The illustrations in the collection are from greeting cards I designed and published from 1987 until 1999. The seed of the project sprouted in 1985, when I joined a group of printmakers in the Washington, D.C area. To promote one of our open studios, each of us agreed to design a card. My design brought enthusiastic feedback, especially from the African-American community, because at that time most stores didn’t carry cards that featured Black people. I then launched my greeting card company, Just Art Inc.
I started with four images reproduced by a quick-print company; a decade later, Just Art’s inventory included more than 50 images on greeting cards, note cards and bookmarks. I was especially proud of the line of Kwanzaa cards that my son Jon and I created together. I designed the images, and he wrote the verses. Overall, Just Art Inc. was a thriving enterprise, but I eventually longed to spend less time on the business and more on the art.
These illustrations are all from original artwork in watercolor, linocut, colored pencil, and collage.
