two per week

Weekend Avdventures and Oncoming Holidays

2011-11-21T21:19:00.004-05:00

The above are my two new ones for the week. I'm really trying to ramp up my productivity - I've got the sketchbook project to finish (and it's almost done!!) And any day now, my shiny new sketchbook will arrive for The Sketchbook Project's Limited Edition. I'm really excited to participate in a smaller, more communal project and I can't wait to see what the published book ends up looking like.

Another reason why I've gotten a bit of a second wind when it comes to my productivity is that I'm planning on signing up for a continuing studies course at the Ontario College of Art & Design. I'm not too sure which one yet, but I'm really looking forward to being in a class of some kind. It's not grad school, but it's better than nothing.

And now for some photos of stuff I've seen around:

Indigo has their Christmas stuff out and although it's expensive and a little pointless getting too into Christmas (especially when considering decorating an apartment that only I occupy) but it's nice to look - and they've got some festive, shiny stuff. Like the above owl ornaments.

And this little display of an oversize pocket-watch and some diamond-y paperweights. Nothing could be more useless...but, how pretty!

And since last time I posted not one, but two "T" mugs, here are some other letter mugs.

And this snow globe. They've got a bunch - this one's a rabbit but the squirrel one's also very cute. There's also a hockey player because, Canada!

In other news, I recently celebrated a birthday, and the following weekend my best friend of 21 years came to visit. We decided to get tattoos. My first, her fourth. So here it is. And if anyone's wondering why I got the name of the Afternoon Delight guys on my foot, it's a throwaway joke from the episode of The Simpsons where Bart eats the jagged metal Krusty-O, and Bleeding Gums Murphy dies. So yep. That's my left foot forever now.

Also I made homemade doughnuts. I got a doughnut maker for my birthday, which is super cool.

And mimosas!

Until next time.

Adventures on my Day Off

2011-10-24T16:50:00.004-04:00

It's nice having Mondays off. I worked all weekend, so it's a good trade-off. It makes the rest of the week feel a bit shorter.
After sitting around my apartment watching Hoarders until 2, deciding what to do, I ventured out to grab a coffee and go for a walk.

I drink coffee every day, and 99.9% of the time it's just your standard drip coffee, with a splash of milk. I make it at home when I have time, but otherwise I'm not picky. I'll go to Starbucks just as easily as MacDonalds for coffee. I know there's a difference in taste and quality, but I honestly don't care so long as it's hot. There is, however, that .01% of the time when I feel like a latte, and it's usually when seasonal ones come out. Pictured above is my half sweet, non-fat salted caramel mocha with a double shot of espresso. I don't like being one of those people when I order coffee, but I figure my usual simplistic order of "tall bold" allows me to be picky once in a blue moon.

My travels then brought me Anthropologie. I love going there to look around, and then gasp at the prices. I really like there kitchen stuff, such as these little nesting measuring cups. Cute!

I also really like these bowls. They're perfect ice cream/cereal size. And since ice cream and cereal make up about 60% of my diet, I bought two of the ones on the left. They're like a mint green/robin's egg colour.

Then, which "T" mug? Both are cute and I was tempted by both of them even though I have no use for a new mug. And no money for novelty mugs, either.

Then I saw this felt cloche hat. With my short hair I run the risk of looking weird in hats - like I have no hair and am therefore, ah, sickly...
I wanted to try it on though. A little to big for my small-ish head, and cuter on the shelf than on me, but still. Fun to play dress up.

And also, new art. Again, just one for now but more to come soon. I really want to head back to The Paper Place soon for more stuff. When finances allow, I'll head over and grab some. I also need to keep working on my sketchbook project. So, in and effort to get going on that - goal for the week: one page per day. Starting tomorrow. Tuesday to Tuesday, with seven new pages to show for it. I look forward to my upcoming productivity.

Until next time,

Feeling Fall

2011-10-03T10:19:00.003-04:00

So it's officially fall now and it looks and feels like it outside. It's cold and windy, and perfect for going for a walk. Or staying in and watching movies. Both of which I've been doing in abundance lately.
First off, on my mission to get to 50 of TIFF's essential 100, I bought Bladerunner the other day. It's kind of surprising that I haven't seen it yet, given my love for the genre of post-apocalyptic-sci-fi, but every time I've started it, I've fallen asleep within the first half hour. Not from boredom, of course, but because I seem to decide to watch it when I'm already sleepy. I won't make that mistake again. I did, however, manage to watch In The Mood For Love the other day. I've seen Ashes of Time and Chungking Express, also by Wong Kar Wai, but hadn't gotten around to seeing In The Mood For Love. It was beautiful and dreamy. It was also cold and distant - perfect for a rainy fall day. I won't say much more, just that everyone in the movie is sad and beautiful and yes, it made me cry (just a little).

Onto three things I've decided to post for the day:

Two images of pretty coats that I can't afford. Courtesy of Urban Outfitters

And Anthropologie.

...and Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks. I had one yesterday. It's really, really sweet (even though I got mine half-sweet, it was still a but much) but it tastes like apple pie and it was the best way to start off my blustery grey Sunday afternoon walk yesterday.

Continuing on with my evening yesterday, (I had the day off work and nothing but time to kill) I bought this book and started reading it while enjoying a cask pint of a lovely pale ale from local Grand River Brewing Company. (pictured below).
I haven't read anything by William S. Burroughs yet, but I have seen Naked Lunch. Basically, since I'm not in school anymore I miss reading, and I intend to do more of it.

And finally, new art. Did this one yesterday before the promise of cool breezes, used bookstores, and a quiet pint lured me out of the apartment. More to come.

Back as promised, new art etc.

2011-09-17T08:05:00.002-04:00

So here are two new five by sevens, keeping true to the nature of this blog project. Otherwise, today, I don't have much else to say. Nothing really new or exciting here - just enjoying September, working, and watching movies. I've recently come to the realization that I need more movies. Like, a lot more. And probably a new dvd player. The combo dvd/vcr that I bought back in 2005 still does the job, except for the fact that there's no remote for it. The only options are "play" and "stop" - and there's no way to click through the menu screen. *sigh*. 10 more days until my cable gets hooked up.

So there's these to look at, and I'm off to work-
Til next time,

My New Place and Stuff

2011-09-09T20:01:00.002-04:00

Well, first I'd like to post a few images of the new place. Yes, they're all close-ups but believe me, the wide shot isn't much to see yet. I'm still furniture-less at the moment. I'm currently sitting on my floor, listening to sad-bastard hipster country music next to an empty glass of bourbon with my computer propped up on a box.

And my beloved book-on-a-windowsill shot. My little moleskine looks so lonely.

A bit of my fabric collection - displayed more prominently than in my old place. I used to keep it all in a box, but I figured having all of my art supplies out in the open would act as a constant reminder to do stuff with it.

Little camera collection, the star of the show being my beloved Minolta XG1. It's twelve years older than I am and it carried me through 6 years of studying analog photo in school.

And the best seat in the house (incidentally the only seat in the house) -my windowsill... and I've got a fourth floor view of a pretty tree-lined street.

Side note- I wish this were mine:

Maybe one day. (Image)

And now for three random images I've stumbled across on the internet and thought I'd share:

Illustrator Justin Van Genderen does these really cool retro posters. There's Star Wars themed ones and superhero themed ones (and a whole lot of other stuff too). (Image)

Another image found on ffffound. I just thought it was cute/awesome. (Image)

And summer's just about over, but sunglasses are cool all year round. Especially cool vintage ones. I found these guys on Etsy.

Well, it's Friday night and I'm eagerly awaiting a weekend visit from my mum. Brunch and Ikea tomorrow!

Til next time.

I WANT TO BLOG AGAIN!

2011-09-07T14:26:00.005-04:00

Well, here I am blogging again after a rather long hiatus. To anyone who read before and is wondering what happened, I can honestly say I had no intention of ditching the blog for so long. My last post was in the first week of May and I had a lot on my mind then - and a lot has happened since.
I'm not going to go into all of the details of what proved to be a very fast summer, but I will say that I did spend much of the summer distracted with moving to a new apartment. One that I share with no one except for the cat. Take from that what you will, but things are good and one week ago today I moved into a little place to call my own. I'll put up pics soon.

