MollyZ Art+Design

Chicago Metra Mural Finished!

This past fall, I completed a 100 foot mural for Chicago's Metra Train System and the Rogers Park neighborhood. The mural is on the Morse Avenue Underpass for the Union Pacific North Metra Line just west of Clark Street in Rogers Park. Check out the photos below of the process and the finish. Anne Vandevender assisted on the mural as a pattern painter, along with many of my clever friends and friendly folks from the neighborhood. The finished mural displays lots of rich textures and designs from different artist's hands creating an almost mosaic like feel to the giant wall. We are all really proud of the final piece and honored to be a part of a community who loves and supports the arts.

Chicago Mural Competition

If you live in the 49th Ward in Chicago, come vote for my artwork at the Glenwood Arts Festival this weekend. (August 21+22) My mural "Birds, Bugs, Butterflies and Beauty" was chosen as a finalist to adorn a Rogers Park CTA Underpass. There's 24 artist finalists and the community is voting for the final 12 this weekend at the No Exit Cafe on Glenwood Ave.

ArtShine Interview

Exciting news! Check out my latest interview from way down under...The ArtShine Blog for creative professionals in Australia is featuring my work and journey as an artist. http://ping.fm/1sr0z

Ice Cream and Illustration

Ok, so one of my very first big illustration projects was back in 2000 for an ice cream company called Philly Swirl and the photo taken below was from a few weeks ago. Often times it seems like illustration can be a bit "seasonal" in the world of branding, but these characters have withstood the test of time and helped give the Philly Swirl brand a solid fun look. Over the years, the company has used my 6 action illustrations on all types of packaging, games, and promotions. Some really cute kids I know spotted my art and snapped this adorable fun summer photo...reminding me of my early days and the power of an image on a package. I'm also posting a few of the originals, still some of my favorite creations...

New Icons

I've been working on some new art...focusing on bold icons and hand-drawn textures. I'm working with india ink and those really old metal ink nibs. It's not too far from my really smooth digital look, but it's a bit less controlled, which feels nice. I'm starting with a few whimsical sea life images. Ever since I worked on the Shedd Aquarium project, I seem drawn to the shapes and designs of the underwater world. Nature, animals, plantlife, all of these things inspire me so much and I love getting to the essence of image. Let me know what you think, I'm going to be posting a bit more regularly and would love feedback! enjoy.

MollyZ. Art+Design voted best website

WDS voted my website as one of the best designs for illustration! Check it out at this link. http://ping.fm/3DpNY

Mural Design in Cincinnati

I had the honor of designing a mural and working with a great group of students from Springer School in Cincinnati, Ohio. I developed the imagery around the theme of the environment and the students filled in my icons with their own designs. The 45 foot wall really looks dynamic and everyone was really happy with the playfulness of the art and the special touch each student brought to the overall design.

Shedd Aquarium Exhibit Book

I'm really excited to finally be able to post the work I did for the Shedd Aquarium in a book format. The exhibit book was actually designed by Subzero Design and the photographed by SR Studio. We worked on it all summer and finally have a fantastic book to show for it! We got the books printed at www.paperchase.net and I found this amazing site called www.issuu.com that has a seamless way of turning a pdf into beautiful digital pages. I love finding great new sources of creativity!

The Shedd Aquarium: Chicago

I just finished a huge project for the Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago. If you’re in town, check out the Polar Play Zone at the new Oceanarium. I created tons of underwater characters for activity signage, interactive play exhibits, a 70 foot mural and lots of branding elements used throughout the space...over 60 illustrations were created to bring this exhibit to life. The aquarium is so full of amazing creatures and characters. It was great to be part of a team that helps create an environment where kids can explore and learn!

More Shedd Aquarium

Utopia Paper Gift Wrap

I worked with Utopia Paper of Appleton Coated Papers and Lake County Press on a really lovely promotional package. I developed a set of colorful patterns which we used on gift wrap and gift tags to promote our specialties to our clients collectively. Lake County Press worked their printing magic on Utopia's dreamy paper.

Art with Heart

Art with Heart is a non-profit that creates artful activity books for children who are sick. I was honored to do the cover art for a book geared towards the siblings of young patients…so fun and meaningful! More info and art books at http://www.artwithheart.org

Crumble. Crackle. Burn.

This was my illustration for ”crumble. crackle. burn,” a book project by Von Glitschke. It's filled with illustrations that combine textures with illustration. I've seen this book all over the place...borders, art stores, museum shops, etc. it was a great opportunity to be in the book with so many other talented folks.