Jerry Pinkney: Class Act at KU

Jerry Pinkney speaking to KU Communication Design students

In 1992, nearly 20 years ago, Prof. Elaine Cunfer and I went to Philadelphia to hear Jerry Pinkney speak. Mr. Pinkney was being given a lifetime achievement award by Drexel University. If he had been struck by lightning, or hit by a bus that day in Philadelphia his place in the pantheon of great children’s book illustrators would have been secure.

Cover art for 'The Lion and The Mouse' © Jerry Pinkney 2009

He hasn’t rested on his laurels in the past 20 years he has amassed many more awards, including a silver and gold medals from the Society of Illustrators, multiple Coretta Scott King awards, five Caldecott honors, and the ultimate prize in children’s book illustration, The Caldecott Medal in 2010. That Caldecott was for The Lion and the Mouse, his wordless retelling in watercolor of the classic Aesop’s fable set in Africa.

Illustration students getting advice from Jerry Pinkney

He has had three major museum shows at the last year including one in Lancaster at the PA College of Art and Design. He had a show at the Schomberg in NYC and a major retrospective at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts.
There is no doubt Jerry Pinkney’s artwork is suitable for framing. We even exhibited his artwork at Sharadin Gallery during the Dornish Collection exhibition. Some curators don’t believe illustration belongs in gallery. In some cases this is an old elitist fine artist aesthetic bias. A reasonable argument can be made, though, that his artwork is best seen in print, in a book, in the context of illustration. Not to diminish the achievement of his museum shows, but watch someone in a gallery the stop and look at a picture. Count, one, two, three, I find most people look at an individual picture for about 5 seconds max.

Cover art, The Old African, © 2005 Jerry Pinkney

Jerry Pinkney is a master of line, color, and composition.  His work rewards those who take the time to look at it longer that 5 seconds.

Now try this. Read one of his books to a youngster, someone 5 years old, in his target audience.  Children’s eyes will linger over every page far longer than the gallery-goers eyes might. When you try to turn the page, the child might turn it back to look at it longer. Children know greatness when they see it.

Mr. Pinkney gave an informal slide talk to Communication Design students. Dean Bill Mowder of the College of Visual and Performing Arts helped fund Mr Pinkney’s visit to KU Children’s Literature Conference. I sensed that a number of these CD students realized they were in the presence of greatness. Mr. Pinkney talked about his early career. For a time he worked at Rust Craft Greeting Cards in Boston. Insurance rules kept the illustrators in their studio space, far away from the onsite printing presses. He  said he would sneak down on occasion. He loved to watch the magic of mechanical reproduction, and “loved the smell of the ink.”

My favorite anecdote was from earlier in his career.  Young Jerry Pinkney, aged 12, had a newstand in the Germantown section of Philly. Between sales he would sketch the view of the shops across the street. One day a cartoonist named John Liney stopped by the newsstand and admired these sketches. He invited the newsboy up to see his studio and gave him a handful of art supplies. John Liney was the man who drew Henry, a comic strip originated by Carl Anderson. Henry was one of the most popular newspaper comics of the time. Pinkney warmly recalled the studio visit that gave him the ‘first glimmer of an idea’ he might be able to make a living as an artist.

John Liney's Henry, illustration from Wikipedia.

By the way, there is another blog by a KU faculty member, Dr. Marty Rayala of Art Ed & Crafts. It is called andDESIGN. Clearly, Dr. Rayala is much more efficient that I am. His posts about Jerry Pinkney and Beth Krommes have been online for two weeks already. He calls andDESIGN -“the online magazine for people interested in Design Education in K-12 schools.” It is well worth a look.

KU Anime Club Helps JAPAN

KU Anime Club at Katuson Convention, Md, Feb. 2011

For years I’ve been faculty advisor to the Kutztown Anime club. Anime, as you probably know, is Japanese animation. This group has a reputation for being a bit odd. I’ve heard them called them “nerds,” “geeks,” or worse, by other students. Personally, I’m not a great anime fan, but I firmly believe anything that helps students build a sense of community during their time on this campus should be supported.

