Some shiny stones sitting around a fire, a community of celebratory frogs, a group of funny dandelions harvesting fruits... You've seen these beautiful layered artworks on the registration pages for each of the events and in different places of the Practising Transition website.
Why are they there? Who crafted these?
Today we're honouring and sharing our gratitude with Michelle Tylicki, the artist behind these artworks.
As probably you'll have noticed, each of the illustrations crafted by Michelle is connected to a specific Transition Characteristic. Check this out to see the complete characteristics list with all the images and the practices and webinars associated to them:
Philipp Grunewald
And now, enjoy the generous sharings from Michelle:
Q&A's with Michelle Tylicki
Would you like to introduce yourself?
I’m a visual artist and activist exploring the intersections of environmental stewardship, human and animal rights, with emphasis on community resilience, social justice, and interconnectedness with nature.
In addition to making art that responds to today’s most critical issues, I engage in grassroots movements, collaborating with diverse communities to amplify marginalized voices. In recent years I’ve lived part time in the city and part time off-grid, caring for a small syntropic forest I’ve planted with friends. In my free time I enjoy surfing, video games and vegan food.
Is there anything you’d like to share or highlight about your life trajectory or background?
Born in NYC of immigrant Polish parents, I’ve always identified as a hybrid, an immigrant -in transition. My family has always been in motion. This has set me on a trajectory of eventually discovering the Transition Movement. I remember the first time I came across a Transition Town was in 2012 when I first visited Transition Heathrow. This was a land squat in London protesting against the expansion of Heathrow Airport. A beautiful place, off-grid living, gardens open to the local community, I remember riding the bicycle-powered soundsystem and hand-painting banners saying “runnerbeans not runways”. The people living there taught me about permaculture and also about resistance and resilience. It felt like home. The place was evicted after ten years of the good fight but the project lives on in other forms.
How did you integrate the characteristics of Transition practices into your artwork?
In my illustrations, I gave the featured human figures different animal/ plant/ fungal/ crystal heads as the reverse of anthropomorphism: zoomorphism. Reminding us we come from nature and we are nature.
This way I hoped to show that by embodying a kind of nature systems biomimicry we can find deep answers to civilization's problems.
I’ve illustrated how we can arrive at some meaningful small and large scale solutions through the Transition Movement’s ten characteristics.
Were there any specific artists, styles, or cultural elements that influenced your work on this project?
This was a personal process of transition for me, actually. The aesthetic of paper-cut out was something I was experimenting with, having grieved the death of one of my best friends, who was actually a master of paper cut-outs, and talented artist, Emilia Bartkowska. I only accepted the reality of her death this year, whilst making this series. Her character designs and universes were unique and I studied them in an attempt to learn something post mortum. It was a way for her to live on through me.
Could you walk us through your creative process from the initial concept to the final illustrations?
I love working in collaboration with others. This adventure was guided by Philipp Grunewald, the former Transition Network’s Communications lead. He had seen a digital paper cut out poster I had made for the Land Workers Alliance, which he loved and wanted me to explore the ten characteristics. Together we decided on content and compositions.
How did you choose the colour palette and visual elements?
In general, I hardly limit myself to simple colour palettes. It was great to have 10 different artworks to explore all of the rainbow.
What challenges did you encounter during the creation of these illustrations, and how did you overcome them?
The artworks are very complex and intricate and this required months of hard graft. Being ADHD I’m either distracted or hyper-focused. I’d sit there and work for 10 hours straight and suddenly realise I haven’t eaten and have a major neck ache! The excitement of an idea coming to life also often affects my sleep. During the course of this project I tried different natural medicines and found yerba mate and Lion’s Mane help a great deal. Adding a break to go for a run or a swim in the afternoon also eventually kept me most balanced.
How did you ensure that the illustrations accurately represent the nuances of Transition characteristics?
Having lived in lots of different experimental communities (squats, land projects, protest sites…) the Transition Network’s values feel intrinsic to me. It’s what works to uphold a wholesome and regenerative community, and my illustrations are a few renditions of my own lived experience.
What tools and techniques did you use to create these illustrations?
I started out with drawing pencil sketches, then experimented with paper cut-outs. Later, when I felt we had an established aesthetic I made the designs in Adobe Illustrator, applying my personal style of textures, overlays and soft blurs.
How did you decide on the composition and layout of each illustration?
I found a circular composition made the most sense for the series. It can represent infinity, being complete, being whole.
Are there any other themes or subjects related to the Transition movement or practices that you would like to explore in your future work?
I would love to animate these illustrations!
What part of this project are you most proud of and why?
I’m mostly just honoured to have made something for the Transition Network.
How do you stay inspired and motivated in your work as a graphic designer?
These days we have information and access to the full spectrum of humanity's waking dreams and nightmares. As artists, we can create to rebalance the collective ideas and transform them into actions towards a just world. Though existential doom and anger move me to create, I’m also optimistically driven by the profound legacy of activism that stretches throughout history. As they say, we stand on the shoulders of giants.
Can you share any advice for aspiring graphic designers interested in creating work around complex themes like Transition movement practices and characteristics?
Explore visual storytelling. Create a scene that lives in its own genuine world. Try new ways of showing old themes. Experiment with different perspectives. Be proud of your work!
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