Having completed the show for the library left me drained, physically and creatively as shows always do and the usual couple of weeks it takes me to bounce back spread into months. That, coupled with the heat and sunshine left me feeling summertime wanderlust - and I kept out of the house as much as possible.

All that aside, cool weather and fall months are fast approaching (especially recently when the days have been sweater-worthy and the evenings require- gasp! -a jacket). I'll be spending more time round the house and since I have no tv until the end of the month I have no choice but to spend my time watching movies, listening to my 3 year old itunes library, and being creatively productive. And so here we are.

I've started work on this year's Sketchbook Project so the following five images are the first five pages of the book. I'm not going to post every page as I go, but rather digitize and post the finished book. These I'm posting because I want to make up for the lack of new images from me for the last while. (This year's chosen theme is "Grey Side of Life")

...And a new five by seven. Just one. For now.

Finally, since TIFF is back this year and I can't afford to go to my usual ten screenings I've decided to continue on my quest to get 50 of TIFF's essential 100. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Step one, membership at Queen Video.

...And York University's student newspaper The Excalibur did a write-up and interview on my library show WHAT NOW? please read it here.

More photos, work, and stuff soon. For real this time, okay?

Feeling Like Summer

2011-05-07T18:33:00.004-04:00

It looks like summer and it almost feels like summer. At my job, I'm blessed with access to an actual window...and the trade off for all that sunshine is getting to watch people hanging out, walking around, eating ice cream, and enjoying various drinks on various patios. It's a tease, but I left work today knowing there were several cold beers in my fridge and a whole Saturday night at my disposal.

And I've finally done new art (and because it's been a long time and I owe you, I also have a top three and a new goal!)

For my top three I decided to grab three things that remind me of summer, because I'm looking out my window and seeing a blue sky, and it makes me happy.

As does this image from the Anthropologie summer catalogue. Oh, Anthropologie - you so crazy. And expensive.

And this photo I found on ffffound. Two summers ago I went to California and had the pleasure of my first (and second!) trip to In-N-Out. West coast Americans, you don't know how lucky you are. If we had these here I'd be obese and I don't even think I'd mind.

And key lime Lärabars. I actually just had one for the first time yesterday and they're awesome.

And my goal for the week!
At work we're having a running group incentive thing. My goal is to get a nike+ sensor and run a minimum of five miles this week (five miles for the week total - I'm not a runner so, baby steps)

Until next time! <3

Free for All Thursday

2011-04-21T13:31:00.003-04:00

Well, first of all, here's a sneak preview of my work for the library show, which now because of scheduling issues is being installed next Friday, at the very end of the month. A little later than originally planned, but better late then never and I'm happy with all of the work so far. Also, I got a chance to go out and buy some killer fabric, which you can see a little of in the above photo.
Next up, my three favourite things for the day. In no particular order,

This photo (and others) by Aaron Ruell

Bibimbap (which I'm making for dinner tonight)

And Star Wars. I've been re-watching the first three (aka episodes 4, 5, and 6?) and it's been awesome. Perfect accompaniment to getting work done for the library show.

Also Mill St. Stock Ale, apparently. Another perfect accompaniment to all the productivity.

S'all for now folks, new art asap.

The Library, and another three favourite things

2011-04-10T13:35:00.002-04:00

First of all, I'll explain why I've been so MIA for the last coupla weeks. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm working on a large number of large pieces for the library at York. They're all mixed media and text based, and I've got a couple done. However, I still need to finish seven of them, and I'm still working six-ish days per week. Gah! Where does the time go, we're already well into April! I'm going to photograph the finished ones hopefully today and I'll post them, as well as some new small (5x7!) pieces soon.
For now though, I decided to post three of my favourite things from around my apartment. I've already posted pictures of my cats and my typewriter, so those don't count, but otherwise:

My duvet cover (and the duvet inside)
Yeah, it's just a cheap duvet cover from Ikea but I like the pattern and the duvet is feather filled and so, so comfortable. Every sleep wrapped in this blanket is an awesome one. And I love my sleep.

My moose mug.
It's got a moose on it :)

My Minolta camera
This is my favourite of these three items, and is right up there with my typewriter. This camera took me through five years of being an art student and all of my best photos came out of this guy. I haven't used it in months and probably won't really use it again, but I love this camera.

More Photos and New Art

2011-03-24T14:27:00.002-04:00

Holding true to my New Year's resolution to take more photos has been helped by my new, shiny iphone. Yep, I've got even more hipstamatic pics to post. Don't worry - I don't plan on making this a permanent feature.

And another shot my my little fella, Paul. He's fast asleep now, but I know he's loving ll the attention.

And one of my most favourite purchases ever. I love my typewriter (possibly even more than my macbook). And I got it for $8.

And now onto the new work. Just some sketches for now. I've got a lot coming up, between planning a show with my good friend Sean, and putting together a bunch of large mixed media pieces for the library at my university. They recently renovated the second floor and now have a gigantic white wall that they want programmed with work. I'm really excited, but I do have to finish ten new pieces by the end of April (and we're talking several feet here, not little ones!). Eek!

And that's that for now. I don't want so much time to pass between now and the next time I post. I feel bad letting it slide (especially since the blog's one year anniversary passed a couple weeks ago!!!!) but I hate posting when I've got nothing to post. I'll keep taking photos, I'll keep pen to paper, and I'll keep trying to come up with things to say.

Til next time!

Hipstamatic and new top three

2011-03-15T11:52:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I kow it's not Thursday, aaaaand I know I've been away a bit, aaaaaaaaand I hate making excuses, but here we are. It's been a crazy couple weeks, there's a lot going on at work and even more going on in terms of art I have to make. Long story short, I have a lot of art on the horizon. And a long, long, long to do list. Deep breath.
In other news, I finally got an iphone! No more flip phone for me, I've joined the second half of the first decade of the 21st century! And with iphone comes apps, and with app store access and an apple id comes the power to download apps - and I've downloaded several fun camera based ones (with the help of Elsie's timely post on her favourite camera apps). The pic above is of my little fella Paul, looking hip and suave.

As for my top three, I decided to nerd out and list my top three favourite graphic novels (not including Jimmy Corrigan, which has already been included in my fave book top three post) (also, just have to mention, Chris Ware - writer/illustrator of Jimmy Corrigan is coming to Toronto soon, squeeeeeee!)
So here they are, in no particular order:

Chester Brown's Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography
I got this for my birthday a couple years ago from some boy (who still hangs around, getting me to read comics every week). I love Canadian history (and history in general) (yep, I'm a nerd - I like comics about stuff I learned about in school).

Daniel Clowes' Ghost World
I got this book for the same birthday, from the same sweet boy. And yes, I think every angsty teenage girl loves this book (and if she doesn't it just means she hasn't read it yet).

...And Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns
I really like Batman. I think that Batman is the most fascinating superhero (and yep, I totally wrote an essay on him, and this book, in a third year university class). Actually, just today I finished rereading Batman: Year One (which is also awesome).

Three for Thursday

2011-03-03T09:19:00.004-05:00

Well, Thursday posts are getting shorter and shorter I know, but once again - I've got a long to-do list to work my way through before noon (which is when I start work).
Today I decided to post my top three etsy finds for the day.
I'm not huge into etsy, but I use it (and may have the record for the longest time running a shop without selling a single thing) and I've purchased two things from it. Etsy is nice because you can find a lot of really cool things at really great prices. You do, however, have to sift through a lot of questionable stuff to get there. Well, I've done some sifting and here's what came up-

The Lovely Lincoln Ring (as it's named) has been on my "to buy" list since the summer, when I first stumbled across this little guy.