Help Japan graphic by ChaseJC

When the deadly 8.9 earthquake and then the tsunami struck Japan on March 11, I emailed the Anime club president, Abe Klein, to suggest they might do a fundraiser. “Even a small contribution would reflect concern for the culture that gave birth to anime,” I wrote.  Abe wrote back instantly that they were already working on it. 100% of the proceeds from their March 16 cookie sale went to Japan Relief. Typically, the Anime Club makes under $50 on a cookie sale, this event raised $487. Clearly many people at Kutztown University overpaid for their cookies, and some folks sent us donations through the campus mail. I’ve got the receipts from the American Red Cross /Japan Relief fund on my desk. I’m proud of these students.

Graphic above came thanks to ChaseJC: his deviant art page is here.

Jerry Pinkney story coming soon!

Beth Krommes: Caldecott Winner Visits KU

from The House in the Night © Beth Krommes, 2008, used with permission.

Beth Krommes was born and raised just over the hill in Emmaus, PA. She recalls applying to study art at Kutztown State College. Her portfolio was accepted, but she chose to go to Syracuse University, in part, because it was further from home and she longed to travel. After her undergrad painting degree there, she earned her Masters from U Mass, Amherst. She got to travel abroad when she studied for a year at St. Martin’s School of Art, London.

She and her husband have raised two daughters in New Hampshire. Today she works full-time as a children’s book illustrator out of her home studio. It the past she has worked at a wide variety of jobs, including that vanishing occupation “public school art teacher.” She was a secretary, an art director for a computer magazine, and has even worked in retail as the manager of a fine handcraft shop.

from The House in the Night © Beth Krommes, 2008, used with permission

Beth Krommes visited Kutztown this weekend for the KU Children’s Literature Conference. She gave three presentations, including one for local school children and one for the university community. She then thrilled conference attendees, mostly teachers and librarians, when she passed around her actual 2009 Caldecott Medal. Named for the great Randolph Caldecott, the medal is awarded annually to the finest picture book illustrator. At least one local librarian was moved to tears to hold the Beth’s medal in her hands.

Beth Krommes Caldecott, photo courtesy Kim Beyer

Beth Krommes is master of several media, including wood engraving. It is a very detailed, labor intensive way of making pictures. Wood engraving is one on the oldest forms of reproducing art. Today the medium is having something of a renaissance. Wood engraving is the refined cousin of woodblock printing. Engraving needs to be done on the end grain of the wood. Actually, Beth explains the process quite well at her website, www.bethkrommes.com.  Below is a sample her wood engraving. You can see and purchase individual limited edition prints here.

Rooster © Beth Krommes 2004, Wood engraving, edition of 200

Since wood engraving is so time-consuming and unforgiving, her recent illustration work is done on scratchboard. Scratchboard has a similar look to wood engraving since it, too, is a subtractive way of making a high contrast illustration. If you want to learn more, a visit to her website will reward you with more information about her scratchboard technique, and a link to her moving Caldecott speech.

Beth ended her Kutztown conference speech with some tips for aspiring illustrators which I’ve taken the liberty of copying from her website:

1.  Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (the SCBWI). This professional organization is dedicated to those who write, illustrate, or share an interest in children’s literature. There are more than 22,000 members worldwide.

2.  Read The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books by Harold D. Underdown. Of the many available books on this subject, this is my favorite.

3.  Read Writing With Pictures — How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books by Uri Shulevitz.  I especially like the chapters on designing a book.

Above is a picture of KU CD student Cheryl Sheeler signing a copy of her illustrated KU Lit conference poster for Beth Krommes. As Cheryl would say, How cool is that?

Amazing enough, Beth Krommes wasn’t the only Caldecott winning illustrator on campus last week. Next week I will write something about our other distinguished visitor, Jerry Pinkney.


Mike Tyson and Vinnie Torre

One of the great things about these WordPress blogs is that the moderator is able to see which search terms visitors are using to reach this page. Lately there has been a big upsurge in searches for “Vinnie Torre”, “Hoboken Museum,” and “pigeons.”

