Things are sure moving fast on the Pandemic front! Is it getting better? Worse? Both at once? These new pages of My Pandemic Diary! try to sort it all out. This sketchbook installment includes pandas, Greek gods, the return of the peasants, a Schoolhouse Rock parody, vaccine updates, and the continuing saga of Christine’s broken wrist.
Swizzle Studio kept busy through 2020, despite it being an unusual year. Here are some of my favourite projects, both commercial and personal.
Murals
Alley Cats, Gerrard St E and Rhodes AveChickadee-Dee-Dee! Keele St and Dundas St. W.
I got the opportunity to paint my critters BIG this year. I did the giant cats with my friend Andrew Horne, and the bird on the side of Williams Design’s often tagged storefront.
Duck Story
A page from the children’s book
My friend Andreas and I worked on a book over the winter, with him sending me pages of a children’s story he had written, one page at a time. These installments arrived hand-written on creamy notecards; I would add an illustration to the bottom. We are about six pages from the ending. Something to finish in 2021!
Pizza School NYC goes online
Screenshot of Pizza School NYC’s Vimeo page
My longtime clients Pizza School NYC had to pivot quickly when the pandemic shuttered their cooking school. I worked on the technical and visual side of their new online school. In addition to getting the Vimeo page looking great, I designed labels for pizza mailing kits, and designed a zine to go with those kits. Pizza School is doing great these days, and it was rewarding to be part of this big effort.
Pizza School NYC’s pizza kit with zine.Pizza Ghost, detail from Halloween Maze
Logos
I always enjoy type and logo work. Here are a few I did this year.
Tailfeather Shaker for a series of Zoom dance partiesVintage sellers Williams Design came across this eponymous logo stamped on an 80 year old case of shotgun shells. I cleaned up the artwork for them. Great design never gets old!Logo design for UXG website.
Stickers
I discovered Sticker Mule, an online printing company with some really great products. After signing up to their mailing list, I have been having fun with their promotional specials.
Colouring Pages
Birds Are On The Wing colouring page, Spring 2020
During the spring lockdown, several artists made activity pages that went out the Flying Pony Cafe’s weekly home deliveries. They were much enjoyed by the children of the households who received them. I did several colouring pages.