Making Art From Maps

INTRODUCTION

Ask a random roomful of people to raise their hands if they love maps and the response, inevitably, will be a majority of hands in the air. For visual people this is an easy question, as it is for those with a bent for science. But why does the average person love maps?

The attraction is well documented and the answers vary from simply knowing where one is in the world to appreciating the illustrated tale a map tells.

When I ask people about their attraction to maps, it’s often simply the detail that they love: the lines, precision, colors, shapes, and grid. It’s the compass roses and sea monsters, the sailing ships and cartouches. Simply put, it’s the visual nature of maps that attracts many of us, without regard to accuracy or ...