Mike Tyson and Vinnie Torre © 2011 Animal Planet

I wrote about Vinnie last year in my very first Illustration Concentration post.  I met Vinnie and his girlfriend Lynne Earring when I illustrated a chapbook for the Hoboken Historical Museum. Turns out Vinnie has recently been featured on a new Animal Planet documentary series mentoring boxer Mike Tyson on the finer points of pigeon racing. I haven’t seen the series. In the trailer, Mike Tyson tells about the first fight he ever had. He was 10. He beat up the Brooklyn kid who ripped the head off his pigeon. In honor of the uptick in searches for Vinnie and pigeons, I am posting a few more of my Hoboken sketches, some of which never made it into the chapbook.

Pigeons at Vinnie Torre's Hoboken loft © 2011 K.McCloskey

Lynne told me that Vinnie used to cut down the iconic Hoboken clotheslines that hung in the way of his pigeons’ final approach home. Vinnie looked wounded, he said he never did any such thing. Maybe, once or twice, he witnessed somebody sanding clotheslines so that they were so frayed that when the women hung their family’s heavy, wet clothes they “naturally” broke. He assured me that would happen only in the case of a very important race.

Vinnie Torre with Lynne Earring, Hillside Lofts © 2011 K.McCloskey

I drew a pigeon before I arrived at Vinnie’s house. Vinnie took one look at it and shook his head. It looked like a street pigeon, he said. He told me to thicken the neck and add more waddle on top of the beak. Here is how it looked after I took his suggestions:

Pigeon Sketch, watercolor © 2010 K. McCloskey

You can download the whole book for free here: The Pigeon Guys: Recollections of Vinnie Torre and Lynne Earing. The 40-page chapbook, designed by Ann Marie Manca is part of a nifty series of Hoboken oral histories. Lisa Sartori interviewed Vinnie and Lynne. Holly Metz edited it, I donated the illustrations, and Museum Director Robert Foster added historic and new photographs.

By the way, I was in Hoboken last weekend and stopped by the Hoboken Historical Museum. They have a sweet show on the walls now, about Hoboken’s love affair with candy and desserts. It began way before the Cake Boss. At the museum you can sit in a booth on loan from Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette and watch a truly touching 10-minute film about Schnackenberg’s, a Hoboken landmark. The film entitled Counterparts was made in 1989 by Nicole Lucas Haimes who has since gone on to a successful career as a documentary filmmaker.Vinnie Torre is a great booster of the Hoboken Historical Museum. In the Animal Planet videos he can be seen wearing his HHM T-shirt. It is a worthy institution and well worth a visit anytime.

Julia & Julia Cameron

Artists should know about two Julia Camerons. There is the Julia Cameron we talk about in the History of Graphic Design. A pioneering portrait photographer, Julia M. Cameron grew up in Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka. She moved to the Isle of Wright off the coast of England and was a neighbor to many British VIP’s including the poet Tennyson. She was nearly 50 years old when she got her first camera as a gift from her children and began her career as a photographer.

1867 photo by Julia Cameron of her niece, Julia Jackson

Julia Cameron was there at the beginning of the art form.  She took a famous portrait of her neighbor, the scientist Sir John Hershel, who it is said invented the words “photography”, as well “positive” and “negative”as terms related to the photographic process. Her work was unlike anything else done at the time. Her portraits have been described as sensitive, evocative, and soul-searching.

The other Julia Cameron is a writer we talk about in Visual Thinking class. She’s been a journalist for Rolling Stone, a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. She also does motivational coaching for creative types. Her bestselling book on the topic is called The Artist’s Way. She promises one can end writer’s block, or artist’s block, by following a few simple techniques. One is called “morning pages,” sort of automatic writing at dawn. As I recall, Ms. Cameron claims it takes about 7 persistent weeks to get a creative breakthrough this way. Her other technique is the artist date. This concept works for me.

