I have been feeling ill so I laid off the bike ride on Friday. That freed up some time at lunch to work on a sketch I have had in my mind. I started off thinking about something to the effect of “Ride your Bike – It’s good for America”. But I soon settled on something at least a tad more subversive with a pop culture tinge to it. I finished with the drawing above. It’s a clear homage to the Woody Guthrie guitar seen in this famous picture:

I was thinking it would make a great cover for a pocket sized bike journal. To the bike riders in the crowd – what information would you like to see inside a bike journal? Obviously date and mileage spots, then maybe the rest of each page for a brief summation of the ride?

Tim suggested maybe a shirt as well, I still have screen printing equipment in the basement. I might be inclined to make a screen if there was interest. It would mostly hinge on getting a colleague to take care of the actual screen making part. I’m gonna look into that.

This was also my first sketch into this beautiful book my friend Dave brought me back from St Louis:

It came from a letterpress shop called The Firecracker Press. It’s a beaut’.

I first became interested in Woody Guthrie as a result of the Wilco/Billy Bragg collaboration called Mermaid Avenue. I suspect I am not the only one. Here are two tracks off of the album – one upbeat, one a little slower. It is Americana at its finest.

California Stars

Sad and Lonely
[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/8/28/2070901/07%20At%20My%20Window%20Sad%20And%20Lonely%202.mp3]