Last week I sat on a stage wearing a fancy black robe and velvet lined hood listening to Moses Pendleton give a wonderful graduation speech. It was a good time to do some reflecting on what was the close of another academic year at The University of the Arts. I had the pleasure of meeting or hosting some great guests, speakers and exhibitors.
I'd like to sincerely thank all of them: James Gurney, Mark Todd and Esther Watson, Brad Holland, Edel Rodriguez, Kory Kennedy, Dave Inscore, Peter Brown, and Tony Auth
Thanks for spending time with my students. Your unique perspectives are more valuable than words can say.
We just received samples of the new journal we did with Running Press. Amanda Richmond did a great job with the design, and we're really happy with the results. Like nearly every book we've done, this was a full wrap. Suits me fine. I like when our work has a little room to spread out.
She had us do endpages and a group on vignettes for the interior as well. I've been teaching students how to duotone their linework for years, but I haven't had the chance to use it in our collaborative work. This seemed like the right time to bring it in. I think I went a little over the top in my first mock up. The layered textures and the colors don't really sit with the cover, and I was glad to see they toned it down for the printing.
Gina and I are going to be presenting portfolios at Surtex this year. This is a new move for us, but something we've thought about for some time. Thanks to the support of our rep, Frank Sturges, we're finally giving it a go. He'll be there presenting books for several of the artists in our group. What's more, we'll be joined by Chrystal and the wonderful artists over at Magnet Reps.
Our two groups have been working together to put out the Artalog booklet for a few years. This will be an extension of that collaboration, and I've really been enjoying the company.
