Flip flop tree

A wintery tree photo I took, then flip flopped it.

Geez sermon contest II

Geez Magazine is having their second sermon contest; this is the announcement flyer/poster for it. I recycled an old drawing for this. Find out more about the contest here.

Bad Idea repellant

Another Staccato Design ho-ho-holiday mailing. We wondered if any clients would bring their Bad Idea repellant to meetings with us and threaten to use it, but no one ever did. Click to read the goofy copy.

Miller Brooks peace cards

I designed these peace-themed holiday cards for Miller Brooks in Zionsville, Indiana. I like the earth resting on the pillow best.

Creative Juices

One of the most popular holiday mailings I designed while at Staccato Design. We later revised the copy to be able to use this as a new client welcome gift (not just for holidays). The "creative juice" was actually brandy.

Fairy sausage

This is a holiday card I drew that featured a poem written by my stepdaughter Madison, age six. I used this as an illustration self-promo mailing, and didn't get any comments on the illustration, but Madison got plenty of praise for her poem, and for good reason - it's classic.

Here's a fairy
coming here and there

Her name is sausage,
sausage, sausage fairy.

She has a stick with a sausage
and it doesn't have a little star

It has a sausage,
'cause her name is "fairy sausage."

Staccato stinky stocking stuffer

The writing by Sal Cusumano is the best thing about this Staccato Design holiday gift: a tin of kippered herring. I don't know if any of the recipients actually ate them. The bottom photo is of the mailing label.

PNCA luminaries

This is a holiday mailing for Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland. PNCA had a theme of illumination for events that year, so I designed these luminaries that fit over tea light candles.

Think warm rubbery thoughts

This holiday gift from Staccato Design is one of my favorites, since it's one of the oddest: the Staccato hot water bottle. I even got to write the copy for this one. Not sure if it impressed any clients, but we liked it.

Petroleum-powered cow

This is the back cover image I did for Geez 8, the food issue. The concept came from this article by Michael Pollan. He says, "We have succeeded in industrializing the beef calf, transforming what was once a solar-powered ruminant into the very last thing we need: another fossil-fuel machine." Feeding a cow corn grown with petroleum-based fertilizers uses 284 gallons of oil in its 18-month life.

Blizzard in New England paint by numbers

One of several holiday gifts I designed while working at Staccato in Portland. Top shows the box label, bottom shows the contents. Our goal with these projects was to stand out from the typical Christmas cards, and we hoped our somewhat goofy sense of humor would appeal to the recipients. Click to enlarge and read the copy.

The craze and menace of skateboards

I scored this 1965 Life magazine at our office Christmas white elephant gift exchange. The title of this post is the cover headline. I like the classic wipeout on the right of the spread shown. I think skater kids today should start saying things like "too much moxie breeds mayhem in the streets, dude." Click to enlarge.

Pizzicato holiday promotion

Posters and pins promoting Pizzicato Gourmet Pizza's gift certificates for holiday giving. Designed and illustrated for Staccato Design.

Fireplace wall

This is the wall around my fireplace. My ex-boss Tim Cobb gave me the numbers from an old gas station sign. I added a health book cover and a piece made from a flattened Burger King fries package (second from top), along with various art pieces I have made. The bottom piece is a paper and wax collage featuring a bio of an old Quaker named Preserve Brown, not a relative as far as I know.

Porcelain sculptures

A couple of sculptures I did as a student at Herron School of Art. I created molds and slip-cast shapes that I assembled while still green. They are approximately a foot tall.

Another half-baked idea from Pizzicato

Packaging for Pizzicato Gourmet Pizza's half-baked pizzas. I designed this while at Staccato Design.