2023 was marked by focusing and refining. Looking at the goals I set for 2023, a rebrand & studio refinement was an ambitious one. After 10 years of working independently my partner, Jessica, and I joined forces as Winslow Studio.

At the start of the year, to help feel less overwhelmed I covered the back of my office door with post-it notes, organizing past projects needing to get on my site, upcoming client projects, future projects I wanted to achieve, random side project ideas, and further lofty goals— It was honestly a daunting mess, but it helped me make slow yet consistent progress.

Now a year later, I’m taking them all down to reset and I’m able to acknowledge my progress and observe the ones remaining, to either remove or leave up, excited to tackle in 2024.

The highlight of our year was an inspiring 3-week honeymoon to Japan in the Spring, organized around landing a reservation to noma Kyoto. The rest and reset gave clarity as we considered the intention behind our process, ultimately realizing that joy and playfulness lead the ethos of our work. The energy from this trip pushed us over the finish line with our studio rebrand. 

Our origin trip to visit coffee producers in Honduras for Vivid Coffee was an incredible experience. After leading Vivid's brand design and packaging since its inception, it was wonderful to gain a deeper appreciation of how great coffee is grown.

Here are a few projects from 2023!

Pathways of Pursuit

We designed and built Pathways of Pursuit for the non-profit cancer organization Fred Hutch in collaboration with advertising agency Cronin. This immersive artistic experience is exactly the kind of project I love taking on; a large physical build that brings viewers on an emotional journey enhanced by cutting-edge technology for a good cause.

Winchester Mystery House

We added our augmented restoration magic to Sarah Winchester’s historical estate! Replicating sunlight using projection, we created a beautiful effect to illuminate windows that have never seen direct light. Read the InPark Magazine feature.

Light Capsules, of course!

This year we launched two permanent installations for Light Capsules and built out a new website and capabilities deck. Improving my technical process for precise gobo-mapping led to my becoming a Rosco Ambassador. Now we’re ready to push outreach further & explore more fine artwork ideas I’ve had in mind. 

I’m incredibly proud of a few acknowledgments this year! I was nominated by my peers to receive the Audeamus Award for innovation in the arts by my alma mater, Champlain College. I was featured on OPB ArtBeat, which produced a short documentary on Astoria’s permanent Light Capsule airing 2/1/24. 

Twenty Twenty-Four!

Moving into 2024, maybe this is crazy to say coming from me, but I don’t have a specific mantra. If 2023 was a refining process, perhaps 2024 is simply practicing trust in that process, confidence in our craft, and continuing to make things.

More experiments, sharing, teaching, learning.

Make this year another year, —Craig  

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Looking for the rest of my blog? I've transitioned off of a Tumblr-powered blog. In the meantime, view old posts here: blog.craigwinslow.com

This year's mantra was to seek a harmonious balance of client work, art explorations, and personal life: ⅓ work, ⅓ art, and ⅓ life.

Reflecting on my 2022, I feel confident saying I accomplished that goal, unlike previous reflections where I found myself still scrambling and secretly unsatisfied at the end of the year.

Refinement was 2022's recurring theme. I felt a shift in focus toward permanent & long-term artwork. Taking the time to refine my technical setups and the processes behind my projection artworks helped immensely. I also looked inward more often, planned my time better, and frequently cleaned my slate thanks to the guidance of my partner and studio manager (now wife!), Jessica.

I had never been to therapy before, but starting that journey this year was especially helpful in identifying failure points in my internal processes and how to utilize tools to protect my time, reduce stress, and take better care of myself. Diving deeper into my relationship with myself and my partner has helped my design practice find a path toward what I've always known Winslow Studio could become.

I’m immensely proud of the balance I achieved in my personal life, professional career, and passion projects.

Here are a few of my favorite projects from 2022:

Hueman Homebody

From the early concept days to the grand opening, I collaborated with Allison Torneros, known as "Hueman," on Hueman Homebody, an immersive and interactive art show experience she created to help process and heal our collective trauma from the past two years of the pandemic. Hueman made many new works across multiple rooms, all featuring elements of either projection mapping or augmented reality alongside custom spatial sounds. I provided support with pre-visualization in the gallery, projector studies for integration, and projection design throughout the space.

In April, we won the Out of This World Experiences AV Award for our use of cutting-edge projector technology by Epson throughout the exhibit, the projection design by myself, and the installation by A3 Visual.

