Looking Back

The Charles W. Morgan is in the water, and the show, which I've been so privileged to be a part of, is over. The Dalvero Academy went to Mystic Seaport to watch the ceremony, and now she floats, like a *real* whaler! But I kind of miss seeing her towering over the shipyard, floating in the air, with all the workers gathered around, attending to her. You could get up close to her, and get acquainted with the hull, hidden now beneath the water. I'm sure in the year to come, there will be plenty of drawings of her in the water to post, but for now, I'm sending this incarnation of her off with drawings of the shipyard workers fixing up the hull, with scaffolding all around. Maybe they miss her like this too.

Several of my fellow Dalverans have posted their beautiful reportage drawings of the launch ceremony. Definitely check out Ronnie's, Evan's, Julia's, Jen's, Eddie's, and Dominick's amazing drawings!

Restoring a Past, Charting a Future

You may have noticed I have been a pretty absent blogger (bad blogger!), but I haven't been idle! I am very happy to announce that I will be in a show with 23 other very talented artists of the Dalvero Academy, opening April 28th at Mystic Seaport. Please be sure to visit the show's website, and definitely stop by Mystic after the 28th if you can.

In preparation for the opening of the show, I am sharing some drawings I made while inside the hull of the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in existence! The director of the shipyard, Quentin Snediker, made it possible for us to go inside during the ongoing restoration. Being inside the ship like that felt very special, since few people get to see the ship that way. From every vantage point, the wood curved around and toward me in so many different directions, I felt as if I was in the ship's embrace. That seemed appropriate when I thought of all the men the Morgan carried, out on the vast ocean. That feeling and the series of drawings I made over two years were the inspiration for a piece called "In the Morgan's Embrace." Here are a couple of the drawings made in preparation for creating that piece.

As the restoration goes forward, it's fascinating to see the new wood replacing the old.

And it's always fun being on a work site. Seeing things while they are still under construction is like being in the middle of a drawing—all process.

Definitely check out my fellow Dalverans' work:
Rosa
Julia
Danielle
Christine
Evan
Si-yeon
and Alex, who has been posting a drawing a day since March 24th, and will continue to do so until the the opening of the show!