circle of strife

just finished an illustration for what i understand to be the best of for a better world, the annual publication of cincinnati poets and artists on peace and justice. amazingly, it is in its 13th year. i am no stranger to this book, having done it 5 other times, including a cover in 2005 in its infancy (see below). as it goes, a visual artist is paired with a poet who has provided either one or a few poems. often, said poems address war, poverty, homelessness, human rights and the like, and by now there's a pretty impressive database of cincinnati artists. i'm hoping this archive can soon be cross-referenced by individual names...mostly because i want to navigate them easier and be blown away by the list of talent.

​ traditionally, the book has been in black and white, however "the best of" is in color so i took the opportunity to punch it up (bottom right). really, each year gets better. the examples below, and the poets they are collaborating with, can also be found on the illustration page of this site. sorry, earlier photos aren't the greatest.

my illustration this time combines 2 poems by jeffrey hillard, pertaining to the war in iraq and the notion of a soldier being saved by a book in his breast pocket. i became transfixed with that that idea on top of all of the gear most soldiers are outfitted with.

$HIT$HOW, 6" x 4", mixed media, 2016

so, with that in mind.....

the state of affairs, the direction of the world....urgh....i have mostly stayed out of the fray regarding our recent....election. partially because i am completely unamused with reality tv and partly because there is no shortage of opinion regarding the matter. STILL......i may or may not have a small contribution somewhere in early 2017. let's just leave it at that until the stench blows over. see ya next time!
​
sayonara 2016, you horrible beast.

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