Civil Ink by Rick Fichter

How many times have you heard “former NHL player,” and thought “art”? Probably never.

After high school, Rick Fichter took a place at Princeton, where he was to play hockey and lacrosse. On the advice of a coach (who, said “play there and never play in the pros”), Fichter jumped ship and played several seasons in the AHL, occasionally being called up to tough it in the big time with the Buffalo Sabers (10 games makes you a former NHL player).

Though athletics have certainly played a large roll in Fichter’s life, so too has the arts. He grew up in the printing trade, his family operating a letter press print company. As a youth, Fichter began to design logos for friends and family and his passion grew into the founding of 168Design in 1997. Family ties are big in Fichter’s life (he is proud father of four sons) and a distant relation, one General Custer, provided the inspiration for his first set of publicly available drawings and prints – Civil Ink.

Handsomely conceived, Civil Ink includes nods to the War’s uniforms and fire arms. The prints are all hand inked and will go on display at Sugar Cube, 124 N. 3rd, Philadelphia, PA, from April 2, 2010.

Full preview after the jump.