Tag: screen printing

Categories
Chicago Design

‘Be a Light’ Video and Screen Prints

Be a light. Jess Godwin X JC Brooks

A few months ago, I was in the shower listening to the news, and I heard something about the Biden campaign talking about being “a light in the darkness.”

I was immediately reminded of the song ‘Be a Light’ by my good friend Jess Godwin.

This song has always stuck out to me as one of Jess’s most powerful songs, and it was the one that wound up being licensed and featured on the TV show ‘Dance Moms,’ which garnered Jess a lot of attention and a new audience. I threw it on and listened to it right then.

The lyrics struck me hard. Themes of conflict and division, hate, and frustration. It was originally released in 2012, but it felt like it was speaking about today. I could instantly see a montage of protests in the streets fitting perfectly to the song. So I gave Jess a call and—just weeks before her wedding—pitched her on the idea of revisiting the track as part of a ‘Get out the vote’ effort and letting me do a screen print and video to accompany it.

Knowing her time was limited, she was reluctant but got excited about the idea. We talked about changing the track somehow and making it exclusively available on Bandcamp as a ‘Name your price’ with all the money going to ‘My Block, My Hood, My City’ a Chicago based charity that seeks to provide underprivileged youth with an awareness of the world and opportunities beyond their neighborhood. She was on board and reached out to her friend, the amazing JC Brooks to join her.

And well, here we are. Jess worked with Yuri Lysoivanov to rework the track, and it turned out incredible. With less than a week to the election, the video came a little later than I would have liked, but I’m immensely proud of it, and it was a delight to work with Jess and JC to create something so personal to each of us.

I sincerely hope you’ll take a look. It is an emotional rollercoaster ride but a true labor of love. I don’t fancy myself to be a director/editor. Still, I do enjoy getting to express myself in video from time to time, and the feedback among those who have watched it has been overwhelmingly positive.

Purchase the song

Purchase the screenprint

Watch the video

Categories
Chicago Design Pop culture

‘Baseball’s Dad’ & Infrequent Somethings

A row of screen printed images depicting the cover to 'Baseball's Dad'

Hey Friends,

After the success of the calendar and the poster, I’ve started a mailing list for you to get updates about my creative projects. I sent out the first email a little earlier to everyone who signed up for the previous two items, and I announced a third, which is now on sale. You can read about it below.

If you’re interested in signing up to receive the email, I’ve embedded a form to the bottom of this post. I promise only to message you when I’ve got something to say, and I promise never to share your info with anyone without your explicit consent. Cheers!

So, yesterday was, of course, ‘Opening Day’ of the baseball season, and it was also the launch day of an exciting project I worked on with my friends Erin Watson and NickD. Erin describes it here to her poetry mailing list:

It’s not exactly a poem, but I’m delighted to present a new zine I created with the design help of my loving partner, my friend John Morrison, and my very dumbassed private Twitter account. It is an extended meditation on the dad zeitgeist and baseball as storytelling through the persona of Baseball’s Dad, an ur-father-figure loosely based on Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon.
The one poetic aspect of Baseball’s Dad as a project, aside from the repetition of the structure, was choosing exactly what detail would be the most dadlike for each scenario. What song would Baseball’s Dad play to accompany his snifter of good scotch when his handsome baseball sons clinched their spot in the World Series? “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince, of course. What cereal would Baseball’s Dad eat straight out of the box in his underwear one late night? Certainly Golden Grahams. It could be no other.
And because I care more about people than baseball franchises, I’m donating half the proceeds from the zine to two Chicago-based organizations that are making the world a little safer for some of the people whose lives are most threatened in our current political hellhole. Check out the great work that Brave Space Alliance and CAIR Chicago are doing.
You can buy your copy of the Baseball’s Dad zine right here, or save on shipping and pick it up at Uncharted Books or Quimby’s if you’re local. Or you can wait six weeks and get it at the Left The Prairie table at one of our most wonderful annual events for people who care about independent literature and art, Chicago Zine Fest. (Say hi to me at the Chicago Books to Women in Prison table if you go.)
Happy opening day of baseball to Baseball’s Dad and to you. Enjoy the springtime; reply with any and everything that’s on your mind.

I designed the cover and hand screen printed each of them myself, so each one is unique. If you’re interested, you should pick one up through Erin’s store. I’m very proud of it, and it supports some great causes.

That’s all for now, friend. Go forth and be awesome.
– John

Categories
Chicago Design Pop culture

‘Be Alert For Fascist Regimes!’ limited edition poster

An image of a screen print being printed.

This morning I printed up a small number of proofing posters parodying the iconic Wrigley Field ‘Be Alert for Foul Balls!’ signs and will be giving some out for free to on a first come, first serve basis.

If you like the Cubs but you’re not a fan of divisive rhetoric and authoritarian politics I’d be happy to send you one.

Interested? Fill out the form at the link below and I’ll be in touch.

https://subism.activehosted.com/f/2

Cheers!