Deidre Rubie
Deidre Rubie's ant-themed SummerTimes cover.
Deidre Rubie is a member of a loose group of local designers called Creative Juice. So is Isthmus art director Tommy Washbush.
Created by Jake Bujnowski, who illustrated the cover of the December 2023 issue of Isthmus, Creative Juice meets in person a couple times a year and has a growing Discord server where members can critique each other's work, share tips and leads, and just talk.
At a recent post-Madison College portfolio show meet-up last month, Tommy was introduced to Deidre, who had recently won a slew of Addy awards, and she jokingly asked him, “When do I get to do an Isthmus cover?”
“How about next month?” he responded.
Part of the benefit of a group like Creative Juice is having a large batch of artists who can recommend and vouch for each other, so Tommy says he knew he could trust Deidre’s ability and work ethic.
As for her design for SummerTimes, Deidre’s favorite items to draw are food and animals and she is inspired by “things that are slightly unexpected and have a sense of humor.” The local graphic designer poured all of that into this month’s cover illustration, determining that no picnic is complete without some common uninvited guests. Thus, ants take top billing.
Deidre Rubie
Early drafts from Deidre Rubie.
Deidre's first draft of her picnic-themed cover design had a much closer point of view until she got the idea to spell out 'SummerTimes' with the ants themselves.
“While they can certainly be a nuisance, I also thought about how exciting picnics must be for ants, and from there I imagined they might enjoy summer as much as we do,” says Deidre. “Who wouldn’t love all that delicious food?”
Deidre also scattered elements from the stories in SummerTimes throughout including a snack of cheese and crackers. See more of her work at deidrerubie.com and on instagram @deidre.design.
