An Artist's Eye on Knowlton Street

I'll be hanging my show at NVision tonight, a series of two-color relief prints inspired by the street in Northside where my studio is located. I learned so much doing this project and I'm grateful to the City of Cincinnati Individual Artists Grant program for the funding. The show will run through December 6. The opening reception is on Friday, November 6, from 6 to 10 pm. Visit http://www.nvisionshop.com/ for location and hours. (Image copyright 2009 by Julie Lonneman)

Collective Ink

The two prints in the post below, plus two others from that series, will be featured in the show "Collective Ink", opening November 1, 2009, at Massillon Museum. The exhibition will focus on contemporary women printmakers producing art as part of four printmaking cooperatives in Ohio. The show runs until January 3, 2010. For more information and directions, visit http://www.massillonmuseum.org/. If you are in the Massillon area, please drop in for the opening on Sunday, November 1, from 2 to 5 pm.

Ox-Bow

This past August I took a week-long course in alternative printmaking at Ox-Bow, a school of art and artists’ residency, founded in 1910 on the shores of Lake Michigan near Saugatuck. It is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Holly Greenburg, an extraordinary printmaker, taught the class, and I learned a lot from my fellow students as well. Here are a couple of the my prints from the class. The plates are matboard upon which textures are created, then sealed, inked and printed in a technique very much like printing an etching. (Images copyright 2009 by Julie Lonneman)

A Painful Gift

I just received my copy of "A Painful Gift", a book by Christopher Goodchild. It's the harrowing, yet ultimately hopeful autobiography of a man with Asperger's syndrome.

Darton, Longman + Todd, the London publishers, did a beautiful job, and I'm so pleased to have my illustrations a part of this project. Chris contacted me last year, out of the blue, because he had seen what is now the cover illustration in The Catholic Worker and really connected with it. He wanted to know if I would allow him to use it in the book that he was writing. I thought, "That's nice," and gave him permission, little realizing that ultimately it would turn into such a wonderful opportunity. Christopher had also seen my Way of the Cross illustrations and found great personal meaning in them. The publisher agreed that they fit his story well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a first-hand account of growing up as child with autism.

Dorothy Day

Today I completed this portrait of Dorothy Day, drawing it with a Wacom tablet in Photoshop. It's very unusual for me to create something completely digital from start to finish. In general I prefer to work manually, but using the computer seemed the best way to deal with the complexity of this illustration. (Image copyright 2009 by Julie Lonneman)

Lutheran Study Bible

Last year, Augsburg Fortress Press commissioned me to illustrate the Lutheran Study Bible. I received my copy just recently. It's beautiful! Some of my illustrations for the chapter opening pages are shown below. (All images copyright 2009 by Julie Lonneman.)

Loaves and Fishes

Here's a spread from the February issue of Sojourners magazine, featuring my illustration. I highly recommend the insightful article by Walter Brueggemann. (Copyright 2009 by Julie Lonneman)

St. Boniface

As part of their year-long heritage celebration, St. Boniface School in Northside commissioned me to create an image of their patron saint. The 16”x 20” acrylic painting depicts St. Boniface, dressed in medieval bishop’s robes, holding an open book and an oak branch. The book signifies his mission of evangelization, and the oak branch his conversion of people from paganism to Christianity. In 723, Boniface chopped down a massive oak tree dedicated to the pagan god Thor. The people converted to Christianity when they saw that Thor did not strike him down.

Though little is known about Boniface’s physical appearance, I attempted to depict a sense of his spirit. In particular, I hope his warm demeanor appeals to the grade school students who will see this image every day.

My studio is only a few blocks from St. Boniface School and Parish. I often hear their church bells while I am working and imagine myself back in Assisi. I felt honored that the school chose me to help them celebrate the 75th anniversary of their school building in this way. In the photo, kindergarten teacher Ginny Hampton shows my painting of St. Boniface to three of her students.

Woodcuts

My scratchboard illustrations are often mistaken for woodcut prints. This year I took the opportunity to learn how to do the real thing when I created the art for the March page of the Tiger Lily Press 2009 calendar. Thanks to Rick Finn, a friend from TLP, who gave me some pointers. What a difference good sharp tools and the right kind of wood made! At left is my second woodblock print, an image of St. Francis of Assisi singing the canticle he composed in praise of God's creation.

Mary's song

My interpretation of Mary's Magnificat will appear on the cover of the January 2009 issue of Celebration. (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)

Come to the water

This recently completed work illustrates an article by Walter Brueggemann, and will appear on the cover of the March 2009 issue of Celebration. The article is an exegesis of Isaiah 55, "Come to the water." The illustration is meant to express the abundance of God's life. (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)

Trinity, alternate version

A variation of the illustration in the post below. A client saw the original illustration and liked it, but wanted something more inclusive. Isn't Photoshop amazing? (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)

Trinity

Here's an illustration that I created for the Living the Word column in a recent issue of Sojourners magazine. Three men, residents of a homeless shelter, were mentioned in the column. In my illustration, light surrounding them proclaims their human dignity and echoes the Transfiguration, as understood by the author. The echoes of the icon of the Holy Trinity by Rubleyev, and to the Eucharist, add subtle layers of meaning. (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)

Cleaning Lady

Illustrating the Living the Word column each month for Sojourners magazine gives me the opportunity to imagine and depict contemporary interpretations of the biblical message. I like that. Here's one that appeared in the November issue to illustrate the Advent readings. (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)

Blind beggar

This spot illustration appeared in Sojourners magazine last summer. (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)

Campfire circle

I recently finished this scratchboard illustration for the February 2009 issue of Sojourners magazine. My work is regularly featured in their "Living the Word" column. (Copyright 2008 by Julie Lonneman)