The Return of the Pioneer Village Map

Back in January of this year, i got an interesting e-mail from one Ian Cooper.
 " I was looking at your blog as it refers to Pioneer Village which I have visited and enjoyed thoroughly (more than Plimoth because of its intimacy and informal atmosphere). I am about to publish a new travel guide following the Pilgrim fathers from the UK to New England and I will include Pioneer Village as I believe that it's not to be missed if we want to gain a real picture of life when the 1630 ships arrived at Salem.
I am about to produce my own map of the village for inclusion in the guide - or I would happily include yours with appropriate attribution depending on your agreement and any conditions you might want to put forward". 

Ian wanted to use my map of Pioneer Village in a UK guidebook!

The guidebook is one of a series of travel guides following the lives of prominent Christians or places of Christian interest. (See www.dayone.co.uk/collections/books/travel-guides?page=1) They are unique in that they tell the story as well as provide travel information.
Here is the original map, created in Adobe Illustrator:

And here is how the map appears on the guidebook page.

Welcome to Salem:1630

Some of you may know that I am an avid history buff, and that I have on occasion, worked as an historical interpreter at Pioneer Village at Forest River Park in Salem. Pioneer Village is a recreation of what Salem would have looked like in 1630, shortly after it was settled. My wife Amy and I have been extras in several historical films that have been shot at this location over the years. I came across a photo of the two of us in early colonial costume and decided it would make a good illustration.
Here is the original photo.

First I did a pencil sketch of the scene using the above photo as reference.

As you can see, I have changed some of the details of the pose and of the outfits.
The scene looked a little empty to me though, and some details were either missing or incorrect. First off I decided the scene needed some animals. I considered adding goats, geese and cattle, but it seems that the animals most likely to be present and running loose would have been hogs and chickens. Both were allowed to run free to find their own forage. The hogs were particularly fond of raiding Native American stores of corn. Now not just any breed of hogs or chicken would do either. they needed to be contemporary to the Puritans of the early 17th century. After some research, I discovered that the breed of hogs that the New England colonials would have had were known as Tamworth Hogs.













The chickens were a breed known as Dorking Fowls. Luckily both of these breeds are still in existence today and there were photos.

I also added in a wooden barrel, some tree stumps and a man cutting a tree with an ax.

I also needed to make my footwear more period-correct. I actually really enjoy researching this kind of historical detail.

I transferred the sketch some Bristol-board and started to rough in the values using burnt umber and black. This work went very quickly. I showed this version to my illustration critique group, and they actually thought I should stop there. They liked the energy and the rough quality. So I did a scan of the piece at that point.

However...I really like color, and had intended to add color from the beginning, and so I moved on to adding in color. Using glazes of color over the monochromatic underpainting. Here I am after my second session of painting.

Here is the final piece. The original is about 8" x 10".

NEPF Rack Card

The latest piece produced for the New England Pirate Faire and client Pastimes Entertainment. And yes, I did the illustration.

Yes, I Do Maps

As you may know, if you follow my posts, I sometimes work for History Alive! a program run by the Gordon College Institute of Public History. One of the things that they run is Pioneer Village, located at Forest River Park in Salem, For years they have used this map of the village to guide tourists. Here is the old map:
 

Here is my take on the same map.

Although the old map is simple and gets the job done, I am trying to raise the bar by giving the map more detail and context, in a hope that it will entice prospective visitors by giving them a better idea of what to expect when they arrive there and to make it look like a more interesting and richer experience than the first map would indicate.

New England Pirate Faire Poster

Latest poster work for the New England Pirate Faire being put on at Pioneer Village at Forest River Park in Salem, MA, by Pastimes Entertainment and the Gordon College Institute for Public History.

Village Blacksmith

I don't usually post my photography on this blog, but this photo of one of the Pioneer Village blacksmiths, "Mr. Snitch" (Kevin Stirnweis) taken by yours truly during the regular October season at Pioneer Village, Salem, won first prize in the "People and Places" category of the 2011 Essex National Heritage Photo Contest. The link to the contest site is here:
http://www.essexheritage.org/photocontest/index.shtml

What I've Been Up To

Since I haven't posted since June, those of you who follow my blog may be wondering what I have been up to. I have been working on several projects including; starting a new business partnership, collateral for the Salem Theatre Company, and a logo design for a nonprofit in Lynn, MA, however, I have been too busy to post about them, because I have been very busy working for History Alive!

The author in costume at Pioneer Village

History Alive! is a public outreach program run by the Institute for Public History, a department of Gordon College, a Christian College located in Wenham, MA. They have a mandate to bring history to the public in a way that is accurate, informative and entertaining. Currently History Alive! leases and manages two properties owned by the City of Salem;
Pioneer Village, a 3-acre recreation of 1630 Salem located at Forest River Park, and the Old Town Hall, located in Derby Square in downtown Salem.

The Old Town Hall is an early 19th-century building that once housed the town's government. It now houses the Salem Museum, a chronological overview of the history of Salem, from it's founding in 1630, to the Great Fire of 1914. Upstairs is performance space for Cry Innocent: The People vs. Bridget Bishop, an interactive recreation of the trial of Bridget Bishop, the first woman brought to trial for witchcraft in the Witch Trials of 1692.

Pioneer Village is a full-scale replica of early Salem that was built in 1930 for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Salem.
I work as both an historical interpreter and tour guide at Pioneer Village, and as a museum guide at the Old Town Hall. Working at the village requires that I dress in 17th-century Puritan clothing (linen shift, wool breeches and doublet, hose, and shoes) and explain the history, structures, food, tools, beliefs and manners of the early Puritans. I enjoy this work both because of my love for history, as well as the ability to work outdoors and interact with people of all ages from all over the world.
The Village is open to the public until the end of October, then closes for the winter, re-opening in the spring.

Filming The True 1692 at Pioneer Village

In addition to being open to the public, Pioneer Village has also served as a location for the filming of several productions including a National Geographic documentary, The PBS series We Shall Remain,
and most recently, The True 1692, a 35-minute film about the Salem Witch Trials. I was recruited along with many other local actors, including, History Alive! and Cry innocent alum.

Chambers of the Cursed cast

I am also rehearsing for a Halloween show called Chambers of the Cursed.
"Walk the dark halls of the Old Town Hall and hear the voices of Salem’s past–cursed and clamoring to be heard. Live actors and interactive media immerse you in tales of murder and betrayal, telling the story of a city still defined by its dark history."
This show is being performed at the Old Town Hall Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, the last two weekends of October.
I will be back to my regular schedule of design posts by November.