Graphic Design

As summer stretches its legs in the Pacific Northwest, Nikki McClure's calendar is helping me count down the months. The cut paper artist seems to be everywhere now: on bookshelves, greeting cards, and fabulous retrospectives in museums opening this fall. McClure is known for her dramatic etchings of everyday life, resistance, and celebration. As Cinders Gallery puts it, “Armed with an X-acto knife, she cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper and creates a bold language that translates the complex poetry of motherhood, nature, and activism into a simple and endearing picture.” She’s been doing it for over a decade, and despite age, fame, and maybe a little fortune, seems to be as true to her roots as before. And that's what's so inspiring: a continuous evolution of radical art-making that doesn’t sell out after life changes like having families or getting older.

Office chairs upholstered in mourning fabric, Arabic calligraphy covering white walls like black foliage, and graphic patterns with horrific details—these are just a sampling of Parastou Forouhar’s multimedia artwork.

If you've ever thought the rainbow patch could use a 21st century makeover, you weren't alone. Revel & Riot is a new company whose aim is to "promote LGBTQ rights, awareness and equality through new media, graphics, writing, and products on the internet." Their tees, posters, and buttons with sharp designs and reappropriated statements ("God Hates Bags", "Gay is Good", "Ask. Tell.") are awesome and a great way to show your politics while looking good. by Dykes to Watch Out For and Fun Home author Alison Bechdel has even given a shout-out to them!

Lovers of art and design—you'll be pleased to make the acquaintance of the blog: Birdwatching. Writes the site itself: This blog is set up to collect, share and recognize the work of female graphic design creators everywhere. Relatively new on the scene, the blog has still already managed to showcase work from South America, Continenetal Europe, The UK , Japan and North America.
More after the Jump

What do you do when the artist you love is, well, kind of a jerk? I always tell people that it's important to separate the art from the artist. I mean, if I had to like the personality of every musician, painter or designer as well as their art—I'd be in trouble (Woody Allen anyone?). So when I sat down to write this post about incredibly talented graphic design/calligrapher, Marian Bantjes, it's funny that I, myself, struggled with this very issue. (read on and take the poll on this at the end of the blog!)