I was drawn to the bridge joining Nordstrom’s and Penney’s for several reasons. There’s a coffee stand right inside Nordie’s; Anda and I often go there to sit and talk or journal in the middle of a shopping spree. It’s a comfortable place to sit and draw both city and mountains– and comfort is my middle name!  An unanticipated effect happened after I finished drawing. I looked at the Penney’s Parking Garage, which is a shade of bright yellow (not my favorite in such large proportions)– and– I felt a sense of affection for it! The attention I had put into the drawing process had taken my mind beyond its normal reaction patterns.

I did this drawing from Point Woronzof. This is one of the classic shots of Anchorage, usually done with a telephoto lens, which I did not have. In the foreground are chunks of leftover ice floating in the Cook Inlet which have been deposited by the tide upon the mud flats. It was only when I arrived back home that I realized how the process of doing the drawing had changed my perspective. I felt like I was in somebody else’s house and was extra aware of the walls, floor, furniture in a new way. My goal in doing these drawings it to notice the effects of the process on myself and to learn about how to set intentions related to that. This session was particularly powerful in that regard.