Spirit Guides Print Co. – bringing back long-gone Panama City landmarks
BY SARAH BURRIS; PHOTOS BY CHRIS CHEUNG, PHIL MERCER AND SARAH BURRIS
Chris Cheung and Dan Russell are the talented creators and collaborators behind local screen-printing studio Spirit Guides Print Co. Their most recent project features a series of posters with iconic local landmarks that are well known to locals. Do you remember the three-story-tall King Neptune statue that was located on Highway 98? It has been gone for over a decade but many remember it vividly. Chris and Dan have revived it with their poster art. The eerie entrance to long-gone Dante’s Inferno at the original Miracle Strip amusement park is yet another of these unforgettable local landmarks and a subject of Spirit Guides’ poster art. Another poster shows the Fiesta Lounge sign on Harrison Avenue. While it is still in place, the building itself is up for sale and its future uncertain. All of the posters awaken Panama City and Beach nostalgia.
I was invited to look over Chris’ and Dan’s shoulder while they were working in their home studio. We conversed in between print processes from prepping the screens for emulsion to cleaning up after fifty freshly completed prints of their latest project, Tourist, a self-published zine, collecting drawings, comics, and photos inspired by living in Panama City. All issues of Tourist are sold out but Tourist – Vol. 2 will be released within the next month and can be purchased online on Etsy (see link below). The cover of Tourist – Vol. 2 presents the Treasure Ship fire of 2010 in homage to the iconic restaurant that was located on Thomas drive until a fire forced its owners to tear down the building.
Chris and Dan met at Florida State University in a figure drawing course while working on their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. They quickly bonded over shared interests. Dan graduated before Chris and returned home to Panama City to start a silkscreen t-shirt printing business. Chris relocated here as soon as he could. After trial and error, the team learned they prefer the print technical process on paper instead of t-shirts. Flat stock medium also fits their interests which range from band gig posters and album cover art to The Little Friends of Printmaking studio.
It took several years to solidify their collaborative process. Their partnership works well in how their strengths play together. Chris enjoys the intuitive nature of illustration and graphic design where Dan is more detail-oriented and enjoys all of the steps that make up the printmaking process. Dan compares printmaking to gardening in that he finds the repetitive movements to be soothing and meditative. The work is completed between day jobs and weekends. For Tourist and the Panama City poster series, Chris and Dan decided to focus on landmarks in hopes that the work would resonate with the local community and provide imagery not often captured of the area. They hope their audience appreciates the subject matter in representing the area beyond the surface level and captures the character of the place. Panama City is more than beach scenery. “All this weird, cool stuff gets hidden. It’s what we appreciate about living here!” Chris having grown up in Crestview, Florida also mentions that the art is not just for locals for “all towns have their King Neptune or Dante’s Inferno.”
Currently, the print studio is split between Chris and Dan’s homes. They are working to put together a studio space with storefront where all the equipment can be housed in one location. The duo is looking forward to where their work will take them next. Stay updated with Spirit Guides Print Co. by following them on Facebook, Etsy, or Instagram.
https://www.facebook.com/spiritguidesprintco
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpiritGuidesPrintCo
http://www.enjoygram.com/spiritguidesprintco
[author image=”https://www.panamacityliving.com/media/2014/11/sarah-burris-bio-picture.jpe” ]After having grown up in the Panama City area, Sarah has recently relocated back to the place she most calls home. She received her Master’s degrees in Fine Arts and Library Science from Kent State University. Sarah is a Reference Librarian and blog author for The Artist and The Librarian (http://www.theartistandthelibrarian.tumblr.com) featuring art resources. Sarah stays active within the local arts community and continues to produce work of her own. She enjoys neighborhood walks, crafts, reading, and a good cup of tea. [/author]