These vintage typewriter rings are so, so cool - I'm a type/typewriter nerd and the ones in this shop are all so unique. I actually bought one a few weeks ago. They were all sold out of t's so I got one that says "self starter" I have no idea why a typewriter would have a self starter key...but I love that ring.

I've been thinking lately about getting new glasses. There are so many vintage frames on etsy, and these ones are particularly lovely.

I Don't Care if Monday's Blue

2011-02-28T12:21:00.002-05:00

Actually, Monday isn't really blue. It's kind of gray outside but the sun seems to be trying to fight it's way through. And I had a pretty good weekend. I missed Sunday morning yoga yesterday (because of a meeting, not my own laziness) but I did manage to meet my goal of three yoga classes last week. Sort of. Well, one of them was a proper class, but on Wednesday I didn't have time to return to my gym at night so I had to do the afternoon pilates class. I figured that the two were pretty similar. They are, I guess, but apparently the only people who go to gym classes at noon on Wednesdays are me, one other person under the age of 40, and a bunch of grandparents. It was kind of weird. Oh well.
This only means that I need to establish a new goal for myself for the week. My goal is to read and write on another essay for my other blog. I'm supposed to be doing an independent study course, but I haven't done any reading for it since the fall. Yay! something to look forward to. Now, I'm going to get back to watching Discovery World HD before getting ready for a long day at work.

Another Thursday, another Three

2011-02-23T16:12:00.005-05:00

Today I've decided to do another top three photos of the moment type of post. I spent a little time looking through my favourite blogs and, of course, ffffound.
Just a quick post - I have to get up bright and early at 5am and I'm already dreading having to stand outsie and wait for the bus. Ahhh, pauvre moi.

Ryan McGinley

on ffffound

Maia Flore

New Art Saturday

2011-02-19T13:30:00.003-05:00

As the blog name promises, here are two new five by sevens for the week. Even though it's already two in the afternoon, I'm looking forward to a good day today. It's bright, cold, sunny, and I'm already zipping my way through my list of things to do. I'm (almost) done my post for today, then I'm going to compose a proposal that involves my (more serious) art and a library. Fingers crossed, I'm hoping this proves to be a good opportunity.
I mentioned last art post that I was trying to incorporate more French text in my work for reasons unsaid. Well, I may as well say why...I've been in contact with a gallery in Montreal about my work since the summer. Now they've got three of my pieces and my bio, so that's that. They've been fantastic and hopefully I'll be showing up on their website soon and on their walls in the not too distant future. Je suis très heureux :)

In other news, I'm starting a new large piece today, a gift promised to someone back in December. I thank him for his patience and by the end of the week he'll have a new, shiny, work of art hanging on his wall.

My fiction project book arrived in the mail the other day and despite setting my goal to get started on it over a week ago, I still haven't done much more than open the brand new black moleskine and flip through the pages. So, that goal still stands - this week I will start this thing. But in in the interest of being productive and goal oriented, my new mini goal for the week is to do yoga three times. I've managed to catch a couple classes last week and really enjoyed it. I'm already going tomorrow morning before work, so what's twice more?

And since I'm still trying to keep my new year's resolution to take more photos, here's a pic of my tin of pencils and pens (the one I take on the road with me), my receipt book and weekly planner by drop around letterpress, and my washi tape all stacked up on top of my fiction project notebook. Hopefully that little collection of things will leak inspiration into the book so that when I open it up it'll be ready to go.

Tick Tock

2011-02-17T12:52:00.004-05:00

Quick post for today, I just wanted to pipe in with today's top three. I was thinking of basing around a theme on colour, but when I started going through my favourites collection online, I saw these images in the same grouping and thought the patterns looked really nice together - so my top three is based around pattern, I guess?

I love this re-worked vintage globe. There's a collection featuring this one with more here.

And this crazy awesome locket is from the same blog.

And this clock is so cute.

And that's all for now, folks! New art and progress on my little goals coming up soon.

Hey, it's Monday

2011-02-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

Now, I'm not very sentimental. J and I don't really do anything for valentine's day. For our first valentine's together I bought him a case of beer - I was old enough and he wasn't. Since then we've bonded over agreeing how lame the holiday is. That said, this morning I reminded him of how much I love him by changing his desktop wallpaper to a picture of us before he woke up. Now I'm on my way to work for the rest of the day.
So, have good day, whether you're spending it with your better half, waiting for your mom to call and wish you a happy valentine's day, or sitting by yourself eating cheetos.

The Daily Grind

2011-02-12T15:38:00.004-05:00

Lately I've been getting weekends off, so I actually have some semblance of normalcy - that is, a normal work life. I get to push through the daily grind Monday to Friday and then sit back and enjoy my weekend - two glorious, back to back days of...whatever I want.
And what I want today is to tackle a couple of my New Year's Resolutions.

One of those goals was to top 50 on TIFF's 100 Essential Cinema List. As soon as I post this, I'm popping in a blu ray of The 400 Blows (the pic above is a still).

Another of my goals was to take more photos. That's my kitty Paul up there.
And lastly, I also had a goal to apply to more shows. I'm meeting up with a friend tonight to make plans for a two person show and we'll be submitting applications soon.

Aaaand, I know it's not Thursday, but I've got a top three to post. Another of my resolutions was to finally finish my weight loss goal from 2008. In 2008 I lost about 60 pounds. I've got 15 to lose and so I'm back to doing the only thing that worked...counting calories. I've lost three pounds in the last ten days and I just came back from a great morning at the gym. That said, I'm posting three of my favourite foods, calorie considerations aside.

I could eat ice cream by the ...tubfull? I know it's not a word, but put a tub (or any other receptacle) of ice cream in front of me and I'll eat it all. I. Love. It. Favourite flavours? mint chocolate, Ben & Jerry's Half Baked, and vanilla frozen yogurt. (image credit)

Cereal. Not this cereal in particular (I've never tried C-3PO's but the box made me lol) but I really love cereal. Mostly the healthy, fibre-y kinds, but also fruit loops and various toast crunches (cinnamon and french toast). The scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall where Jason Segal eats a mixing bowl full of cereal could easily be me.

Last but not least, burgers. There are few foods that I actually get cravings for. Especially savoury ones. Burgers are one of them. This particular image is from Burgers Priest, one of my favourite burgers in Toronto. For my non vegetarian Torontonian friends, hop on the subway, make the trip east and eat this burger. (image credit)

Happy Thursday!

2011-02-03T11:41:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was grey and blustery, but today is bright, cold, and sunny. The sky is clear blue, and I'm feeling productive. On that note, I've got new work. I woke up, made my coffee, and got to work. I love days when I don't feel lazy.
The top image has a little bit of (easy) French text because I'm going to try to start working a bit more French text in for fun, but also for reasons I haven't announced yet ;)

Anyway, since I'm feeling productive, I may as well set myself up with a new goal for the week. Since I finished and sent away my Sketchbook Project book with a few regrets about my lack of planning, my goal for the week is to get a headstart on my Fiction Project book. I need to start writing and drawing so I can be satisfied with a more well planned final product. My book hasn't come in the mail yet, but that's no reason not to start, so here goes!

Feeling Blustery

2011-02-02T13:29:00.003-05:00

It's cold and snowing outside, and I'm cozy on my couch watching HBO (catching up on Boardwalk Empire) and wearing my pajamas. I'm not looking forward to leaving for work in an hour, but for now, at least, I can ignore what's going on outside my windows. Speaking of which, here's the view outside:

I know I'm nearly a week late on my Top Three Thursday post (given that tomorrow is Thursday) but I decided that, since it's so snowy outside, I'd compile some wintery white images.

This dress from Modcloth. So pretty! But not very warm, I'm afraid.

This photo is from a new blog called Hello Holga.

And this photo is from ffffound. It made me lol a little. :)

Art soon! Sorry it's been kind of few and far between lately. I started off the year with a bang but I'm afraid I've been fizzling out over the last week or two. Hopefully I can get some work done tomorrow though, since I've got another morning off. New goals, New favourites, and new art!

