Designing our new Art for Change posters, postcards and stickers was a gratifying, therapeutic experience, so I wanted to share some of the process with you. 

Getting Started

No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, I think we can all agree that election years are challenging. The constant pull of the news cycle on the heartstrings is exhausting. The campaigns do all they can to bring our deepest fears and ugliest conflicts to the forefront of every conversation and it generates a churn of anxiety that rumbles along for months underneath all the other regular anxieties of everyday life. The worst fight my kids have had over the past six months (exacerbated by some of the worst parenting I’ve done) was the night of the presidential debate. A few weeks later, someone stole two of my five yard signs in the dead of night, and now just pulling in and out of our driveway raises my cortisol.

So when the fabulous Wendy McNaughton announced she was hosting 7 Days of Creative Engagement back in September on her inspiring Substack called DrawTogether, I was ready to commit. We didn’t release new Art for Change designs last year because I was overwhelmed with planning, executing and recovering from our family’s cross-country move. So this year I was determined to channel some of the election-year fervor into something more productive than rage-scrubbing my dishes. Wendy’s project gave structure to my creative process and I’m grateful for the community she has created.

Wendy started off the week by having us think deeply about what matters most to us. Her prompts asked powerful questions like, “What do I care about?”; “Who is impacted and how?” and “What do I want to see change?” 

 There is so much in this world that needs changing, but I did what I could with the time that I had and I narrowed my focus to preserving democracy, upholding women’s safety and restoring reproductive freedom, keeping kids safe from guns, and working to mediate climate change. All in an afternoon’s work, right? HA! I decided that with the election coming up, the one thing we can all do that will have an impact on everything on my list is VOTE. So that’s how I settled on the themes for the postcards.

 Gathering Inspiration

Looking at books is often part of my process for preparing to do an illustration project and I found lots to look at for this. Wendy reminded me about the gorgeous protest art made by Sister Corita Kent and suggested we try collage as a way to generate ideas. I have not used collage often in my work - it is fun to do but I have always found the results to be too chaotic. But it felt right for this so I decided to give it a try. *Find links to these books at the end of the post.

Experimentation and Play

I got out watercolor paint and block printing ink, lots of different kinds of paper, rubber stamps, and scissors and made a big, super fun mess. We used neon pink for our last Art for Change release and I decided to stay with the same bright palette. My kids enjoyed having all the highlighters and bright markers, paint sticks and stamps around that week. We often draw at the table during breakfast or after dinner and they inspire me with their free approach to materials and subject matter.

Finding a Rhythm

I had fun experimenting but the thing that excited me the most was printing with stamps and then drawing over them. I am a printmaker through and through, and while I think it is great for my practice to bring in other media and processes, I find over and over again that the act of carving an image in relief and then printing it helps me distill my ideas and bring them to fruition in the fullest way I know how.

Taking Action

I’m proud of how the new designs turned out, and making them helped quiet the noise and focus my energy.

I hope these postcards and prints will help inspire you to take action in your own community as well, here are some ideas for that.

It isn’t too late to send letters with Vote Forward (till October 29, 2024). Vote Forward is a nonpartisan organization whose mission is “helping to increase the participation of historically underrepresented communities in the electorate.” You sign up and then print out templates and address them to specific voters whose info they give you on a list. You fill it in with a personal message about why you vote. Here’s mine:

“I vote because for ten years, I've owned a wholesale greeting card business - a dream I was able to realize because of the federal loans I received to help fund my education. During the pandemic, when the stationery and gift shops we sell our cards to all over the world shut down and our income slowed dramatically, a federal loan helped me keep all of my employees on the payroll and pay all my bills. With a two-year-old son and a baby brother on the way, it was a scary time and I vote for local, state, and national leaders who will work to ensure that young women like me are able to get educated, start businesses and survive challenging times as they grow.”

Then you address and stamp it and send it. Apparently they are more effective if you decorate the envelope - good news for me since that’s my favorite part!

 These new postcards will be great to send to elected representatives in your area, and for the next election cycle Progressive Turnout Project, Blue Wave, Postcards to Swing States, Postcards to Voters, or Postcards for America all organize postcard sending to help get out the vote. I hope the art prints will make for inspiring decor for your home or office, or optimistic, cheery gifts for the upcoming holidays. And who doesn’t love a fun sticker with a positive, can-do message, amiright??

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support of this project! You can purchase Art for Change posters, postcards, and stickers here.