With the current state of the union (mess)

When I was filling out the Crater Lake Artist in Residence application there was a section where I had to propose what it was that I wanted to do if granted the opportunity. I kept thinking they are going to think I'm crazy for wanting to draw the lodge. The thing is if one takes the time to go through the Oregon Museum archives there is really very little about this historic lodge perched on the side of the lake. They have a small collection of photos recording some of the construction of the original part of the lodge and the ranger housing in 1915 but mostly what they have are newspaper clippings about the eminent threat of tearing it down because of the poor construction practice used to build it, people rallying to save it and then the extensive reconstruction in 1991. And yet there is almost nothing showing the lodge as it appeared then or even today in the archives.

I was just finishing my second coloring book on Timberline Lodge and had set aside time to drive to Crater Lake National Park to scope out a possible future project in the summer of 2017. Because it is so different from Timberline I really had to give the project some thought. These are a handful of the quick sketches I did on site as I pondered how I would capture the essence of the building, what I would feature, how would I go about it (click to view larger).   

By the registration desk:

In the common area:

Dining hall:

I applied for an Artist in Residence program on site in the Crater Lake National Park that if selected would give me up to two weeks to work on site. With the current government shutdown all of the Artist in Residence programs are in limbo so I'm working on a plan B just in case this state of the union drags on to the point the entire program doesn't get off the ground in 2019 and of course if by chance I'm not selected this year. I'm sure my proposal for my project was probably not what they originally had in mind and probably completely different from what other artists would have proposed. With an average of 533 feet of snow per year the lodge is only open during the summer. Nothing replaces working on site in person so one way or another I'm going to Crater Lake to work on this project this summer.

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