What is life? I don't know, go find out. That's what illustration is to me. Lift up your eyes and move your feet. So much of our lives are spent dedicated to paying bills that we don't always have the time or luxury to learn, grow, and explore. Starting up in the Madison College Graphic Design & Illustration course was my way of leaving that all behind to see how I can combine those needs. So now what? Well, let's move those feet and find out!
What's not to love about caves? I've visited most of the show caves of Wisconsin and many more beyond. In this instance, I took my love of sketching during dark, damp cave tours and turned it into a screen printed t-shirt. Sadly, I enjoyed the results so much that all my shirts are now worn out and dingy... even better to crawl through tight, dirty tunnels in. Look out for spiders!
It all started with the keywords "Texas" & "Candy". I then sketched along to documentaries about naturally sweetened candies, bee keeping, Texas wildflowers, and edible wild berries. I used the old Anglo word for bee (beo) and the Spanish word for queen (reina) to represent Texas's population. Mix it all up, and what you get? This was a new method for me on how I went about making a logo, and the first time I actually had fun making a logo.
I'm not necessarily a fan of Dr. Pepper, but I wanted to work on something I normally wouldn't think twice about. I always felt this product had an antiquated feel reminiscent of old-timey soda bars, despite their current branding, so I take the visitor on a trip through time, back where it all began. As far as the framing devices I used to display the site, I get a little bored with the same old images of a computer, tablet, and phone you see in every portfolio. If I don't have to use them, I won't.
Traveling to so many beautiful natural areas throughout our state and feeling their strange, unnamable powers in my bones, I've wanted to know more of the story of the land... the entire story and not just the last century or two of us destroying everything. Studying archaeology and Native American stories has given me a whole new perspective and appreciation of my own backyard. The magic is there! Go find it! Some of my adventures and travels have taken me out of state. In this instance, majestic Kentucky.
When you can't go out, why not go in? Museums are incredible resources to understand where we've been, and where we're going. For good or bad, it's important to remember. Since we can't actually travel through time like the H.G. Wells story, visiting museums are the next best thing. Working in an museum is my pie in the sky hope of all hopes. A place where I can continue to learn and grow as an earthling.
