Our Bodies, Our Bikes

Just got my copy of the brand new Our Bodies, Our Bikes book. I am sometimes nervous to see my work in print, how will it turn out in the final form? But this book is quite simply gorgeous.

 Snapshot of my first draft of the cover art above with finished books alongside. The color and paper choice of the cover are so satisfyingly lovely. (It's the little things, like how it feels in our hands, that can really make a book special, you know?) And the graphic design inside is super great too: lush, sophisticated, yet very reader-friendly layout and color pallette. Bravo.

Super proud to be a part of this collaboration. Learn more at the Microcosm Publishing site!

Our Bodies, Our Bikes: Part One

Ms. Elly Blue, femininst bicycle zinester and awesome small-press publisher, invited me to create the cover for her upcoming book, Our Bodies, Our Bikes. (Just a few days left to fund the project!)

We agreed that it would be inspired by the awesome tricks that bike dance groups like the Sprockettes and the Derailleurs perform.

Having a team of people engaged in the same pose was a great opportunity to allude to diversity of experiences in the book.

Not to mention the themes of interdependence and the importance of supporting each other.

Progress! But wait, is this looking to static? Too well-balanced? Do we need more dramatic tension?

I suggested a twist of Nude Descending a Staircase. Elly suggested a dose of Laocoön. Oh hey, says I, there's this neat French statue of Hercules wrestling a giant snake at the Portland Art Museum right now. Field trip!

Sketched while the baby was awake...

...and then sketched when the baby finally fell asleep.

With that inspiration, the bicycle acrobats are revisited.

Feather boa stands in for the snake, of course. Better! A future post will have the color version--stay tuned.