The Rest of 2025
This post is a bit late. The end of my year was quite bleak. I lost my darling cat Alfie in the beginning of December… understandably and again, I have not felt like writing.
But some nice things did happen in those last months and I’m finally ready to share them.
The local news came and did a segment on the Portland Urban Sketchers! I’ve been sketching with them since the beginning of 2024. That’s me and my friend Erin in the thumbnail! I didn’t make it into the video, save for a few b-roll shots, but my sketch made some appearances, which I’m proud of :)
My drawing of Director Park
At the next meetup in November we went to the PSU Farmers Market and I had one of those rare sketching days where I was able to do exactly what I intended and was very pleased with the result. I love the feeling of depth I captured and the limited color palette I used. I also didn’t ruin any people beyond recognition or saving and kept them very loose and… proportionate!!! We had quite the crowd out that day after the news segment aired. The Sketchers have been gaining such popularity recently. It’s so fun to see all the different work everyone creates each time.
I also made some stockings which I got all the supplies for earlier in the year when I still felt hopeful. It was a nice project to work on while Alfie spent his last days curled in my lap. And something immediate to focus on in the bleary time right after he was gone. But now it’s hard not to think of them as my grief stockings. Maybe the sting won’t be so sharp by next Christmas.
I was inspired by one of the projects in The Mindful Maker: 35 creative projects to focus the mind and soothe the soul by Clare Youngs.