According to her website, www.theartistsway.com, the “Artist Date is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic”– think mischief more than mastery.” Julia Cameron generously shares more details in a 16-page downloadable chapter in pdf  form  that can be found on the bottom of her basic tools web page. The first part of the chapter deals with the pages, the second with the artist dates.

I became a fan of the solo artist date idea after I stood in the Met in a room full of French impressionist paintings with an old friend who had no interest in art. He said to me, “So, you are an artist, are these any good?” I was dumbstruck. I realized for the sake of my creative soul I would need to return to the museum alone. Never go to a museum with someone who doesn’t want to be there.

A Personal Note: My most recent Artist’s Date….

Fiery Pool image from the Peabody Essex Museum

I always prefer a cheap date and when I was in St. Louis at Evil Prints, I got lucky. My brother Brian emailed me a review by his Facebook friend Josh Berman recommending the Maya art Exhibition, The Fiery Pool, at the St. Louis Art Museum. I got up early on Friday morning and took the light rail out to Forrest Park. The St. Louis Art Museum, SLAM for short, is impressively situated on a hill overlooking a great lawn. Oddly enough, it has griffins on its rooftop, just like the Philadelphia Museum of Art.. The front door is guarded by an enormous statue of Saint Louis on horseback. I was so excited about my date that I arrived before the museum opened, so I sketched the equestrian monument waiting for the doors to open.

When the doors opened I found the museum is free on Friday, not only that, even the special exhibitions, including the Fiery Pool was free. Thank you, St. Louis Museum of Art! The show was astounding. I had read that the Maya so respected their artists that artworks, like relief sculptures, were often signed. Reading is one thing, but actually seeing a Pre-Columbian artist’s signature on a portrait of a king changed my way of thinking about the Maya. The exhibition included many marvels including a metal shield  retrieved from the sacred pool at Chichen Itza with a rare illustration of a Maya naval battle. Beyond the warring boatsmen a horizontal line was inscribed, suggesting the point where sea meets sky. According to the gallery notes this horizon line is the only known use of perspective in Pre-Columbian art. I still need to think about that.

Portrait of a leader, signed by the artist, from "Fiery Pool" exhibition

There are over 90 priceless Maya artworks in this exhibition which originated at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. SLAM is the last stop on its U.S. tour, funded, in part, by the NEH. The Fiery Pool is on view until May 8, 2011. If you are in the area, it makes for a nifty artist’s date.

Shannon Collins’ Critters

self-portrait with Betty White
Self-portrait with Betty White © 2011 Shannon Collins

Shannon Collins stopped by the blog and dropped us a line. She won the Kutztown Senior illustration award when she graduated in 2006. She is now the editor at Bucks & Montgomery Living Magazine. The word ‘Living’ in the title means it covers everything but zombies in those two Pennsylvania counties. Shannon wrote an interesting travel story for the mag last month, a guide to the Brandywine Museum, a great place to savor the work of Pennsylvania’s great illustrator N.C. Wyeth.

Year of the Splinter © 2011 Shannon Collins.

Shannon is still doing illustration, and having some success as noted on her website. Her artwork and illustrated journals are on display an Urban Outfitters stores worldwide. She is fascinated with “old yearbooks, antique board games, vintage advertising, pop culture and  furry critters. With colored pencils, markers, and acrylic paints, I attempt to translate these idiosyncratic preoccupations with pets, people and puns into obscenely adorable art.” Her favorite medium is colored pencils on wood. She has high-quality color prints like the ones above and below for sale for a little as $10 at her Etsy site.

‘One! Two! Three! Three figs! AH AH AH AH AH!’ © 2011 S.C.

A portion of the profits from her animal prints is donated to the Etsy for Animals charity of the Month. If these critters seem a tad familiar last year they were exhibited at the Philadelphia Airport Terminal Gallery.

‘ZOMG, It's A Yoda Fox!’ © 2011 Shannon Collins

Shannon asked if I remembered her. Of course I do, I was able to place a sample of her quirky illustration work in a 2006 textbook that I contributed a chapter to called Teaching Illustration, edited by Steven Heller and Marshall Arisman. It was page of a mini-comic about her on-the-job adventures refilling the salad bar in an all-you-can eat buffet restaurant. She has come long way!

