I am a map lover.  The more unconventional the map, the better.  This fascination made artist Connie Brown’s recent afternoon map-making workshop at the New York Public Library an absolute must.

Connie Brown creates special maps by bringing together personal stories, scientific cartography and a spirit of curiosity and fun.  She is an officer of the NY Map Society, a funky group of map aficionados in NYC.

After giving a pat to the pair of marble lions that stand proudly before the majestic Beaux-Arts building at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street (they represent our Library protectors, Patience and Fortitude), I was all set to jump in, and learn about the art of contemporary map-making.

Connie’s warm smile and relaxed attitude put us all at ease. The afternoon was for fun, creativity and trying something new.  Instead of ancient maps of China from the year 1613, it was more like Greg’s World of Burritos for us – something personal, and relevant to our lives today.  Connie’s Burrito map was a gift for her son Greg.

It’s a radial map, starting at Greg’s home (in the center), and then working with Google Maps to find burrito restaurants near him, using a compass to mark the burrito-spots – hence the map.    Everyone embraced the notion of mapping our everyday lives.  Others in the group then mapped their neighborhoods, for example their kitchen from a cat’s point of view – and you really can’t top that one.  It was a very cool way to spend an afternoon. I joined the Map Society immediately!

Connie’s work is mostly commission-based.  For example, she mapped the journey  a couple made from NY  to China to document the adoption of their daughter.  She mapped friends on a cross-country trip, who wanted  to incorporate the soundtrack of their adventure into a map of the United States – a very special memory.

I couldn’t resist asking Connie if she thinks about maps when she travels. “I think about design and maps all the time”, she said with a hearty laugh. “And I’ve been fortunate to work during this down time.”

Connie loves the challenge of telling a story graphically.  Her work is exceptionally brilliant, and she is self taught!  She drew and painted  as a little girl, with no formal training. Part of her process is to decide on the size of canvas, focus, style, color, written words, illustrations, border and many, many more specific details for each map, in collaboration with her clients.

Unlike the maps in works of fiction guiding us to buried treasure, Connie Brown’s maps create and bring to life their own enduring treasure for all to appreciate.

Recently our mapmaker’s daughter decided to trace her family tree and it seems that Scottish Connie is really Irish Connie!  Welcome to the club.

For more information and background, here is a vimeo of Connie’s talk at the GEL [Good Experience Live] conference – the East Coast’s answer to TED Talks.

Connie Brown, mapmaker, at Gel 2010 from Gel Conference.

What about you?  Why not try and make a personal map and email it to us. Connie’s  advice: clarity first and remember beautiful form follows function and don’t forget to have fun!

Julia Judge is an Artistic Administrator of Lincoln Center Theater, and is a voting member of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). For many years she was assistant to Martin Scorsese, and has been a freelance producer, programmer, creative consultant, film juror and publicist. Second generation Irish, Julia was named one of the most influential Irish-America Women by the Irish Voice in 2009.