Isolation: An immersive projection space printed on hanging mesh material that allowed the audience to become a part of the experience by walking within the art, casting shadows, and feeling the depths of isolation by being surrounded by light and color but struggling to see what is ahead. We intentionally kept the projection mapping loose to accentuate the space and enhance feelings of uncertainty by allowing light to overlap.

Collaboration: I augmented this array of 10 works using projection mapping, highlighting and revealing the elements in each piece. The results were an intoxicating struggle for the mind to separate and determine paint vs. pixel.

Chrysalis: I was very excited to work with this piece, as it was a large-scale, inverted, 3D-printed sculpture. Because the bust is inverse, no matter where a viewer stands, it always appears to be staring at the them. I enhanced the trippy, mind-bending nature of the statue through augmentation and surrounded it with a panorama of day-to-night immersive projections. The final result invokes an ethereal, hopeful, communal connectedness on the precipice of a new era.

It was a beautiful, moving experience reflecting on the shared and individual trauma resulting from the pandemic that pushed the immersive medium forward while celebrating + supporting a living, local artist.

Client — Allison Torneros aka "Hueman," Projectors — Epson America, Technical Integration — Sean Mason at A3 Visual, Location — Ciel Creative Space, Additional Support — Endeavors Oakland, Mirus Gallery, Michael "Mikeydisko" Barairo, Cecilia Caparas Apelin, Eileen, Assan Jethmal, all the art assistants, and volunteers.

 

Norton Bright Lounge @ SXSW

Norton reached out to HELO with an idea for a space at SXSW that provided a break from the overwhelming experience of the conference. I took this concept and designed a room filled with calming light and immersive color. Together, we created a visually interesting and quiet space that re-energized anyone who came in.

To achieve the client's goals, I designed custom-illuminated printed graphics with leading lines that felt very inviting and pulled people into the space. I utilized a mix of rear projections and custom-fabricated circular cutout walls. I also proposed using an array of LED lighting against a mirror to create an infinity effect. These elements provided an enjoyable, calming space when combined.

Client — Norton, Agency — HELO, Producer — Aileen Martinez

 

Stobart Permanent Light Capsule

On June 17th, the first permanent Light Capsule debuted in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This public light art installation will open a nightly time portal to the past, now, and for years to come.

I was thrilled to launch this with the help of Matt Cohen of Fading Ads —expanding on our 2017 event, Painted in Light, where I illuminated five downtown Winnipeg ghost signs in one night using large-scale projection mapping. That event later became the subject of a feature documentary by Handcraft, Writing on the Wall. I couldn't have done it without Matt's enthusiasm and dedication to making this a reality! Winnipeg is so lucky to have him.

 

Route 66 Oklahoma

In even more exciting Light Capsules news, we were awarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in early April! This grant, sponsored by Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, sent Winslow Studio to Oklahoma for a pilot project to identify the current condition of ghost signs along the entirety of Historic Route 66 in OK. Once documented, I was able to determine which ghost signs could become Light Capsules for Route 66 centennial celebrations in 2026. I’ll share more on Instagram as this project develops over the next three years.

 

Wiscasset Ghost Ships

In 1932, Hesper and Luther Little made their last voyage together via tugboat, coming to rest in the Midcoast Maine harbor. The remnants of these massive ships were landmarks and points of pride to the residents of Wiscasset for over 60 years. Sadly, they decayed dangerously over time and were dismantled in 1998.

This virtual installation provided a new vision of both schooners. With advances in technology, the magic of augmented reality delivered Hesper and Luther Little back to the waters that were their final resting place. Together they form a look back at the glorious days when schooners ruled the Maine coastline. This free and permanent AR lens installation is near the waterfront parking lot of Wiscasset Town Dock.

I used photogrammetry on an incredible model on display at Maine Maritime Museum made by John P. Gardner, Gift of the Libra Foundation, 2010.007. I then combined pieces of the resulting scan with custom 3D modeling to optimize for AR.

Thanks to Peter & Terri Wells for commissioning this project in my home state!

