David Zinn visits Puffer Reds for YpsiTasty

YpsiTasty is a chance for food lovers to enjoy the best food and beverages Ypsilanti restaurants have to offer, and the perfect event for the business community to explore the town!  YpsiTasty is a local food celebration to support the mission of the A2Y Chamber and the Ypsilanti Downtown, Cross Street and Depot Town restaurants. Puffer Reds is always happy to participate in events centered around the community.

The event took place Tuesday, September 25th, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM and Guests arrived at their assigned locations to receive their tickets. With the tickets, they went around to the participating restaurants and retailers to explore what experiences the ticket unlocked!

One of the star performances there was David Zinn, a freelance commercial illustrator for more than twenty years until he picked out some sidewalk chalk to "work" outdoors on a beautiful day. He is known all over the world for the art he creates under his feet. Most of his creatures appear on sidewalks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but he's expanding to Ypsi! He's already popped up in places like California, Sweden, and Taiwan, spreading his creativity and art far and wide.

After getting a chance to pick his brain about his process and inspiration behind his pieces, we've learned his drive for creating his work is to create personal experiences with the random viewers of his artwork.

When he gets inspiration from a crack in the sidewalk, a shadow the streetlamp creates at a certain time, or how two bricks on the ground overlap, the art he illustrates is made with no instruction on how to view it. The viewer who stumbles upon the art (most times by luck) and sees it the way it's meant to be viewed, experiences a more unique and personal experience. The questions Zinn aims to create are, "Was this left here for ME to see? Am I the only one who saw this here?"

Zinn is also very content his artwork cannot be permanent installations. Rain washes away the chalk, so there is always a timer on his art. Luckily for Puffer Reds, it rained before he started illustrating for YpsiTasty and we happily relocated him into our Ypsilanti flagship store. Zinn was able to continue his art on a large roll of paper which is currently on display. At the time of the writing of this article, it's featured in the front (Michigan Ave) window and if you stand in the right place near the front entrance, you can get the full 3D effect of his masterpiece!

Thank you everyone for coming to support Ypsilanti's booming local business scene! Hope to see you again next year!

-Puffer Reds