‘Pikachuuuuu!' © 2011 Shannon Collins

Many thanks to Shannon for getting in touch. Calling all Kutztown Illustration alums, be like Shannon, and please get in touch. We’d love to showcase what you are up to!

Brooklyn, Zombies & the News from St. Louis

Martin Lemelman, beloved Kutztown illustration faculty emeritus, shared some good news. He learned that his graphic novel, Two Cents Plain: My Brooklyn Boyhood was chosen by The New York Society Library  as a winner in the 2010-2011 New York City Book Awards. He didn’t even know the book was in the running. Martin was on campus recently and told us he is at work on a new graphic novel project. It is still in the gestation period and he doesn’t want to jinx it, so the project will remain a secret, for now.

Panel from Two Cent Comics Martin Lemelman 2011

Meanwhile, he has been experimenting with web comics on his blog, www.twocentcomics.com. The panel above will give a sample of the flavor of his latest work.

Speaking of web comics, James Pannafino, KU alum, now Millersville faculty, recently visited our illustration class to talk about business models for web comics. He explained there are ways to monetize web comics include Google ads, merchandise, t-shirts, cups, and print-on-demand books. I was already familiar with Kickstarter, the web fund-raising platform for creative artists. James had an interesting take on Kickstarter, calling it a way to “pre-sell a comic book project.”

Basically, you run you idea up a the Kickstarter flagpole, and try to entice folks to support you vision. James said a comics artist might offer free computer wallpaper for any donation, a signed copy of the comic for $10, a print for $20 and, maybe, a signed original page for $100.

© Jim Hill 2011
© Jim Hill 2011

I just popped over to Kickstarter to find a good example of this illustration business model. I searched for comics, found an interesting one.  Jim Hill of Portland, Oregon has a wild idea combined with a crisp illustration style, and a good pitch. Apparently, it is his thesis project, a graphic novel called The Dead Don’t Die, about zombies in the Old West. At this date, 3/21/2011, Jim Hill already has $2,402 pledged from 56 backers, more than enough to do the book. Of course, not every Kickstarter idea is successful in getting funded.

News From Evil Prints, St. Louis

Tom Huck and Tony Fitzpatrick

I promised an update on my trip to St. Louis to visit Tom Huck at Evil Prints. Huck hosted the greatest St. Patrick’s party I can remember, and topped that with ‘The Printbangers Ball’ at the Atomic Cowboy. As an alum of Huck’s 2010 Woodblock Bootcamp, I was invited to join in the festivities. On St. Patrick’s Day, the extraordinary artist Tony Fitzpatrick, blew in from Chicago for the festivities. I had met Fitzpatrick once before when he came to Kutztown as a visiting artist around 1990. Huck credits Tony with naming and founding the Outlaw Print movement. The fact that Tony Fitzpatrick left Chicago on St. Pat’s Day gives you some idea of his high regard for Huck and the artistic community Huck has fostered in St. Louis.

detail from Wolfbat Warship © 2011 Dennis McNett

Bill Fick, who literally wrote the book on printmaking was there, and Martin Mazzora of Cannonball Press. Huck flew up the Mexican master, Artemio Rodriguez for a week-long residency. Etcher Micheal Barnes brought a gothic iron see-saw, that doubled as a printing press. You had to see it. I didn’t get a good picture, but there is one at the site, nonindigenouswoman.com. I traded prints with my friend John Fronza. John also participated in Dennis McNett’s Wolfbat a print-covered warship that rolled from Evil Prints to the Atomic Cowboy on Saturday night. I asked Dennis if he had police permits for the parade, he told me he lives by the wise words, it is often “simpler to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Huck dearly loves comics, so I made a one-shot comic zine based on his amazing artwork and equally amazing life story. I carved a woodblock for the cover art and the centerfold, but resorted to scratchboard, and India ink for most of the interior pages. Here’s a picture of Huck reading the zine; I know he enjoyed it.

