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"Back to Baysics" began as a
senior thesis project at SUNY New Paltz.
The project for my BFA in Graphic Design was so much more to
me than just a required project. It was an opportunity to
combine and utilize three of the passions in my life:
design, nature and my ancestry. I grew up on the Great South
Bay and the water has greatly influenced my life just as it
influenced the five generations of Van Wyens who have lived
in Sayville before me. They were amongst the first settlers
of West Sayville.
My great-great-great grandfather, Joost Van Wyen, along with
his wife and 4 small children emigrated from the Netherlands
via Antwerp to New York in 1872. They joined his mother,
Maartje, who had come to West Sayville in 1857 and his other
siblings who had followed her and settled here as well.
Joost made his living as a bayman on the Great South Bay as
did the next 4 generations of Van Wyen's, including my
father, until around 1980 when the shellfish began to
disappear. His son, Rulof, was the captain of the sailing
schooner B.F. Jayne that carted the famous Blue Point
oysters from the Great South Bay up and down the
Mid-Atlantic and New England coast as well as up and down
the Hudson River. Our bay has been both a source of
sustenance and a recreational playground for my family for
135 years and it is something that is very dear and close to
my heart. I couldn’t imagine living without the water as a
part of my life.
“Design Change’s” main function was to act as a case study
to serve as an example for other
organizations/designers/individuals who are seeking to
increase motivation for social change. While “Back to
Baysics” serves as an environmental awareness program in my
hometown, I hope to question, influence and provoke further
action across other South Shore towns on Long Island. It is
my desire to motivate others who are in my position to help
kick start our neighbors to be more environmentally
conservative so that our future generations may continue to
take advantage of the vast resources we have been able to
enjoy in our own lifetime.
-Rob Van Wyen
*All designs, development and photography are original, self
funded and printed on recycled paper with non-toxic ink.
The "Back to Baysics" exhibition
opening in Sayville on
Saturday, July 14 held at the Sayville Inn
Kay Cameron and Ginnie Moore
Richard Stafford and
Councilwoman Pamela J. Greene
Zee Morrissey promoting the new
"Pajama Party" Common Ground calendar
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