THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411040239
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Mike Lay appreciates words and images. He uses both as the creative service director at the ``Insider's Guide,'' a Roanoke Island vacation guidebook publishing company.
Technically, he calls himself a graphic designer, not to be confused with a graphic artist. Sometimes the titles are used interchangeably, but Lay says there is a big difference between the two.
``Graphic designers tend to do more conceptual work and thinking. It's more of a profession than a skill,'' he said.
Lay employs a computer and the accompanying mouse to design. His cover and page designs - often collaborative efforts with co-workers - are published in 36 books nationwide.
Lay's introduction to books began at an early age. As a young boy, Lay had a voracious appetite for reading. He described his household as a place where books were always coming and going. Even trips to the grocers would yield treasures.
``My mom would go to the grocery store, and she'd come out with a book,'' he said.
``Going to the library was a special thing,'' said Lay. It was not unusual for him to lug 10 books away in one trip. He remembers thinking of the books, ``There's stuff in there, cool stuff.''
This early fondness for books played a major role in Lay's artistic development. Stories such as ``Gulliver's Travels,'' ``Treasure Island'' and Mary Shelley's ``Frankenstein'' were fodder for the blossoming artist. Reading created visual images. ``There was a movie going on in my head,'' Lay said.
He not only appreciated the message behind the written word and the illustrations, but the feel and smell of a musty volume. He was partial to old books. Volumes with block prints, like Chaucer's ``Canterbury Tales,'' attracted him.
Lay would eventually adopt the rich, organic black lines present in the venerable prints, in his own work. ``I am visually attracted to line,'' he said.
Lay has a purist's love for words, saying they are graphics in and of themselves. He went forward to study words at Virginia Tech as a communications major.
Lay was not too far into the journalism program when he realized that he didn't want to spend his life writing endless variations of who, what, where, when and why. He preferred the art classes.
Though fine art courses were limited, Lay found a way to fit painting, drawing and photography into his communications program. His mind, already filled with rich pictures, exploded.
He found himself moving away from writing and toward visual expression. But the two worlds were not to be separated. And the knowledge Lay obtained from the journalism curriculum was not wasted.
He eventually took a job across the valley from Virginia Tech as a staff writer for Radford University, where he produced the staff newsletter.
``It was my first opportunity to create something that would be seen by other people,'' he said.
The challenge of fitting both words and images together in a limited space was exciting to Lay. He was able to use his art background to produce prints and graphics for the newsletter, and his editing skills helped him pare down copy to fit the format. Finally, the world of words and images began to work in concert.
Today, Lay uses those same skills. ``One thing I like about the `Insider's Guide' is the juxtaposition of words and images, making them all work together,'' Lay said.
Using a graphics program, Lay inserts visual elements into each book. He works choosing, cropping and sometimes manipulating the contrast of various photographs.
Chosen graphics must maintain an integrity to the geographic area being showcased and fit in politically to what the city's managers want to convey, while displaying the ``Insider's Guide'' style.
Lay describes the work atmosphere as tense, fast-paced and sometimes stressful, but revels in the fact that he and his co-workers are ``creating something.''
While he expends most of his creative energy at work, he looks forward to producing more fine art at home.
Over the years he's made a wide variety of prints using many media. He's carved designs into linoleum blocks, pressed them into Styrofoam sheets with a stylus, and even sliced designs into plastic erasers after he accidently chipped away a corner and fell in love with its butter-like quality.
His colors are bold. Rich purples, blues, greens, reds and yellows are encased in that black line.
``I go for color saturation,'' Lay said. ``Colors that you can dip your finger in, and it might even come off on your hand or have a taste.''
His drawings reveal an observant nature. ``I'm always looking,'' Lay said. ``I've become accustomed to seeing things critically. I think I probably see everything as a potential work of art.
``It's all cannon fodder.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Mike Lay is a graphic designer whose work has appeared in 36 books.
by CNB