Morris Island Lighthouse Gala Poster

Hot off the press! The posters I designed for The Morris Island Lighthouse are in!

It has been thirteen years since Save The Light began with a dream of keeping the Morris Island Lighthouse from being lost. In that time, they have raised and spent over 5 million dollars in protecting the lighthouse from erosion and strengthening and stabilizing the foundation. The annual Gala and Silent Auction is the biggest fund raising event of the year.

This year’s Gala and Silent Auction will be held on Thursday, May 5th, at the Tides Folly Beach (formerly the Holiday Inn). Since it is Cinco de Mayo there will be a Mexican theme featuring Mexican music and a margarita bar. The tickets are $50 per person and will include wine, beer, and the food from the Tides. This event has become a reunion of old friends and supporters as well as a chance to make new friends and also have the opportunity to bid on some fabulous auction items.

Please consider purchasing tickets and joining the party that evening from 6:30 till 9:30pm. We are also looking for help in securing donations for the Silent Auction. If you have friends or neighbors who love the lighthouse, please let them know about this exciting event.

Purchase tickets by calling the Save the Light office at
(843) 633-0099.

Morris Island Lighthouse

On a clear day the Morris Island Lighthouse can be seen from many vistas in the Charleston Harbor and stands as a tribute to the history of the lighthouse— the keepers and their families, the soldiers that fought on the island during two wars, and of course, the many sailors it guided into the Port of Charleston.

Efforts to preserve the Morris Island Lighthouse were launched by a local grassroots organization aptly named, Save the Light. Recently I had the opportunity to document a restoration mission at the lighthouse. Planned weeks in advance for the perfect tide, we took off on a particularly cold and windy morning. The current and four foot waves were not cooperating and the crew struggled to unload our gear and make our way by up by ladder (from a rocking boat—yes, that’s right). With my camera bag on my back, I made it up the ladder safely and was immediately amazed at the sheer size of the 158′ structure.

the climb up

Once inside, I experienced an immediate sense of time and place —an utterly eerie feeling. Responding to the blowing wind whistling around the structure and the excited pigeons rustling around up top, I had a fleeting thought to stay on solid ground. Looking up I could see the winding spiral staircase with rusting stairs to the top. Anxiety rushed through me, but I hung on to the rail and convinced myself that I could climb the 200 steps to the lantern room. As I slowly crawled to the top, I became completely unaware of the crumbling stairs under foot and started taking images of architectural details, graphic patterns, and  textures. Working with only natural light, I hand-held my camera and shot at the lowest shutter speeds possible. Before I realized it, I had completely lost track of time and had shot most of my 4G card finding my way to the top landing.

lantern room

Finally to the top! I pushed the boards up, took the last steps to the top and was caught by the sheer strength of the wind. The lantern room is roughly twelve feet in diameter and completely exposed to the elements. It is an intimate 360°  view of land and sea rising up from the ocean. Crystal clear I could see for miles— it was an amazing experience. Please go to my flickr site for the rest of the images.

Folly Beach from the Morris Island Lighthouse

Thinking with Type

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet a graphic design icon. The South Carolina Chapter of AIGA sponsored a type workshop in Columbia featuring Ellen Lupton. To put it mildly, her resume is amazing. She holds a Doctorate in Communication Design, she is an esteemed educator, a curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt the National Design Museum in New York City, an author of some of my favorite books on typography and design, a winner of the AIGA Gold Medal for lifetime achievement in design, and best of all, she clearly doesn’t take herself too seriously. I enjoyed her candid wit and enthusiasm for what she does. She says she fell in love with graphic design because for her it was a bridge between writing and visual art. Typography is a complex subject and she brings an accessibility to the subject in her book Thinking with Type (the book she highlighted throughout the lecture). The rules of typography are there for anyone to learn, but to take the rules and bend them in a brilliant fashion while still getting the initial message across—now that takes talent. Which is why I am so inspired by someone who seems to design so effortlessly.

I designed this Rebuild the House illustration to be used on all of the collateral: the bid sheets, donation forms, and it also appears on their event page on facebook.

Calling on fellow art students, instructors, local artists, and businesses, our small committee has put together a nice collection of art and donated items to be auctioned off Friday, June 11th at Rick Rhodes Photography Studio in Charleston. In addition to running a successful photography business, Rick takes on a photography intern every semester from Trident Technical College and teaches two photography classes at The Art Institute of Charleston. We were thrilled when he offered his gallery space for the show.

The event will be held from 6-9 pm with a silent auction winding down at 8:15 pm. A $5 suggested donation will be at the door and there will be wine, beer, and food. Local musician Bill Carson will play a set. Come out and support the show!

I also designed and letterpressed this postcard at Sideshow Press for the art auction. I work with them whenever they need help with printing and assembly of their unbelievable wedding invites. Quite possibly the most talented stationery and wedding invite designers on the planet, they were very generous in donating the materials I used for these gorgeous postcards. It is amazing how luxurious they look and feel!

My project is to take two song lyrics by the same musician and illustrate the music into a typographic expression without the use of pictorial elements. I chose Indie rockster Katie Herzig’s Forevermore and Sweeter Than This. Her songwriting is intimate, sweet and
playful—perfect for a typographic illustration. Using different typefaces, font sizes and color to express texture and ultimately a mood—can be a bit daunting. After seeing these ads… I think I be in the right direction… more to come.

Absolutely beautiful use of typography. This first ad stopped me in my tracks.  It is organic, yet I feel as though all of the pieces work separately but don’t seem to function as a whole.

I am not in the habit of drinking Irish Whiskey, but this Bushmill’s ad below makes me want to stock the bar—truly, just because of this ad. The hand-crafted quality of the old world map with the “stained” images and photographs makes me believe this is a special product—classic, memorable, and unique.

Completely different, bold and graphic on the instant noodle ad.
Love the suggestion of the words hanging from the chopsticks— very clever.

Color, type and grunge meet the Volkswagen.

I love these shots of Sharon. She has been a trooper to sit for me twice—she makes it less like work and more like play. (I mean really, who doesn’t love to play dress up!)  As a side, not only has she been a talented and (patient!) expressive model for me, but in “real life” she is an accomplished oil painter and an adjunct studio art professor at the College of Charleston. She just had an opening on April 16th at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art and if you are in the area, check out the show—it will be up until May 28th.

Easy enough, right? I love these images of Jordan and Yan. I don’t know which one I should choose for my final. The color image of jordan is so arresting, but the black and white has such a classic graceful quality to it— and then Yan with those eyes…  printing them out now on velvet fine art paper… beautiful!

Thanks to Jordan and Yan!