Art Fundraiser Promotional Material

The Sweetest Little Thing (SLT) is an annual fundraiser held jointly by the Owens Art Gallery and the Struts Artist-Run Centre. To do my part, I created the SLT poster as well as the 2010 stamp for their ongoing Rubber Stamp Project. This stamp was used on the envelope to call for SLT submissions and related promotions.

The rubber stamp:


Here's what it looks like when it goes through the stamping process:


Creative Rationale for the Stamp
Each year, a member of Struts is asked to create a new stamp. The resulting graphic is a reflection of the Artist's approach to art as well as their response to the theme Sweetest Little Thing.

Personally, I'm a bit of a science fiction movie junkie (thus the 2010 movie reference), I'm a Graphic Designer (thus the adaptation of the movie's poster) and I love a play on words (thus the planet's crescent turns into a croissant, which is the French word for crescent). I think this stamp wraps me up well.

In terms of relating the image to the theme: babies are sweet little things; croissants are sweet little things; the event itself focuses on dessert-type foods; and, the auction takes place on Valentine's Day -- it doesn't get more romantic than French language and food.

Here I've re-used the stamp for the SLT poster:


Creative Rationale for the Poster
As the stamp graphic was meant to be seen only after it had gone through the process of being stamped, people would see a "grunge" version of that graphic. I decided to take the poster in the same direction. All the elements of the poster look like they've been stamped onto it. Some are rough-edged, some are misaligned — all properties of a hand-made stamp project. Adding a red background recalls Valentine's Day.

Animated .gif
Here, I've adapted it to an animated .gif for promotional use on other web sites:


Background on The Sweetest Little Thing
The Sweetest Little Thing is the most important annual fundraising event for The Owens Art Gallery and Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts Centre. Presented in partnership on Valentine’s Day, the Sweetest Little Thing combines a contemporary art auction with a cake walk and dance. The event has become a seasonal highlight for the community, featuring artists, friends and supporters from across the country and beyond. The funds raised go directly to the ongoing programming of the galleries.

Background on The Rubber Stamp Project
The goal - to stamp all outgoing mailings with an artistic image that will intrigue postal workers. The image must fit on a standard #10 envelope and must lend itself well to the mechanics of the stamping process. The image is often related to Valentine's Day since the stamp is launched annually on the mailout containing the call for submissions to The Sweetest Little Thing — a yearly art auction held on February 14th.