Thursday, October 27, 2011

New Work: Wide pants + bow shoes


This week I started work on a new print.
For inspiration I turned to this HUE packaging. I've always found HUE's styling + photography to be totally inspirational and I just loved these vintagey looking shoes with the bows.

Here's the first sketch inspired by the shoes.

For fun I tried a version using a photograph of lace. I scanned the lace in and then put it together in Photoshop.

I created this red version by going into the Image menu in Photoshop and changing from RGB mode to montone mode. I then choose red.
I think all 3 versions work so I plan to do a varied edition when I produce this print.
Next step is to make the screen....

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Creative Morning video by Sharon Ann Lee

Great talk by trend analyst/author Sharon Ann Lee.

This is one of the slides from her talk. What quadrant are you in on this work/happiness map? You can watch here.

Jian + Gary Shteyngart


Jian Ghomeshi + Gary Shteyngart
(Don't you love that unshaved look?) yum.

On Saturday I went to see Gary Shteyngart at The IFOA. He did a hilarious reading of Super Sad True Love story followed by a hilarious interview with Jian Ghomeshi. Really... it was a laugh a minute.
Some favourite lines:
"A bunch of us writers in New York meet every night at
Café Sabarsky to bemoan the end of literature. Between 11pm and 2 am is the Crying Hour. We all freak out... and we all have an HBO series in our pocket."
"As Jonathan Franzen says "Welcome to Fiction... the new poetry!"
"Being the child of immigrant parents I work 3 times harder than any of my peers - cuz I don't have a trust fund to fall back on."
Part of the interview will be played on Q tomorrow (Wed Oct 26). Highly recommended!

ps. The time has come for me to declare that I think Jian is a National Treasure.
Yes very corny.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Creative Mornings is coming to Toronto!




Wow just checked the website and see that Creative Mornings is finally coming to Toronto!!
The Toronto Organizer is Designer Behrouz Hariri. Can't wait for the first meeting. Bagels, coffee, fresh ideas + creative cross pollination! whoo hoo. See you there.

My friend Sasha sent me this pic of my abc typewriter print in her bedroom. I think that's one of the most stunning dressers I've ever seen.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Press: Design Lines


The Winter Issue of Design Lines hit stores today!
It is beautifully designed as always by Melissa + Henry of Sali Tabacchi.
(Yes I'm biased:-))

The issue includes a big feature on paper goods made by Canadian artists. My silk screened Alphabet cards are included in the list. See below.

The list also includes great cards from Kid Icarus + Whigby. (who I adore!)
(Whigby is founded by the talented + funny Frank Viva. I will write a full post on him at some point!)

A close up of my Alphabet cards

Available at:
TYPE books
883 Queen St. West Toronto
and
Good egg
267 Augusta Ave. Toronto

ps. The issue also includes a feature on the gorgeous home of Paul Bain + Isa Spalding written by my friend Alison Garwood Jones. Way to go Alison.
pss. Look at that Paul Smith Rug. Soooo juicy. Also I love the painting over the sofa. It reads "Over the Sofa". Wish I thought of that.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Images from Weekend


Occupy Toronto at King and Bay

The Crowd gathers before marching to St. James Park

My neighbour Richard Storms' paintbrushes

Richard Storms' oil paints


Foodstock
photo by Brian Banks

Friday, October 14, 2011

Film: Guest of Cindy Sherman



Director Paul Ho + Art superstar Cindy Sherman (who was soon to become his girlfriend)
Fashion note: Cindy Sherman has great style in this doc. Understated elegance.

Watched a very fun film with my neighbour Richard tonight: Guest of Cindy Sherman which chronicles director Paul H-O's five year relationship with art superstar Cindy Sherman.
In addition to hilariously showing the perils of being a famous person's "plus one" it also explores art's symbiotic (often absurd) relationship with commerce + celebrity. Fascinating + funny plus serves as a great crash course in the Art world circa 1995-2005. (Appearances by Eric Fischl, Tracey Emin, Julian Schnabel and more.)

Writer Chris Hedges


A must watch video :
Pulitzer Prize writer Chris Hedges eloquently takes down Right Wing Embarrassment to Canada Kevin O'Leary while discussing the Occupy Wall Street movement.
I found Hedges' intelligence + composure under pressure complete admirable.
He's a new favourite nerd.

Addendum!

Mina from Sending Postcards let me know that the cbc budsman found O' leary's remark to a breach of policy and offered a formal apology to Chris Hedges. yay.

Read the satisfying article here.

A visit to Telegramme


Dropped off some more prints at Telegramme today.

Here is the very sweet Patrick.

There is lots of great new stuff in the shop including a bunch of fabulous posters from Cuba plus work by Aesthetic Apparatus, Doublenaut, + Shinzi Katoh. Definitely worth a visit.

Telegramme Prints
194 Ossington Ave Toronto (Just south of Dundas)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

joe fresh


The epitome of joe fresh style:
Camel v neck, dark skinny jeans, and flat oxfords.

joe fresh opened a new location at Queen + Portland this week. Crowds lined up around the store for 14.99 long sleeved tees + thermal long johns. Madness! I thought this salesgirl epitomized the look. Would love to do a drawing of her...

Wonderful evening with some great women

Rainy night + red wine + chili + great woman = fun.

Kim + Jennifer

Colleen + Janet

Donna

Colleen deep in thought.

Janet + Donna

Wonderful evening with Janet, Kim, Jennifer, Colleen, + Donna... all of whom will probably kill me when they discover that I posted pictures of them.

Friday, October 7, 2011

On finishing a big something

Vladimir Nabokov once wrote, in a letter, that when he’d finished a novel he felt like a house after the movers had carried out the grand piano.


Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

From his 2005 Standford Commencement Address. Quite moving.
You can watch it here.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Meeting Araceli


Meeting Araceli

Delicious lunch at Rustic Cosmo Cafe

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

"Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.”
- Steve Jobs

New work: Bathroom mural


Take some very plain periwinkle blue walls


Add sketches inspired by Josef Frank + my flowers from Underground Organics
+ coffee + Stephen Sondheim music

Ta da.

Ta da again.


A Close up.

PBS Video

Tons of great video here.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Pinterest explained by Alexia Tsotsis

Good article about Pinterest by Alexia Tsotsis on Tech Crunch.
She suggests that the reason the tech press haven't quite caught onto the Pinterest phenomenon is because women users were first on the bandwagon and are still sadly marginalized.
I agree. She also uses Maslow's hierarchy of needs to explain Pinterest's addictive appeal.

Creative Mornings turns 3



Creative Mornings is celebrating it's 3rd birthday this week + wow look has much it has grown. What started as a humble 50-person event at Studiomates in 2009 has grown into a 17-chapter global adventure! (now including Vancouver but not Toronto - yet!) If I could zip around the world this month I'd love to listen to Olimpia Zagnoli in Milan and Kate Bingaman Burt in Oregon.

Photos from my Open House



We-e-e-e!

Victoria Adilman and Colleen Nicholson
Such beauties!

Little Ms. Lepik, Fabio Mikai+ Wendy Banks, Marnie's great librarian shoes + Jen Tindall

Neighbours Chris Stevens, Holly Luhning and Lauren Goldman
All Artscapers!!

Ed Pien (another Artscaper - yay!) and Fabio

Eric Farache + Wendy Banks


Chris showing us his well known ipad App Alice in New York!

Thanks to everyone who came to my Open House. It was great to meet many of you for the first time and you all helped to make it a special evening.
Extra thanks to Melanie Redman + Kim (Flaherty) for booze + food pick up and Whirling Dervish set up!
Could not have done it without you. xxx