Graphic Artist Turned Educator
Artist Statement
I am originally a graphic artist and have worked professionally for over twenty years in various aspects of design and illustration. With works in package design, in-store displays, advertising, tradeshow exhibits, book design, and interiors, my curiosity has taken me through quite an eclectic career. What follows are some of my favorite commercial projects followed by a few personal works which I believe also show a penchant for experimentation with various ideas and mediums as well as a little bit of humor.
Complete Salon Manicure Bottle
Bottle Design
January 2009
Glass, Metal, and Rubber
Approx. 3" height
This bottle design originally created for Sally Hansen's Complete Salon line of nail polish went through many iterations. It is now their most popular bottle as variations are continually adapted to new lines each year.
Women of the World Conference
Interior Design
April 2011
Various materials and furniture
I had the opportunity to create the interior design for a luncheon sponsored by Price Waterhouse Coopers to benefit the prestigious Women of the World Conference. Guest speakers that year included Maya Angelou and Condoleezza Rice. A major challenge was that all of the pieces had to be free standing with nothing to mar the solid oak interior of the rented space.
Ringo Starr's Allstars
Bernstein's Peter Pan
CD Package Design and Illustration
April & July of 2010 respectively
Plastic and Lithography on paper
Approx. 4.75" x 5"
I created possibly hundreds of CD and record designs in the several years I spent at Koch records and these are two personal favorites. The Ringo Starr package is a postmodern combination of elements meant to evoke the many decades of his career, while the Leonard Bernstein is a long-lost opera rediscovered, and one of the earliest of the great composer/conductor's works.
Suffolk County
Transit Map
Graphic Design
and Illustration
Fall of 1998
Lithography on paper
24" x 36"
This illustration of Suffolk County's transit system and accompanying illustrations took over 200 hours to complete and includes not only railroad and bus routes but also shopping areas, emergency services, major attractions and connections to other transportation. Combined with the accompanying launch campaign "Ride Above it All... Ride the Bus" the work was awarded the BOLI [Best on Long Island] award that year for excellence in advertising.
Lacquer Shine
Nail Color
Product Launch Display Design
August 2013
Vac Form and Paper
16" x 18" x 12"
When in a marketing meeting for a new line of nail polish I mentioned that the term Nail Lacquer had a more sophisticate feel it became the concept going forward. This display sold through in its first week and sales were so brisk that rather than replace it as is typical, our vendors asked for refill product. It turned out to be one of the most successful product launches in the company's history.
Not Your Typical
Christmas Cards
Card Design and Illustration
2001 to present
Lithography on Cardstock
Dimensions vary, Approx. 5"x 8"
Since 2001 I've been creating slightly subversive Christmas cards for friends, family, and occasionally as promotional pieces for my freelance clients. These are some of my favorites.
Inner captions are shown where appropriate.
Heroes Then and Now
Sculpture
April 2015
Ladoll airdry clay, styrofoam, Shrinkydink plastic
Approx. 13" x 7" x 4"
This pop art sculpture juxtaposes the concept of a hero in old literature with that of today. It utilizes a reference to Hamlet, who was all introspection and little action, while today's hero (personified by The Tick) is all action with little introspection. Elegance and thought versus brute force and effect.
Isle of the Dead
Copy of an
Old Master
January 2015
Oil Paint on Wood Panel
30" x 16"
My first foray into oil painting began with a number of still lifes and culminated in this copy of Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901). Attracted by the interesting concept and odd aspect ratio of the piece, I found that I was quite happy with the result, though printers ink remains my pictorial medium of choice.
A Practical Pinhole Camera
Design and Photography
Fall 2007
Matte Board, Foamcore
Black Flock
Approx. 6" x 4" x 3.5"
With my first digital camera broken and little money I decided to go extremely low tech, but my research found that the available pinhole designs were either inconvenient to use and/or flimsy and prone to light leaks. This design uses regular 35mm film that can be advanced like a standard camera. Spoofing Nikon, I called it the “Nccon 007P.” Ncc for Nassau Community College where I was taking Photography in ‘07 and “P” for panoramic. It gets six panoramic negatives from a roll of 36 exposures.
PDF plans can be found here:
Practical Pinhole
Dry Goods Storage
Slab Construction
Stoneware
February 2006
Low fired Clay
Approx. 12"x 8"x 7"
I enjoy ceramics and not having a wheel tend to do a lot of hand building. This vessel is vented for storing onions and garlic and was an attempt at distorting slab construction so that the result was more organic and less boxy than typical examples I'd seen.