All Packed Up and Ready to Go

2011-01-21T11:47:00.003-05:00

I was so excited this past Tuesday to finish my sketchbook, pack it up in brown paper, address it to the Art Library in Brooklyn, and send it off in the post. I'm happy with the finished book, but I do regret not spending more time on it - both in doing the work and in planning the layout of the book.
I didn't fill the entire book as they sent it. Many of the pages at the back of the book were perforated along the spine, allowing you to neatly remove them and reduce the total number of pages in the book. A feature which I took advantage of. Also, each page reads as a standalone rather than the book as a whole acting as more of a narrative. I don't know if I would prefer having a linear "story" in the book, but I do wish there was a bit more flow; that the transition from one page to the next felt a bit more natural. Ah well, live and learn. Luckily, I have the Fiction Project to start fresh with in the next few days, and the next Sketchbook Project will be open soon.

Because of the number of images I decided to upload the complete book in two slideshows on my tumblr rather than posting them all here (scrolldown a little and start with part 1) . I will however, post three of my favourite spreads from my book.

Bowling and Birthday Cake

2011-01-20T23:00:00.003-05:00

Today is my Dad's birthday and we celebrated by going for bowling, dinner, and home for cake. I had a great time, and this is the first of either of our birthdays I have spent with him since I moved away from my hometown at in 2004, at the ripe old age of seventeen.
I'm visiting until Sunday because the holidays were kind of a blur and I didn't get to spend Christmas at home - the first one in my 24 years of existence. I was disappointed, but I'm loving being here right now. Especially since my best friend is living here now too, and not across the country.
As far as new work for the week goes, I finished and sent off my sketchbook project, but not before scanning every page. I'll post the covers - just as a sneak preview - and then all the rest tomorrow.

And, as of this morning, I'm officially participating in The Fiction Project! I chose Great Hopes and Massive Failures again - I want to see what I can do to expand on the theme. I'm so excited! And this time, I don't want to leave it all until the last minute. The finished book needs to be sent off in May, so I need to get to get to work. Asap.
Anyhoo, it's Thursday, so here are my top three. I decided to post my three favourite photos of the moment. Not my favourite photographs ever, but my top three from a quick browse through various lists of blogs and favourites I keep online. I hope looking at these beautiful, inspiring images will help me to keep up with my New Year's resolution to take more photos.

I found this one on ffffound. I love the look of vintage film stock (or at least vintage toned digital photos) and this one has amazing perspective.

I found this image on Ish & Chi. It reminds me of summer and makes me want to crawl into bed. Especially if my bed looked like this one. I'm still working my way toward the bedroom re-tooling that I had started in the fall. Lack of funds forced me to put a pause on the project, but I'm looking forward to the much-needed transformation.

And this one, by Richard Billingham (found here). The photo is from a photo series documenting his parents, and the images remind me a lot of work by Diane Arbus. I found this one in particular quite striking.

Well, that's folks. Tomorrow all of my sketchbook project will be up.

Check me Out

2011-01-13T21:11:00.002-05:00

I forgot to mention in my previous post, I was featured on the Asterix Magazine Blog!

Click!

The magazine/blog is run here in Toronto. Go here to find out more.

Thursday

2011-01-13T20:46:00.003-05:00

For my first top three thursday back from my break I've decided to do a miniature roundup of my favourite three recent "favourites" from craftgawker. Usually I just add an image I like and then check the link and tag it later. It's nice to revisit these images. Click to look at all of my favourites.

This image is cute, simple, and I love the colours.

This image reminds me of summer. I know it's still only January, and it's only been snowy here for a week, but I am looking forward to spring. And fresh spring-y air.

Finally, this super cute calendar seems like a great way to look forward to the new year, and it also brings me to my mini weekly goal and a glimpse at my New Year's resolutions.

My little goal for the week is to finish and send off my sketchbook project. It's due the day after tomorrow, so, for better or worse this goal will be accomplished.

As for my New Year's resolutions...well, I usually don't make them. I didn't last year, and I figured I wouldn't this year, but I do have things I need to accomplish so there's no harm in making it official.

1. Get to over 50 on TIFF's 100 Essential Cinema List (I'm at 30 now)
2. Take more photos
3. Participate in The Fiction Project
4. Submit my work to more art shows
5. Go to more art shows
6. Finally achieve my two year old weight loss goal

So there they are!

Until next time :D

I'm Back!

2011-01-09T09:46:00.005-05:00

My little hiatus has gone on long enough. I'm back and ready to be here week to week, making good quality posts and most importantly, making new work and new goals. Thanks for sticking with me.

I'll be brief about my New Year plans - I'll go into everything a little later (I think that will be a good weekly goal post). I'll just say that 2011 is off to a good, productive start.

A couple weeks ago, I dropped by The Paper Place and picked up a few things. I had some time to kill on Queen West and I decided to camp out at Second Cup and make some new work.
I bought pretty washi tape as well as some paper cut out dots and letterpressed recipe cards from the aforementioned Drop Around. It was fun just to sit around and make new work with what I had on hand. The work follows:

These three are meant as a little series of three. I plan on framing them and using them both as new work for my class, and as models for the larger works I plan on doing for the class as well.
I've already applied for space to show the new work I'm doing, and I'm also looking to do a two-person show with a good friend of mine.

Whew. I know that was a quick little post, but there's a lot I want to cover, and not a lot of time at the moment (I need to leave for work in 20 minutes and I still have bed hair and slippers on). Don't worry though, I plan on doing more posts in the very near future - and I'll get through everything. There's also going to be a lot more new work to see, so stay posted.

feeling the pinch: a small hiatus

2010-12-25T12:52:00.003-05:00

It's been a little while since I've posted, and indeed, a little while since I've done new work. Unfortunately the last ten days or so have been a little trying, and have gone by really, really fast. I'm sorry I didn't post anything sooner, but I've come today to announce that I'll be taking a very brief break from posting, just until the New Year.
I need a little time to organize my thoughts and my life, make new work, and spend some quality time curled up on the couch, computer in hand.

I hate to do it, but I feel like the quality of my posts would be inconsistent and frankly, not very good. Rather than fail to live up to my expectations, I think it's best to take a little break and come back ready and refreshed.
Thanks for checking in, and I'll be back before you know it with new goals, top threes, and most importantly, new art.

Thanks everyone!

thursday already

2010-12-16T10:18:00.002-05:00

It's going to be another short post today, I'm afraid. As promised, I wanted to post my three top favourite Christmas movies. These are the ones that, if I don't see them it doesn't feel like Christmas. Here we go -

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I can't even think of which part is my favourite...it's the greatest from start to finish.

The movie that solidified my love for Michael Caine. However, I always have to fast forward through "the Love is Gone" ...that song is insufferable.

You'll shoot your eye out!

Honourable mention goes to Home Alone (the first one), It reminds me of what a luxury it is to be able to eat ice cream for breakfast if I want to.

new work, new goal

2010-12-14T13:21:00.005-05:00

The first thing I wanted to do is post a quick picture of the boots I was so excited about getting in Montréal. I've been wearing them almost everyday and they are super comfortable, in addition to keeping my toes warm. I've stopped biking for the winter (too cold!) but I'm still walking to work almost everyday. The half hour walk is made much, much easier with warm, happy feet.

On another note, I'm gearing up for the holidays, but the excitement hasn't come yet. It could be the fact that I work retail or it could be that I know this is the first year I won't be home for Christmas. It's also probably the fact that I have barely even begun to think about gifts for people - I have no idea what to get for most of the people on my list and, just like everything else in my life, I can hear the clock ticking. I hate thinking of the holiday as yet another thing on my ever expanding to-do list...but I'm sure as soon as I watch one of my top three Christmas movies (wait for Thursday!) I'll feel the Christmas cheer. Sigh.

Here's some new work! I photographed rather than scanned because my scanner is currently topped with a bunch of papers and boxes and I didn't quite feel like moving it all. Yes, laziness has to win sometimes. I've also decided to do two text only drawings this week in anticipation of a new project I'm working on for the new year.

