2010 May » James Baker's Blog

Last weekend was jam-packed with fun-ness, including a trip to the fabulous MAKER FAIRE.

I may have found my new favourite arts festival. It is a tasty blend of Comic Con, Burning Man, a crafts fair and ROBOT WARS all rolled into one. If (like me) you are intrigued by the creativity at Burning Man but would gladly forgo all the nudity, sunburn (and burnouts) then this show might be for you. There are Fabulous bands, home-made robots, indie comics, steam punk machinery buffs and just about every thing creative that you can imagine, all with a focus on the DIY. This fantastic show is only 5 years old and it started here in the Bay Area (at the San Mateo showgrounds) and now there are Maker Faires springing up all over the place; Austin, Detroit, New York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Rather than only taking place in one big, air-less barn of a building (like any comics show I have been to) the Maker Faire happens both inside pavilion buildings and outside in the sunshine. There are plenty of crowds but there is also the means to get away from them and sit down outside, have a snack and STILL be immersed in the experience, while all manner of weird and wonderful things pass you by. A girl driving a cup-cake car. A man operating a walking spider vehicle. A giant cardboard robot. A JULES VERNE Penny-Farthing bicycle. A steam-powered jalopy or a parade of punky kids on their souped-up bicycles.

We only went for one of the two days, but could easily have done another day without repeating ourselves. Part of me wants to exhibit at this show next time, but a larger part wants to just go and attend, to take in all the sights rather than be stuck behind a booth. But whatever happens, I will definitely be there NEXT year and so should you!

Here are some sketches from a trip a few weeks ago, up to Point Reyes and parts further North in Marin County. I should have done much more drawing on this two day outing but the fact is that the weather was so beautiful in Point Reyes that Julia and I spent all our time taking in the scenery on the first day of the trip. When I have been to Point Reyes before, most times it is either overcast or, if the sun is out, the landscape seems parched. This time however, there had been several weeks of rain prior to a spectacularly sunny day, so the land around the point was absolutely saturated with greenery.

Another major distraction from sitting and drawing was a spectacular parade of grey whales past the Point Reyes lighthouse. As each whale surfaced and spouted, there were great cheers from the assembled throngs of onlookers at the point. It was like a Whale Pride Parade. We heard that there was a record number of whales sighted that day. This was a happy accident for us; we had only planned to go draw. Everyone ELSE had planned to see whales, as we found out that it was the absolute height of migration season.

So, it seemed appropriate to bask in our good fortune that first day and enjoy the show put on by Mother Nature. So, drawing had to wait until day two. Possibly inspired by the vivid colours around me I tried a little watercolour on this sketch trip, which I don’t normally do.

The paper in the sketchbook is beautiful so i will try to move out of my comfort zone (which is line sketches in pencil and ink) and do more colour studies until I fill the book.