Seeing your work

It is always a mixed bag of emotions when you see your work in public. For me it is humbling, a little embarrassing, and exciting. I see all the mistakes and all the problems, but it is there in the public to be seen in all it's awkward glory. This was taken at the Vermont Children's Theater this last weekend.

Some one at the theater also took my logo design and made a no smoking sign. I think whoever did it did a wonderful job keeping the same look and feel.

West Side Story at Vermont Children's Theater

This was a particularly difficult poster for me. For all practical purposes as much as I love West Side Story as a musical it is not a poster I would choose to illustrate. I like to draw animals and I like to create illustrations that have a humorous side to them. I am grateful for the insight of the director, John Walker. Without his vision and ideas, I would not have been able to come up with this. I just don't think this way. In his director's statement he said “…these bad choices and this unleashed hatred kills even the most beautiful and pure thing, authentic love. Like a rose trying to grow out of a dirty sidewalk only to be crushed under trash and the tread of tires or shoes.”

I found the idea of the rose growing in the grime and darkness of the inner city depicted in the musical captivating. I ran with it. In the end I am glad I had the opportunity to stretch myself.