Another sketchbook project page. I've decided to go ahead and announce my next mini weekly goal today. The vegetables-every-day thing is going well - so far, so good. As a compliment to that I've also decided to cut out McDonald's indefinitely (or until I lose five pounds). I'm a little ashamed to admit how often I eat (ate) there, but the combination of low cost, super convenience, and shamefully awesome flavour have made me a McDonald's fiend of late. No more!

My new weekly goal is in honour of the the looming deadline for The Sketchbook Project. I've decided to do a page a day for the next week. I may not have time to blog my progress each day, particularly since I'm going home this weekend for an early Christmas, but I'll keep everyone posted.

Until Thursday!

it's that time again...

2010-12-09T14:34:00.003-05:00

It's Thursday - and time for my next top three. No art today...my house looked like hoarder's house so I had to do a little cleaning this morning. I did, however, have time to think of my list for today. Last night at work I got to talking about comic books. I love comic books. I haven't read any books (comic, graphic, or otherwise) at all since the summer, so I've decided to do my feature this week on my three favourite ones. They're not listed first to last, rather, they're in autobiographical order...that is, in the order I read them. I think that's fair.

First is Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. I'm not sure how many times I've read it now, but I always get sucked in completely. Margaret Atwood creates a not-too-distant futuristic story about the environment, food, science, food science, and human nature. I'm not going to go too far in depth, but I will say that if I don't read this every year and a half or so, I feel like there's something missing. And it's my Canadian addition to the list!
Next is Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. I didn't love the rest of the Ender series, but I did love the complimentary Ender's Shadow. They should be read back to back, in my opinion. I also read the Ender's Game comic book series (by Marvel), and while it was very well done, I think the story really benefits from the novel form - the story is much more about characterization and hero psychology than it is about outer space.

Finally, Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth. It is my comic book addition to the list and it is breathtaking. Which sounds really, really cheesy - I'll be the first to admit - but it's an apt description. This book made me cry. And not just a little tear or two welling up...it made me cry like a three year old who stubbed her toe. But the art and writing are both incredible. I could read it over and over, which is saying a lot because this book is like a marathon. I should know, I wrote two papers on it (simultaneously, but on completely different topics) in third year.

Okay folks, I'm officially a nerd. Two sci-fi books and a graphic novel. Ah well, check back on the weekend for art!

mini weekly update

2010-12-08T09:20:00.003-05:00

I don't have much to show right now - no pictures! I'm sorry! But I wanted to talk a little about Montréal set my next weekly goal.
First, Montréal was great. After the long overnight bus ride there we were met with a bright, cold, sunny morning in a new city (well, new for me anyway). We got to where we were staying, dropped our bags and decided what we wanted to do first. It was still too early for lunch, but one of the stores that sold my boots was only a few minutes away. I tried them on and then they were mine! I even wore them out of the store like a kid. Then, working from my top three list from last Thursday, we decided to go for poutine and toasted hot dogs for lunch. Apparently hot dog buns that are buttered and toasted are a Quebec thing and I have no idea why it hasn't caught on everywhere - they were awesome. We then trekked to Jean-Talon market, then met a friend for food and beer.
Saturday we slept in then went to Schwartz's for one of the best sandwiches of my life. Who knew meat, bread, and mustard could be so amazing? With full tummies we walked to the Museum of Contemporary Art and spent the rest of the afternoon there. We rounded out the day with dinner at Joe Beef and drinks at Au Dieu de Ciel (again).
Finally, quick brunch on Sunday prepared us for the eight hour bus ride home.

This sort of brings me to my Mini Weekly Goal update from last week. I wanted to decide which schools to apply to and get started on the process. It's cutting it really close since applications are due in a month, but better late then never, right? I've decided on the four schools I'll be applying to and I've asked people for reference letters. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.
I wasn't sure whether I wanted to apply to schools in other cities but I'm realizing (and some time away helped) that Toronto is home for now, and I really don't want to leave. I know that my choices are limited by not wanting to leave, but...the heart wants what it wants. And it wants Toronto.

My goal for the coming week is a little simpler. I'm trying to eat healthier keep up my energy for the gym. I know that eating is really important for health and weight loss, so my goal for the week is to eat fresh vegetables each and everyday for the week. This should be a no-brainer, but convenience usually wins and I find myself eating McDonald's more than I'd like. Not this week!

Art post and new top three tomorrow :)

art post and top three thursday

2010-12-02T11:55:00.004-05:00

So, I have to say au revoir once again - I'm going to Montréal for the weekend, and I'm leaving tonight at midnight. I'm not relishing the 8 hours spent overnight on the greyhound bus, but at least I'll have my beloved by my side and the promise of beer and poutine to keep me afloat.

Which brings my to my second Top Three Thursday post!
I've decided to post on the top three things I'm excited for this weekend. I have never been to Montréal before and I have a feeling I am going to fall in love.

The first on my Montréal top three is poutine. For any non-Canadian readers this may seem like a weird, heart stopping mix of unhealthy junk, and to be sure, it totally is. Is is also, however, so much more. Fresh cut fries; fresh, bouncy cheese curds; and...brown sauce come together to make an awesome and satisfying meal. Or snack. Or snack then meal. Poutine is awesome and being an Ontario...ite? means that though I've had some decent poutine, I know I haven't had the best.

The next thing I'm excited for is the Blundstone boots I've promised myself. They're hipster-ey, warm, and cozy, and after months and months of being broke (not to say that I'm sleeping on a bed of money now, or anything) I'm really looking forward to spending a little money on something a little cooler than bills, groceries, bills, rent, and bills.
I know I can get them in Toronto - the blunstones store is only steps from one of my places of work - but this weekend away coincides with payday and I can't wait until I get back.

And finally, I'm really looking forward to going to the Dieu De Ciel brewery. I love beer. I'm not that big on wine or cocktails...I don't even like those grenadine-infused "girly" drinks that I'm supposed to be genetically predisposed to like. But beer? love.
Dieu De Ciel make really good beer that I've only recently had the pleasure of trying, and I'm excited to see them in person and hopefully try some varieties I haven't yet.
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I'm going to continue cleaning and getting ready, since I'm heading to the bus station straight from work. I'm bringing my drawing stuff, so hopefully after the combined 16 hours of bus travel I'll have some new art to post when at get back. I'll have some photos at the very least.

And Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends and readers! <3

...aaand fifty!

2010-11-25T12:37:00.003-05:00

Here we are, post number fifty, and I'm excited to announce my two new weekly features:

Top Three Thursday is going to feature little lists of threes based around a chosen theme for the week. I've already been doing this from time to time but I've decided to make it official and finally create some focus for all the time I spend mindlessly searching the interwebs.

My mini weekly goal will be just that - each week I want to set a small goal for myself and achieve it by the time I introduce the next goal. I hope this might prove to be fun and interesting, and I intend for my goals each week to span many different topics - personal, artistic, practical, and just fun. I'm not sure what day of the week to feature this, or if it should just be a sort of...whenever thing like my art posts. Either way, I came ready to do posts on both features today. I'll start with my goal for the week: Decide which schools I want to apply to for MFA programs and begin the applications. It's not the most fun, I know, but it's something that's been on my mind for about a year and a half now and I want my applications this year to be well planned and thought out.

Now for today's Top Three Thursday post.
The very first list of things I posted on this blog was of things from around the internet that inspire me. So I've decided to kick this feature off with my top three favourite blogs (that also happen to keep me inspired).

The first is A Beautiful Mess. I check this blog a few times weekly and am always pleasantly surprised by how often Elsie is able to post! There is always, and I mean always, new content and it isn't just quantity. She has a few fun weekly features (a clear inspiration for me to begin mine) and great photos. It's a craft, art, and lifestyle blog that I can't get enough of and she has just begun a new one to keep her readers up to date on her wedding plans.

The next is Velvet Pony. I've mentioned it before and the reason why is because it's one of the first blogs I ever read on a continuing basis. I found it when looking for some photo inspiration for a class assignment a year or two ago and even though the blogger doesn't really write anymore she always manages to find beautiful photography from Europe and across the world.

