Occupy Valentine

I was commissioned by friend Federico Hewson to create the graphic design/logo for his Occupy Valentine postcards and website. He said he wanted something in the style of the art sensation Shepard Fairey, and "...drippy and graffiti like.  Maybe a peace symbol with a pulsing heart inside it?" Something to serve as a bold statement for this generation to "Re-imagine Valentine's Day" -- as we aim to take back the holiday from corporations that profit from selling unsustainable materials.

Join Federico and the mission of Occupy Valentine & The Valentine Peace Project to reclaim the holiday as a global movement to embrace the principles of peace and sustainable practices. One of the main tenets of the project is the distribution of sustainably grown flowers with poetry attached. His organization also urges the study of poetry and peace in classrooms, involving children in the creation of their own poetry and distribution of flowers on the holiday. 

To learn more about the project - check out the website: ValentinePeaceProject.org or OccupyValentine.com

And should you have a specific graphic design need - contact me. A sample of some of my work can be seen at: http://hiveworld.org/jason/artwork/graphics.html

Flowering Princes & Princesses Series

Ian MacKinnon - Flowering Prince (Click photographs for larger images)

April Hava Shenkman - Flowering Princess (Click photographs for larger images)

In honor of the Flowering Princes and Princesses within us (see last weeks post), I present a few of the first examples of an ongoing series. It starts by photographing some of my artistic friend/peers and then over 5 panels creating a sequence where flowers emerge that create some kind of pattern that has to do with each artist. I look forward to creating some more works for this series and exploring its evolution. They take a lot more out of me than I initially imagined (to separate each individual flower is very labor intensive), but worth the investment of time to watch the creative blossoms unfurl to life -  Hope you enjoy!

For April Hava Shenkman, we discussed using "party bouquet" flowers and morning glories (both her favorite kinds). Because April (profiled in a blog post last month) uses the theme of parties in her Happy Happy show and performances, I thought creating streamers of flowers photographed from party bouquets would be appropriate. Additionally, her hair is so unique and so I thought little morning glory buds popping out would be fun. She mixes curious, wistful, classy, and exhuberant poses - just like her performances.

For Ian MacKinnon, I thought creating a rainbow of flowers would be a great representation; he identifies as a Gay-Centered Performance Artist. His stage performances and wardrobe are usually very colorful with themes of empowerment, individuality and bold self-expression. But Ian is also very rooted in psychology, in sincerity, and his works often contain educational material or meaningful messages. So I wanted to start with a very blank, white canvas, and in rushes this festive explosion of color at first quite daunting and then shaped by Ian, which he has a very spiritual pose and then a flamboyant one.

The series started with Nathalie Broizat in December. Her series utilized a single red rose falling down from the sky and repeated over and over until it creates a pattern not unlike red polka-dots, which is a signature image and look in many of Nathalie's performance pieces.  It's a very restricted color palette, which I feel lends an refined, elegant touch befitting of the beautiful Nathalie.

MORE FLOWERINGS TO COME!

Jason