Jocelyn Curry

Art & Joie de Vivre

The Appeal of Making Maps by Hand

November 23, 2025

Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

OverheadViewMapsmall

Overhead view of the Skagit PUD Water Treatment Plant at Judy Reservoir. I completed this artwork in January, 2014, as a part of an extensive illustration/mapping job for the Skagit PUD. Maps intrigue us with their symbolic nature, their color schemes, and their helpfulness in our wayfinding. This map was done with pen, ink and watercolor. Most labels for the map above are being added digitally rather than being handlettered.

Preparing to teach my Artful Map class which will be held for the fourth year from June 20-22 up at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center is a pleasure for many reasons. One: because I never fail to be awed by what the participants create in what is essentially a 48 hour period, I look forward to meeting them. Two: I always take note of what worked well the previous year and enhance that for the current year's curriculum. Fresh techniques are added, and others discarded. Three: for me personally, being up at the Learning Center is always an exceptional experience in and of itself. I never tire of singing its praises. 

This class is now full. To review the work done in previous Artful Map classes, please click here. This will take you to a long, scrollable column that includes my own map assignment work and workshop reviews with many photos of students' work. 

I will be posting a review of this map workshop within two weeks. Thank you for your interest!

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