Dear Reader,
I'm excited to share with you the next UPPERCASE cover!
The artwork is by Lora Slobodian from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, who is just starting out as an illustrator. This is her first time being published... and on the front cover of a magazine, no less!
Lora submitted to the open call "Illustration and the Elements of Creativity" in which the creative brief asked the artist to use the elements of earth, water, air and fire as visual motifs to express themselves as an illustrator. Here's her response to the creative brief:
I was drawn to its interesting use of colours and stylized elements. It was quite different from everything else I had received, yet it also evoked a sense of universality and timelessness. The artwork looks unique and feels personal.
Lora writes, "I’m obsessed with colour and exploring my heritage through my illustrations. I am currently learning about and learning how to paint in the Samchykivka folk style from Ukraine, which I’ve used for this brief. Samchykivka makes use of an interplay of round, water-like lines and sharp, fire-like lines that dance off one another. Thus, all four elements are represented in this way in a landscape that whorls and swirls like an illustration’s ideas and process. There is so much richness in playing on themes of home and heritage, and illustrating each piece from a place of freshness and growth."
She had included the floral design in her portfolio of images, and I was also intrigued by it. It seemed both fiery and organic, and it certainly created a dynamic composition. As I worked on designing this issue and refining my own interpretation of the elemental theme, Lora's floral illustration emerged as a contender for the cover, especially when paired with our long-term columnist Lilla Rogers' distinctive lettering style.
My letter from the editor explains the list of words...
What makes human-made art so wonderful and inimitable? The heart, hand and personality of the person who makes it. And that’s why, as creatives, we are resisting the onslaught of artificial intelligence (AI) in favour of authentic intelligence and artistic intuition.
We are not machines! We exist in the natural world, one made of physical elements. The classic four elements—earth, water, air and fire—have long been themes and metaphors in visual art.
FIRE
Our ideas ignite from a creative spark. Fire symbolizes energy, transformation, confidence and persistence.
WATER
Creative flow transports us and our ideas; like water, we are fluid
and adaptable.
AIR
We share our ideas through words and images. Like air, art is universal, all-encompassing and necessary for life.
EARTH
Like roots networked in the earth, we are grounded in our shared humanity; we support each other. We grow, together.
These are the elements of creativity.
This issue, #68 (Jan-Feb-March 2026), is now at the printer! If everything stays on schedule, it will begin shipping in early December (I'm not sure if it will arrive with readers before, during, or after the holidays).
Please subscribe or renew today—UPPERCASE is a group effort and is only possible because of readers like you who support it! There are no government grants, corporate sponsorships or advertising in this magazine. Just independent humans with a shared vision, where creativity and community uplift us all.
Thank you for your support. And congratulations, Lora, on your first cover!
Getting a head start on Holiday shopping?
Use the code "headstart" at checkout for CA$15 off orders over CA$50. This offer ends at midnight Friday, November 15 and cannot be retroactively applied. Feel free to use it for yourself if you like; that's totally allowed!
Once the print files were sent to the printer, I switched hats from "print designer" to "web designer" and made some updates to my shop. I've already had questions about gift subscriptions (instructions here) and gift cards. (I am not offering digital gift cards this year since, for whatever reason, they often go unused by the person receiving them. It feels ethically wrong for me to sell gift cards that are never redeemed for actual products.)
For your convenience, I've gathered gift subscriptions, books, bundles, and back issues on a single page. Of course, feel free to explore the overall website for more information and to look inside each publication.