Sketching the Cleveland Police Mounted Unit

The Cleveland Police has a storied history. From the very beginning, the mounted unit has been an integral and powerful part of the police force, which continues to this day.

In our attempt to always find new and interesting locations for us to sketch, we will be heading to the Cleveland Mounted Police station (1150 E 38th St, just south of South Marginal Road) on the near east side of Downtown in January. By the way, if you try and look for this on Google Maps, it will give you the wrong location. Click here to see where the stable is. Due to the New Year, we will be getting together on Saturday, January 8th (the second Tuesday of the month).

This will be an awesome opportunity to visit and sketch a true hidden gem. Make sure you are able to make this one. Noreen will be on hand to lead this first Sketch Crawl of the new year. Email her at mole182@roadrunner.com.

As always, we'll be meeting at 10am and sketching till 12noon.

December Sketch Crawl

The holidays are here and so are the amazing performances at Tower City Center! For this month's crawl we'll be meeting at the fountain inside Tower City to sketch the activity surrounding the mall and the lobby of Terminal Tower.

There are tons of amazing things to sketch and at 1pm, special performances for the whole family will take place on the main staircase. Hundreds of families come down for those performances, so it is quite a site to draw.

As usual, we'll meet at 10am and sketch till 12noon. Of course you are welcome to sketch as long as you like, but we can at least meet back up at noon and share our sketches with each other.

Sketch Crawl for November

The November Sketch Crawl will be at the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse on November 13th. We'll be off of our regular schedule of the first Saturday of the month; however, we'll still meet at 10am and sketch till 12noon.

The Greenhouse is one of those hidden gems that not many people know about. It is open year round and is a nice respite from the colder temps outside.

2010 into 2011

CLE Sketch Crawl Schedule

Saturday, November 13th
City of Cleveland Greenhouse (The Rockefeller Greenhouse)
750 E.88th Street (in Rockefeller Park)

Saturday, December 4th
Tower City Center - Holiday performances and decorations
230 Huron Road

Saturday, January 8th
Cleveland Police Mounted Unit
1150 E 38th St

Saturday, February 5th
Gray's Armory and Museum
1234 Bolivar Rd

Still working on March, April and May locations. We'll post these as soon as we line them up!

October 2nd Crawl at the CLE Museum of Art

How about some Sketch Crawling this Saturday? On Saturday, October 2nd, we'll be sketching inside the Cleveland Museum of Art's Armor Court. There are an amazing array of items to sketch at the museum, but we'll begin inside the Armor Court (where the knight is on the horse). We'll meet at our usual time...10am...we'll meet at the armor court.

This is going to be a different crawl for some of you. The museum only allows pencil for sketching. You will not be permitted to bring in pens, ink of any kind, paints, pastels or charcoal. Only pencils and graphite will be allowed inside the museum.

On most crawls we have some photographer friends that join us. You will need to check with the museum about the rules regarding photography.

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The Cleveland Sketch Crawl is a free monthly event for anyone who loves to draw and explore the city. We usually get together the first Saturday of the month, from 10am - 12noon, we "crawl" through a particular area of the city, sketching points of interest. What you draw is up to you! It is an opportunity to explore the city, learn new techniques from other artists and meet new people. Any age and skill level are welcome! Whether you are a sketcher, painter, or photographer...you are welcome at the Cleveland Sketch Crawl

If you have questions, call Josh Taylor at Downtown Cleveland Alliance (216-736-7799) or email him at jtaylor@dcacleveland.net

Cleveland Sketch Hop!!

I'm on the road getting set up for this year's Sparx City Hop, which is tomorrow! 10 great Cleveland neighborhoods will be connected by FREE trolleys from 11am - 11pm on Sept 11th. Over 100 restaurants, 70 galleries and artist studios, festivals and over 30 concerts will take place throughout the day and night! Check out all the event details here

We will be sketching through the event! Normally we meet at 10am, but tomorrow we will be meeting at 11am at the Sparx Trolley hub on E.4th Street and Prospect. Look for the group with the sketch pads. We'll start sketching all the activity at the E.4th hub and then head over to Tower City's Street Festival at 12noon. Food will be available at the festival so bring some money and your sense of adventure.

Here is a map of where we will meet:


View 2010 Sparx City Hop in a larger map

-- Post From My iPhone

Schedule for the 14th

You can check out more about Open Air in Market Square here. On the 14th, The Hollywood Slim Band (swing) will be performing.

