Flaco the Owl

I was touched by the story of Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped his long-time enclosure at Central Park Zoo in February,2023 . People were concerned that he wouldn't survive out in the concrete jungle, but Flaco proved to be a deft big-city hunter. With his knack for freedom and survival, this plucky underdog gained a lot of fans. He gained the status of a folk hero, being spotted all over the city. Sadly, after he was found dead in February 2024, rat poison and severe pigeon virus were detected in his system. This owl will be missed, but his legend will live on. As my daughters stroll through Central Park, I imagine the wisdom of an owl perched upon their shoulders, guiding them on their path. Their freedom is fueled by this high-flying spirit, who soars above crosstown traffic. Long live Flaco.

Prints of this piece are available here, in my Etsy shop.

10% of profits from each print will be donated to World Wildlife Fund.

NY Fed Museum Display

I had the pleasure of collaborating with an amazing designer, Megan Mardiney, in creating a this ambitious map installation. It’s located in the museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 33 Liberty St., Manhattan. The NY Fed helps implement US monetary policy.

This map represents the region they encompass: NY State, Puerto Rico. the Virgin Islands, as well as parts of CT and NJ. The NY Fed maintains a healthy dialogue with the people, businesses and local governments throughout this territory. They promote sound economic decision-making.

This museum educates people about the role of the Federal Reserve, as well as how our economy functions. The vignettes on this map represent various industries, landmarks and animals of the region. You can read more about my process of making this map here. Enormous thanks to Megan and Kerwin Adduru, for including me in this wonderful project.

Megan added amazing 3-D elements to make this map pop.

Please check out my portfolio to view more fun projects. Thanks for visiting!

NY Federal Reserve Map

I had the pleasure of collaborating with an amazing designer, Megan Mardiney, in creating this ambitious 8 ft by 10 ft map installation. It’s located in the museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on Liberty St. in Manhattan.

The NY Fed helps implement US monetary policy (regarding interest rates, inflation, treasury bonds, etc). This map represents the region they encompass,: NY State, Puerto Rico. the Virgin Islands, as well as parts of CT and NJ. The NY Fed maintains a healthy dialogue with the people, businesses and local governments throughout this territory. They promote sound economic decision-making.

This museum educates people about the role of the Federal Reserve, as well as how our economy works. The vignettes on this map represent various industries, landmarks and animals of the region. Enormous thanks to Megan and Kerwin Adduru for including me in this amazing project. You can visit their website here!

This design was inspired by a vintage postcard map of NY State

A closeup detail. The little town where I live is located on the upper right, just above Poughkeepsie.

Megan Mardiney and her design teams added wonderful details to this map

An example of one of the vignette illustrations on the map, a gorge in Watkins Glen, NY

An example of one of the vignette illustrations on the map, City Hall in Buffalo, NY

a montage of dry-brush drawings before I colored them.

Here is one of three layout ideas I submitted for this project.

I started this project by submitting dozens and dozens of vignette=ideas for this map.

Thank you so much for visiting. More about this project to come soon!