Dumas Bay Centre in Federal Way was the first-time, urban location for The Art of Drawing Maps by Hand in 2019. The long, Pacific NW daylight hours provided our classroom with ample natural light for the hardworking 13 who took this challenging course. Meals were delivered to our private, adjoining dining room. As is typically the case once the mapmakers become immersed in their design work, many logged dawn to dark hours, making the most of the time set aside for immersion into map drawing. Here is a collection of photos (not all maps are included here) that show some of the work being done during class, and photos of some of the maps completed at home after the workshop. Please click on the photos to enlarge them. Appreciative thanks to Marilyn McGuire for supplying many of the photos shown here!

Full concentration is evident in this photo. We did have our lighter moments and Happy Hours, even.

There's a lot to cover in a relatively short time. The second day of this workshop is chock full of learning techniques.

Marie's preliminary design steps utilize tracing paper images that are ideal for tracing later.

Marie's finished map. Bright, clear and charming, it shows many natural and human-made elements within the 11"x14" map.

Above, Tim's tracing setup on his lightpad illustrates a key step in map drawing. His map is of a network of trails and other property landmarks showing visitors the way around his home.

Tim's completed map done in ink and colored pencil. This is the first such project he had ever done.

Yes, sunsets came and went but some soldiered on until closing time at 11 PM.

Sandy's map benefited from her R&D done prior to the workshop weekend. Her map illustrates her grandmother's journey from her small, tribal village in British Columbia by schooner to Seattle in 1923. Symbols of cultural importance add further meaning to this keepsake.

Mary's map integrates numerous memories from her childhood home. To create a lyrical, dreamlike quality, she lettered her texts in undulating lines.

Shan's map is of a favorite neighborhood in Georgetown, DC. His distinct drawing style evokes the Colonial era.

A map serving as a memoir: Gayle created an architectural-style map of her home, including all the sleeping spots enjoyed by her cat..

In this photo, most of the inking is done. Waterproof ink is used so that paint can be applied.

As an experienced "map drawer of imagined places," Pat branched out by creating many illustrations of alluring destinations on this map. He also added a voyager whose journey is mapped and labeled here.

Various ways of adding color to maps are demonstrated during the workshop.Spattering watercolor serves to add tint and texture to map areas needing accents.

Katy's map depicts her many-year journey through her education as a calligrapher. It folds up, map-style.

A custom cover and closure enclose Katy's map.

Anne's map was inspired by the siting of birds in the Dumas Bay vicinity. Her border designs show a solid grasp of ornamental design.

The final afternoon hours include photo ops, sharing of maps, and general levity. This group included five "grad students" from previous map workshops. My current plan is to schedule a map drawing retreat for any grads who would like to set aside a weekend to work on maps without the repeat of full instruction.

Diablo Lake appeared cold and colorless compared to the vivid aqua water and verdant trees we are accustomed to seeing during my usual June workshops.

Late winter snow and cold did not deter 11 participants from heading up the North Cascades Highway at the end of February to take my workshop The Art of Drawing Maps by Hand held at North Cascade Institute's Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake. Dramatic, cliff-hanging icicles greeted us all as we approached the dam and drove across.

The weather report, including the warning we received from our excellent class assistant Hanna Davis that the avalanche danger was high, served to limit our activities outside the classroom. The result was that even more time was spent on maps than usual during this 3-day course, and that says a lot. Maps are very time-consuming to draw by hand. Having extra working time in combination with having inspired students meant that outstanding work was done. Here are some of the working sketches and finished maps done by this group of earnest and good-humored participants (click on the photos to see full-sized versions):

 Above, Kathi Hamilton commemorated family history visits to Ireland in her map. After drafting the country boundaries, she carefully colored it all with colored pencil.

Cara Anderson created a stylized map of her neighborhood featuring the dog walking route she takes and all of her favorite destinations. On the left you can see a critical step of the map drawing process: transferring a draft to the final watercolor paper with the aid of a light table. The answer to why no one has ever asked for a second piece of paper to re-do a map is that the process is all about eliminating risk by working out most elements of the design before the "good" paper ever receives a drop of ink!

The two photos above show map designers at work. On the left, the time-saving, erasing-saving tracing process is engaged in by Gayle Waddle Wilkes. On the right, North Cascades Institute (NCI) employee Darcie Lloyd uses a template to create small frames for detailed illustrations or information.

