Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Illustration Friday: Alphabets

(click image to see detail)

Inspired by my trip to New Orleans last weekend, I decided to do a New Orleans-themed alphabet illustration, chock full of stuff from the Big Easy, A-Z. What a foolish idea!! This took FOREVER - but it was way fun to do. Consider this a tip of the hat to my Cajun roots as well as my tribute to the fine folks in New Orleans two years after the devastation of Katrina. May the Lord lift their burdens as they continue to struggle, survive, then thrive...

Thanks to my little brother Dave and my Mom who both helped me think up words for some of the trickier letters - I appreciate it y'all!!


Here are the words, A-Z:

A - Alligator


B - Beignets (French Doughnuts...yum!)


C - Crawdad (or Crawfish if you prefer)


D - Dixieland Band

E - Etouffee' (Cajun dish with spicy brown sauce and shrimp or crawfish)


F - Fleur-de-lis (Iris - what the common icon is patterned after)


G - Gumbo (Shrimp, seafood, or chicken "stew" - a staple of the Cajun diet)


H - Hot Sauce (this stuff'll make you cry)


I - Ice Cream (needed for those hot muggy days in New Orleans)


J - Jazz


K - Kettle (gotta have one for Cajun cooking)


L - Louis (Armstrong, of course)


M - Magnolia (the Louisiana state flower)


N & O - New Orleans (that worked out pretty well)


P - Pelican (the Louisiana state bird)


Q - Queen


R - Red Beans 'n Rice (also called "washday supper" - it's easy, good and hot!)


S - Saints (the New Orleans Saints football team)


T - Trolley (gets you where you need to go)


U - Umbrella


V - Vieux Carre (French for the "French Quarter" - home to the famous Bourbon Street)


W - Watermelon (perennial Southern summer favorite)


X - RouX (the basis for most Cajun dishes - flour and oil cooked in an iron skillet down to the color of dark peanut butter)


Y - Y'all (short for "You All" - and heard all throughout the South)


Z - Zydeco (fun Cajun music that always includes an accordion)


18 comments:

  1. It DOES look fun and it DOES look like it took way much time to do. How do youg get things like this done in time to post?

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  2. Wow! this is just wonderful. full of excitement and color rich. You must have enjoyed yourself quite a bit during your stay there.

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  3. This is really great! Very creative!!

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  4. As you leave Jackson, headed west, there is a billboard that says:

    Jackson has treated you like family. Now, new Orleans wants you back.

    I am just curious whether it was paid for by New Orleans or Jackson. LOL!

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  5. and well worth it!

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  6. WOW Becki, the married life sure has you inspired! This is absolutely gorgeous my friend! Your work is just beaming with joy :) I love all that you've been up to...thank for sharing all those wonderful pictures!
    A great BIG hug for you & Johnny :)
    God bless you,
    Geninne

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  7. Anonymous2:40 AM

    This is fantastic, what a lot of work, you sure have been busy. Beautifully done Becky.

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  8. I love how you tied it all together with the N and the O.
    just beautiful work! sounds like you had a fun trip, too!

    teri

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  9. Absolutely delish.... and a fantastic display of your multiple talents. I loved those Beignets, but the coffee was a teensy bit different. The jazz is superb and a trip to N'Oleans is remembered forever.

    Here's to its return to glory.

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  10. Anonymous12:51 PM

    Hey sister! It turned out great(as I knew it would-especially the vieux carre and the roux!!)

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  11. Thanks for your comment, love your alphabet... especially the queen.

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  12. Okay, now this is just great! The City of N'Orlins (sorry if this Californian is taking liberties with pronunciations... sorta like a non-San Franciscan using the word 'Frisco') should be selling this art as a poster. Would make up for any FEMA shortcomings, I'd wager.

    Haven't been good about keeping up with your stuff. This reminds me of what I must be missing. Beauty. Peace.

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  13. this is so great because of the great design: a good layout with bright colors and a consistent style! And then, congrats on having a theme throughout, thinking of something for each letter :)

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  14. This is fantastic! Very creative!

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  15. I just love this! The colors are so rich, and you really picked the perfect words for that New Orleans flavor.

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  16. Great take on the topic! And a wonderful tribute to a rebounding city.
    Oddly enough, I found out about Illustration Friday through an email my brother sent me about an article published a year before Katrina in National Geographic describing what would happen if a category five hurricane actually made a direct hit on New Orleans. It was eerily accurate. Fortunately, there were far less casualties than the article predicted.
    Here is a link to the Snopes reference:
    http://www.snopes.com/katrina/prophecy/foretold.asp

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  17. Anonymous8:39 PM

    Oh, Becky, what a great idea! You've done such a great job creating the New Orleans alphabet and putting it all together. Great images, great colors, and great composition, putting together all the different words and letters and capturing the city so well.
    You do amazing work! And you leave the nicest comments :-) Thank you so much for all your encouragement!

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