Trump Dump

You may, like many people, understandably have Trump story fatigue. If so I apologize, but here are a few recent pieces concerning Trump, his State of the Union, his border wall, and... actually the third doesn't really concern Trump per se, but is definitely affected by his policies, as well as previous presidents' policies. This first was a piece for The New Yorker on the State of the Union:

 It's a collage that refers to both party's views on the condition of the country. For Republicans, it's the "American Carnage" they see as a result of the Obama years. For Democrats, the apocalypse happening in real time due to Trump's presidency. Read the piece here.

Next is an Op-Ed by novelist Luis Alberto Urrea, for the New York Times Sunday Review several weeks back, on Trump's glorious border wall. Urrea makes clear that this project is little more than one giant grift that will suck millions of dollars of taxpayer money and provide little in return (due to the fact that the number of immigrants caught crossing the border illegally is already the lowest it's been in decades). Read that one here.

Here's a view of the page:

And most recently, another Op-Ed for The New York Times from last week, on the fact that immigrants being detained and awaiting deportation are being treated like slaves, forced to perform unpaid labor at the for-profit detention sites where they're held. Fortunately, these practices are being met with lawsuits, and the for-profit prisons have been losing. Read the Op-Ed here.

Thank you to all my ADs on these! Hope to get back to posting in a more timely manner. Stay tuned.

In the joint for a joint

When I was in art school, during my senior year, I would always use articles from Mother Jones magazine for my editorial illustration assignments. From essays on the Crips/Bloods truce in L.A. to Zimbabwean migrants, to child exploitation in Cambodia, I always found great reporting on hard-hitting topics in this publication. Exactly the kind of assignments I was hoping to get once I graduated. I'd been looking forward to a chance to work with Mother Jones since then, and a few weeks ago it finally happened.

 I got the email from Ivy Simones, the AD, while in a pet store looking for a replacement fish, after our daughter's beta, Fang, had passed. The story was on people serving life sentences for marijuana, despite the fact that states around the U.S. are decriminalizing and legalizing it (being in CO, I could even drive over to a nearby shop and buy fresh buds, canabis-candies, wax, and even fruit drinks, all legally, and in quantities far exceeding what many people are serving decades in prison for). I was supremely excited to get the assignment.

At first, one of my sketches using joints in a baggy to begin a lengthy procession of tally marks, signifying years spent in a cell, was chosen for the final illustration. However, it was decided that my sketch with a pot leaf cobweb (or "cobweed," as Ivy termed it) would work even better.

 The final:

Thank you so much to Ivy, a very talented AD I've worked with since soon after graduating, when she was at Miami New Times, and continued to have the pleasure of working with through her subsequent posts at the Village Voice, and New York Observer. Go pick up a copy and check out all the great stories. Coming soon: a multi-page project for USC Dornsife Magazine.