The maps made by this class varied widely. Mary Johnson's map, above on the left, was inspired by her home property. She wrote, "I decided to overlay the basic outline of my yard with some of the plants and animals that make my yard special in an urban environment. The title 'Interconnections' suggests the biodiversity on the property and the reliance these plants and animals have on each other in an ordinary, residential space." Like most of the people in class, Mary incorporated classic map elements in creative, colorful ways. Sue McNab's map of Antarctica (or Terra Australis) on the right commemorates a three week excursion she took there in 2017.

Here is Anders Rodin, a longtime lover of maps, delving into copying the florid calligraphic letterforms of 16th c. European maps. In the foreground you can see his compass rose designs being worked out on the omnipresent tracing paper. After the class ended, Anders wrote a fine review of his experiences at the ELC and in the workshop. Click HERE to read his review and see the accompanying photos. Quotes about mapmaking help keep us going.

Kirty Morse created a tribute map to the Puget Sound region she calls home. Gratefulness for the abundance of regional foods she and her family have enjoyed for many years inspired her to create a mandala-like map of places and species. She, like several others in the class, completed her map at home and sent me this photo. For those of you who did this, thank you!

A puzzle-like pictorial map by Sandy Polzin shows both the route to her cabin and a collection of favorite features of the cabin's deeply natural environment. Sandy is a self-professed "doodler" so she enjoyed filling in her map with thoughtful design and spontaneously done drawings.

Sunday, February 25 was the last day of the workshop so every map maker was working intensively in the classroom that day once we had had breakfast and moved out of our dorm rooms. The workshop was to conclude, as always, at 3 PM. At around 11 AM we learned that indeed there had been an avalanche that closed SR20, aka the North Cascades Highway, that offered our only route back west toward our various home cities. Having been forewarned, but thinking it unlikely to happen, some of us admittedly hoped that this would happen. Why? Because the ELC and its surrounding natural beauty, is a beautiful place. And, what better excuse to extend this retreat than to have zero possibility of escape other than helicopter evacuation?

Suffice it to say that the NCI staff, especially Hanna, the kitchen staff, and the resident grad students made our extended stay a pleasure. Gina, one of the grad students, led two yoga classes for any of us who were interested. We were made to feel safe and sound and very well fed! Further, all the class participants worked on happily (as far as I could tell), enjoying the gift of more time with their maps in our comfortable, well-equipped classroom. Then, on Monday at 2 PM we were notified that a channel had been cut through the avalanche and we could pass - ASAP - to make our escapes, our stories about being trapped by an avalanche ready to share with any who would listen. And who wouldn't? 

Many years had gone by since I had taken a weekend workshop offered by a regional calligraphy guild. But when I saw the work a friend had done in a class taught by Rebecca Wild of Port Townsend, I eagerly signed up for the next one Rebecca was teaching in our area. It was held in Olympia, WA, in late January and sponsored by Nib 'N Inks calligraphy guild.

Rebecca ingeniously devised a series of projects for us based on the artistic imagery and painterly textures of 19th/20th c. painter Paul Klee. As you can see below, we worked in a 5" square format while employing calligraphic marks, layers of powdered pastel and/or liquid acrylic color, debossed texture, and small hand-lettered writing. Layers were sealed with acrylic matte medium before more texture elements were applied. 

Bold and finer sumi-e ink strokes taken from our own signature form the anchor elements here. Powdered pastel and stenciled shapes were added next.

After masking off one band of space on the paper, broad strokes of transparent acrylic color went on next. We then debossed fine designs which were then enhanced by smudging pastel into the paper and through hand cut stencils.

Working boldly with a new material, we applied heavy black oil stick after painting diluted acrylic strokes onto the paper. After tinting cold wax with powdered pastel, we thinly applied it to the paper. The last step was to use a tool to inscribe through the tinted wax for a subtle text.

For further biographical information about Paul Klée through a comprehensive, interactive web page, please visit https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/paul-klee.

It was pure pleasure to spend two days experimenting with new art mediums and design approaches. Rebecca hands out step-by-step instructions for all the techniques she uses; there are so many, with carefully thought-out sequencing, that we were advised to keep the directions on hand when using her techniques at home! She gets my highest recommendation as an instructor.