The next is Julia Pott Illustration. I know I've also mentioned Julia Pott before, but I love the way she is able to extend her illustration and style across so many media - from totes and zines to illustration and marketing. I don't know exactly what I'm working towards as far as my career goes, but I know for sure that I would love to have such a clean, consistent style and be able to learn the skill set that would allow me to do seemingly everything!
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So that's post number fifty. I'll be back soon with new art, updates on my goal this week, and updates for my other blog. Thanks for sticking with me for this long and here's hoping for another fifty (at least!)

forty-nine

2010-11-24T10:45:00.005-05:00

This is my forty-ninth post - which is completely meaningless, save for the fact that I have some plans for my fiftieth. As in, there are two new weekly features that I want to introduce and will do so as part of my fiftieth post. This is, of course, in addition to the fact that the blog itself is a weekly feature, showcasing my new work week by week. That's not going to change, I promise.

Now, I knew that today was not going to be my day when it started. The first indication was the icy blast of cold weather as I left the house to walk to the gym this morning. Yesterday was so mild, I just wasn't expecting it. No big deal though, it's November and Canada - I should have seen it coming. The next thing to go wrong was when the guy at Starbucks called me "Sir" as he handed over my tall bold. I mean, granted, I was wearing a toque and a black softshell jacket (nothing girly) but really? Sir?
Moving on, my next discouraging moment was when I finally got to the gym and realized that due to the worsening cold that I fear has now made it's way into my lungs, I felt dizzy and completely unable to face the treadmill. I hadn't even taken off my coat when I decided to turn back, head home, and hope that my body is ready for a workout tomorrow. At least I got 20 minutes of exercise walking there and back.

Now for some art-

Here's another spread from my Sketchbook Project book. It's coming along, but to be honest, I kind of wish I had put a little more thought into designing something a bit more cohesive. I also wish my scanner, which is otherwise awesome, seems to overexpose all of these scans. It's probably a settings thing that I just need to figure out.

I decided to photograph this page instead of scanning. I bought this really cute letterpressed receipt book (made by drop around) from The Paper Place and though I'd use it for real receipts (if I ever sold anyhthing) I am also enjoying using them in things.

Speaking of The Paper Place - I went in last week and in addition to the drop around letterpress stuff, I also bought some more patterned Japanese papers and the beautiful robin's egg blue linen tape pictured above. Just thought I'd mention it. Isn't it pretty?

And finally, I'm in the process if getting the installation images from my show in August edited and colour corrected. Here's one of my favourite pieces. The bird is puffy and quilted and the piece is framed in a really sweet shadowbox. It's 5" x 7" (and totally for sale).

sketchbookin' 2

2010-11-15T10:06:00.002-05:00

Once again, I've decided to do some more quick sketchbook drawings. Between working on my book project and the sketchbook project I've been doing some more serious work lately and this morning I just wanted to do something fun.
It'll be a quick post today: not much is new here, and I'm still (as always) getting a grasp on how fast time seems to be going. I still (as always) feel like I'm being crushed by to-do lists, but I am helping myself out with better time management. Now I just need to get a grasp on my breakfast. It's just after 10 am and all I've had so far was five mini reece cups.

Pink Blah Blah

2010-11-07T19:46:00.003-05:00

I usually get Sundays off, but today I covered for a friend. Nevertheless, I came home and then went on a date for crepes at Crêpes a GoGo. It was a pretty great afternoon, but now I've got a total case of the blahs. You know when it comes out of nowhere? When you feel great and then you feel tired and like your brain's not working anymore? I've got that going on right now. Ah well. I've decided to post a few pink things from around the nets in an effort to jump start my evening. I'm really, really not a pink person but I figured maybe, just this once, it'd do the trick.

I saw this journal from Blackbird Letterpress on Craftgawker quite a while ago. Brittni from Papernstitch had originally posted about them and that's how I came across their site. I'm entranced by letterpress and their designs are gorgeous.

This chair was posted on Ink & Spindle. I think it would totally go with my fire engine red couch - I need one!

And finally this lamp.
It's a little too girly for my apartment but it's really neat. And they have lots of other cool designs.

New Art & Art Toronto

2010-11-03T18:20:00.004-04:00

Another two pages for my Sketchbook Project book. I've been chipping away at it bit by bit, but it's tough - I really need to hunker down on it in order to get it done in time to send away in January. Luckily, I've decided on a more effective way of organizing my time (much needed, given the fact that I'm currently balancing two jobs). I've assigned each of my four ongoing projects (my class, my grad school applications, this blog, and the sketchbook project) a day of the week that I force myself to dedicate to that project. If I happen to have that day off, I can dedicate the whole day and get a bunch done. If I only have a couple of hours before/after work, then a few hours it is...it's better than nothing after all. Fingers crossed that it helps me get more done and feel less overwhelmed.

I loved the little bird in the batman-ish mask last week so I decided to do a little repeat.

In other news, I got to go to Art Toronto over the weekend. I went for a specific reason, but on both Saturday and Sunday made time to walk around and check out most of the galleries. Just to explain, Art Toronto, or the Toronto International Art Fair brings galleries (and their featured artists) from all over the world into one place. Artists set up booths that act as mini galleries and people flock to see (and buy) the art. I wish that I had thought to take some notes or write down some of my favourites. I have no idea why I didn't think to, I usually write down everything, all the time. On my hands, in a notebook, on the back of a crumpled receipt...

That said, one piece I do remember (and knew would be google-able) was this one by Damien Hirst. I'd heard of him and his diamond crusted skull before but never really looked into his other work. The gallery representing him in Montréal had a large display of several of his pieces, the one above included. There was another one with it that was more pink and green and it's impossible to tell from the picture but all of the red in this one was glittering with diamond dust. If the print didn't cost more than a year of my university tuition, I would have brought one home. There was also a painting that was about 18" x 12" (give or take) of multicoloured circles...for $200,000. Ah well. Maybe one day I'll be able to throw some paint onto canvas and legitimately charge more than most people make in a year.

sketchbookin'

2010-10-25T16:11:00.004-04:00

I mentioned in my last post (Friday) that an art post would follow (on Saturday) well, today's Monday, and here I am with my belated art post. Sorry, folks.
On the whole, it's been a good weekend - I finally decided yesterday what I'm going to dress as for halloween! Here it is:

yeah, I'm totally going as Max Fischer from Rushmore. Last year I went as Clark Kent, and the year before that (I think) I went as Margot Tenenbaum. I'm such a typical art student - I heart Wes Anderson.

Here's my new art - I'm just posting a few sketches, by no means are they finished drawings, but sometimes it's nice just to doodle with no intention of do "real" work.

You can also see a glimpse of one of my many to-do lists!

I wanted to try drawing a bird in a little batman mask (left) and in a Fantastic Mr. Fox-inspired bandit hat (right).

2010-10-22T22:41:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking lately about my little autumn project: giving my (our) bedroom a little makeover. As I've mentioned before, when we moved in back in May, I paid a little attention to how the living room (aka the only other room in the apartment) looked, but completely ignored the bedroom, just kind of throwing the rest of the stuff in there and only going in to sleep.
Now, this project won't be a huge one, I don't have a huge budget for this (meaning that I have a budget of around zero). The nice thing about the internet is that like window shopping, it's free to look, and when I have time I love doing so. Here's a few favourites,

This post is titled I'm Dreaming Of... and blogger Kirsten Grove posts a few other wallpapers by Aimée Wilder. Well, I'm dreaming of them too, now.

I just wanted to include this image because it's such a cute photo, and such a cute chest of drawers. It makes me smile. [credit]

I stumbled across this post by someone who did all of this in their room for under $100! I'm inspired, and I have to know what thrift shop she went to to get that headboard for $8.

And finally, this apartment therapy roundup of teen bedrooms makes me wonder who these way-cooler-than-me teens are that they can have these awesome bedrooms and I'm stuck with dirty socks on the floor and tangled sheets on the bed? I'm an adult now, and should have a way cooler place to lay my head.

