New Admins

There are two members of USk Tacoma who have graciously volunteered to help with group administration.  Thanks to both of them! 

Actually, it's been many months since Lori began organizing the Gig Harbor section.  Here is her updated introduction.

 

Lori Johnson

I am a third generation resident of the Pacific Northwest.  I have always been on a life long exploration of creating art on a part time basis.  During my profession, I often managed to spend time away from work taking art related courses and workshops.  Leaving the workforce in January of 2018 opened my calendar to pursue the craft of art any day of the week.  My journey in journaling began in 2009, experimenting with many mediums.  I attended my first Tacoma Urban Sketch outing in 2016 at Sanford & Son, feeling a bit intimidated.  What I learned that day still resonates with me.  Spending time with like minded, supportive artists and drawing from life is a rewarding experience not to be missed.

Resolute at Manchester Dock     August 6, 2018

Tacoma from Fireman's Park    August 3, 2019

In June of 2022, I began hosting the Gig Harbor chapter of Tacoma Urban Sketchers.  We meet on the 2nd Thursday in the Gig Harbor area and sometimes meet in the north end of Tacoma.

From Harbor History Museum   October 13, 2022

From Harbor History Museum   May 11, 2023

 

Beverly joined the team just a couple weeks ago, though she has been a member of Urban Sketchers Tacoma since 2014

Beverly Choltco-Devlin

   

Ten years ago we made the radical move to the Pacific Northwest after 31 years in upstate NY. I worked for the Tacoma Public Library until my retirement 2 years ago, but art has always been a part of my life. I feel the Pacific Northwest is now home for me after this life-changing decade and can't imagine living anywhere else. 

I realized that I have always been an "urban sketcher." My first "urban sketch," done in 1971 on my first high school art trip to New York City, was a simple drawing done from the stairwell of the Museum of Modern Art of the windows of the skyscraper on the opposite side of the street. I have sketched and drawn since those days, somewhat erratically, but always going back to it. 

My passion for the mountains and the sea and everything in between is met here in so many ways. I wonder where urban sketching ends and my love of the mountains, the sea, and nature begins. I believe it doesn't matter all that much. I appreciate that "urban sketching," while originating in an urban environment, is more about experiencing, recording and, most importantly, expressing life and place in situ and in context, rather than having to actually take place within the "city limits" or reflect entirely urban themes.