I'd like to share some of the beautiful block prints created by the participants in last weekend's blockprinting class sponsored by the North Cascades Institute. Some of the students had done block printing in previous art classes, but for others this was their first experience with the medium. Others had been dissatisfied with previous attempts but all were interested in developing their designs to suit the bold, positive/negative imagery this medium offers. We had two days to work in the spacious studio at The Mountaineers Center on Sand Point Way in Seattle. The work testifies to the time and focus invested in the design, carving and printing of the blocks. Special thanks go to Katie Roloson, the program director for the Institute, and Frank, the facility manager for the Mountaineers Center.

The first project was to design a small block using a leaf motif placed diagonally with mirrored positive and negative. As a pattern-making rubber stamp, this block served as a solid blank (the back) for printing a base layer. The carved surface was then printed on top. Each leaf block (some cut other motifs for this piece) was rotated to create a pattern of multiples. We used pigment-based stamp pads.

For the second project (a block of 4" x 6"), each student selected his or her own subject matter. On the left, a study of heads of garlic seems ideal as a carved subject. On the right, the whale is rendered in a more traditional illustration style with borders. The artists had the option of tinting their oil-based inked prints with watercolor or leaving them uncolored. The ink used was black, oil-based relief printing ink formulated for rolling on the carved surface of the block with a brayer. 

The slug image is shown here on the left before the entire background texture was removed by the artist. The final print had a spare, strong appearance (sorry, I didn't photograph the finished image). The octopus, by another student, stretches dramatically across the 4" x 6" surface.

This graceful ginkgo leaf composition is especially enhanced by the addition of watercolor tinting. 

A sea turtle commemorates a trip to the Galapagos by Katie Roloson, program director at NCI. The chanterelle mushrooms on the right are shown in a nocturnal setting next to their host tree trunk: a Douglas fir. 

Many thanks to all of the nature-loving artists who took the workshop!

Hand drawn maps have the potential for telling colorful stories. The participants in my classes bring personal histories to their work stations and proceed to illustrate these in marvelous ways. Often surprising themselves with their newfound ability to draw personal maps, they draw me into their worlds during the course of the workshop.

This process was especially evident in the group of ten who spent two days in our bright, Sidney BC "studio" which was also one end of the local Community Art Centre of the Saanich Peninsula (Also called the Tulista Arts Centre). Organized by Sherley Gordon Edey, a fine art photographer, my workshop "The Hand Drawn Map" was held in conjunction with an exhibit by local artists: Know Your Place. Sherley did a magnificent job curating and publicizing the exhibit as well as the workshop. Thank you, Sherley! I loved being an active, imported part of your brainchild.

For this workshop I created a template map of Vancouver Island. Why? Because the actual classroom time was relatively short so I wanted to reduce the amount of time spent on a starting place. Most of the students did use the starter outline map which was printed in faint blue on Arches hot press watercolor paper. Because each template map was filled in uniquely, there was a lot of delightful individuality. Here are several of the maps shown at various stages of completion. 

Beautiful even before she adds color, Charlotte G. Riemann drew a memoir map of four adventures, or "MsAdventures" she had with her friends. Charlotte designed pull-out medallions to feature places and mishaps. Her illustrated title cartouche, stippling in the bodies of water and the compass add drawn texture and information.

Jean Weller did several map studies during the course of the two days. The map on the lower left shows a road trip route she once took on the south section of the island.

Gretchen Frith illustrated her map with places, animal species, geographical elements, a key, and a colorful, themed compass rose.

Inspired to make a more abstract map, Megan Van Campen chose a design approach featuring the island's cities as hot points connnected by a network of lines. The luminous towns and cities are represented as the island's treasures.

Drawn with delicate color and careful labeling, Danica Gleave's map shows her family's favorite features as they traveled to Savary Island. Danica's use of varied sizes of circular pullouts is effective. A vintage-style cartouche lends a bit of fantasy to this map.

Deborah LeFrank rendered multiple medallions (she coined this name for the circular pull-outs) with small illustrations and place names. She also included journal notes at key locations. Her lettering and compass rose reveal her skill with drawing and lettering. When Deborah finishes the watercoloring of her map I will post a photo of it here. Please scroll down to see a page from Deborah's detailed journal notes from the workshop.

