Standing with Ukraine - with sketches

​This is a surreal time.  As news agencies start talking about WWIII, I recall our childhood school days of “duck and cover”.  Nothing seems to have prepared us for the chaos we are experiencing and the dark days that seem to be advancing.  There is no simple response other to continue living our lives as normally as possible while supporting the various causes that offer some sense of hope.  For Ukraine, a country that most of us have never visited, our polarized country seems to be unified in our disgust of Putin’s invasion while admiring the Ukrainian people and leadership.  At a personal level, I have sought solace in attending a local rally for Ukraine and visiting on-line images of Ukraine’s heritage and history.  The current images of devastation, injury and death are too much to fathom, so I’ve taken another approach to learn more about Ukrainians and the country they are defending.
 
First, I’m sharing some sketches from a recent rally here in Tucson organized by the vibrant and passionate local Ukrainian community.  It is inspirational to see a community in Tucson that has maintained their language, their culture and passion for their homeland while also being strong members of the Tucson community.  They have much to teach the world.  I’ve also journeyed on-line looking for travel snapshots that showcase some of Ukraine’s historic places.  Some are from tourist postings and some are from Ukrainians who are simply proud of their heritage.  They all show some of what every Ukrainian is passionately defending.  Sketching these places has enriched me with a reminder of how meaningless wars are at solving anything.  With each sketch, I see places and spaces that draw me into an extraordinary community that is suffering needlessly.  Hopefully we will soon see an end to the mindless devastation that has hurt so many people.

Pima County and Tucson Stand with Ukraine – March 6, 2022

Ukraine rally in Jacome Plaza - Downtown Tucson

We were all Ukrainians today!

Under the shadow of our Historic Pima County Courthouse, we rally for Ukraine and the many Ukrainian communities around the world

A mom and her twins – proudly standing with Ukraine

Our local leader of the “Ukrainian American Society of Tucson” speaking at the rally

"Dash" - a small dog from Ukraine, helping to raise funds for the cause

Ukraine’s on-line heritage  – a few places that inspired some rough sketches

St. Andrews Church on Castle Hill in Kyiv - according to several sources, the church has foundation problems due to its position on the hill with recent cracks and new concerns that the church may collapse.  Enduring a war and nearby explosions is probably not helping to preserve one of the capital’s prominent historic sites.
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Rynok/Market Square and the Neptune sculpture in historic Lviv - a central square of the city planned in the second half of the 13th century. In the four corners, there are fountains—wells from 1793, with sculptures representing four Greek mythological figures: Neptune, Diana, Amphitrite and Adonis. The Market Place, together with the historic city center of Lviv, is recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site.  In recent news from a NY Times posting by Ivor Prickett, “for millions of internally displaced people, Lviv is the gateway to safety, however fleeting, in the west.”
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Armenian Street in Old Town Lviv – this street in the Armenian Quarter of Lviv was a refuge in the middle of the 13th century as Lviv has again become a refuge for those evacuating the invasion in other parts of Ukraine.
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Monastery of the Caves, Kiev - As one of the seven wonders of Ukraine, this complex goes by many names (Pechersk Lavra) and is an active monastery and significant historic site.  It is also another of Ukraine’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  It is maddening to think of an active invasion taking place around Kiev/Kyiv.
 
Thanks to those who have shared their photos.  After doing these interpretative sketches, I hope that soon we can visit some of these places and the people who are defending them.