If you would like to study woodblock printing with a master in a fantastic studio for a very reasonable price, Huck’s Bootcamp 2011 is open for enrollment. He’s got two sessions, one in June, one in July. Kutztown printmaking major Josh Dannin is heading out there, hey, maybe you can carpool!

Wanna’ buy the zine, Tom Huck: A Life Out of Line? Get in touch with me, or visit Moonpenny Press.


TOM HUCK: –St. Louis Living Legend

Some critics say Tom Huck is the greatest American artist working in woodblock today. While others might dispute that ranking, he is certainly among the handful of modern masters that includes Bill Fick, Endi Poscovic, and a few others, depending who you ask.

"Up Dung Creek" by and © Tom Huck

Huck runs Evil Prints, a state-of-the art print studio in a borderline neighborhood of St, Louis. Most university print programs would envy his work space and  presses. Huck is surrounded by an entourage good-looking women, and bad-looking men.

Tom Huck and Stephanie, a studio assistant

Printmakers are an odd lot. Huck is odder than most. He throws wild ‘performance’ parties. He is sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon. He tours Central Europe with the heavy metal rock band, Moterhead. Until last year, he somehow managed to juggle his wild side with another life as a faculty member at Sam Fox School of Art and Design, Washington University, St. Louis.  Something happened.

Huck in his office with California printmaker Jason Bonilla

Something he said or did led W.U. to let Huck go. According to press reports he did not go gently in that good night. From what I can gather he hired a lawyer and negotiated a settlement. Let’s assume the settlement includes a non-disclosure agreement, since Huck will talk about anything other than his separation from W.U.

"Beef Brain Buffet" © 2002 Tom Huck

This week, his old school, Washington U. is playing host to SGC, the biggest, most respected printmaking conference in the U.S. Huck was not invited to participate. He doesn’t take slights well. He decided to mount his own week-long alternative conference “Evil Week” at the same time, as a response to SGC.  He has a one-man exhibition at the St. Louis University Museum of Art. He’s got a red bus to serve as a free ferry from the SGC conference to his big event, the Printbanger’s Ball.

Huck says Home Depot has decent birch ply & superior hot dogs.

Artemio Rodriquez, a great Mexican printmaker is artist-in-residence at Evil Prints for the week. Of course, there will be a St Patrick’s day party on March 17. Looks like there will be one hell a Wolfbat War Vessel parade directed by Dennis McNett. There is Pub Crawl Scavenger Hunt, –order a Pabst at any of Huck’s favorite dives and you might snag a limited edition coaster with a  print by Huck or guest artists including Bill Fick, Gary Panter, and Sean Starwars. Best place to read about the Evil Week events is EvilPrints.com. Also check out Printeresting, the most dependably readable printmaking blog for the scoop on Huck’s alternative activities.

McCloskey and Huck

As a 2010 graduate of The Evil Prints Bootcamp I have been invited to join in this counter-conference. I’ll be there this weekend at the Printbanger’s Ball selling prints and a special zine created in honor of the occasion. Hope my print sales will cover my airfare. (Note to the Governor: No Kutztown University funds used for my trip.) Look for an update next weekend.

"HUCK" © Kevin McCloskey 2011

Ross Moody: Clever Pays

Ross Moody was on campus the other day. He is an inventive guy. He does small-run limited edition cards and posters, and what we call printed ephemera. He told me his series of Valentine’s Day cards were a big hit. I asked him about his studio and why it is called 55 Hi’s.

"The Hay Guy" greeting card ©2010 Ross Moody

“Well,… I thought it was catchy and when I was first starting out. I thought it would be a cool idea to do print runs of 55. Then once they sold out they would be gone forever. After doing a few runs and selling out of the items though, I learned that putting that much time and effort into only 55 copies of something was a waste of effort. So I still do runs of 55 sometimes for large prints, but I do mostly runs of over 100 now.”

What’s your studio like?