Not only did Deborah keep this illustrated notebook of our workshop, but she sent the pdf of all the pages to every member of the group. What teacher wouldn't be over-the-moon to receive such a document! Thank you, Deborah.

At the end of the weekend, I was given a card with personal messages from each participant. I saved the reading of this card for when I was on the ferry returning to the U.S. the following day. The sentiments meant so much to me (thank you, all). At the beginning of this post I mentioned the stories that maps can tell. Here is one of the messages I received:

The weekend felt like one wonderfully engaging meditation. Thank you so much for your interest in and encouragement of our stories...

This group was exceptional. Not all of their maps are shown here but all the work done was executed with their full focus and personal investment. I hope to see some of you again as we keep charting our lives and illustrating them with maps!

My trip to Sidney, BC to teach this workshop was my first visit to this beautiful place. Walking along the sea wall was one of the fine pleasures I enjoyed after class was over each day. Here is one of the artful plantings along the path.

Finally, I will be teaching another map workshop up at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center (ELC) located in the North Cascades National Park on Diablo Lake (off of Highway 20 east of I-5) on June 24, 25, and 26 (2016). The ELC is an unforgettable place where participants are residents on a beautiful campus at the edge of the wilderness. Yet, it is an easy drive from many points. To read more about the Institute, and to register for this class (academic credit is also available), please click here.




 

Colonial Peak and Pyramid Peak at sunset. To see larger views of all photos in this review, please double click on the image.

How does one go about designing an "artful map?" The process is complex and time-consuming but there's no better place to do it than at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center (ELC) For this shorter version of the workshop (the original was a 3-day format), participants need to get a fairly quick start, which this year's group definitely did. Some came with reference materials for a map they had already conceived of, and others drew from the inspiration of the ELC's dramatic location for their maps. Below I have posted some of the in-process and later photos of the beautiful work the 11 students did from June 26-28. To view more of the participants' work, and some of the participants themselves, please click on the link below which takes you to a Flicker page hosted by the Institute:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskexCvHY 

Note: most of the maps will be completed at home, with updated photos to be added here:

The Pacific Crest Trail was the subject of Billie Butterfield's map. She and a friend have hiked multiple sections of the trail. She designed many simple icons to mark events and landmarks along the way. Sections of the trail will be color-coded and shown on the legend.

Not all maps are conventional way-finding documents. Patricia Ressiguie, who is a three-time student of this class and has each time designed conceptual maps featuring images with map elements, combines topographical lines, a short text, and a sleeping baby in this mysterious map. About this one she stated, "Right now I don't know what this one means."

Above on the left you can see Bob Theriault referring to an existing map to help him place the significant geographic points on his hand drawn map of the same general area. He used the tea-dyed paper I provided as an alternative to the white option. His map depicts all the locations of different warblers he has spotted over the years. At home he'll add the title and a key, both elements that define and enhance an art map. 

A typical classroom desk looks like Patti Green's, above, during the initial design process. Many reference materials help with creating icons or illustrations of plant or animal species found in the ELC locale. Her pen and ink map with some color added is on the right. The green/blue color of the water is not artificial; the color of Diablo Lake resembles this hue. Patti was inspired by the picturesque Peninsula Trail which is lined with wildflowers, native plants and trees. From the trail is a breathtaking view of Colonial Peak, the lake, and dense forest.

Carlie Holland, after many hours of pencil drawing and plotting out of all her map features, arrives at the point where she can ink in her pencil rendering. Her map is a pictorial representation of the daily walk she takes in her home town in British Columbia. Colored pencil application followed inking with a Micron Pigma .005 pen. 

Students are encouraged to transfer their map elements by using light tables to see underlying drawings on tracing paper, and tracing their images onto their final paper. Why? In the end, this practice reduces risk, saves the pristine surface of the hot press watercolor paper from multiple erasures, and allows the designer to adjust the layout of their composed maps with a minimum of experimentation on the final map. In five years of teaching this class, I haven't seen one piece of final map paper being scrapped! Students only receive one piece of white paper, and one alternative. That probably has something to do with the success rate. There are no art supply stores in the North Cascades.

