Print Based Originals (PBOs) and Hand Painted Multiples (HPMs) were created by combining print elements. All of the images were created from my drawings and paintings (never another artist’s work). Hand printed by me and Arna Miller using screen print, traffic cone relief, woodblock, linocut, gel transfer and intaglio.

Every Wednesday for 75 weeks, I created an original drawing with a birdpot creature that was relevant to the news of the day in some way. Interacting with the news locally and globally to create very current art was thoroughly enjoyable and it was well-received.

The Emergency Fund Project is a collaboration with Art Responders as a component of ANTIVIRAL: Countdown to Restorative Justice, a six-day series of art and education interventions staged in the Bay Area in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles uprisings of 1992.

As part of this six-day series in the Bay Area, Art Responders exhibited all three posters alongside the original sections of traffic cone from which they were carved and printed (see process video above).

The inevitability of police killings of unarmed civilians is an on going American tragedy that must be addressed. This partnership with Art Responders aims to keep stolen lives in the public eye, and enables art lovers to show their support for criminal justice reform and a future without fear of law enforcement.

Art Responders is a Bay Area-based nonprofit that designs transformative grassroots arts programs with a social justice focus. Founded in 2013 by artist-educator D.E. Stenvoll-Wells, Art Responders’ public art events aim to document injustice, heal targeted communities and incite action. They also provide a comprehensive array of educational resources and workshops designed to resist systemic oppression through a marriage of arts, activism and advocacy.

The majority of text in these posters was lifted from Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper and Vince Staples, three of the most brilliant musicians working today. The inspiration for the style of the images came from the 19th century Mexican printmaker, José Guadalupe Posada, one of my favorite relief artists.

The images were originally carved from the interior of ordinary traffic cones and printed on an antique printing press.

These pieces are constructed from disassembled antique typewriters. Some have stapler components and scrap metal. Everything is held together with welds, bolts and rivots. The ammunition is composed of Speedball pen nibs and used bullet cartridges of various sizes. The pen tip is held in place with a piece of a standard number 2 pencil. Each cartridge is laser etched with the saw and hatchet symbol.

These matchboxes are a collaboration with Arna Miller. Each box is printed by hand using the woodblock printing process. Watch the video below to learn more about how they’re made. Matchboxes may be purchased in my online store.