Most people bring back rolls of film and a postcard or two from a vacation.
Ottertail resident, Grace Haverty, captures her memories of a place using a slightly different approach: sketch journaling
Haverty, a seasonal resident of Ottertail, now brings home more than regular photos; the local artist has volumes of sketch journalings, collecting a new sketchbook from each place.
Haverty has been sketch journaling for the past several years. Among her sketches are scenes from Greece, Ground Zero, Florence, Africa, Israel, Jordan, Korea, and her favorite, Italy. In each sketchbook, Haverty endeavors to capture the people and places of areas she has journeyed to visits. She also keeps sketchbooks for her visits to her children and grandchildren's homes.
Haverty explained that the sketches were also a way to help remember a place in a more real way. Haverty occasionally places pictures of a place she has draw next to the sketch. She finds the sketches help her remember more vividly and are much more interesting to look at and show people.
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"They never get bored looking at the sketch journals," she said.
If people need proof of this, they can test the results themselves. Haverty will be offering a water color/sketch journaling class through Artful Obsession on July 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Haverty also offered this class last summer to local artists. Haverty shared her unique skills using an entire day to teach students how to capture a place through a different means than pushing a button on a camera.
For the students, the class shows them how to capture more than the image of the scene; it is finding the feelings associated with the place.
"When you are doing sketch journaling, you are actually feeling the atmosphere around you," explains Haverty.
"You can put in your backpack and take it with you wherever you go," was how one student, Donna Swenson, described her experience last summer.
Students spent the morning looking at examples from Haverty's journals, and then got to experiment on their own across the street at Jeans the Right Plant Place. Later, they trekked back across the street to add some watercolor to their sketches.
Teaching the students in the class to use simplicity, so as to focus on emotions and not scenes, Haverty walked around amidst the flowers and students sketching at Jean's.
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Janet Pratt of Detroit Lakes, was one student in the class. Pratt, a writer and journalist, often wanted to draw the scenes that go along with her writings.
"I've always had the urge to sketch while I'm writing, but never had the confidence to do it," Pratt commented, while working on a sketch of tree branches.
Haverty has long list of credentials as an artist. She has exhibited her work, mostly watercolor, several dozen juried shows--from Colorado to New York and Ohio to Arizona--where the Haverty's spend their fall and winter months.
"Best of Show" honors have been won by Haverty at least four times. She has been a finalist in several competitions, including an "Artist Magazine" still life contest; and has numerous merit and excellence awards.
Her work has been published in "Watercolor Magic" magazine, "Artist Magazine," "Pastel Artist" magazine, and "Best of Watercolor," volume three. Her primary media is watercolor, pastel and oil.
