Happy Holidogs

Cover illustration for The New York Times style section.

Very interesting article on African-American atheists.

Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition

Honored to have these images in the Institutional and Editorial categories. Having been a judge this year I have enormous appreciation for how tough it is to get in.

Arab Spring. Barnard Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of Communities. Harvard Law

Naming All the New Species on Earth. The New York Times

Sigmund Freud: The Sequel

Another series for the Utne Reader which examines the examined life. Thanks to Stephanie Glaros for a great topic to illustrate.

How Sigmund Got His Groove Back

Personal Growth

Mourning in America

Eradicating Anxiety One Bad Memory at a Time

How Many Species? for The New York Times science section

Degrees of Debt for Utne Reader

New series for an interesting look at the high cost of education.

Art for VendSendMend

I created this piece for a show organized by a former student of mine at MICA. It is a benefit
VendSendMend which takes place in Baltimore July 1. If you are in the neighborhood, please drop by.

Lonely Planets Guide to Planets

An interesting look at Astronomy for the International Herald Tribune.

Illustration for Radcliffe Magazine

A fascinating look at "The Landscape of Slavery." This article explores the design of
cotton plantations to function as a way to contain and watch over slaves.

Art for Dear Japan Show

This is a piece I created for a great event, Dear Japan.
170 Artists and Illustrators have donated art to benefit Japan Society's Earthquake Relief Fund. If you are in New York Saturday June 4 you should go!

Attention Problems, Except for Screens

The New York Times

Harvard Law Review illustrations

Students choose between a career in academia or politics

The triumph of cooperation over self interest

The power of the president

From My Desk

A look at my workspace and process today on
 /http://fromyourdesks.com/2011/04/22/ellen-weinstein/

Thanks to Kate Donnelly for the interview!

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

When I returned from ICON 6 last summer, I thought I needed to play a more active role in the illustration community. I have always admired those of you who take the time to teach and volunteer in different organizations. In the fall I volunteered to join the board of ICON 7. This semester, I have started teaching at MICA (many thanks to Yuko Shimizu for recommending me to Jose Villarubia). Although I am in the honeymoon phase of teaching, I can say I find teaching to be very rewarding and it is something I wish to continue. I will wait until the end of the semester to sing the praises of my students--something I am sure the experienced teachers here can appreciate. Although my schedule has been incredibly hectic, I find myself feeling more enthusiastic and engaged in my own work.

This past week has been exceptionally busy. I went from teaching my class at MICA straight to Melanie Reim's MFA class at F.I.T. to give a lecture to a
bright and energetic group of students. A few days later I went to SCAD in Savannah, Georgia to give a lecture to the Illustration department. A big thank you to Julie Lieberman and Allan Drummond for inviting me and being such gracious hosts. I had a great time seeing the city and meeting the wonderful students there. The students were very engaged and had many thoughtful questions after. Savannah is a beautiful city, rich in history and legendary for its ghost stories. In fact, it is reported to be the most haunted place in the U.S. Thanks to Julie, I got to take a Ghost Tour of the haunted sites.

But, it seems the ghost on everyone's minds these days is the Ghost of Illustration Future. The students are worried, as they should be. So are many seasoned veterans of the business like myself. The economic recession paired with the changes in publishing have created a perfect storm of anxiety.

Friday night I attended the opening of the 53rd Annual of the Society of Illustrators Advertising and Institutional Show. It marked the 20 year anniversary of the first show I was in at the Society, and although I have been in many others in between, this show was not to be missed for the positive reinforcement the Society has brought to my career for these past twenty years. On Saturday, some of my MICA students came and met me at the Society, where Shout (Allesandro Gottardo) eloquently spoke to us about his inventive  work and process. We then went to the studio of Marcos Chin who so generously shared his personal work as well as his early commercial work. My students were inspired by both illustrators, their different processes and backgrounds, as was I.

I have had my share of ups and downs in this business. I am now working my way through my third recession. If history proves correct, I'll see a few more. Yet I remain optimistic about the industry. Being surrounded by such dedicated and talented students, teachers and fellow ICON board members has helped breathe new life into what I hope is a very long career. I consider the world of illustration and the wonderful friends I have made in it to be my home. It is not a place I plan on moving from anytime soon. I ain't afraid of no ghost!

My lecture was also simulcast to the Atlanta and Hong Kong campuses of SCAD.
Note to those students: the camera adds 10 lbs.

Guest critic in Linda Warner's Portfolio class.

Some of my MICA students with Shout at the Society.

Visiting the studio of Marcos Chin.

Society of Illustrators Annual 32. 1991

Society of Illustrators 53. 2011

For the Love of Dog

I am in a group show at Mascot Studio in New York.  It is the annual Dog Show that coincides with the Westminster Dog Show. There are a lot of great artists in the exhibit including: Katherine Streeter (Announcement Image), Chris Buzelli, Mark Ulriksen, Anthony Freda, Rodney Greenblat, Anne Watkins, Cameron Woo, Ellen Weinstein, David Flaherty, Hadley Hooper, Victo Ngai, Scott Neary, Theo Jeuken, June Moss, Laura Ellis, Beth Burstein, Matt Shapoff, Amber Sena, Cassidy Iwersen, Damien Cuypers, Paul Moreno, Peter McCaffrey and more...


The opening was last night. It was packed. Afterwards some of the dogs and their illustrator/ muses went out for drinks.                

Katherine Streeter, SooJin Buzelli, Chris Buzelli

Monkey Business for Tor

One of the things I love about being an illustrator is the variety of jobs and subject matter we get to work with. When Irene Gallo sends you a story featuring a three eyed monkey it is an especially good day. This humorous, surreal story called "Making My Entrance Again With My Usual Flair" is a good read.