During the late '80s and '90s and into the early 2000s, I was associated with many Neo-Pagans in the Metro DC area. They held a convention in the summertime called "Sacred Space," which had evolved from earlier conventions and meetings. The gathering would have workshops in various esoteric and crafting subjects, a small art show, a dealers' room, and lots of rituals. Each year for about 10 years I designed the convention T-shirt. The design would also be used for the program book. In those days, the convention had a big advertising budget, probably due to a couple of relatively rich patrons. We could print our T-shirts in opaque multi-colors on an interestingly colored shirt.
The theme for 2001 was "Discovering the Great Tree," a Neo-Pagan symbol which was popular at the time. I designed a hollow tree that was also a temple, with ascending steps and a halo of leaves around it. I hid images of forest animals in the drawing. All the leaves come from real trees: oak, birch, tulip poplar, and maple.
There are still plenty of neo-pagans, and sometimes they manage to put together another convention meeting; there's one scheduled for 2015 which merges a couple of the communities. But for various reasons, mostly my day job and my need to make more art, I don't do any Pagan activities any more.
Ink and computer-printed lettering on illustration board, 11" x 14", January 2001.
No comments:
Post a Comment