The Citizen, 2015-06-18, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015. PAGE 19.
Jones draws for Festival posters, community show
While Exeter-native and
acclaimed cartoonist Randy Jones
may best be known for his
contributions to magazines like The
New Yorker, editorial pages in
newspapers like The New York Times
and art services like INX, which he
helped create, his most recent works
have put him on display in
downtown Blyth.
Jones, who recently moved back
to Exeter from New York City with
his wife Susan, had a brush with the
Blyth Festival last year at a
symposium held at Blyth Memorial
Hall and was asked to create the
posters for the season.
“Shortly after I moved out here
last year, I went to a seminar about
culture,” he said. “I drew an elephant
as part of a presentation that was
raffled off and [Director of
Marketing and Development] John
McHenry won it.”
After that, members of the Blyth
Festival staff were trying to decide
who would be responsible for the
posters for the season and, according
to Jones, Artistic Director Gil
Garratt asked him.
After that, it was a whirlwind of
theatre action that led to him
creating the posters for the four
shows.
“I met everyone and we really got
along well,” he said. “They gave me
the scripts, which were just amazing,
and my wife and I started working
on the project.”
Of the four posters, Jones said that
Mary’s Wedding and The
Wilberforce Hotel were his favourite
to draw, but that each has its own
story.
“Fury was just fun to do,” he said.
“I took part of the S.S. Wexford [the
ship the play focuses on] and used it
with the sea to try and capture the
play.”
Staff at the Festival asked if music
could somehow be incorporated
since it plays such a big part in the
play and Jones obliged, putting
music notes in the water.
That one comment, however, was
the most that Jones heard from the
Festival staff, which suited him fine.
“They let me do what I wanted to
do, which was great,” he said. “It
was a pleasure to work with them
and collaborate with my wife on the
project. I was really surprised with
how little they interjected. It’s not
like working for a newspaper at all,
where you have a publisher, editor
and artistic editor. They just let me
do my thing.”
The Wilberforce Hotel was also
enjoyable, Jones said, because of the
depth and breadth of the characters
there.
“It was fun,” and I was even able
to get the Canada Company in who
plays a big role in the piece,” he said.
The artwork for Seeds was one of
the first that Jones conceptualized
and it came straight out of his
childhood experiences.
“I had this image of a guy planting
himself as a tree, and he watered
himself and everything,” Jones said.
“I think it was an old Twilight Zone
episode. The guy was originally
convinced he was crazy, but when
they dug him up, his feet had started
to grow into roots. I guess that’s kind
of what I was thinking.”
Jones said that the bright yellow
comes from the canola fields that he
passes on Highway 6 to his parents’
cottage in Tobermory.
“The colour is just so vibrant and
bright that I’ve seen people stopping
on the road, entire families of
tourists, to take a picture of it,” he
said. “That’s the kind of image I
wanted to use.”
The artwork for Mary’s Wedding
was something that Jones really got
into.
“I’ve always liked barns,
especially the ones with writing on
them,” he said, adding that the
lettering on barns was initially used
for advertising. “I liked that, and
being able to make people realize
how important the barn is.”
Jones’ work is displayed on
Blyth’s main street in the windows
of the Blyth Festival administration
offices and shows just how talented
the cartoonist and sculptor is. He
also has pieces in the Blyth
Community Art Show which runs
until June 20, just prior to the start of
the Festival season.
Jones, who was born outside of
Exeter, moved to Toronto after
graduating high school. His first job
was to work on a translation of Faust
for the University of Toronto Press,
but soon after he was creating
editorial cartoons for Canadian
publications including the Globe
and Mail and the Toronto Star.
After four years, he moved to New
York City where he started working
for the New York Times.
At times, Jones was creating 350
drawings a year for the publication.
He also worked for The New
Yorker , National Lampoon and many
other publications.
He is also a founding member of
INX, a community of artists that
produces editorial content online.
For more information about Jones,
visit randyjonesart.com
Wednesday, July 1
Atwood Lions
58th Annual
CANADA DAY CELEBRATION
PORK BARBECUE
Completely Homemade Meal
4:00 to 7:00 pm
at Elma Community Centre
Adults $15. for 2 chops; $12 for 1 chop
Child 12 & under $5.
SPORTS EVENTS & GAMES
Baseball Tournament - Kids’ Games - Bingo
3 on 3 Ball Hockey - 6 players/team
Ages: 10-12, 13-15
Contact 519-292-6781
GIANT PARADE
Starts at 12:30 pm
ENTERTAINMENT
Bavarian Gardens following parade
BX93 Open Air VIDEO DANCE
Friday, June 26 ~ 10 pm start
$10. in advance $15. at the door
Call for more information
519-356-2488 519-492-0360 519-356-2392
B uck & D oe
for Petey (Steven) McNichol & Larissa Jenkins
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Pig Roast / Beef Cook Off
Prizes and Games
BYOB & Lawnchairs
Starts 3:00 Dinner at 6:00
82943 Burns Line,
R.R. #1, Blyth
$20
Deadline for buying tickets June 20 ~ Contact Pat 519-523-9372
Father’s Day
Old Tyme
Country Breakfast
Sunday, June 21
8:00 am - 11:00 am
at Londesborough Hall
• Eggs • Bacon • Sausage
• Pancakes and Homefries
Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.00
Children Under 12 . . . . . . . . . $3.00
Sponsored by Londesboro Lions Club
Graduation
Reba Jefferson graduated with
high distinction from Wilfrid
Laurier University on June 12,
2015 with an Honours Bachelor
of Business Administration in
Accounting. She is the daughter
of Mary Ellen and Gerald
Jefferson of R.R. #2, Auburn.
We wish you all the best in
your accounting career.
The Family.
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Behind the scenes
Randy Jones, an accomplished editorial cartoonist who has worked for national and
international publications including The New Yorker and The New York Times, was hired to
illustrate the posters for the 2015 Blyth Festival season. Jones, shown above in his Exeter
home and workshop with the original sketches for the poster for Mary’s Wedding, said he
enjoyed doing the work. Also shown is the finished poster for The Wilberforce Hotel beside his
desk. (Denny Scott photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen