My Favorites of 2009

Favorite book

Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry
by Leanne Shapton
(So great - will write more about it in 2010)

Favorite Book on Design (3 way tie!)

Paul Rand by Steven Heller
Make it Bigger by Paula Scher
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

Favorite scene in a movie

Hannah Schmidt (Kate Winslet) learning to read in The Reader. Heartbreaking.
(It's only in the extra scenes on DVD. Was edited out in the film. Scandalous.)

Favourite CD

Patrick Watson's Wooden Arms
Especially the songs: Big Bird in a small Cage, Man like You and Wooden Arms.
Beautiful.This CD was my fall soundtrack. Thanks Anders.

Favorite paint colour
Benjamin Moore Chelsea Grey

Happy New Year Dear Readers and Everyone!

Photographer Janet Kimber

My friend Janet Kimber is a wonderful photographer.
Her client list includes Canadian House and Home, Gardening Life, Corbis-Zefa and a whole bunch of other folks. I have included two of her gorgeous home decor shots above. I think they have a beautiful softness and serenity to them. (And note the grey paint colour!) Check out more of her work here.

Creative Morning with Michael Bierut... Sigh

If I could be anywhere on January 15th....
This is where I'd like to be.

As is well known in the blogosphere Tina Roth Eisenberg's swiss miss blog brought together an enormous group of design enthusiasts online. By organizing these Creative Mornings once a month she has now transformed this group into a real live 3D community of people that get together to discuss ideas, get inspired and eat bagels! I think it's a really wonderful idea -- and makes me think Toronto should replicate it here. hint. hint.

ps. Have already written about Michael Bierut - great designer, great writer, very funny guy. Read more about him here.

Filling the Well: Design matters Podcast with Maria Kalman

After a couple weeks of eating, drinking and being merry it's time to fill the well.
Tonight did some painting while listening to a great Design Matters interview with the wonderous Maria Kalman. She talks alot about her creative process and feelings about illustrating vs. writing.
Really loved the fact that when she has an art opening she asks people to bring in some "light sewing" to be done (by her!) as she likes having something to do with her hands at all times. My kind of gal.
ps. You can subscribe to Design Matters in iTunes.

Inspiration: Reading One Book a Week for a Year

Designer and writer Michael Surtees has a wonderful blog called Design Notes. This week he posted a great interview with fellow creative guy Inaki Escudero who fulfilled his goal of reading a book a week for a year. Inspired to perhaps try such a thing himself Michael interviewed him to find out more about how he accomplished the readings and why.
Inspirational.

ps. One of Escudero's fave picks Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organization is definitely on my list for 2010. Clay is a frequent guest on Spark and is always enlightening+ entertaining.

via swiss miss.

Press: Style at Home Magazine

The February issue of Style at Home magazine contains a piece on the mural which I created for Hollace Cluny. Thank you to Associate Design editor Brett Walther.
ps. The magazine also features a bunch of really great decorating articles + some cozy soup recipes from Style at Home's new food editor Donna Hay. yum.

Cozy Winter sketch

t shirt - made me smile

Found in guy's tshirt shop on Queen West.
As swiss miss would say - made me smile.

Sister Corita and Her Rules

At the studio on Tuesday my fantastic studio mate Jeff Garcia introduced me to the wonderful printmaker Sister Corita. She was a really happenin' nun who silk screened her way to pop culture status during the Vietnam war. Saul Bass was a fan. These are some of her rules which she hung in the classroom.
I love love Rule 7 and 8.

New Sketch

Big Scissors print framed in Black

This is the living room of my lovely interior design friend Kim. In the past I've framed the scissors in a natural frame but in a setting that has a lot of black accents (like Kim's bench and painted floors) I think the black frame gives it a nice graphic punch.
(ps. Note the mag on the bench: UK's Living Etc - a great design mag!)
This print is available framed at Hollace Cluny at 1070 Yonge St in Toronto.

Collage Christmas card

I recently went for brunch at Mildred Pierce restaurant and was quite taken with their menu. I really loved the "old timey" ochre wallpaper they used - it had a great Victorian/Edward Gorey feel to it. Inspired I stole one - i mean asked if I could take one home with me. I then scanned the wallpaper and then cut out different shaped little ornaments out of it and voila - Christmas card.

Paper Cut outs: Rob Ryan + Starbucks campaign

I think the lacey paper cut illustrations of UK based illustrator Rob Ryan are wonderous. (Clearly others do as well as he has recently collaborated with designer Paul Smith and the Rug company amongst many others!) Above are a few of his images including some shots from his new book This is for you. I find both his words and images incredibly charming.
When Starbucks' beautiful Christmas campaign was unveiled a few weeks ago -with the red cut out letters and wonderful type - I couldn't help wondering if the art director was very influenced by Rob Ryan's work.
Does any reader out there know who worked on the Starbucks campaign?
If so please let me know. I'm very curious. Thanks!

The New Math

New math is a website run by Craig Damrauer.
Since illustrators constantly need to be thinking metaphorically and coming up with ways of visualizing concepts - it's a good place to go for inspiration. ps. He sells tshirts too. I love the "Please recycle - signed Mother Nature" on his packaging.
Very cute.