 

Reeds of Forte - Vienna

I installed "Reeds of Forte" as part of the type exhibition Finding Forte at designForum Wien in Austria. My piece transformed Forte back into its original inspiration, the swaying heads of reeds. I wrote three haïkus that reflect on how certain realizations or messages reveal themselves in one moment from one perspective. While there, TGA invited me to give a talk, sharing my process behind Light Capsules, Brilliant! at The Neon Museum, and the making of Reeds of Forte. We also had the pleasure of experiencing a private walking tour of typographic signs around Vienna with the exhibition curator, book editor, and my friend Tom Koch.

Curator — Tom Koch, Location — designForum Wien, Technical Integration — Florian Prix and Claudio della Schiava

 

We got Married in Las Vegas!

The project that takes the cake has to be getting married to my life partner and the driving force behind Winslow Studio accomplishing so damn much in 2022, Jessica! Since the autumn of 2019, we’ve been continually falling for each other. We got married alongside a handful of friends and family in downtown Las Vegas, sharing the places and people that make Vegas often feel like our second home. We also designed all our wedding elements, from the website (craigandjess.wedding) to invitations, matchbooks, and custom ceramic poker chips — obviously.

For those who have been asking about a registry, you can find it here!


Photos — Tom Berry, Andi Askar, Jessica Zollman Winslow

 

The Grove in McMinnville

Ackley Beverage Group reached out to me in early 2022 about a new tasting room they were opening in McMinnville with the idea to incorporate a component of projection mapping into the space that could uniquely and memorably educate customers on the biodynamic winemaking process. After visiting the location, I proposed two installations; an educational and an artistic concept. To my delight, they moved forward with both.

Annui Viti: This projection-mapped bas-relief display was quite a technical feat! The initial idea was to show the life cycle of a single grapevine plant in a way that was educational to the viewers and highlighted biodynamic farming elements. The challenge was to create a compelling display that was more than a simple flat printed graphic. We considered mounting an entire grapevine but ultimately decided it wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing.

I landed on the idea of a bas-relief and pursued a custom 3D model with fabricator Ezra. After creating a 3D model of an exact depth bas-relief, we CNC carved the massive piece— including the frame—which we then painted in a specialty projection paint. I installed it with an ultra-short-throw projector to minimize shadows from guests observing or passing by. The projection designs for a grapevine's annual lifecycle were created with guidance from the entire Ackley team.

Motila Blend: The client suggested a landscape vineyard mural as a showcase piece for the tasting room. This mural would feature a day-to-night cycle, showcase farmers working in the vineyard, contain biodynamic farming elements, and have several animated easter eggs, like the owner’s children swinging on a tree swing.

I started with a photo composition stitched together using photography taken from the multiple Ackley Vineyards. I combined the photos into one blended landscape using Photoshop, which was re-painted by illustrator Syd Weiler to create an original and unique artwork composition. Since this mural would ultimately come to life with colorful projections, we kept the artwork grayscale. It was important to keep the sky and water white with no texture, as we wanted to change those dynamically by adding clouds in the sky during the day and the moon, milky way, and stars at night all reflected in the lake's water.

The benefit of setting up projection artwork with remote media capabilities is that the infrastructure allows for additions to the artwork that can change dynamically over the years. I'm looking forward to adding new easter eggs for holidays or events, like UFO Fest in McMinnville, that can keep the mural alive and exciting rather than expected and static.

If you visit McMinnville, stop by The Grove tasting room to see both of these installations and enjoy a delicious flight of Montinore Estates or Landlines Estates wines!

Client — Ackley Beverage Group, Marketing Director — Hannah Falter, Fabricator — Ezra Cimino-Hurt, Illustrator — Syd Weiler

 

Wieden + Kennedy - Memory Spheres and Atrium Projections

I was approached by the legendary ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy, to tour their impressive Downtown Portland office building and pitch ideas for augmenting the space with a lighting installation or projections. The goal was to highlight and bring attention to the architecture of their building during a hybrid founders' memorial and holiday party attended by over 2,000 past and present employees.

During my tour, I recommended that they fill the building with as much color and light as possible while I focused my efforts on two elements; one in the atrium space, highlighting three large concrete walls with quotes from the founders with abstract color animations. The second installation was in a two-story location called Upper Lodge, where I would create an original immersive light artwork titled Memory Spheres.

I've explored the technique of projecting through a translucent balloon to create a volumetric animation from 2D animations in the past, but this time I wanted to take the experience to another level. I planned on crafting a living and flowing space filled with forty-one 36-inch balloons and one massive 72-inch balloon.