I forgot to mention...the festivities begin at 11am, so we should be able to get some great sketches of people setting up and the crowds bustling by.

Don't forget

Hey everybody - don't forget that our next Sketch Crawl date is NOT August 7th...it will be August 14th in Ohio City. It will be part of Open Air in Market Square. This little festival takes place every Saturday through the summer, right across from the West Side Market, and it features live music and a variety of vendors.

We'll meet at the corner of Market Ave and W.25th at 10am. If you have some grocery shopping to do that week....put it off and just shop at the Market after you're done sketching. Take some time and enjoy the city!

I'll see you all on the 14th!

July Sketch Crawl

Hard to believe that it's July already! As you may have seen in my previous post, we are changing the Sketch Crawl Schedule a little bit this summer. We will be meeting on the second Saturday of the month in July, August and September. This will give us the opportunity to sketch some great events!

Our next crawl will be July 10th (not the 3rd), and we will be at the Cleveland Tall Ships Festival. We'll meet at 10am (our usual time). There are two entrances to the Festival, we'll meet at the entrance that is furthest from the Science Center (the entrance that is at the end of W.3rd). Click here for a map

The Tall Ships Festival is a ticketed event. Normally the Cleveland Sketch Crawl is a free event, but sometimes we go to places that require a ticket. You will need a ticket to participate in the July Sketch Crawl. Click here for ticket info for the Tall Ships

June Crawl - Summer is here!!

The next Sketch Crawl will take place on Saturday, June 5th from 10 - 12noon. This will be an interesting and unique sketch crawl experience! We'll be participating in the Take A Hike Saturday walking tour. Take A Hike is a program of the Historic Gateway Neighborhood and leads people (for free) on 4 different tours each week throughout the summer.

• Saturdays
  Historic Warehouse District Tour
  Meet at 10 AM at Constantino’s Market (1278 West 9th Street).
• Sundays
  Canal Basin Park Tour
  Meet at 10 AM at Settler’s Landing RTA Station (1025 West Superior Avenue).
• Tuesdays
  PlayhouseSquare Tour
  Meet at 6 PM at the State Theatre Lobby (1519 Euclid Avenue).
• Thursdays
  Historic Gateway Neighborhood Tour
  Meet at 6 PM at the Arcade (401 Euclid Avenue).

The tours last an hour and a half and are complete with actors and actresses portraying historic Clevelanders, including Alan Freed, Daniel Burnham, Mrs. Alfred Kelley, John D. Rockefeller, Garrett Morgan, Frances Payne Bolton and Mayor Tom Johnson.

For June's Sketch Crawl, we'll be sketching as we walk along with the tour. This will require your speed sketching skills to be in hand because we'll be moving with the group. Usually we have time to sketch in detail, but this particular crawl will be about framing scenes quickly.

We will meet in front of Constantino's Market (1278 West 9th Street).
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Summer Schedule Changes

This summer there are a lot of great events that are going to be amazing to sketch. Because these events all seem to fall on the second Saturday of the month, i've decided to move the Sketch Crawl from our traditional first-Saturday to a second-Saturday schedule (just from July 10th - Septh 11th). In October, we'll go back to our first-Saturday of the month schedule.

Our upcoming Cleveland Sketch Crawls include:

• July 10th, 10am - 12noon - Cleveland Tall Ships Festival: We'll meet at the usual time (10am) just inside the gates to the festival (which is located at the Port of Cleveland, docks 28 - 30...behind Cleveland Browns Stadium). I'm going to work on getting a block of tickets for the Sketch Crawl. I'll let you know how that comes along. Festival tickets get you into the festival and onto the incredible ships. For more info on the festival go to www.clevelandtallships.com
• August 14th, 10am - 12noon - Open Air in Market Square: This weekly Saturday festival takes place in the park right across from the West Side Market. Art vendors and musicians fill the park and create a great visual to sketch.
• September 11th, 11am - 1pm -Sparx City Hop: This annual event is put on by the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and connects 8 districts via Lolly the Trolley....all for free!! Art galleries, studio lofts, warehouses, stores, sidewalk concerts, mini-festivals, art shows, restaurants and bars are all part of the event. This will add another unique way to sketch the city...by hopping through the districts on the trolley. PLEASE NOTE: this event begins at 11am and that is when we will begin the Sketch Crawl. We will meet at the event's main hub on E.4th and Prospect Ave.
  

