Geez 31, the peace issue

This issue of Geez magazine is about unrecognized peace activists. Publisher Aiden Enns came up with the cover idea, and I did the photo illustration. I also like the two multiple exposures featuring historical war images inside a couple of heads (one is mine, one is my partner's). And I had fun coming up with callouts for the "peace missile" spot illustration.

Geez stamp poster

I have designed a bunch of stamps for the letters section of Geez magazine over the years, and decided to make a poster of them. They're in black and white for the magazine, so I had to add color. Click to enlarge.

Geez 27 (the stereotype issue) cover

The cover of the new Geez magazine, the stereotype issue, is shown above (click to enlarge). My original design is shown below; I liked the less literal take on stereotype, with the framework caging the young woman, and the pink paint representing stereotypes that are splattered indiscriminately on people. But we went with the less ambiguous paint-by-number treatment; not sure if I like it more visually, but I think it conveys more about the subject.

I really liked the stock photo of the woman: young, pretty, but not the typical cover girl, with her heavy eyebrows. The editors questioned the use of a stock photo, thought maybe we should use an image where we knew the subject, or at least the photographer. We put the discussion in the magazine:  
We had a heck of a time deciding on an image for the cover. In the end, we chose a stock photo of a young woman whose ethnic identity is ambiguous. We’d like to know more about this woman: what’s her name, where does she live, what are some of her struggles? We could have used a photo our friend Colin Vandenberg took when he was in West Africa a few years ago (see option at left). While the woman depicted would not be anonymous, it felt like we would pick her image simply for the colour of her skin, which seemed too objectifying. 

A third option was to use a photo of a person already depicted in the magazine, Michelle Klippenstein (below right). But how would she like to see a photo of herself on newsstands, cut up with the “paint by number” treatment? We would have to check with with her. But we were running of out time, so we went with the stock image and decided to share our misgivings with you.

DarryLaura merge

This creepy digital face transplant experiment I did with my wife Laura will appear in the upcoming Geez magazine, which has a theme of Stereotypes. Top two images are the transplants, bottom two are how we actually look. Click to enlarge.

Geez 26, the Leisure issue

The latest issue of Geez magazine is all about leisure. It includes an in-depth story of what's it's like on a Christian cruise, our need to be entertained, and the quiet joys of everyday leisure. I did a few small spot illustrations to scatter around in the issue.

Geez 25, the utopia issue

The newest issue of Geez has some cool cover art by Eduardo Recife; this is one of my favorite covers, I think. I did some photos and illustrations for this issue, including a few where it looks like the photo has been torn away to reveal the drawing. Click on the spreads for a larger view.

Geez 24, the privilege issue

The latest issue of Geez is out; it deals with the problems of privilege people like me (white, male, ablebodied, hetero, North American) deal with. Lots of good stuff. My wife Laura took the photo of me (bottom) that appears in this issue.

Geez 23, the Sacred Space issue

The latest Geez magazine is about sacred space. The second spread shown highlights a bunch of cool things different churches are doing with their space (click to enlarge). The bottom image is a fun pseudo magazine cover featured in this issue which was written by associate editor Bre and designed by me.

Geez 22, the contemplation issue

This is the first cover of Geez that I have illustrated; hard to believe, since I've done plenty of artwork for the inside pages over the years. Anyway, I really like how this turned out. Click any image to enlarge.




I did a whole bunch of little line art spot illustrations for the inside as well, mostly portraits.




I also used a decorative typeface called Restraint, designed by Marian Bantjes; Restraint has lots of beautiful connecting design elements, and is both fun and frustrating to use.

Just Moms cover

I took a different approach to this book cover design for Just Moms, an anthology of essays by moms about raising kids with the ethical values of peace, justice, simplicity, equality and love. I often try to come up with a single simple image to convey the essence of the book, but for this one I went with a more-is-more approach. I added additional words to the cover, and put in many details drawn from the stories themselves (toy guns, cats, bugs, the jack-o-lantern and the boy in pink shoes).

There's a Geez magazine connection to this book: several authors have had pieces in Geez, and one was even a cover model.

Drawing for Geez

Working on a bunch of line art portraits for the upcoming issue of Geez magazine, the "inner work for outer change" issue.

Geez 21 - cops and robbers

This issue of Geez magazine deals with the police, security, and surveillance. The cover is a photo of a stencil piece in the UK by the street artist d*base.

Geez 21 postcard

The new issue of Geez magazine will hit the mailboxes soon; it has this postcard in it (click to enlarge), with this text on the back:


We are trees

What if we were more like trees, converting carbon
dioxide and releasing oxygen?

We live in a bite-back, one-up world where anger,
bitterness, resentment, prejudice and violence are
the soul’s carbon dioxide.

We could receive curses, then give blessings.
We could get manipulated, then speak the truth.
We could be spat upon, then respond with grace.
We could be struck, but not strike back.

The thing about trees is that they need to absorb
CO2 in order to live and grow.

We could do the same. We could absorb hate,
discrimination, judgment and harm, and use
forgiveness to demonstrate healing and love.

This would free us from having to avenge our own
injustices and allow us to open our arms, welcoming
those who are often unwelcome and unwanted.

Photosynthesis and forgiveness are miracles of life.
Without them, the world is a hostile place.

– Ryan McCormick

Caution tape headlines in Geez

For the upcoming security/police-themed issue of Geez magazine, I wanted to do some section headlines as though they were on police caution tape. I couldn't figure out how to get that look, then Laura gave me some glossy yellow tape that fit the bill. So I photographed it in various positions and added text to it in Photoshop. It would've looked even better if Geez was printed in color.

Geez 20, the Super Cyber issue

This is the 20th issue of Geez magazine, so we're celebrating our 5th anniversary. The cover features a photo by Joel Bock. This issue looks at the pros and cons (and gray areas) of technology on relationships, and life in general.