Sketching Golden Gardens 05.01.2009

Seattle has a number of beautiful and unique parks.  I’m sure all of you have your fav–or–ites.  At the top of my list is Ballard’s Golden Gardens.  I was there on a recent Saturday reflecting on why the place is such a draw.

On any given sunny day, the park will fill with folks enjoying the saltwater beaches and picnic sites.  It’s a place for all ages and all activities.  Kiteboarding, weddings, frisbee, drum circles, sandcastles, bench sitting, cruising, dog parking, making out.  My best friend was married in its bath house and recently I’ve been attending underground culinary dinners in its more quiet corners.

I can’t say what draws other to the park, but for the architect in me it has always been one thing, rhythm.  The park possesses these distinct, rhythmic layers along it’s linear site.  Some are placed by man: the masts at Shilshole Marina, the bonfire spots, and the trees.  Others are natural: the profile of the Olympic Mountains, the waves, the trees.  Others (and this is my favorite) are always moving: people, trains, boats, clouds, tides.

Those sunny days are sensory overloads.  Those sunny days call me to the park.  Usually I find myself sketching trying to express the dynamic rhythms of the place.  Usually I fail.  I think someday I’ll get there because the park, always changing, stays interesting from one sunny season to the next.

For full res images please visit BnB’s Sketchbook.