Walk, Rock and Run tomorrow

I just wanted to give everyone an update about tomorrow. I forgot that the Diversity Center's Annual Walk, Rock and Run is going to be happening Saturday morning (silly me...i should have remembered). The walk is early in the day, but the staging for the event is in front of the Rock Hall...which will most likely eat up all the free street parking in front of the Science Center.

There is a parking garage for Great Lakes Science Center. Parking is just $6 with validation from the Science Center (bring your pass in with you so that you can get it validated....its $9 without validation). Normally we don't have a cost for parking, but hey...you don't have to pay to get onto the ship...so it evens out.

We are going to start sketching outside the ship at first. If it is raining, we'll duck inside the Science Center for a bit. They are going to open the ship to us at 10:45....a little later than i had planned, but it will still be perfect. Just wanted to give you the heads up.

If you come late...check for us along the dock the faces both the harbor and the ship (on the side of the Science Center that faces the Rock Hall).

Sketching the Mather on Its First Day of the Season!

The Cleveland Sketch Crawl will be headed to the William G. Mather Museum this Saturday, May 1st! The huge steamship (built in 1925) is only open to the pubic through the warmer spring and summer months, and we are going to get to sketch it on its first open day.

The ship has a very storied history on the Great Lakes and was a technological marvel of its day. In addition to having tons of unique things to sketch, the ship offers one of the best views of the downtown skyline. Needless to say, this is a perfect location for sketching.

The weather should be warm and amazing. It may rain, but there are plenty of sheltered areas to sketch on the boat.

We will meet at 10am in the front entrance to the Great Lakes Science Center (the entrance that faces the wind turbine). I'll have passes for entry onto the Mather. There is no cost to participate in the Sketch Crawl. The pass will not grant you access to the Science Center.

Those of you that show up late: go to the Will-Call desk inside the Great Lakes Science Center and tell them that you are with the Cleveland Sketch Crawl.

Directions to the Crawl:

View CLE Sketch Crawl - May 2010 in a larger map

More Sketches from past crawls

Elizabeth sent these sketches to me a while back and I havn't been able to post them till now (sorry Elizabeth ). These are great by the way!

If you've attended the Sketch Crawl in the past and want to post your sketches on the site...just email me at jtaylor@dcacleveland.net and send some scanned in photos of your work. Not that we've compiled a number of years worth of sketches...i think it is time to explore the Library's offer of a show in their lobby.

Cleveland Public Library

USS COD

The Old Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's RainForest

April 3rd CLE Sketch Crawl in Ohio City

This Saturday, April 3rd, the Cleveland Sketch Crawl will be taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and sketching in Ohio City. We'll be sketching the area surrounding the Carnegie West Library ( Map ).

The library is situated on a triangular piece of land that is bordered by Bridge and Fulton. The area is really a perfect location for sketching....historic homes and storefronts, St. Patrick Catholic Church and of course the library. We'll meet on the steps of the library at 10am. Bill Bradford (the branch manager of the library) will give us a brief overview of the history of the library and some of the architectural points of interest inside and out!

As always...the sketch crawl is free and open to anyone who loves to draw. We'll be sketching from 10am - 12noon. At noon we'll reconvene back at the library steps.

If you have not been to this area of Ohio City...there is an amazing crepe place (with incredible french press coffee) right across the street from the Library. They aren't open till 11am...but it is a great location to sketch the area as well!

As promised...past sketches

I've finally scanned in some of the remaining sketches from past crawls. For those of you who've attended the Sketch Crawl in the past...scan in your sketch and email it to me atjtaylor@dcacleveland.net. I'll post them so people can see that people with REAL talent come to the crawl too ;)

Gospel Press: March '10

Zoo sketches - February '10

Brownstone Inn on a Georgous November day (close to 70 degrees) - 2009

Galley of the USS Cod - May 2009

Trinity Cathedral - March '09

West Side Marketing - January 2009

Flats - August 2008

Detroit Superior Subway Tour - July '08

Public Hall Tour - May '08

Old sketches from past crawls

I always seem to forget to scan in my sketch book...so these are from a few crawls. I have some more in my other book (which also includes sketches from the March 6th crawl)


Above: is the old coast guard station right on the mouth of the Cuyahoga. You can access the station by Wendy Park. We were here for the June crawl last year.

Above: A view of the Stonebridge condo tower which is off of the superior viaduct (the recent addition). This view is from the underside of the Detroit Superior Bridge during one of the open subway tours that the County does in the summer. As you can see...I like to sketch a particular item or a portion of an item....i'm not big on sketching an entire scene :)

Above: the west door of the Brett Memorial Hall at the main branch of the Cleveland Public Library. Below is an earlier sketch of the same hall (I like it better).

