Magical Metamorphoses

ShinYeon Moon is an artist and illustrator based in New York. Moon teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the School of Visual Arts, where she received her MFA.

For her Zócalo Sketchbook, Moon puts a psychedelic lens on the natural world, rearranging the birth and adolescence of five animal species into bright kaleidoscopes to delight the third eye as much as the first two. Note the details in the artwork—the color shift in the cocoons, the delicately rendered leaves framing the firefly, and the subtle color glow around the …

How Public Is Your Favorite Public Park?

From New York’s High Line to Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park, Wealthy Foundations Are Making Lovely Spaces That Lead to Less Equal Cities

Who owns your favorite park?

That might seem like a strange question. Many people assume that “we”—the public, the people—do. But from New York’s High Line to Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park, …

Priceless Nature

Tzasná Pérez Espinosa is a Mexican American designer and artist. A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design, they have worked on visual projects around equity, sustainability, health, and LGBTQIA+ rights.

For …

What Makes a Song a ‘Camp Song’?

Most Aren’t Composed at Camp. Nor Are They About Camp. But They Unite Kids Across North America on Trails, in Mess Halls, and Around Bonfires

At a children’s summer sleepaway camp in upstate New York in the mid-1920s, two young staffers, Artie and Larry, write a song for the annual camp play. It begins:

Wild Sights

Originally from Canada, illustrator Sarah Campbell moved to Australia in 2010. A graduate from the Design Centre Enmore in Sydney, her work is featured in children’s books, editorials, logos and …

Beachcombing

Christine LeBlanc-Payne is an artist, designer, and illustrator based in Connecticut.

For her Zócalo Sketchbook, LeBlanc-Payne draws inspiration from natural artifacts found on the beaches of Connecticut; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Costa Brava, …