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This
was my first online venture and it's probably still my favorite.
Don't tell the other sites.
Here I get to exercise both sides of my
brain. You see, there are a couple of different worlds I like to
explore in my
work and most people wouldn't think they fit together very well.
On the one hand, you've got traditional
and non-traditional Celtic
Art - while on the other you've got the streamlined retro-futuristic
world of The
Future That Never Was, home to folks like Buck Rogers, Flash
Gordon, and, well, my own characters.
Anyway people tell me it does sort of all
fit together, but then again, they may be humoring me. Mainly they're
sort of backing away with their hands up at the time. Decide
for yourself!


Celtic
Art Books is the home of my very own book of Celtic knotwork designs
- "Celtic
Knotwork Borders in Repeating Sections " - in which
I use a pretty unique modular system to help you plot out your own
knotwork borders in squares, rectangles and circles using the minimum
number of border parts and, I think, minimal effort.
Each of the patterns in the book contains straight
and corner sections, along with arc sections for making circular
borders. Half of the designs also include branching borders that
you can use to subdivide a rectangular frame horizontally, vertically,
or both. It's just as neat as I could make it.
In addition, I've put together a bunch of blank
books with Celtic borders on every page and some striking full color
covers; those are available with either lined
or unlined
pages. Have
a look!


This
site is all Celtic art - but it's spun a bit differently. The Saga
Shirts t-shirts are black (and, now, in a variety of colors!),
and the flavor of the site itself is both dark and a bit playful.
"The
Tragical Tale of Saga Shirts" describes the curious circumstances
that lie behind this online store, as it might have been written
by the redheaded stepchild of H.P. Lovecraft and J. Peterman.
Many
of these designs are based on recognizable symbols, like the Biohazard
symbol, or the Chaos Star - but within, around, and in fact forming
those modern designs are intricate knotwork patterns that live within
them. Pretty neat stuff, if you ask me.


The
Retropolis Transit Authority - famous throughout the Future That
Never Was for keeping its monorails running exactly on
time - is happy to present its online shop full of stylish and colorful
apparel that's decorated with retro - futuristic designs for
Faithful Robots, Mad
Geniuses, Retro
Rocketeers, Space
Cadets, Space
Pirates, and Demented
Housewives. And they're not so mired in the future
that they've forgotten to honor the Art Deco retro past, with a
line of retouched futuristic masterpieces from the future's heyday
of the 1930s. Black and dark colored shirts a specialty!


"Organizing
Against Conformity Since 1903!"
The Non-Conformists'
Union (which, of course, hasn't ever really existed) has a rich
and complex history that spans over a century. This site is run
by Local 404, the only non-regional chapter of the organization,
and it's the home of all itinerant and international Non-Conformists.
The graphics I've done here for tee
shirts,
journals, membership
items, and coffee
mugs are all based, in one way or another, on vintage graphics.
But they're remixed with the cheerfully misguided slogans of the
NCU, like "Let's All Go on the Road Less Traveled", "Individuals
Unite!" or "Organize Against Conformity".
It's possible that I had just a little too much
fun here. There are pages of news
and local
events and the massive history
of the NCU, which is illustrated with family photographs of
my vaudevillean great-grandparents.


There
are a lot of styles of art that have influenced me over the years
- and it does change, of course, over time. But many of these can
be gathered together under the heading of vintage graphics.
At the
Retrovert, I've taken many of these older works, which have
gradually passed into the public domain, and I've used the same
digital tools I use in my own work to restore and revitalize them.
Then, with these restored versions, I've made them available as
posters, greeting cards, t shirts, and coffee mugs.
You'll see some great old art deco WPA
poster designs, souvenir art from the 1939
New York Worlds' Fair, vintage crate
label art, and a fantastic series of magazine
covers from the mid 1930s.
I've also had a bit of fun there with the
"I
Want Roosevelt Again" campaign - the art's based on actual
political campaign art for FDR but I'm trying to elect him again,
in spite of both term limits and mortality. Honest. I even issued
press
releases!


Woodworking
Gifts is the home of the "Measure Twice. Cut Once."
T-shirt, and Woodworkers' insignias for Wood Carvers, Cabinetmakers,
and other woodcrafters - this shop offers creative, original shirts,
aprons, coffee mugs, boxes & tiles that make sense to people
who work with wood.
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