Art post tomorrow, g'night!

New Art & Book Covers

2010-10-14T18:47:00.006-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about making myself be even more productive...I need to do more work! There's a show I'm planning on submitting to with a deadline coming up soon, there's my independent study (for which I have a due date next week!) and then, last but not least, this blog. My original intentions for creating this blog was, after all, to stay productive after graduation.
Luckily, I have a new job which might mean a little more free time for creative work. I'm not sure how everything will come together, but fingers crossed. If not, I can at least drink a lot more coffee. It's been awhile since I've pulled an all-nighter.

I mentioned in a recent post that I bought some blank wood postcards from The Paper Place. I finally got around to making something from one of them. I plan on doing the other two soon, and hopefully more intricately, to be framed in a shadowbox.

Also, I bought myself a little present (even though I have less than no money...) I bought this collection of 100 vintage Penguin cover postcards. I love, love, love them. Aside from being fun to look at they will also fuel my recent and unrelenting interest in design. I'm also planning on framing some of them and including them in the bedroom makeover I want to start working on after the holidays.

Art Crushes

2010-10-10T15:47:00.003-04:00

So, I noticed today that I've a lot of posts about things I like - interiors, craft projects, even outerwear- but I haven't posted a lot about other artists. This problem for me goes way deeper than just not posting - I am really bad with name retention and even worse when it comes to remembering artists and contemporary art. Since I'm hoping to apply for master's programs in a few weeks I'm kind of fretting about the fact that I seem to be the only one of my art school peers that doesn't know that much about living, breathing, working artists. I feel like this void of knowledge is holding me back which is part of the reason why the independent study I'm doing this year is focusing quite heavily on readings on contemporary art.
Anyhoo, this post is the result of some internet time wasting over the last little while, resulting in stumbling upon two artists who are making drawings that I can't get enough of.

Katrin Hagen of Mischief Champion does these amazing drawings twice a week and according to her about section they are "a collection of regularly-updated drawings based on my every day observations. Sometimes these observations are harsh, sometimes silly. Somehow, they're mostly rather insane. " I came across the website during the summer and I spent a couple hours sitting at my desk going through the archives alternately laughing and going "awww".

Marc Johns I just found last night, while perusing a different blog I read sometimes. Similarly to the Mischief Champion website I just sat and went back thorough his blog for ages. I missed my 10pm bedtime by an hour!

Anyway, the good thing is I'm feeling inspired, so expect an art post soon!

Long Weekend!

2010-10-08T15:36:00.005-04:00

Yay! It's the long weekend and I actually have all three days off! It was kind of an accident - I originally booked off Saturday and Sunday for a trip to Montreal, but it was postponed and I forgot to un-book the days off. Then, after telling my boss I could come in Monday, she gave me the day off anyway! Yay for [Canadian] Thanksgiving and getting a bit of work done. And there's a lot of work to be done, believe me. There's this blog, which though I have been updating regularly, feels like it needs a little more tlc. Then there's my independent study course which I'm so, so excited about but haven't been able to really delve into yet, and there's my sketchbook project book...so, happy thoughts of productivity are currently running through my head.

Here's another sketchbook project spread, going along with my chosen theme. I'm enjoying my progress so far, but I want to slow down and take some more time with some of the pages - I want at least some of the pages to be more "finished" looking and so far they've been pretty sketch...ish. Maybe this weekend, we'll see.

I've also recently ordered five new designs for greeting cards, so now there's a total of eight of my designs available. This is a little peek at the new designs and packaging. You can check out my etsy to view full images and to buy, if ya want.

Free Time

2010-09-29T19:22:00.003-04:00

I always wish I had more, but when I get it I never really know what to do with it. I'm a compulsive list maker, in fact, making to do lists is pretty much a daily ritual. Luckily I was pretty productive with my free time today, and I've got all of my chores lined up for tomorrow. Now I'm just winding down, making dinner, and waiting for the evening to start. I don't have to get up early tomorrow - and I got to sleep in until 8:30 this morning! - so here's for finally enjoying my evening.

After posting that picture of the pom pom toque in my last post, I figured I'd throw one on this little guy.

Another spread for my sketchbook project book. I want to incorporate a few pages of straight up text, and I used to write a lot more, but I tried writing for this page and I couldn't come up with anything. The thought bubble on the right side was supposed to take up the entire page, which I thought would be pretty neat looking, but when I went to write it I couldn't come up with a thing! This will be my goal for this project - I want to re-learn how to write a page of text.

Stormy Weather

2010-09-27T22:15:00.003-04:00

Well, it wasn't exactly stormy today - just a little soggy - but it felt like one of those days where I just wanted to stay on the couch wearing a big sweater and watching crappy tv or movies - or crappy movies on tv. Unfortunately, I worked all day and am going to bed at 10:30 because I have to get up at 5 again tomorrow. C'est la vie. Anyway, I just wanted to do a quick little post before my art post on Wednesday (my next day off).
Since it was cold and rainy out today, and it is now officially autumn, I figured I would indulge in a little bit of girliness and post some cozy fall clothes I wish I could afford.

This coat from Anthropologie is so pretty, and I love mustard yellow.

This dress from modcloth is cleverly disguised as a trench. I've decided the one new fall item I buy this fall is a trench coat. I think everyone looks good in one and it always looks dressy. I think I would feel like a real live grown-up wearing one, instead of a high school student in one of my well worn hoodies. Not that there's anything wrong with hoodies.

This hat is also from modcloth. Last year, my cat ate the pom pom off of my favourite toque. If I buy a trench for fall, I am definitely getting a new pom pom toque for winter.

Check back Wednesday for new art!

Why is time going so fast?

2010-09-21T17:51:00.004-04:00

Every time I check the date, I'm amazed at how quickly September is coming along. The list of things I want to do is growing and my time and determination are growing slimmer and slimmer. I've mentioned my work schedule recently, and to repeat myself, I usually work from 6 am until 2 or 3 pm, four or five days a week. It's nice getting done early in the day, but getting up at 5 leaves me wiped out. I always intend to come home, take a half hour or hour long nap, and then tackle the rest of the day, but I usually end up in front of the television, watching the sad transition from daytime to prime time programming. This evening, I intended to complete this post (almost there!) and then write the proposal for a sort of long term project I'm working on. I'll elaborate. This year, I was all set to start at the University of Toronto to get my bachelor of education, so I could teach secondary school. Sometime in July, I decided to give up that opportunity and spend this year working, applying for Master's programs, focusing on my creative work, and doing an independent study through York University (where I got my undergrad).
The independent study is what I have to write the proposal for. Basically, I'm writing my own course, including syllabus and reading/projects list, and then I work alongside an instructor who supervises my progress. I'm really excited about it, but I really wish I hadn't left my proposal for so long.

Anyway, I've got some art -

I did this while waiting in line for one of my TIFF screenings. I was feeling pretty tired then, as I am now.

This is the first page of my sketchbook project book. My chosen theme was great hopes and massive failures, fitting given my usual themes and current state of mind. I'm looking forward to filling the rest of the book, and hopefully venting about some of my great hopes (and maybe a few of my massive failures)

Another page of my sketchbook project book. I still have to tweak my scanner a bit to get the optimum quality from these drawings. I plan on scanning every page of my sketchbook and compiling them online (rather than pay the extra money to have the project facilitators do it). Any suggestions for me and my scanner? Let me know.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm planning another "inspiration" post, or another fun list of things I've found online, but for now I've got a proposal to write.

Feeling like a Zombie (and TIFF!)

