I can’t express how good this month’s cover makes me feel. Yellow and cheery, it’s packed from edge to spine with fun little drawings and words of inspiration. The more you look at it, the more you can’t help but smile. (I so love the little rainbow!)
But even then, there’s something deeper in the work by artist Timothy Goodman. A Cleveland Heights native who got his start at Cuyahoga Community College, Goodman now lives in New York and works with high-profile clients such as Chipotle and Variety and even has his own line at West Elm. When he agreed to illustrate our “Do Good” cover (a dream come true for art director Maria Amador, who adores his work), he wanted to do even more. He posted a call for collaboration on Instagram, writing that he was seeking a local, female artist of color to work on the project with him and share the fee. He’s also offered to donate a mural to the city or a local school (we’re working on the details with the help of LandStudio).
To be honest, I was a tad afraid. Our timeline was short and this added layer felt risky. But then I saw Goodman’s Instagram post and the response: comment after comment tagging folks who might be interested or might know someone, words of encouragement for the effort and so many good-vibes emojis that you couldn’t help but be happy.
“Inclusivity is still a big issue in the design world,” says Goodman, who selected Alesha Williams, a Kent State University graduate student, as his collaborator. “Hopefully by doing stuff like this, it does give opportunity and visibility to people who might not have had it and encourages people like me to open up their windows and their communities to people who might not look like them.”
That’s the other reason I can’t stop thinking about this cover. Its creation has challenged me to ask if I’m doing enough to help others. How can I be better, more grateful, more uplifting for those around me?
Hopefully, if you’re asking those same kinds of questions, this issue can help in some way. It’s packed with inspirational stories and plenty of guidance for finding out how you can best contribute. At Cleveland Magazine, we’d like to do a little good as well. Beginning on Giving Tuesday (Nov. 27) through the end of the year, when you purchase a one-year subscription at clevelandmagazine.com/dogood, we’re donating the full price to a charity partner you designate.
It’s a small bit of good, but like this month’s issue, we hope it inspires you to do more.
