Aaron Kr. 
A few days ago, when LeBron James visited Chicago on the first stop on his More Than A Game World Tour, we got a look at the Chi-Town installment of the Air Max LeBron VII Artist Series created by Jeff Zimmerman. Yesterday, King James arrived in the nation’s capital, and as expected, attendees of the event were given a look at the Washington D.C. Artist Series version of the Air Max LeBron VII. the shoe was customized by local artist, Cynthia Rudzis, who decided to go with a tattoo-style illustration that sports some patriotic themes like stars, stripes and the American Eagle. After the jump, you can read all about Cynthia’s inspiration and objective with her shoe design and also get a look at some more pics of the shoe and the event, including a b-ball session with some D.C. youngsters. Via Nike Basketball’s Twitter.
Washington D.C. Artist Collaboration
At a presentation that took place during Nike’s grassroots activities in Washington D.C., Cynthia Rudzis gave James a uniquely designed pair of Air Max LeBron VII shoes.
After a long career as a graphic designer and art director, Cynthia Rudzis left a corporate design career to pursue a very traditional apprenticeship as a tattoo artist. Embracing both a solid design sensibility and a deep respect for Traditional American tattooing, she practices her craft in a private studio in the District of Columbia.
Cynthia approached the design of the Nike Air Max LeBron VII much the same way as she would approach a tattoo. She likes to balance positive and negative space, especially when she is working with traditional images. Looking at the shoes head-on is sort of like looking at a person with a tattoo sleeve: one side is slammed full of line and color, and the other balances it in its natural state, with just a hint of design tying the two together. The left shoe is fully “sleeved-out”, while the right is tied in with traditional script.
Cynthia chose the design in relation to the LeBron’s pillar of “Community”, because no matter what political, social or ethnic background the members of Washington DC’s population belong to, they are all tied together with the knowledge that they live in the heart of the nation’s decision-making core.
When she’s not drawing, painting and tattooing, Cynthia spends an inordinate amount of time traveling with a camera in hand. She lives with her husband on the shores of the Chesapeake.
