Baltimore Map Research

Hello! I spent my time in the Hampden area. I really haven't gotten the chance to explore Baltimore yet, and it's one of the areas that was most highly recommended to me! I took the lightrail with my roommate, and we walked to various locations and asked managers if they would mind us drawing in their stores. We stayed in each store about 45 minutes to an hour and a half, just talking to the people working and sketching. It was really pleasant! We also went into this really great pagan supply store, but we weren't allowed to draw, since there was a psychic reading going on.
My most successful sketches were from Atomic Books, Lovely Yarns, Suzie's Soba, and Caravanserai, respectively.

Atomic Books took all my money.

Lovely Yarns--EVERYONE HERE IS SO NICE

If you go to Suzie's Soba, get the steamed chicken dumplings and spicy pad thai.

Caravanserai is a little expensive!! But they have a lot a lot of interesting beads and imported fabrics.

I'm still not entirely sure what the focus of my map is yet, but I have Wednesday off, so I'll probably keep exploring.

Map Research

Having put some thought into the idea of "People of Baltimore" I've decided to change my idea completely... Because of which I will have to go out again this weekend to start my new idea of "Cats and Rats of Baltimore".  This will include all the areas I've seen cats and rats through out a good majority of the city.  I will use the backdrop of my map as a line drawing Map of Baltimore and "zoom in" on the areas in which there were "spottings".  But since I just thought of this idea I shall post my sketches from this weekend...

Baltimore Map Research

For my map, I wanted to do something a little atypical from what I normally would. I'm a big chicken, so what could be better than a tour of Haunted Baltimore?

My first stop was the Edgar Allan Poe House, but it was unfortunately closed for renovation.

Luckily, I managed to hit all my other "spooky" stops: Fort McHenry, the USS Constellation, and the Westminster Hall Graveyard, where Edgar Allan Poe is buried.

I've spent a lot of time searching for things to draw, but I don't think I'm done quite yet. The next chance I get, I'm going to the Admiral Fell Inn, supposedly the most haunted hotel in the city, and the Middleton Tavern.

Diana's Research Excursion

My journey occurred over the course of a couple days. At first I wasn't sure where to begin, so I tried different routes towards the inner harbor. Along the way, I discovered an interesting spray paint drawing on a board leaning against a boarded up, broken house. It made a deep impression on me. The sign seemed to give off a strong, bad energy. As scared as I was, it inspired me to do my map on places which made me feel something. This ranged from bad feelings to good feelings. I felt like doing a personal map on areas which impacted me in some way or another would be worthwhile.

Knowing what direction I wanted to take helped take me to my next destination- the Mount Vernon Methodist Church. I chose this place because the church fills me with a sense of awe each time I see it; the colors and the architecture are so gorgeous. There were some people at the benches and tables; it was a little cold, but a beautiful day nevertheless.

Lastly, I went to the inner harbor. It was a bit dark when I arrived by the charm city circulator (for the other places, I walked). When I arrived, I scouted out a spot which I had walked by before when my apartment mates and I went out to go thrift shopping. Along the harbor, this spot allows the viewer to have a good view of the waves and boats. Staring at the waves bobble up and down slowly floods me with a sort of calm.

The next day was a rainy one. Because of that, I decided to take the light rail then the charm city circulator. My first destination for Saturday was Lexington Market. There weren't a lot of people there and the feeling that I got from there was sleepy and a bit depressing. It was a very similar feeling that I received the first time I visited the market; the place seems to be seeping with a sense of lifelessness. I didn't want to stay there for long, so I walked blocks down to the charm city circulator and went towards the inner harbor. There I was reminded of how warm and lovely the Barnes and Noble there is. The place made me feel instantaneously relaxed and happier; the atmosphere is very conducive for studying and meditating. Not to mention, the interior is so beautiful!

I don't know if I did what I was supposed to do, but it made sense for what I was trying to do.  I'm mapping all of the restaurants surrounding the Baltimore convention center, specifically for the annual Otakon anime convention held there in mid-summer.  For those who don't know, the convention center is just down the street from the Inner Harbor, so I had to map that area as well.  There were so many restaurants in the area, I couldn't afford the time to sketch each place, or even the majority so I took photos of the places and signs, and spent most of my time very rough sketching the map so that I could then go back to the pictures and place them all where they should be.  This was very time consuming, and I wouldn't have been able to finish in time otherwise, so I hope this is alright.  Also, parking is a ripoff around the Inner Harbor.....that truth nugget was for free.

Bars & Stripes sketches

Thumbnails (and Rough #1):

Rough #2:

Final:

Editorial sketch