The dominant graphic element of this map is the black icon. Representing different species and various desirable food and water locations, the icons would help animals quickly determine where to go in my yard. It pained me to tip off the raccoons as to the location of my chicken coop, but I had to be the creatures' advocate in this case. For the occasional human map reader, I have included some verbage. Click on the map for a larger view.

We all use maps, but how many of us have ever drawn one? Consider setting aside four days in September to explore the art of mapmaking while being in the embrace of the peaks and lakes of the North Cascades.

 From September 6-9, 2012, I will be teaching the course The Artful Map, A One-Page Journal at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center (ELC). This will be one of three courses (participants register for just one of the three classes) offered at the annual artists' retreat held in this spectacular location on Diablo Lake, less than 3 hours from Seattle. I taught a shorter version of this course last year, and will return to teach it again with an additional day this year.

When it comes to designing maps, there are no limitations. Just about anything can be mapped, whether it be a geographic location, a voyage taken, or even a series of life events. Up among the massive, stony peaks and forests surrounding the ELC, we will have no shortage of inspirational material to work with for experiential maps that can double as journal pages.

The circular map of Diablo Lake and the ELC area shown here was one I made last year prior to the class.

Click on the map for a larger view.

Today I completed the map above that exemplifies a different approach. Ostensibly designed to help wildlife navigate my yard and find food and water there, I had a good time marking off my property with paces while making notes and sketches on site rather than relying on Google Earth, which I used to assist in rendering the geographical elements on the circular map. For artful maps, exact measurements are not needed. For more abstract approaches to making maps, traditional cartographic features may even be omitted in favor of individuality. When designing your own map, you may employ your imagination to any degree you wish.

 Below are two in-progress images of the map. I started with transferring a basic sketch to hot press watercolor paper (one of the ones we'll use in class) using a light box. Then, I inked in with a Rapidograph 00 all the features and icons, borders, paths and keys. After the ink was dry, I painted the map with watercolor, selecting colors as I went along. Incorporating both warm and cool colors, and keeping them fairly light, I tried to keep the icons strongly visible.

Pencil sketch made while pacing off the property and marking tree locations.

On hot press watercolor paper, inking of icons and outlines takes place.

Please contact me with questions you may have about the class or the venue. Visit the informative website for the North Cascades Institute by clicking here. View the work of last year's students here. Register for the class by clicking here. I'd be very happy to see you and work with you up in the mountains, at the edge of turquoise Diablo Lake as the summer draws to a close.

It's springtime, and a baby is soon to be born. Not just any baby. My first grandchild! What a fine time to host a shower, design a set of cards, and use a favorite theme of my family's: birds, eggs and chicks. The watched-egg version of the illustration on the shower invitation is followed by the hatchling rendition for the thank you card. I hand lettered each "thank you" on the cards after working out a casual printed style to complement the line drawing of the illustration. By the way: She's a Girl!

The chicks I sketched a few weeks ago have developed into young pullets now (well, two of them were boys so they went back to the farm and were replaced by Bess and Ming). The four hens-to-be have distinctly different personalities and appearances. I sketched them this morning, using as few lines as possible, selecting poses that expressed their characters. I used a pointed pen nib and India ink, then added a few strokes of digital color in PhotoShop:

The poultry profiles are thus: Bess is a Barred Plymouth Rock. She's rather formal & staid, one might say, while being at the top of the peck order. Cinnamon is a Welsummer, a master forager with a wild bird quickness and restlessness. She's the youngest and the smallest, and is at the bottom of the peck order but doesn't seem too phased by this station in her life. Vita is a Speckled Sussex, and is very industrious and equanimous, usually with her beak to the ground. Ming is a Golden-Laced Cochin who looks like a toy chicken with a perfect little face and feathered legs. She's keenly watchful, imagining shapes to be threatening prey. She is playful with the others (sounds like a report card), and gentle. To read more about my chicken-tending story, click here.

I have four lively reasons for not having posted any new artwork for awhile: two Ameraucanas, one Speckled Sussex, and one Welsummer. These are chicken breeds, for those who are not poultry-involved! I've had my chicks for a week; they are as entertaining as four downy clowns can be. This morning I brewed a cup of coffee and sat over the brooder box with a brush marker and managed to wake up enough to capture a few quick (by necessity) sketches of the babies as they pecked, preened, pestered, and collapsed for sudden naps. To see photos of the chicks, please visit my blog.

Another assignment to render animals calligraphically came to me last week. This time: horses. Not just static horses, but spirited ones. As the lettering of an organization's name was also part of this project, I used the same tools for the lettering as I did for the animals. Ultimately, after the designer's presentation to the client of logo options took place, none of the calligraphic solutions were selected for the final mark. Therefore, I can let my horses loose for you to see (the name of the organization needs to be kept confidential). Slight retouching was done after the initial drawings were made.

Top horse: sumi ink and Chinese brush

Reversed horse: Speedball B nib and sumi ink

Horse head: brush marker

Bottom horse: sumi ink and Chinese brush

My yard is attracting robins. Slim, paler ones that are busily collecting nesting materials - rotund, chesty ones that are on worm-plucking duty, and one extraordinary one that was meditating in the fig tree yesterday. Against the clarity of the blue sky, this robin was beyond plump. I looked at it from below, in awe, taking time out from my weeding. Once back in the studio, I made a small sketch. Today, using the sketch, I created the cartoon below. Welcome, robins!

A logo design assignment I contracted to do involved lettering and images for a new gift shop entitled Buffalo's. I enjoyed exploring the contours and dynamic energy of the buffalo (aka the American Bison). Here are a few of the illustrations I created for the client. Very little retouching has been done to preserve the raw, active character of the lines:

Left: eyedropper and sumi-e ink. Right, felt tip pen.

Left: eyedropper and sumi-e ink on absorbant paper.

Right: eyedropper and sumi-e ink.