“I am screenprinting in my living room at the moment and using my shower as a washout booth. It’s a little tedious (especially in the winter) because I don’t have access to a hose but I manage. The biggest issue lately is finding enough space for the prints to dry. I usually completely line the floor of my apartment and trap myself in a corner.”

Quote from Bertrand Russell, "flip-clock" poster design by Ross Moody © 2011

Do you recommend artists use Etsy.com, or build their own site?

I recommend for anyone trying to sell their artwork to use every avenue available. There are a growing number of online shopping cart options you can use now. BigCartel.com, Etsy, WordPress. Around 30% of the things I sell are through my Etsy page and the best part is that I never link to it. Etsy is its own little world where people search for things to buy. It’s actually kind of incredible. Like a constant craft show.

What’s your biggest hit?

My biggest seller without a doubt so far is the “I Want To Do You” Card. Which in reality, is a huge pain in the ass because every card takes me about 20 minutes to completely assemble. It’s so bittersweet when I get orders for that card because I hand die-cut and glue those cards together and it’s so tedious. It’s like laundry. Nobody wants to do laundry.

Ross Moody's bestseller, The I Want to Do you Card.

What’s next?

I have a few things ready to be released that I’m extremely excited about. One in particular is a daily notebook called “The Less is More To-Do List”. The concept is that people create these To-Do lists in an effort to get things done, but end up just feeling overwhelmed by all the items that get added throughout the day. So the “Less is More To-Do List” is a notebook that allots a small area (about the size of a post-it note) so that the user has to prioritize that days To-Do list into an attainable set of goals. I’m excited to see how it will be received.

'Big Eyes Small Eyes' Stickers by Ross Moody © 2010

Ross also has a day job. He’s one of about half-dozen creative 2010 grads working in design shops in Connecticut. I forgot to ask him about that. This guy always had a great attitude in class and it is fun to see what he comes up with in his spare time.

Blog note: I am in the beautiful city of Oaxaca, Mexico this week. Meeting with my friends of the ASARO collective. Will post about their activities soon. Internet is spotty in Oaxaca, so comments might have to wait for approval until I return. KMc

Philadelphia Union: A Dream Internship

Items designed by Shaun Crump for the Philadelphia Union soccer team.

There are dream internships. Sometimes students get jealous of their classmates’ amazing internships. We’ve written here about Matt Twombly interning at Marvel and Amanda Geisinger at Nickelodeon. As Amanda said, “Go for your dream internship. It worked for me! It can happen, because they don’t have to pay you. Try to work for free after you graduate and they will think you’re crazy.”

Shaun Crump’s dream internship was to work for a MLS, Major League Soccer team. While this school (KU) offers seniors wonderful internships at places like Binney and Smith and Partners Design, it is the individual students  who find these dream internships and make them happen.

Senior Shaun Crump is a sportsfan. He found his internship opportunity with the Philadelphia Union via the website Teamwork online. He said that the web site, which specializes in sports-related jobs and internships isn’t very easy to navigate. Once he figured out how to upload his resume he was quickly contacted by the Philadelphia Union MLS soccer team.  Over the past summer he spent 2 to 3 days a week at their new stadium, PPL Park in Chester, PA, not far from Philadelphia’s city limits.

PPL Park vector drawing by Shaun Crump applied to enamel pin.

Shaun loves the game of soccer and he loved the energy of the young team. He designed programs, flyers, and team  promotional items like towels, and even souvenir enamel pins. He used his Photoshop skills to design digital wallpaper suitable for computer and smart phones based layered action photos of star players. The wallpaper is available free here. Shaun recently showed me this wallpaper website and noted, with a sigh,one of his favorite designs was gone because the player was traded.

The internship was unpaid. Shaun was on the field during the games and witnessed some great matches. He even got to watch the world  famous U.K team Manchester United play an exhibition game. Shaun feels it was an absolutely worthwhile experience and the Union organization asked him to apply for a paid position when he graduates. The see more of his portfolio of design and illustration work, visit shauncrumpdesign.com.