Out of the blue, Alec Dempster wrote to tell me about his new book, Lotería Huasteca. I know a good deal about Mexico, but never heard of the Huasteca. This book is both charming and illuminating. Its woodblock prints provide 54 little windows into the Huasteca culture of East-Central Mexico. Oddly enough, last week we had a masterContinue reading “A Culture Cut in Wood by Alec Dempster”
Author Archives: illustrationclass
Real American Prints
Alan Altamirano, the printmaker from Oaxaca, and I visited IPCNY, International Center for the Prints, NY. It can be hard to find the first time you look for it. If you walk the High Line in the Chelsea gallery district you might spot the signage in their 5th floor windows on the south side of 26thContinue reading “Real American Prints”
Orale! Alan Altamirano esta en Kutztown.
Alan Altamirano makes art about women, beautiful women. The 27-year old artist is from Oaxaca, Mexico, a city famed for its food and visual arts. Like many of the best Oaxacan artists of his generation he studied with Maestro Shinzaburo Takeda at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Benito Juarez, Oaxaca. TodayContinue reading “Orale! Alan Altamirano esta en Kutztown.”
HANDWERK at Lancaster PA First Friday
I’ve only been to First Friday in Lancaster once, but I am going again on Oct 2. It should be great. Ryan Smoker and Ryan Martin of Infantree are putting together a pop-up show at Passenger Coffee Roasters. The posters are by grads of Kutztown’s Communication Design Dept. I got a preview of some of the work inContinue reading “HANDWERK at Lancaster PA First Friday”
Kathy Sue Does Graffiti in the Alley
Kathy Sue Traylor is the department secretary in the Communication Design Dept at Kutztown U. She doesn’t think of herself as an artist, but she loves to see creativity in bloom. She often pokes her head in the illustration studio to look over students’ shoulders. She always gushes over the artwork our students are creating.Continue reading “Kathy Sue Does Graffiti in the Alley”
RUINS: Peter Kuper’s Masterpiece
Peter Kuper’s Ruins is a magnificent graphic novel, the best I’ve read this year. I’d call it his masterpiece, but Kuper has already proved himself a master. Ruins succeeds on so many levels: great graphic art; remarkable storytelling, and stunning production values. I’ve met Peter Kuper a few times. In 2007, I was honored whenContinue reading “RUINS: Peter Kuper’s Masterpiece”
Not that Nathan Hale, Meet the Cartoonist.
Nathan Hale is a fitting name for a graphic novelist specializing in historical biographies. I ran into him at the American Library Association convention in San Francisco. I asked if he was named for the hero of the American Revolution. He wrote One Dead Spy, about that hero. “No, I am named for my grandfather,”Continue reading “Not that Nathan Hale, Meet the Cartoonist.”
Roller Derby Artists by Bobby Dazzler (Robin Tatlow-Lord)
Kevin McCloskey recently asked me whether the handful of illustrators he had met who also play roller derby might be indicative of a larger trend – a connection between this growing sport and the world of illustration and comics – or if he was imagining that trend. I don’t think it’s imaginary at all: illustratorsContinue reading “Roller Derby Artists by Bobby Dazzler (Robin Tatlow-Lord)”
Robin Tatlow-Lord: Roller Derby Artist on a Roll
Women’s roller derby was a national sensation in the 1950’s. Today roller derby is again a sporting and pop culture phenomenon. I met the Australian illustrator and roller derby athlete Robin Tatlow-Lord in San Francisco last week. Robin learned to skate in South Australia, with Adelaide Roller Derby and currently skates with the Bay AreaContinue reading “Robin Tatlow-Lord: Roller Derby Artist on a Roll”
Glimpse Inside a Video Game Artist’s Sketchbook
Michelle Davies graduated from Edinboro University. Edinboro, like Kutztown is part of PASSHE, PA’s State System. State university facilities can’t compare to privates specializing in game design, but Michelle proves a dedicated student can launch a career from anywhere. She said her foundation art classes, life drawing and 2-D design, prove valuable everyday in her job asContinue reading “Glimpse Inside a Video Game Artist’s Sketchbook”
