W.P.A. Inspired Wedding Invitations

W.P.A.-inspired wedding invitations

Last fall I wrote about W.P.A. Posters and mentioned how Ben and I met with artist/printmaker Kim Vanderheiden, founder of Painted Tongue Studios to explore the possibilites of making W.P.A.-inspired wedding invitations. 

We were so impressed with Kim and Painted Tongue Studios that we happily jumped right in.

Kim and her team were a joy to work with. She facilitated a relationship between us (client) and her (vendor) that felt like a true collaboration- that we were equally invested in the outcome.  

Ben and I love how the invitations capture our aesthetic and the spirit of the location (Yosemite).

WPA Posters, Fine Art or Graphic Design?

Between 1935 and 1943 the WPA's Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public's imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. I love these posters. They are great examples of the very gray space between graphic design and fine art, if such a space exists. 

Thanks to Ranger Doug Enterprises, these posters are available for purchase with a percentage of each sale going to returning these posters to the public domain. He has also added several contemporary poster designs to this collection at the request of the parks: Devils Tower, Bryce Canyon, Denali, Olympic, Mesa Verde and Hawaii. 

Ben and I are working with Kim Vanderheiden of Painted Tongue Studios  to translate the style and imagery of these posters for our Yosemite wedding invitations.