An exciting idea that pushed this project into its final form came from a brainstorming call with creative director Dan Viens at W+K. He suggested we add photographs of the wildest moments at the company into the spheres. Shortly after, a request was sent to current and past employees to submit the most eccentric, over-the-top, and shocking photographic evidence of the good times had at the agency in its forty years. The W+K team provided a final curated collection of 150 photos that I randomized and animated as a dazzling array.

I made four different custom animation sets that were composed and arranged to change the energy in the space. Spatialized sound design that corresponded to each animation was created in collaboration with Parallel Studio, which added depth and movement to the installation. The final piece of the puzzle was to combine the visuals and spatial sound design with a playlist we curated with John Johnson, AKA jay squared. This flow of spatial sound, animations, and photographs was very effective in moving energy through the space and brought people toward the Lower Lodge area.

Client — Wieden+Kennedy, Senior Producer — Jennifer Smith, Sound Design — Ethan Rose at Parallel Studio, Projection Integration — Meyer Pro, Lighting — Outlaw Lighting, Installation Assistance — Victoria Wells, Spotify Playlist Curation — John Johnson and Jessica Zollman Winslow.

Honorable mentions to Dan Viens, Phoebe Owens, Heather Smith Harvey, Connie Wohn, and Charlie Votruba.

 

Astoria Permanent Light Capsule

It's been a long time coming, but I'm excited about the upcoming launch of the first permanent U.S. Light Capsule in Astoria, Oregon! The process of refinement and discovery has not come quickly or easily with this project, but I am so relieved to announce that the final lighting is near.

I thought we'd gained good traction after I installed the light fixtures in August, but we encountered several roadblocks that required time-consuming troubleshooting. I had custom gobos made, which needed to be re-printed due to scale issues and color refinements. In addition, I was solving a focus issue with one of the installed light fixtures that eventually needed replacing. Finally, the fabrication of a brass plaque I designed had an unexpected month-long turnaround.

One benefit of these delays was that precisely aligning these gobos required detailed problem-solving with the team at Rosco; all that time spent with their crew troubleshooting led us into a long-term working relationship. Now with a precise method for highly technical mapping using these gobos and light fixtures for permanent Light Capsules, I'm looking forward to future installations.

These final elements are all coming together very soon and will be publicly launched in early 2023 for permanent viewing every sunset!

Client — Marcus & Michelle Liotta, Installation Assistance — Greg Allen, Vendors — Rosco, Hollywood Lights, Martin Lighting

 

Winslow Studio Instagram

I’m excited to lean further into my office brand, Winslow Studio, by launching a separate Instagram account — @hellowinslowstudio — to share more work-specific documentation. After ten years of using my account as a channel for sharing my projects, I'm looking forward to @craigwinslow being a pressure-free and personal social media space once again. Be sure to follow us at @hellowinslowstudio. We'll share more regularly there, thanks to Jessica’s contributions as my studio manager!

 

Turning Toward Twenty Twenty-Three...

Often when I try to look forward, my subconscious is occupied by a distracting noise, and I find myself scrambling for time to reflect between projects. This year I feel more relaxed, having completed and launched most projects within their intended timelines by setting healthier guidelines. I still have room to improve following many years of buying into hustle culture instead of focusing on better time management, but I know I’m heading in the right direction.

I’m now focused on a recalibration of Winslow Studio. My goal is to create a deck of studio capabilities, refresh my website, refine the brand identity, and set directions and plans for the future. Questions I'm hoping to answer: What type of projects do I want to focus on? What project leadership roles are the most fulfilling? Are there ways to optimize and streamline pitch decks and estimates for new clients? I plan on continuing to set healthy boundaries, following my instincts by passing on projects that may not be the right fit and collaborating with talented colleagues and integrators on installations.

In addition to refining my business plans, I'd also like to refresh my home studio space! Optimize equipment storage and organization, integrate a few of my projection artworks, and create a plan for the next iteration - likely in our basement den. I hope these changes will maximize collaboration efficiency between my partner and me moving into the New Year!

2023: Embrace refinement

Be kind,
—Craig Winslow

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Looking for the rest of my blog? I've transitioned off of a Tumblr-powered blog. In the meantime, view old posts here: blog.craigwinslow.com