2023-2024
Bluegrass Music
Design & illustration
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Zeus: The Loar of Greek Legend | CJ Lewandowski
CJ Lewandowski (Po’ Ramblin’ Boys) commissioned a celebratory illustration for the 100th birthday of his Gibson Loar mandolin. As the mandolin is named Zeus, we looked to vintage Greek mythology-inspired comic book covers to inform the illustration.
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Austin String band festival poster
The Austin String Band Festival is put on by Austin Friends of Old Time Music and is put on in October outside of Austin, TX. This year’s festival poster design featured the headlining band Daiquiri Queens and was inspired by their vibrant color palette.
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Carl Pagter Event Poster | California Bluegrass
Carl Pagter was the founding member of the California Bluegrass Association and passed away in early 2023. The CBA hosted a celebration event for Carl’s life, and we created a poster for the event in the style of a 50s bluegrass show poster. The poster was then printed by Aesthetic Union in San Francisco on a 1952 Heidelberg Cylinder KSB letterpress.
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Women in Old Time Music Exhibit | Art Panels
“I’ve Endured: Women in Old Time Music” is an exhibit that was installed at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum from April throuch December of 2023. The exhibit features four life-size pieces of Gina’s work including Ola Belle Reed, Etta Baker, Aunt Samantha Bumgarner, and Jean Ritchie. The artworks strive to bring a lighthearted fun and curiosity to those who view them.
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Poster Illustration | Kenny Baker Celebration
Fiddler’s Pastime was a concert in March of 2024 organized by fiddler AJ Srubas and including a long list of incredible fiddlers inspired by Kenny Baker’s style. The illustration also includes a nod to the brick wall from the album “Kenny Baker plays Bill Monroe.” The event was sold out, even through a Minnesota snow storm.
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Single Art | Jesse Smathers
Jesse Smathers released his single “Sing Darlin Sing” in August of 2023 and wanted to go a different route than the comic book style of his last self-titled album. The scene is made to fit into a larger picture of the different illustrated tracks from the forthcoming album.
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Single Art | Jesse Smathers
The second single art for Jesse Smathers for the song “What’ll I Do with the Baby-o” in a linocut style.
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Poster Illustration | Handmade Music School
The Floyd County Old Time Music Get Together is a four-day intensive music camp in Southwest Virginia that brings some of the best in musicians and teachers to an intimate setting for intermediate and advanced students.
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Logo Design | The Crooked Road
The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, celebrates it’s 20th anniversary in 2024, and we worked on a special anniversary logo that holds true to their original branding while bringing attention to this milestone.
Bluegrass Breakdown
CBA Monthly publication | monthly since 2022
Starting in November 2022, Gina Dilg has been the art and layout designer for the monthly publication of California Bluegrass Association, The Bluegrass Breakdown. Together with husband Jason Dilg (managing editor of the Breakdown) the newsletter is printed each month in 16 to 20 pages of community stories, upcoming events and reviews, thoughtful feature pieces, and delightful visuals. The newsletter is received by around 4000 members and is filled with articles celebrating bluegrass, old time and gospel music in and around California.
Trad Music
Superheroes
Illustrations & Merch created to playfully celebrate traditional bluegrass, old time and country musicians. The following were created April 2023 - March 2024.
As the Round Peak Turns - A play on the opening image for the old soap opera “As The World Turns” with a Round Peak flair.
Chubby Wise “Play Wisely” - Inspired by an idea from fiddler/luthier Brandon Godman, the illustration celebrates the virtuosic fiddler who contributed to the creation of bluegrass music through his playing with the “Father of Bluegrass Music,” Bill Monroe. Wise was a member of Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys during the 1940s, helping to define the group's sound, and made notable contributions to their recordings. He became best known for his signature fiddle break on “Orange Blossom Special,” a song that today is a classic in the bluegrass repertoire.
Earl Scruggs - Earl Scruggs was a pioneering American bluegrass banjo player renowned for his three-finger "Scruggs style" picking. He joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1945, helping shape the genre's sound. He later formed the iconic duo Flatt and Scruggs with guitarist Lester Flatt in 1948, creating hits like "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." Scruggs' rapid-fire picking and syncopation elevated the banjo's role in bluegrass and country music, and influenced countless musicians. His accolades include Grammy Awards, induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and a National Medal of Arts.
Vern Williams - Vern Williams was a mandolin player, singer, and band leader who was instrumental in bringing bluegrass music to the West Coast. Based in California, Vern performed with Ray Park as Vern and Ray in the 60s and 70s, and later formed the Vern Williams Band. The band recorded the now classic Bluegrass From The Gold Country in 1981, and backed up California country music legend Rose Maddox on several of her later albums. Vern is regarded as one of bluegrass’ great tenor singers.
Kenny Baker - Kenny Baker was born in Burdine, Kentucky, and his early influences were French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli and Texas swing fiddler Bob Wills. Baker joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1957, where his fiddling became synonymous with Monroe's sound. Bill Monroe said that Baker was the “greatest bluegrass fiddler in the world.” Beyond his work with Monroe, Baker recorded solo albums and collaborated with numerous bluegrass and country artists.