Old Gospel Press Building is Incredible!

Tremont Place Lofts are amazing! The sketch crawl was there on Saturday and it had to be one of the coolest locations we've ever visited (sorry, don't mean to rub it in for those of you who weren't able to make it).

The complex, which is comprised of 11 different buildings, is so unique and interesting. Claudia graciously let us view multiple apartments...including the 3,000 sq ft. apartment that is on the 6th floor and is absolutely amazing! I hope to post pictures of the place soon (any of you who were there...please email me some photos...I forgot my camera). You have to check out the complex for yourself if you have never been.

If you are looking to rent closer to the city....i promise you can't find a more unique address than Tremont Place Lofts. Perfect location and incredibly unique and historic units (all fitted with modern fixtures and kitchens). It probably isn't for everybody, but if you love history, architecture and building character (in the best way possible)...then you'll love Tremont Place Lofts.

And I've just been talking about the apartments for living...they were amazing for sketching. I'll post my sketches soon....here is a link to Karen's blog and some of her sketches: http://kbladosdesign.blogspot.com/

Sketch Crawling through the Old Gospel Press Building

So it may be cold outside, but this Saturday we'll be crawling through a truly amazing location. The old Gospel Press Building (now Tremont Place Lofts) is an old bible factory and seminary that has some of the most interesting and eclectic layouts in the entire region.

The story goes that the chief architect for the complex was in charge of overseeing the design of each new addition to the complex. He would attempt new styles with each new addition, which resulted in a complex of buildings that has quite a range of varying styles....perfect for drawing. For some more on the history of the building...click here

We'll meet at 10am at the intersection of Thurman and Jefferson (near the entrance to the parking lot for Gospel Press). Then we'll head on into the main office for the complex. It will be chilly so make sure you dress warm. We'll be inside and outside for this crawl.

Claudia (our contact at Tremont Place Lofts) is interested in seeing some of the sketches of the building and they might even use some in the marketing of the building! The sketch crawl leaves it's mark again :)

Anyway...i look forward to seeing you this Saturday, from 10 - 12noon!


View Sketch Crawl March 6th in a larger map

Must RSVP by 5pm today for tomorrow's Sketch Crawl

February 6th Sketch Crawl at the Zoo

Space is limited for tomorrow's Sketch Crawl at the RainForest in the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

If you are planning on attending, you must RSVP by 5pm today in order to reserve a space. The Zoo has graciously allowed our group of sketchers to come into the RainForest free of charge. Only those participating in the Sketch Crawl get in free though (it pays to be creative ;). But you must RSVP by 5 today to get in.

RSVP to jtaylor@dcacleveland.net and let me know if you are coming (if you haven't already).

*This is a rarity that we have limited space for a crawl.

Click here for a map to the RainForest

2010 Downtown Restaurant Week

The third annual Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week is back, February 22nd - February 27th! Make sure you take advantage of amazing deals at over 45 downtown restaurants. Each location will be offering $30, 3-course menus, plus various parking locations are offering special $2 parking with a Restaurant Week Parking Voucher. For more details, including info on how to win an overnight stay at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland and dinner downtown for a year, go to www.cleveland.com/restaurantweek

The Zoo's Rainforest!

I am very excited about this month's sketch crawl! The Cleveland MetroParks Zoo is an amazing place to visit, but it is one of those spots that also makes for absolutely unique sketching opportunities. Drawing buildings is one thing....drawing animals is something entirely different.

One of our stalwart sketchers has been able to grant access for our group to sketch the Rainforest. This location is only open to those taking part in the sketch crawl....so bring your pad and utensils and join in the fun! Due do limited space, please RSVP to me if you are planning on attending to make sure there is room (jtaylor@dcacleveland.net).

Hope to see you all there!

Next Sketch Crawls...

March 6th
The Lofts at Tremont Place
(Gospel Press Building)
This complex is an old bible factory that has been turned into one of the most unique mix of lofts in the city. Don't miss the opportunity to sketch this awesome building

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April 3rd
St. Patrick's Parish on Bridge Ave
Ohio City
We will be sketching the area around Fulton and Bridge

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May 1st
The Steamship William G. Mather Museum
North Coast Harbor
With the temperatures still cold...it makes me happy to think of being on the deck of the Mather, sketching...with the sun actually shining. This location will have amazing views of the skyline (similar to the USS COD sketch crawl last year)