By Jacob Harkins

Miss Amy Jo has a style. It’s out-of-print books, rusted signs, and objects rich with character earned from years of wear and tear. Cruiser bicycles have a style. They’re beat up pre-WWI artifacts, classic curves and big-ass balloon tires.

Miss Amy Jo’s art combines the two. She’s a poster artist, a Minneapolis-based graphic designer by day, and rides around town on a shiny, new Hiawatha cruiser by night. It’s a pretty bike, striking even. But her work is what drew us to her. Since 2002, she’s been producing a few dozen prints a year, building an impressive catalog of concert and event promos that you actually want on your walls-framed. And despite being short on bicycle images, her talent has earned her a place at the uber competitive Artcrank: A Poster Party for Bike People show in Minneapolis that has grown exponentially in its three years.

Look no further than Roots, above, the piece that appeared in this year’s show, to see why.

“Amy Jo’s work reminds me of firecrackers,” says Charles Youel, the Artcrank creator who made the event so popular that more than a thousand fans lined up, wrapping around blocks, just to get a glimpse of the springtime show in a Minneapolis bike shop. “When I look at her posters for Artcrank, I feel the innocence and mischief of a kid on a bike with a pocketful of bottle rockets.”

Amy Jo handprints concert posters, festival teasers, portraits of crazed cats and, of course, images of a few vintage cruiser bicycles. They feature the stark colors of the retro style that we all love. The posters are accessible art, too, with prints costing less than the concert tickets they promote while offering a chic style that makes a statement.

“I love the way the old cruisers look,” she says.

Truth be told, it wasn’t until seeing Miss Amy Jo’s work and that of the few dozen others featured in Artcrank shows in Minneapolis and Denver (the show expanded to the Rockies in 2009), that it made sense that hand printed posters are a prefect match for cruiser bicycles. “There’s a simple, timeless beauty about cruiser bikes that makes them an ideal subject for poster artwork,” Youel says. “They capture the essence of cycling for pure enjoyment-it’s almost impossible not to smile when you see one.”

Given her fondness for cruiser bicycles, it’s a safe bet more retro two wheelers will find their way into more of her art. “Riding my bike makes me think of my childhood,” she says. “It’s just sort of the aesthetic I’m drawn to. I like to ride a bike that reflects my personality. My personality is not a 21-speed mountain bike.”