Above on the left is Mary Ann Weeks using the light table to transfer her map of Camano Island, her home. Creating maps of home can be fulfilling because all that is meaningful about a place can be represented with motifs, paths, dwellings, and even journal notes. Everything on these hand drawn maps has significance to the designer. 

Laura Ridder's map on the left and Leeta Anderson's on the right both depict popular trails on and around the Learning Center campus. Laura used colored pencils and Leeta used watercolors. Both employed the age-old color principle in cartography where land masses are usually represented by warm earthen colors and bodies of water by blues and greens. Both chose prominent, contrasting colors for the trails themselves, thus giving them importance. Both maps will be completed with more color added.

Leeta's completed map. The ridge of mountains at the bottom of her piece represents the view one sees when on the Peninsula Trail loop depicted directly above.

In both the maps above, the designers chose to organize information in boxes (illustrations will be drawn in them). Ellen Tennis' "Camp Hamilton" will be completed as a camp memento gift.

Illustrations of the blossoms of featured trees will be placed in the boxes that create left and right borders of this site map. Tracing paper is a handy material for visualizing layout changes. Sally Theriault also used tracing paper to experiment with color rather than put color directly on her final paper.

Erin Hickey designed her map so that significant animals are featured in various western states. Her color scheme, including the tea-dyed paper, was inspired by vintage maps and other ephemera of the west. The use of colored pencil gave her more careful control in applying color. 

Thank you, Lauren (our graduate assistant who took the photos for the Flicker site) and Katie Roloson (our program coordinator) for the many ways you made our workshop experience and the residential experience so outstanding. From the ice water in the classroom to the comfy excursion to the Happy Creek Trail for Saturday lunch, Lauren catered to our needs. To learn more about the North Cascades Institute and their impressive mission and curricula, please visit their website:

http://www.ncascades.org

As an example of a "Personal Letter as Manuscript" the letter below was written by me to the students who had signed up for the mini-workshop I taught on May 2. Twenty students went right to work last Saturday at the Letters of Joy conference at Edmonds Community College. Watching these calligraphic artists launch into writing their letters was a moving experience. I took some photos of their work, but then realized that these were personal letters to real people so I will not post them. Kudos!! to all of my hard-working students.

A vintage Schaeffer calligraphy fountain pen (fine) and colored pencils were used on 8.5" x 11" Crane's stationery. I designed a lining guide that includes borders and boxes for placement of initial cap letters (versals). Gold gel pen was used to enhance the artwork and writing.

W by Linda O'Neill

HAT are "Versals?" Simply defined, they are emphasized capital letters that are used as the first letter of text in a manuscript of any kind. The term is relatively new, having been coined by Edward Johnston, the English "father" of the modern practice of calligraphy. Versals can be slim, broad, plain, or ornamented. Historically, they were filled in with solid color either with embellishment or left plain.

For the workshop I taught in Tacoma on October 17, my lessons were based on making versals using monoline pens rather than the traditional tools (quills, primarily) used on historic manuscripts. All the students in the class showed how observant they were in following the examples I gave them. In their examples below, you can see the range of variations they came up with (click on the photo for a larger view): 

After carefully drawing their letters in pencil and then inking over the pencil, students applied all kinds of decorative techniques to their letters done in different sizes. The monoline pens are very user-friendly, allowing calligraphers to create these letterforms in unlimited sizes. Note: these letters are not altogether drawn with the classic proportions of Trajan Romans. I selected the word ROMANS because it incorporates several letters that require us to learn the sequence of strokes while making them.

After warming up to the letter forms by first tracing them, the participants pencilled the letters and then inked them at 1" and at 1/2" heights. They then drew them at 1/4." If needed, they could draw them at 6" or a foot, even. For smaller letters and decorations, a finer-tipped pen was used. Once the letters were inked, watercolor or colored pencil was added in gradients, patterns, or solids. The goal of learning to make these letters was to have an alphabet that can readily be used for titles, signage, journal enhancements or cards. 

Precisely drawn letters are filled with graphic embellishment by Sandra W.

I brought in several antique manuscripts* that featured various kinds of versal letters including some that were similar to the basic form we were working on. Other versals were extremely ornate, such as the penmade cadels (thank you Sandra for that term!) that show in the photo below. The group of students was interested in what I pointed out about this manuscript on vellum from about 1600 AD. It came from a religious house in Spain and was purchased by a family friend in the 1960's.

