Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Haiti Poster Project


Last week, I silkscreen printed this poster with the generous technical help of friends Lucas Richards MouseSaw and Jeff Johnson Spunk Design Machine. It is my contribution to The Haiti Poster Project, organized by a group of dedicated designers who organized the amazing Hurricane Poster Project, a few years ago.

THE HAITI POSTER PROJECT seeks limited edition sets of posters from artists, designers and design firms from around the world. The donated posters will be sold online to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. As designers, we have the collective ability to do what we love, AND to create a difference. THE HAITI POSTER PROJECT has been conceived as a collective effort by the design community to unite and effect change through our work. In order for this project to be successful, we are counting on designer participation. Our goal is to raise at least $1,000,000.

Thay are receiving numerous designs from designers around the world with the intention of selling the posters on-line beginning March 15, 2010.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Union Atlantic... Drawing (?)


My previous illustration for Ordinary Thunderstorms did not run in the NY Times Book Review due to a crossed-line communication error, on my part, with the amazing art director Nicholas Blechman (tight deadline and lost e-mail!) That assignment had come to me at the end of several back-to-back and more detail-oriented magazine illustrations– so actually, I was happy to get a loose, expressive drawing that I really liked out of all the scramble.

A few days later, Nicholas was more than generous and extended me this Union Atlantic assignment and I thought I'd continue with the same loose drawing approach. Although self-editing is no strength of mine, the further I got into the drawing, the more I realized that some of the preliminary reference photos I took, when assembled in the composition, were much more dynamic than the artwork I was preparing– illustration fatigue maybe? Nicholas agreed so this is the one we ran.

It is terrific to have an art director who entertains your instincts, even when you present him/her with something that is 180° from what they might expect of you. This wouldn't fly in many situations (and in this industry, having one categorically defined style seems to make good business sense) but part of my joy in working with Nicholas over the years- at the New York Times and on Nozone- is that I always feel compelled to try something new while staying on topic. Based on the trust he extends me, I think he enjoys (expects?) the occasional surprise! Whew.