CUDAHY — For the past two years, Wisconsin artists have had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to partner with a major professional sports team and get their art into the hands of 10,000 people. For one artist, that moment is about to happen.
How powerful is art?
“It fulfills something that nothing else fulfills," Ric Stultz said.
Stultz calls himself a commercial visual artist. He does graphic design, painting, illustration, woodworking, a bit of everything, really.
“Having this idea that is just, you know, in the ether, and then through my own physical body I'm able to bring this thing into reality, and that to me feels like magic," he said.
Stultz's art has a vintage and nostalgic quality.
“Saturday morning cartoons meets pop art, you know, I think we're all sort of products of our youth.”
You can find his work on Nike shirts, worn by Emily Blunt in movies, in Milwaukee stores like Moda3, or on ski slopes. He has designed multiple pairs of skis. And soon, you'll find his art on the heads of 10,000 Brewers fans. It's the biggest project he has ever been part of.
“Surreal, yeah, I think pretty surreal," he said.
Stultz designed this hat as one of the Brewers fan giveaways. The first 10,000 fans through the gates at the game on Aug. 18 versus the Seattle Mariners will get one of these hats.
He came up with the idea after making a word list about Wisconsin. Passing on the obvious beer and cheese symbols, he landed on birds, a specialty of his, and specifically a robin. From there, the design was clear.
“I don't know where the idea came from, but all of a sudden Robin Yount, boom, it was there, and it's like, oh, that's interesting.”
A Robin Yount Robin wearing a Robin Yount rookie jersey. Stultz is the latest creative to be part of the Brewers' ongoing local artist collaboration series.
“They're single-handedly expanding sort of the visual vocabulary with what can be done with a sports team.”
Past collaborators include Unfinished Legacy, Whitney Nettles, Lost Files, and Ka Lee.
Stultz has worked with the Brewers before on a City Connect poster and a City Connect wooden shoe sculpture. For him, this art reflects parts of wisconsin culture, just like it reflects a part of him.
Watch the story to see more of Ric Stultz's hat and the other artist collaborations...
“It leaves a timeline of my existence," Stultz said.
How his art and life are intertwined. This hat represents more than just a collaboration with the Brewers, but another moment of magic that fulfills his artistic spirit.
Find more of his work at his website or on Instagram.
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