I make a less-than-ideal penguin

This photo was taken this morning from the parking lot of my hotel in Minot, ND.  Minot is a very small city located about 50 miles south of the Canadian border.  I flew in last night for Minot State University's NOTSTOCK.  I am here (as is fellow Chicago poster artist, Jay Ryan) to speak with students and faculty, do screen printing demonstrations, and generally have an awesome time.
Today I gave a presentation about my work to a group of students, finished an exclusive Notstock print (with help from some kind MSU students), ate bagels, laughed quite a bit, and went swimming in the hotel's excellent pool.  Tomorrow, I have decided to print a poster for my own band's show (which is October 13th at Township, Chicagoans!).  Jay's doing an awesome print of some beavers.
I am overwhelmed by the reception here.  Everyone has been incredibly hospitable, friendly, accommodating, and enthusiastic about what we're doing.  Things have been pretty non-stop since I got off the plane Wednesday night, so it feels nice to decompress in my room a little bit.  There's also a rodeo in town or something, so this hotel is populated largely by cowboys.  Weird.

"Wayfarer 515" original drawing available

I am auctioning off the original drawing for the recent "Wayfarer 515" print.  It is currently on ebay and can be seen/bid on right here.  Check it out.
All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Israel/Palestine chapter of Physicians For Human Rights.  It is a non profit, non government organization that works to promote health care, solidarity, and non-violence for people in both Israel and occupied Palestine.  More info.

End the occupation.

Flatstock Europe 8 ended with impossibly beautiful weather.  I spent the following day hanging out with other poster artists (including some very awesome newcomers from Mexico City), eating pizza, drinking wine, and seeing Boy Division deafen a tiny club on the Reeperbahn.
I was touched by the generally warm reception I felt in Hamburg.  I spoke with people who had attended or purchased work from our show at Feinkunst Kruger last year or who had bought prints from me at Flatstock in previous years.  I stayed with friends who I realized I don't get to see nearly often enough.
I'm in Istanbul, wrapping up a second long layover here.  I watched Al Jazeera all morning and had some food from a pretty fancy continental breakfast.  
Time to head home!

Bagels, pakoras, architects, tea, and chilly evenings

It's a pretty cold morning in Hamburg, and the last day of Flatstock is upon us.  It's a bit rainy, and I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping that it clears up soon.  It's harder to sell paper to other people when it's raining.
I've been staying with my friend Ralf, sleeping on the couches in the office of his gallery.  As usual, I have been finding lots of great food in this city.  There's a Loving Hut right across the street from the gallery, which for those who are unfamiliar, is an excellent place to get an entirely plant based meal.  I had some excellent spring rolls and a red curry yesterday.
I fly back to Istanbul for another extended layover on Monday, then back to Chicago.  I'll be home for about a week and then I am off to Minot, North Dakota for MSU's NOTSTOCK.  I'm really looking forward to this event, as it sounds like a lot of fun.
For those who have recently ordered prints, I ran into a bit of a schedule overload and was working tirelessly to finish some posters before getting on a plane across the Atlantic.  So, this means I will be shipping all orders out as soon as I get back to Chicago this coming week.  Also, I am going to be posting a bunch of new items in the store on my site this week, as well.

Havuç Suyu!

Greetings from Istanbul!  It's been a while since I've done a post, but I am going to make it a point to start posting more regularly.  I'm wrapping up a long layover in Turkey and am about to head to the airport to get to Hamburg for Flatstock Europe 8.  I'm also drinking some excellent tea right now.  I'll post more tonight!

Maxiumum Hooliganism

"We were looking for authentic genuineness and simplicity and we found them in our punk performances. Passion, openness and naivety are superior to hypocrisy, cunning and a contrived decency that conceals crimes. The state’s leaders stand with saintly expressions in church, but their sins are far greater than ours. We’ve put on our political punk concerts because the Russian state system is dominated by rigidity, closedness and caste. Аnd the policies pursued serve only narrow corporate interests to the extent that even the air of Russia makes us ill."

-Nadezdha Tolokonnikova, excerpt from her closing statement at the Pussy Riot trial in Moscow

Tolokonnikova is part of the Russian feminist punk band/collective, Pussy Riot. They are facing jail time for a protest performance at a cathedral in Moscow. You can read more about the case here. Read some very thoughtful, spot on, and courageous closing statements in full (and translated into English) here and here.
The world they describe (and are actively fighting against) is not exclusive to just Russia. I think the above quote can describe many facets of Western societies' selective application of morality as well.

 

Golden Hill

Hello!  I spent this past week completing a new art print (pictured to the left), and I decided to document (most of) the whole venture in a new process thread in the gigposters.com forums.  This print, along with some other new stuff, will be available this week on my website.

Aside from working on new prints, a couple of illustrations, and planning some travels for later this year; my band is finishing up recording a full length album, and I'm packing a bunch of subscription tubes today.

If anyone who has seen the print I did for Breaking Bad's "Breaking Gifs" project, I will have copies of the print for sale later this year.  For now, what I have been telling people is to just contact me and request to be added to my mailing list.  That's the best way to be in the loop when I set an official release time for the print.