Department of Conservation and Recreation Iron Ranger

In the summer of 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation issued a call to artists for paint proposals for their iron rangers (iron donation collectors) within the state park system. In an effort to draw more visitor attention to the iron rangers, and thus increase donations, the DCR appealed to artists to submit designs that reflected the character of the surrounding parks.

I was delighted that my mushroom design was selected for an iron ranger in Harold Parker State Forest in North Andover, MA. Harold Parker is popular with mushroom hunters and those who appreciate spotting fungi on hikes and walks. I included a range of mushroom types that are familiar to the area, and labeled each mushroom with its name. I answered a lot of questions while I painted (no I'm not a Girl Scout, but thanks for the age compliment mister!), and met a lot of great families and folks visiting the park. The painting of the design took about 2 months to complete as the basecoats and color coats of paint required up to 2 weeks to cure between coats.

I hope the ranger attracts the donation attention desired, and I hope the design sparks a bit of mushroom interest along the way. I was very satisfied with the final outcome, and feel it's a fitting mark for me to leave behind as we prepare for our west coast move this summer!

Current Projects

This semester is a doozy. Some images from a current project...

Packaging design for a line of teas inspired by Amy Sedaris:

Belly band for packaging.

One of the tea flavors: Anger Managemint

Denver Lettering: Historic Painted Building Signs

More Photos of Historic Painted Building Signs in Denver, Colorado

When I was out in Colorado a few weeks ago, I had the chance to really explore the downtown area of Denver, specifically the LoDo District (Lower Downtown Denver). I noticed that there were a ton of buildings, mostly brick, with historic hand-painted signs in various states of legibility. I tried to photograph as many as I could. There are much more, but it was a steamy 89 degrees that particular afternoon. I hope to get back there on the next trip out and keep updating this album!

LoDo is the oldest part of Denver and was where the city was originally settled. (General William Larimer placed some logs in LoDo in 1858 and that got the ball rolling.) It's recognized as a historic district, citing historical, architectural, and economic impact, and I was glad to see so many of the old signs preserved (not painted over). You can tell that the neighborhood has significant historical importance just by checking out the buildings. There are impressive Art Deco, Gothic Revival and Chicago Commercial style buildings alongside what were apparently saloons and brothels in the area in the mid-twentieth century. A checkered past always makes a neighborhood more visually interesting.

The hand-painted signs were great reminders of the neighborhood's former identity, and I found it fascinating to compare the styles of lettering and the hierarchy within the business names. I like the stories of things, and seeing history out there in the open on a building had me imagining farmers of the past ordering from the seed companies, bottles clinking at the milk company, and the combination of smells that must have wafted out from the chocolate company and mixed with the horses passing by. The evolution of advertising, lettering and architecture is plainly seen in this historic neighborhood of Denver, and with the current revival of hand-lettering and hand-painted typography, I wonder if more folks on their way to the brewery or to catch a ball game will notice the faded letters way up there on that building.

Check out lodo.org for more info about the district.

Foraging.

Got my samples today for my spore prints! CJ and I trekked into the woods to find some late-season specimens and they are currently spore printing as I type this. The prints I make will eventually find their way to my final bookmaking/letterpress book project. Fingers crossed for a successful batch...

Hardcover Pamphlet

Man oh man have things gotten busier! I'm currently enrolled in the Graphic Design Certificate Program at MassArt, and this semester my classes include Typography and Artist Books on the Vandercook Press. No that last one isn't precisely part of the program, but I had room in my schedule and honestly I couldn't concoct a better class if I tried.

The class is being taught jointly by Sarah Smith and Peter Madden, so they alternate weeks of book-making and letterpress instruction. It's a great format and I am learning so much. It's especially nice to be taking Typography at the same time I'm learning about setting type on a Vandercook. Leading makes perfect sense—as I leave the Vandercook class with hands smelling of lead type slugs and to see all of the work involved with manually justifying/aligning text...well I have a much better appreciation for setting type now. I'll update with letterpress work as I get to printing my final project, but for now here is a sweet Hardcover Pamphlet I made per Peter's instructions:

The book is covered with beige book cloth and a
decorative cover paper I fell in love with at Kate's Paperie.

The pamphlet is sewn in the center with a 5-stitch binding, including a paper
hinge at the back of the signature. The hinge is then glued to the inside of
the book board before the book cloth is glued on over it. The signature contains
folded and sewn sheets of white paper and colored end papers on the outside.

The orange decorative end paper (wrong side facing out) is pasted down over the
edges of the cover paper, hiding all edges and seams. The brown end paper (right
side facing the right side of the orange paper) then acts as the signature cover
inside of the pamphlet, with the white pages inside.

2010 Holiday Card Submission

Just submitted this design to a non-profit holiday card call for submissions. Hope they select it for production!

Vegetables, By Letter

Decided to work on an alphabetical vegetable series in my sketchbook. Couldn't find an X veggie, so settled on a fruit called "xigua".