Porto USk Symposium - part III (post Symposium)

So, the Symposium was over, and after the last evening with a lot of hugs, kisses and good-buys, I woke up at the next morning, finally having time to explore the city on my own. Many of urban sketchers were still staying in the city, so I had a calming feeling that the party is not over. We went with my friend Rachel to a sketching walk.
Are you familiar with this phenomenon? All the busy days during the symposium, I was "eating" with my eyes beautiful views of Porto, thinking to myself: "If I just had half an hour!" Now, when I had a free day, suddenly I couldn't find a spot to sketch at...
Anyway, here is the first "after-symposium" sketch, done after we crossed the river from
Jardim do Morro:

 One more while meeting some friends-sketchers for the dinner:

And more sketches staying in Porto few more days, after my husband Marcos arrived to accompany me at the rest of the Portugal trip:

Porto USk Symposium - part II

I'm continuing sharing my experience from the Porto USk Symposium (here is my first post).
The next day Symposium has started, but before that, I met my wonderful colleagues -  another two correspondents, with whom together we were supposed to cover everything. I din't get to know them yet, I din't know what an amazing experience of being in one team with Rita Sabler and Paulo Mendes is waiting for me! And so they flied - four unforgettable days! A lot of faces, hands and sketchbooks, a lot of colors and monochromes, a lot of laughter, exclamations and quiet intimate conversations, sardines,vine and extremely tasty pastéis de natas ... and all these running up and down hilly and breathtaking beautiful Porto.
You can see my posts on the main Blog, covering workshops,  demos,drink&draws, opening and closing receptions, and etc...:   day 1   day 2    day 3    day 4

Here are few sketches I didn't share - one very fast sketch of one of the amazing panoramic views on Porto, done after having a lunch in a nice company of Lapin and Richard Briggs.

Here are some from the very last drink&draw, when we realized that in the restaurant we're sitting for a while is no food to serve, just drinks :D

 and some more drinks....

It's always like that - waiting for this  whole year and it ends just when you enjoy the most!

So, just to summarize - being a Symposium correspondent was for me a terrific experience - really challenging and tough, but really rewarding and fun! I miss you, Rita and Paulo!

exhausted but happy - with collaborative sketch during the closing reception

Will be continued - more post-symposium sketches from my Portugal trip!

Porto USk Symposium - part I

It have been a while, since I got to post on my blog... Busy summer was planned and busy summer it was indeed! A lot of sketchbooks piled up waiting for scanning, but other projects postpone developing them. Finally, all my Portugal trip sketches are ready to post!
I was so exited toward the Porto USk Symposium - meeting the world wide family of sketchers again! and in addition to this, taking this time new for me job of correspondent of the symposium! A lot of butterflies of expectations, excitement, joy and fear were flying inside my stomach :)
This time I was coming to the symposium in a company of my good friends-sketchers from Israel, which was especially fun. Here are some of the "Israeli team" on the plain to Porto :) :

 I arrived a day before the beginning, so I could to afford to myself morning alone - just to absorb the city by myself, before the madness of sketchers everywhere begins.

Later at the same day I took a part in the Faculty Tour to Pocas Wine Cellar - meeting finally my old friends-sketchers and officially starting to my job . You can see my first post as correspondent on the USk global blog.

Sketchwalk with Jane's Walk.

Yesterday our group joined the Jane's Walk events. Actually, our usual sketchcrawl format fits the concept of Jane's walks perfectly. As it described on its official page - "Jane’s Walk is movement of free, citizen-led walking conversations..." We also do "citizen-led walking conversations", our conversations are our sketches. The process of walking, loitering without any purpose is a good beginning for finding a spot for sketching. Looking at everyday with eyes of a tourist is a must point for finding interesting story.

Tango dancers in Jaffa

Milonga in Jaffa, in the heart of the old city, between churches, minarets and synagogues, hummus and baklava eaters, fitted somehow perfectly to the colorful atmosphere of this place. Last year during our trip to South America, I was lucky to sketch milongueros in the place were tango was born - Buenos Aires. I was surprised to discover that our local community looked not less professional! Dancers came equipped with their dancing shoes, dressed as it supposed from tango dancers, in different ages and origins, but all burning from inside with similar passion, they created magic when they moved together with music.
It's so inspiring to see  a group of people united by common passion. Especially when they so beautiful as tango dancers! It took to me a while to start to sketching - I was fascinated and felt like sketching with my eyes. But after a few clumsy lines, little by little I entered to the pace... It was real fun!

What is hidden inside the garden

I knew that setting meeting point for our Sketchcrawl at Levinsky Garden will be challenging. Tel Aviv is a city of contrasts, even in the most touristic place you'll find contrasts between new and old, beautiful and ugly, rich and poor. Levinsky Garden and next to it Neve Shaanan neighborhood long time ago turned to be kind of a different country, populated by immigrants it has a life of its own and you can see straight away who's a citizen and who's a tourist. We felt a bit uncomfortable to come there with our fancy sketching tools to "hunt" our objects.
I decided to start from sketching the surrounding, despite that what interested me the most were, of course, the people. I wanted to give myself time to observe the place from distance, to absorb and to be absorbed. The garden was very nice, wide and blooming. The atmosphere there were very calm, everything were easygoing. People - black men mostly - passed slowly, stopped in groups for a few minutes of conversation and continued to pass. There were a few "constant" - the man with the orange shirt who was doing his morning washing near the garden tap. And the man in the white undershirt who was walking back and forth while turning his hands - performing strange gymnastic exercises. Nobody created eye contact and didn't approached. I felt detached and not belonging.

I moved to the edge of the garden and started to sketch people. Here as well nobody approached, just a few asked if we're drawing them. Most of them were busy talking one to another.

among black men only who occupied the benches around suddenly set down Asian woman, smoked her cigarette and moved on

I moved to the playground where I found Nitzan and her friends, and around them gathered a group of children. At the begging children were suspicious - why would group of adult people draw in the middle of their's playground? But very soon they all joined sketching. It was so gladdening scene, with a lot of great energies - the real spirit of urban sketching which creates interaction with the surrounding!

one of the mothers in the garden

children are sketching

I also did some sketches, but mostly were chatting with the children and taking pictures. Our sketchcrawl was coming to its end. We spread out our sketches on the ground, children looked at them together with us and asked when we'll come again. Some of them joined us to the final photo :)


Here are some sketches I did in the Eritrean restaurant, were we were eating with Nathan after the sketchecrawl.

beautiful couple in the restaurant

This watercolor sketch was done a few days earlier, when Nathan and me came to check the location. The pastoral garden with complicated stories inside it. We should come back!