From Yourself and Your Body by Sir Wilfred Grenfell, 1924.

Strange-onyms

From Wonders of the Human Body by Anthony Ravielli, 1954.

Drake recently created a Cargo portfolio. Here's a preview:

For more of his work and contact info, check out cargocollective.com/drakenagel.

Strange Days

With all of the stress that's been associated with the end of the semester for the two of us, we needed a way to inspire ourselves and to think about something other than school for a moment. So we decided to put together a zine, which includes some of Drake's illustrations and images that we've altered. We think of it as a sort of precursor and introduction to all of the work we plan to do this summer, when we don't have so much to worry about. We call it Strange Days.

Some Assembly Required, Part 2

Drake's final work for Some Assembly Required, entitled “Why Not?”

His Artist Statement:

When I was young, creativity came easily. I never second-guessed what I was drawing or doing; I just made things because I wanted to make them. There were no rules to follow, no social concepts to address,  no clients to impress—anything went. I think a lot of people lose that creative freedom as they grow up.

Now, as a graphic designer, I am taught to ask, “Why?” Why am I creating this piece? Why did I use this process instead of that one? What are its influences? What does it mean?

“Why Not?” is a tribute to my younger self, who wouldn’t know these answers, and probably wouldn’t even care to ask. For this exhibit, I went back to my roots, simply for the sake of self expression. I experimented and let myself have fun without worrying about what other people might think.  

The words used in the work come from a Neutral Milk Hotel song called “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” This song reminds me not to take life, or art, too seriously. After all, it is a strange thing—and a lucky one—to exist in the first place. When we take life for granted, we forget who we are and lose that unbounded creativity. “Why Not?” is me remembering who I am. 

Illustration by Lynne Cherry. From If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries by Judith Viorst, 1982.