍN CURÉ

HOW TO BUILD A PRACTICE FOR SKETCHING ON LOCATION BY SUHITA SHIRODKAR

MAC & IRENE: A WWII SAGA BY MARGOT MCMAHON These books explore the work of reportage master Franklin McMahon (who was featured in a recent USk Talks episode), and are written by Frank’s daughters.

USK CASTELLÓ ‘DIGS’ DINOSAURS BY MIRIAM RUIZ RUBIO

Dinosaurs: Such fascinating animals....rare things to see and draw! Luckily for the Castelló Urban Sketchers, there are some dinosaur archeological sites that were discovered in 2015, not far from our city. The biggest dinosaur in the region is Morelladon Beltranis, a 6m-long herbivore with a dorsal crest who lived 126 million years ago. Now, thanks to its reconstruction, we can see it again.

The Morelladon dinosaur and some of his friends traveled from their archeological site in Morella to Castelló Planetarium for the exhibition, where they stayed almost a year. This was a great opportunity for USK Castelló, so we paid them a visit and drew them in our sketchbooks! We drew the dinosaur reconstruction, its skeleton, and other dinosaur fossils. Most of the sketchers found Morelladon the most interesting, but others drew the fossils and one made a collage of the dinosaur and its skeleton. We complied with COVID restrictions and measures, wearing facemasks and keeping safe distances.

Overall, it turned out to be a very successful USK meeting, with regular and new sketchers who joined us for the first time. Additionally, the Planetarium center shared our meeting in social media. We will definitely visit more dinosaurs in the future!

SKETCH BY MIRIAM RUIZ RUBIO

PARKA REVIEWS

BY TEOH YI CHIE

Teoh Yi Chie is an infographics journalist who joined Urban Sketchers Singapore in 2009. He’s probably better known as Parka from Parkablogs.com, a website that reviews art books and art products.

This month Parka video reviews the Winsor & Newton Sable Brush. Check it out!

our Manifesto

• We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation • Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel • Our drawings are a record of time and place • We are truthful to the scenes we witness • We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles • We support each other and draw together • We share our drawings online • We show the world, one drawing at a time.