Episode 10: Sketching as a Question

"Sketching as a Question" June 7, 2020

Rob Sketcherman was back as host this week for our 10th show! Many of us who sketch in a new place quickly discover that drawing stirs curiosity about our subject. Sometimes sketching leads to researching, discovering, and connecting the dots. Other times it leads to more questions and more searching. Drawing helps us understand but it also pushes us to cultivate curiosity and wonder about the world we inhabit.

Gabi Campanario

Gabi Campanario, originally from Spain, joined us from his home in Seattle, WA (USA). We all know Gabi as the founder of USk, but he is also a journalist with the Seattle Times and has included sketching in his journalism for the past 10 years. He describes himself as “a sketcher who uses journalism as part of the storytelling process… using tools from journalism to help the sketch tell the story.”

Gabi talked about sketching current events involving community and people, and how the sketches and accompanying articles he creates for the newspaper answer questions such as, What is the oldest floating home in Seattle? and, What is the difference between the ‘old’ and the ‘original’ Rainier Brewery buildings?

Another question Gabi answered is, How does sketching journalism differ from writing journalism? Gabi says with sketching journalism, the audience connects more with the story because with a sketch, viewers have to complete the picture. It’s more engaging, forcing the viewer to participate in the drawing, in a different way than photo or video. And he asks us to give this a try with his challenge.

Share your sketch with an informative caption written in your own voice. Have fun telling us all about that special place you sketched.
Post your drawings and tag with #USkTalks or #USkTalksChallenge, and tag Gabi @gabicampanario.
Follow Gabi on Instagram, too!

Suhita Shirodkar

Suhita Shirodkar joined us from San Jose, CA (USA). She is originally from India but thinks of both places as home. San Jose is part of Silicon Valley, home to many tech companies, and an area known for being new and tidy. But Suhita loves drawing “urban chaos,” so she is attracted to sketching the older, grittier parts of town and discovered and sketched many old signs as a result. She said that sketching the old signs brings up more and more questions for her to answer, so she started researching the history of the signs and the related architecture. This work led to preservation work, and she was even able to help save some of the signs from being destroyed.

When Suhita draws urban chaos, she says it’s like being in the eye of a storm, just you and your subject. The energy of the place translates to your page, and fascinating interactions can happen as a result.

Ask yourself a question starting with “What if?” Then go sketch it and post your sketch with your question, and what you discovered. Post and tag with #USkTalks or #USkTalksChallenge, and tag Suhita @suhitasketch.
Follow Suhita on Instagram, too!

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