“Poems From Earth”
Creating the cover and package for “Poems From Earth” inspired my own artistic soul searching process. Researching through a book on historical symbology, an image came to mind and through a many revisions the final collage came into focus.
Using beautiful imagery from Alyssa Armstrong, we found a source image and then worked to paint out the distracting details (a car and some street signs, a few power lines, etc.) and paint-in more flowers and build more drama into the blown-out sky. The result is a bit ultra-naturalistic with light painting Mary from a different type of sun.
I’m inspired by hand-set type. I find the technical exactness and symmetry of the letterforms, juxtaposed against the human attempts at layout and alignment to display a visual harmony not found in computer-set type. To bring this look to light, the type on this cover is cut out of a piece of golden paper and set against collage’s grungy background.
Working with one’s spouse can often be thought of as a tricky enterprise. I’m lucky in that, not only is my wife incredibly talented, we also collaborate well together. Creating the cover and package for “Poems From Earth” has been one of my favorite recent projects.
