Cuba Sketchbook: SEK & Snoopy Part II
February 17, 2010, filed under: SEK & Fika, Sketchbook, by Lex
SEK’s travels in Cuba continued with a visit to the home of the famous Cuban cubist, Jose Fuster! Fuster’s home is a wonder to behold, as every square inch of it is covered in art: paintings, mosaics, and sculpture is everywhere and took him over 15 years to complete! But Fuster didn’t stop there, as his mosaics bled into the surrounding neighborhood.
Decorating neighborhoods must be contagious in Cuba, as the next stop SEK and Snoopy made was to a small neighborhood just outside Havana, dubbed “Muraleando” for all the murals that adorn the buildings.
Once a squalid place filled with garbage, the people of Muraleando slowly transformed their home into a work of art through community activism; now artists from all over come to Muraleando to add some of their own color (real estate to paint on is becoming scarce).
As the days wore on SEK’s cigar supply was running low, so he took a tour of the Partagas cigar factory. A five story building just across from the capitol building in Havana, each floor of the factory is dedicated to one specific cigar making task: separating and categorizing tobacco leaves, rolling the cigars, adding the cigar rings, creating the boxes, etc.
Roughly 25,000 cigars are made in a day (some of the individual rollers can average upwards of 100 cigars in a day!). Some of the most famous Cuban cigars like “Romeo y Julieta,” “Montecristo,” “Sancho Panza,” are named after the books that the rollers are read while they work!
After his resupply trip, SEK wandered out to Finca Vigia to visit his old friend Ernest Hemingway. As much as SEK enjoys Hemingway’s writing, he’s less a fan of his decorating…
Finally, SEK made his way back to Havana where he met up with Snoopy for one last round of mojitos.
It was a terrific trip and SEK would do it all over again if he could. The people of Cuba are wonderful: full of warmth and hospitality and they carry a genuine affection for America (just not her policies). And despite one awful encounter with a Cuban buffet and a grouchy US customs official, SEK’s trip went without a hitch.
But you’ll have to read Tom’s blog for that story…
Cuba Sketchbook: SEK & Snoopy Part I
February 11, 2010, filed under: SEK & Fika, Sketchbook, by Lex
Snoopy & SEK run through the jungle.
Generally SEK travels with his Fika, but on a recent trip to Cuba he met up with his old war buddy Snoopy for a week in Havana. The boys reminisced about their days in the revolution and took in all the old haunts, as well as some new ones. First up was Revolution Plaza, where the two heroes are commemorated for all to see. (click sketches to enlarge)
Afterward the boys went drinking at one of their favorite dives in Old Havanva, an Austrian brew pub where they serve the beers in huge hookas! There was much rejoicing.
Of course, no night on the town would be complete without a little dancing, so SEK and Snoopy took in a terrific flamenco performance at the old opera house.
Afterward they made their way to another haunt; a local favorite where the music is loud, the crowd is friendly, and the cigars are Cuban (naturally)!
While there they met up with Hilary (Rhymes with Orange) Price and Tom (MAD) Richmond, who shared a cigar kiss!
As the night drew to a close SEK wandered back through the cobbled streets of Havana to his hotel, El Tejadillo, where he looked forward to a recuperative sleep, but was scared pantless when he opened his room door to discover the bedsheet in the shape of a swan?!
It was a Cuban chambermaid custom poor SEK never got used to.
But those mojito night-caps were surely something he could get behind!
SEK & Fika Part III
October 21, 2009, filed under: SEK & Fika, Studio, by LexHere are the remaining sketches from SEK & Fika’s journey through Scandinavia…including our free lunch in Fiskebackskil!
This is a great story that you’ll just have to ask me about in person (litigation is pending).
In Copenhagen we took a tour of those beautiful canals…
And nearly ran over some kayakers–CANAL HOGS!
On our last day in Denmark we made a stop at the Royal Cafe, a lovely place famous for its chocolate croissants!
I was amazed at how well SEK and Fika got along during their 13 day trip. Of course, it wasn’t always without the occasional hardship. SEK’s enthusiasm for those croissants nearly drove poor Fika crazy! But she retaliated with the deadliest weapon in her arsenal…
*Sigh* Looking forward to a return trip!
SEK & Fika Part II
October 1, 2009, filed under: SEK & Fika, Studio, by Lex
While in Stockholm we took a tour of the Vasa Museum, a place dedicated to the unearthing of a 17th century Swedish warship, The Vasa. The story goes that the ship sank on its maiden voyage, barely making it out of the harbor (apparently there wasn’t enough ballast to support all those cannons). The ship stayed sunk for 330 years until it was rediscovered in the 1960’s and a huge excavation took place. The museum is built around the unearthed ship. (click the sketches for larger views)
Also in Stockholm is a famous wooden sculpture of St. George and the Dragon housed in the Storkyrkan Cathedral…
From Stockholm we took a train cross country to Gothenburg, which is on the west coast of Sweden and much more of a blue-collar town (and the home of Volvo).
During a walk of the city we came across a group of bagpipe players practicing. Dissonance never sounded so good!
Also during our walking tour we came across Cafe Husaren, a place that apparently serves the biggest cinnamon rolls known to man (and moose)…
Finally the day came when I could pick up my Volvo! We were treated like kings: free hotel, chauffeured ride, free lunch and a factory tour…not to mention the car. Here it is in the “Delivery Hall” where my technician, Mika, is showing me all of the car’s “007-like refinements.”
The real fun came when I got to drive the car up and down the coast of Sweden, which is dotted with lovely coastal villages.
And lots of weird road signs…
Actually, that last one’s kinda helpful…
SEK & Fika
September 22, 2009, filed under: SEK & Fika, Studio, by LexThere’s nothing like a trip abroad to get the creative juices flowing and no better time to bust out a new sketchbook either! I was lucky enough to have a traveling companion who liked to draw too, so everyday we would find a spot, sit down for fika (the lovely Swedish custom of coffee and pastries) and then sketch.
Being an architect, Amy sketched the buildings around her, being a cartoonist, I was content to doodle from my own little world. Since this was a vacation, I left Kid B. behind and came up with SEK. Named after the Swedish currency, SEK is a moose and an alter-ego of sorts, taking part in his own Scandinavian vacation. Below are the first drawings of SEK (click images to enlarge).
SEK is traveling with his own lovely companion, Fika. Here, they’re enjoying breakfast at their posh Swedish digs, the Parllan Hotel in Stockholm…
And the hard-boiled eggs in question…
One of the first places SEK and Fika went to was Skansen, an open air museum in Stockholm that recreates different eras of Swedish culture (this was great resource for Kid B!–more on that later).
below: Scandinavian Gothic
But back to those breakfasts at the Parllan Hotel, they were a real highlight for SEK, so much so that he took a picture of the spread…
So enamoured of the grub, SEK didn’t realize he burned down the Parllan one morning when his Stockholm Guide caught fire at the breakfast table! (A little ominous that the burn mark is on an ad for a Titanic exhibit!)
Bummer, it was a lovely hotel.