Thank you for a very nice First Thursday and launch of Work/Life 2! Large pics on flickr…
My big spring cleaning and reconfiguration of the UPPERCASE studio is feeling good! Still quite a bit of baby-proofing to do, but it is nice to have more open space and I can’t believe it took six years to get a couch in here.
The primary goal of the Work/Life series is to promote the illustration talents profiled to potential clients. To that end, the book has been mailed out to a long list of designers, publishers and advertisers. Much of the list was compiled by participants listing their top ten dream clients; we researched their submissions and found contacts and addresses whenever possible. The book was also sent to major design firms and magazine / book art directors.
This Friday, Work/Life 2 will be available FREE to members of the Society of Publication Designers attending their Spring Fling in New York City. I hope that the book will make a positive impression and garner new contacts and commissions for the 100 amazing people featured in the book.
The book is designed and written to be entertaining, informative and inspiring—unique qualities when it comes to the usual illustration annual or compilation which are usually just images and contact info with not much heart and soul. Readers—whether art directors or aspiring illustrators or people interested in the creative spirit—will get to know our Work/Life illustrators on a more personal level.
This international edition features the creative lives of 100 illustrators. From as close to home as here in Calgary, across the nation and to our American neighbours south of the border and farther afield to Australia, Scandinavia, Israel, Western Europe and the UK, Work/Life 2 has a lovely and diverse mix. Local artists will be in attendance and available to sign your books.
ONE NIGHT ONLY: Local designers, art directors and media buyers as well as ACAD Visual Communications students are eligible for a free copy of the book—please bring your credentials or business card.
(Oh, and there’ll be Crave cupcakes, too.)
Other First Thursday fun you’ll enjoy:
Also in Art Central a few doors down from me, our friends from Burnt Toast Studio have a new exhibition up. You can also bring in a tshirt or hoodie and they will silkscreen designs on it or you can learn how to customize your own design.
The folks at Studio C in the lower level have an exhibition of sculpture made from found objects. Studio Todorovic has a show of prints from Vancouver Island artists as well as great art supplies and Nation is having a sale. Read more about First Thursday here.
Kate Endle is a collage artist based in Seattle. In my household, we are particularly fond of her children’s board book “Who Hoo are You?” (available online at Buy Olympia and at Land, Portland). It was one of Finley’s first books and is definite favourite.
Kate’s studio is full of amazing collections and inspirational bits of paper and textures.
You can see read more about Kate and her creative process in Work/Life 2 and see more in her portfolio.
Special note: I must admit an error in the book, we listed The Land of Nod, Real Simple, Chronicle Books, Galison/Mudpuppy and IKEA as existing clients in her roster when in fact these are her list of dream clients. However, her actual client list is just as impressive and includes Sesame Street Workshop, Scholastic, Macy’s and McGraw Hill among many others. My apologies to Kate for the mixup. I’m sure these companies will be flattered to know they’re considered dream clients.
Delphine Lebourgeois recently exhibited work at the Frameless Gallery in London. Now her limited edition prints are available online and the selection includes the illustration featured as a full page in Work/Life 2 (top image).
Julien Chung is a prolific illustrator from Quebec who specializes in licensing his artwork. His cute and graphic animal characters have appeared in surface designs, on products, packaging and in 3 dimensions. Julien shares a new commission with us:
“I’m happy to announce that Ritzenhoff has added this very Canadian scene to their Aqua line this month. The water glass features two of my polarbears taking a swim in icy Arctic waters. On the inside bottom of the glass, a happy polarbear smiles up at you. The design is printed with transparent inks, in blue and white. This is my 28th collaboration with this German glassware company. Available in giftshops online and around the world.”
Julien classifies his animal character designs into categories such as baby modern, kid zoo, woodland friends and modern ark. The various styles and licensing information are available on his portfolio website. Visit his blog for images of his work applied to finished products as well as new works. Read more about Julien and peek into his studio in Work/Life 2: the UPPERCASE directory of illustration.
Here is Julien’s fantastic illustration created for Work/Life 2, below. I sure wish I had a few extra arms or tentacles for multi-tasking!
Here’s a flip through the entire book! There’s never a quiet time around here, so the audio is life overlapping with work, as it always does.
Launch reception this Thursday!
One of the printer sheets. There’s lots more to see; the book is 224 pages and features 100 international illustrators.
A very productive day at Printcrafters in Winnipeg! Here are images and video of Work/Life 2, for which we printed the cover shown here. Lots more video and pictures of A Collection a Day coming tomorrow!
Work/Life 2 and A Collection a Day are getting down to the last stage: printing! The proofs are signed and I’ll be heading to Winnipeg next week to see both projects on press.
The shot above shows how many signatures make up the 448-page A Collection a Day book! These books will literally be on press for days!
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
