WORDS FOR SEATTLE

waterside

lettered

downtown

espresso

illuminated

locality

tulips

intercontinental 

amicable

second-hand

hella

rain

more rain

granola

hipster

xylophone

sakura

pouring cats & dogs

thrifting

revelatory

microsoft

fishmonger 

flannel

collective

glass & iron

ethnic

market-fresh

nourishment

bongos

chilhuly

traffic

green

arrondissement

radish

eddy

modish

sleepless

drizzling

bike-lanes

I love to try and snatch the right words and phrases out of the air around me, feeling them tentatively before I grab them and place them in-between their neighbours. 

If I was to describe Nicole in one word, it would be 'spirited' : she is brimming with spirit, life, enthusiasm and spark. Many of my best 'Nicole' memories contain a fragment of her distinctive and contagious laughter. Ah man, those were good times. So, of course when Nicole offered to show me around her hometown Seattle, I jumped at the opportunity!

When I travel, I make a conscious effort to engage in the new places I walk through. I try to almost diffuse into the space. This becomes much easier when I am able to talk with the local people - because it is at that junction of conversation and localised experience where I begin to belong to a space, even if for just a moment. A lucky side-effect of my art work is that I am also made constantly aware of my surroundings. Trying to capture individual moments and savor them completely will do that to a person.

As for Seattle, there were so many moments to engage in. I remember feeling fully awake when the city lights reflected on all that water, the rain on the windows of the car, and the headlights reflected in puddles and wet highways that arc'd over the rushing tides. It was calming, to watch the drops pool together on the window. I remember the way people would embrace a sunny day as if it was their last. That kind of appreciation is special. I remember the shifts in my vision; mountains to lakes to docks to thirty-story buildings to neighbourhoods. Inside, outside, coffee house, thrift shop, cherry tree. 

THE TRIED & TRUE

Chihuly Museum and Gardens

The Chittenden Locks

The Space Needle

Pike Place Market

The house boats ala Sleepless in Seattle

Kerry Park - the views of the city

CHIHULY MUSEUM & GARDENS

air . filled . glass

THE SPACE NEEDLE: BEST VIEWS

spaceship . on a . stick

- inside chihuly -

- in spring -

- kerry park -

- seen from alki beach -

THE CHITTENDEN LOCKS

monumental . movement . of water

PIKE PLACE MARKETS

the hustle . & . the bustle

THE WEIRD & WACKY

Gasworks Park

Cherry blossoms at the UW

Reading Room at UW

The view from Seattle's Public Library
(top floor)

Thrift shopping

The real life house from the movie 'Up'
sandwiched between big buildings

Jazz bars

The Compline Choir at St Mark's Cathedral
Sunday at 9:30 pm

Broadway Dance Steps

GASWORKS PARK

abandoned . iron . playground

CHERRY BLOSSOMS: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

carpet . of . petals

THE READING ROOM

harry . potter . library

THRIFT SHOP

totally . hella . cool

ALKI BEACH AT NIGHT

city . on the . water

OTHER AWESOME PLACES

Seattle Public Library

The real 'Up' house

House Boats

The Compline Choir

The Gum Wall

Broadway Dance Steps

THE FOOD PLACES

The Bay Cafe - Fisherman's Terminal

Pho Big Bowl - Ballard

Theo Chocolate Factory

Wholefoods

Thai Tea - anywhere

Ivars Fish Bar

Dicks Burgers

WOW Bubble Tea - 4553 University Way

Fremont Sunday Market