New Art Packs On the Way

We're continuing our tradition of commissioning artwork for the covers of our unique seed packs. Last March close to 300 creative artists applied to be Pack Artists. It's taken 8 months to choose the artists, give them time to create their pieces, and turn their works into seed packs. Next week the final designs are off to the printers. All 24 new packs will first be available in our Holiday Gift Catalog. The big reveal will happen on November 9th at the gallery opening featuring the original art and new packs. In the meantime, we'll be posting sneak peeks of each new pack and introducing the new artists all month.

Sneak Peek #1: A Legacy Pack

Our Dino Kale pack features a portrait of our old dog Kale eating his favorite snack... kale. We've kept the canine-brassica connection going. Our new pup's name is Rutabaga (Can you guess what the seeds are inside this pack?). Although she's still young, we think she's already earned her own pack.

Eric at work in his studio.

The artist we chose to take on her pack is Eric Losh. Eric's love of and respect for animals of all kinds shines through his vibrant illustrations. Whether finned, feathered, or furred, Eric brings the characters in his art to life. He's used his creative talent to do more than just illustrate animals, he helps them. He's worked with the Cerro Danta Wildlife Refuge in Heredia, Costa Rica and has a new book in the works about endangered primates.

Illustration from Chorus of the Kibale Forest

He has a BFA in Graphic Design from West Virginia University and an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His work ranges from illustrations for children’s books and album covers to graphic design for packaging, posters, and logos. He is most inspired by wildlife conservation, the outdoors and music. He lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where he plays the banjo and has a pet frog named Marvin.

Enjoy this peek at our Rutabaga pack. We'll reveal the variety, and the full color artwork, in our November seed catalog!

"I always take the opportunity to feature wildlife or environmental themes into my artwork," says Eric. "Whether it's for personal or commercial purposes, there's always something about nature that attracts people. In the right context, artwork with these themes can be used to inspire and educate children and adults about the importance the environment where they live. For this Pack Art, I chose to depict Rutabaga within it's place of origin—an autumnal Vermont farm, complete with wildlife species symbolic to the state along with "Rutabaga", the Seed Library's canine mascot."

Rutabaga smelling the Gift Zinnias

We're excited that Eric has now extended the caring way he uses art to help endangered animals to helping raise awareness and celebrate rare seeds that can go extinct in a heart beat. We're also amazed at the way he captured both Rutabagas in paint. You can check out his work on his website and on Facebook. We'll post the full pack online in November when our annual seed catalog comes out. If you'd like to get a reminder when the catalog goes live, sign up on our email list.

More sneak peeks on the way!