Sixth graders attending St. Paul’s Episcopal School in the spring of 2010 created the quirky drawings and typography featured in these t-shirt designs. The students, all of whom were familiar with Lake Merritt through their weekly volunteer clean-up efforts, participated in workshops held at Lakeside Park and in the classroom. They were led through several life drawing exercises using a variety of mediums, and received hands-on experience making screen prints.
The drawings are variously precise, gestural, scratchy and fluid, but they all have an immediacy to them that bespeaks kid energy and kid logic. The Save Me design features a drawing of a turtle by Andy Miller with the words “save me” scrawled at the top. The image references the unintentional, but inhumane act of releasing pet turtles (usually freshwater species) into Lake Merritt (a saltwater environment). Freshwater turtles can only survive a few days in saltwater. Please don’t release your pet turtles into Lake Merritt.
Printed by Idiot Or Genius? on Anvil 100% cotton shirts. Please visit anvilknitwear.com to view styles, size charts, and colors.