A monumental antiphonal manuscript is discussed during a work break. A note to my students: the four-line staff did not go extinct with the development of more complex musical forms. Rather, it was restricted to Gregorian chant while the five-line staff served polyphonic musical composition. This clarifies how one small manuscript in my possession is dated 18th c. but has four-line staffs. *A side note about availability: one can still buy such manuscripts but from collectors and galleries only. A quick search online revealed this. A more rustic single page can cost in the 100's, but a more skilled and elaborate page would be in the thousands.

Small (1/4"), colorful letters with added dropshadows make this line of writing stand out. Very nice work! Thank you Tacoma Calligraphy Guild, Terri Kruger, and Randi Kander for inviting me to teach and for managing the day. To my students I also give thanks and I encourage you to keep up the excellent work! (Photos by Randi Kander and Jocelyn Curry)

The scenic Diablo Lake peninsula trail (part of the Environmental Learning Center campus) is lined with magical wildflowers at this time of year. Here is a spread of dainty twinflowers thriving in the shade.

Billowing clouds and meandering waterways characterize class assistant Sarah's map.

Part II

Conventional maps can do no more than point the way to unpredictable, individual experience, while artworks embody those experiences. Katharine Harmon

Here you will see more expressive, personal maps from The Artful Map, A One-page Nature Journal held at the North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center June 20-22, 2014. Not all maps could be included, for which I apologize. Please excuse the gaps, as I try to make the blogging software do things it doesn't like to do!

To see larger versions of these photos, please click on each image.

Geological layers and dinosaurs are featured in Dave Braun's map.

He used letter forms derived from historic maps to further ornament and embellish a map that looks fictional but is indeed factual. Dave left his map uncolored so that it could be reproduced in black and white and offered as a page to be colored by visiting youth.

Designing for a full sheet of watercolor paper, Lyn Baldwin pencilled a large territorial map surrounded by titling, color codes, and significant tools used by natural journalists. In the photo below on the left, Lyn has created vignettes containing the ten essential gear items for a field journalist.

Mt. Rainier's Wonderland Trail is the subject of Jessi Loerch's memoir map. She filled her sheet of paper with meaningful drawings and quotes.

Craig Campbell designed a map pertaining to the North Cascades experiences and philosophies of notable poets. 

I sense that humans have an urge to map--and that this mapping instinct, like our opposable thumbs, is part of what makes us human.  Katharine Harmon, author of books on maps.

Thirteen map designers appeared at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center on Friday morning equipped with the urge to map, and some art supplies. They left Sunday afternoon with illustrated maps that were fascinating and varied. These maps represent extensive work done during 15 hours of class time (plus, for many, some nocturnal time or pre-class early morning time). In the photos below I will show some work-ups and partially done maps as well as the completed, or nearly completed, final maps. Not all maps were fully documented by my camera; I've selected several of them to feature here.

Designing and making a map is a complex project. This group remained impressively focused with novice artists working alongside the more experienced. All the careful design and execution work paid off, as you will see in the photos. Perhaps, like Katharine Harmon (above) says, it's in our deepest nature to want to draw maps. It's just that so few of us ever actually make them. This workshop provided that opportunity. 

To view larger images, please click on them.

To read a review of this course (and more information about programs at the Learning Center) by participant Jessi Loerch of the Everett Herald, please click here.

Beginning structure of a seasonal garden map by Joan Poor.

Inkwork done with a vintage dip pen nib, India ink, and colored pencil.

Richelle Potter drafted a precise map of "Places of Happiness" from throughout her life. Subtle coloring in watercolor pencil is not yet complete in the photo to the right.

Carolyn Hopper's bison-themed map was inspired by her visits to Yellowstone's Lamar River Valley. Her clean design allows the eye to move around to discover all the fine detail.

 ...we continue to make maps. Why? Because making maps is a way of understanding. We make maps to sort out the physical world, to see its size, shape, color and texture. We make personal maps to share our experiences and travels, relationships and ideas. Jill Berry, author of Map Art Lab.

For her brilliantly colored map, Cole Adams commemorated her summer stays with her son in a fire lookout. She used a vintage dip pen with India ink and watercolor.