#101: Stick a label on it
Hello pioneers,
The week ends. The week begins. The week lands comfortably in the fuzzy middle between those two points. And then you land here. Just in time for some cartoons.
This week we get an unreliable route, and watch a label give us some unpleasant news.
Getting through it,
Chris
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Caption: N/A
Would you take this path?
Because, sooner or later you have to ask if the map has your best intentions in mind. Like, if it really wants you to get to your destination and, if it does, what destinations would it be commercially prudent to take you to along the way.
Make your own path.
A little artist’s note: If there are two things I know in this world, it’s that 1) we rely more than ever on maps made by companies that supply those maps for free and, 2) that those people who supply those maps will put their shareholders interests ahead of our own. If you put both of these things together, you can get a solid idea of what I had in mind with this cartoon. Is this the best path, or is this the path that would be the most commercially beneficial to the company who made the map?
Visually, there isn’t much to this, but it was damn fun to draw the shops behind the map. I think this one originally had a caption, it’s buried in my notes somewhere, but I think I realised that it just didn’t need it. That it worked just as well with just the visual.
Or, maybe it doesn’t work at all. Cue creative insecurities.
But, moving beyond that, since inception, this one has had a few small changes, particularly around emphasising the commericalisation/sponsorship angle. In the past it was a suggested route, but ‘suggested’ didn’t feel quite explicit enough.
Caption: “It says here you’re mostly microplastics.”
What are you made of?
Because, microplastics are like that prolific artist that just keeps cranking out the work. Wherever you look, there they are. And I for one embrace our new microplastic overlords.
Is this you?
A little artist’s note: Simple is sometimes better. This one came to me when I was looking at the handwash label on a woolen jumper/sweater and realised that the makeup wasn’t exactly wool, but more a combination of things, a few of which I only vaguely recognised. And when I came to do this cartoon, there was really only one possible thing that could be used in the gag. The thing that is on and in everyone’s mind: the microplastic.
Beyond this, I really wanted to do a cartoon with a label on something other than a cardigan, and a sheep felt like the best option because, after all, they are mostly cardigan, really. This is also my first attempt at drawing a couple of sheep which, it turns out, really have fun faces to play with. Fun, long, expressive. They’ve got it all.
Including microplastics.
Caption: “Oh, this sign has been in family for generations.”
Last week marked my proud debut in Alta Journal, a celebrated magazine on the West Coast of the US.
It’s one of those sad facts of life that women are often paid far less than men. And that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
This cartoon is a protest toward that change.
A little artist’s note: As you would guess, it’s a real thrill to have this cartoon in print. And while I haven’t actually seen the page in print yet, I did get sent a photo of the magazine’s back cover with the cartoon appearing alongside many excellent cartoonists.
Thanks for reading The Mid-Week Squiggle.
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