2010-09-14T20:33:00.003-04:00

I've been feeling a bit like the walking undead recently - I've been attending screenings at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and although I'm only doing a measly 10 screenings (a lot by most people's standards, but nothing compared to my boyfriend's 30) I'm exhausted. I considered going to bed tonight at 7pm. I've attended three of the midnight madness screenings so far, and for those unfamiliar, these are screenings that start at midnight and are usually genre movies - horror, fighting, and otherwise more crazy and zany stuff than the regular festival programming. On the first night, I was at the (world?) premier of Fubar 2, which by the way, was awesome, and made me weirdly patriotic for my small town redneck Canadian upbringing. And the cast were there. In character. The next night, I saw Super, which has a similar premise to Kick Ass (a regular guy decides to become a super hero) but it was really dark, pretty messed up, and starred Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page. It was also awesome. And Rainn Wilson was there! (and I totally heart Dwight).
I'm not one of the celebrity crazy people at the Festival, and there are lots, but it is cool seeing the movies in the same room with the people who made and starred in them. Last night, we were at the screening for Our Day Will Come, which was directed by the guy (Romain Gravas) who directed the video for MIA's Born Free and it was, therefore, pretty crazy. And we were sitting right in front of Vincent Cassel!

Anyway, the combination of Festival-ing and work (for which my regular shift is 6am-2pm) has left me pretty drained. I haven't been able to get around to my drawings, but I wanted to do a post nonetheless. I figure since I've had movies on the brain (and itinerary) lately, I'd do a post on films. The Film Festival has released an essential 100 films list, and though I've only seen a quarter of them, I thought I'd do a little post about three of my favourites.

Annie Hall is my absolute favourite romantic/relationship movie. I'm not going to go into a synopsis or anything, but I love it because it doesn't really have a happy ending. If anything, it's bittersweet and I suppose I'm a sucker for things not always working out the way you want in movies.
Also, as someone who's almost as neurotic as Alvy Singer, and sometimes as ditzy as Annie Hall, I feel kind of like I can relate. Oh, and Annie and I share a pretty serious case of arachnophobia.

I know that everyone loves Pulp Fiction. Well, whatever, I'm one of them. Since my boyfriend and I stayed up all night to watch this movie soon after we met, it's sort of become "our movie". Which is cheesy, I know, but I could watch this movie over and over. Seriously, whenever someone says something smart I think to myself "check out the big brain on Brad" and when I make coffee in the morning, I think "I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it, I want to taste it."

Now, the first two I've seen several, if not countless times. Blue Velvet, I've only seen once (and a half) but obvious for those who've seen it, it stuck with me. And whenever someone suggests Heineken...well again, obvious for those who've seen it.

So, for the rest of the week, six screenings down, four to go! Art post to follow soon :)

New!

2010-09-06T17:06:00.003-04:00

My drawings for the week, and don't hold it against me that the bottom one is smaller than 5 x 7 (it's 4 x 5.5). I bought a bunch of pieces of 4 x 5.5 inch cardstock a few years ago and never put them to good use, so it seems now's the time.
Anyway, it'll be a short post today as my Labour Day has turned out to be quite laborious. And my day-after-Labour-Day will be too. Yawn.

Til next week!

Inspiration for the Week: Interior Design

2010-09-05T10:10:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned craftgawker here before as one of my favourite places to go for great craft and art images and ideas. And foodgawker is my go-to place for when I'm feeling both hungry and masochistic...it's just a collection of awesome, drool inducing pictures of food (and links to the blogs that originally posted them, usually with recipes). They have now recently launched dwellinggawker, as if I needed a new place to waste my time! I decided my little weekly list of things I like from around the internet would come from dwellinggawker.

I've decided on a little side project recently, and that's giving our room a little makeover. When we moved back in May, our room just kind of got all of the stuff that didn't fit in the living room, without any rhyme or reason. It's kind of a mess. I'd like to spend some of my free time this fall making our room a little nicer looking. My love for the grey-yellow combo would, I think, be a good place to start. This image (and the one below) from design*sponge, via dwellinggawker.

My last two apartments haven't had anywhere to put a kitchen/dining table. I'll just look at this picture and sigh, one day...

I don't think it comes as a surprise, I love wallpaper. And I really love this one. Like, floral jellyfish?! What could be better? If I had the money and confidence, all of my walls would be covered in wallpaper. As it stands, my walls are just plain white. But at least I can live vicariously through the internet.
This, and a whole bunch more found here

Post with my two drawings for the week to follow. Later.

Pictures from the Show!

2010-08-29T18:50:00.004-04:00

There's a little sign with my name on!

This one is displayed in the window at the front of the store, hopefully enticing people to come in and see the rest.

A shot of the interior, and I'm sorry it's so yellow-y. I'm going to get in there with a friend who has a proper camera to get some proper documentation done before the show comes down.

Another interior shot showing the larger drawings I've done.

I'll post a bunch more on my website, including detailed photos of each piece, when I get them done.

It's Sunday!

2010-08-29T18:25:00.003-04:00

First of all, I'm sorry I couldn't think of a more imaginative post title, I tried.

Today started out kinda rough (I had a bit of a headache from getting a little drunk on fancy expensive beer last night at a birthday party). I wasn't sure how productive I was going to be after I decided to skip yoga this morning, but I really wanted to go to AWOL Gallery so that I could see my three Square Foot Show pieces in action (I missed the opening). There were so many - hundreds - of pieces there and a lot of them were really, really great. I spent quite awhile walking around, looking from floor to ceiling at all of the fantastic pieces. Mine are spread out - one in the main gallery at AWOL and the other two in the larger space a few doors down - and two of them are right at eye level, so I lucked out in terms of placement. I'll have to be sure to go back before it closes. (I suggest all Torontonian readers check it out!)

After AWOL, I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things so I can make the poor, overworked love of my life dinner when he's done work. Then I stopped at Greg's Ice Cream for a scoop of one of my (many) favourites - pistachio.

Oh yeah, then I came home and did my two drawings for the week, as seen above.

I've taken pictures of my show, and I'll post them soon.

torimaas.com

2010-08-27T11:41:00.003-04:00

I'm having some weird issues with my website right now. Which sucks, because all of my business cards have a nice, bold "torimaas.com" right on the front.

For now I've got that website directed here, so if you were looking for torimaas.com, don't fret, you've come to the right place. For now.

If you'd like information about the two shows I'm currently involved with check here and here. If you want to see some of my work scroll through the posts, or go here for my online portfolio.

You can like me on facebook for updates about my work, my blog, and the progress of my website woes.

Any questions or comments? Leave 'em below or email me at tori.maas@gmail.com

EDIT - I've got the new website up and running - it still needs some work, but it's done for the most part. Check out the new torimaas.com!
Thanks!

A Deep Breath

2010-08-22T15:42:00.004-04:00

So, the show is up - it's installed, and the reception has come and gone. Now I just wait it out for three weeks until it's time to take it down, and keep my fingers crossed that someone, somewhere likes some of what I do enough to want to hang it on their wall.
The install went well, despite my lingering chest cold, and the reception was great. I had hoped a few more people would come but the space isn't huge, and it was warm, and all of my closest friends were there - what more could I want? I'll post some pictures for all of my non-Torontonian readers soon. And for those in Toronto, go check it out. It's there for three weeks! You have no excuse!

On another note, the busy-ness didn't quit for me on Thursday. My best friend has been visiting since Wednesday. She helped me out a bit with the show and yesterday we spent the day at the CNE. It was so much fun! I always forget what I kid I become around fair rides. I couldn't make my mind up whether to go on The Zipper, The Scrambler, or the Gravitron first. The decision was made a little easier for me when we found that the Zipper was shut down for maintenance. Ahh well, we went on The Scrambler twice.
We then walked through the exhibitions looking at all of the interesting, unique, cheap, and overpriced items on display. There was a dizzying amount of things to see. We rounded out the afternoon with a much awaited trip to the food pavilion where I had a samosa and a hand-dipped corndog, Jaime had a felafel, and we both drooled over beaver tails. We also threw in some Tiny Tom doughnuts for good measure.
Jaime left today after a filling lunch of sushi. Now I have a full tummy, a blog post to post, and an apartment to clean.

As for today's images, I'm a little art-ed out for the time being, so I figured I would post some even smaller drawings I did recently. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was planning to have a bunch of mini drawings at the show as a sort of giveaway. The idea didn't really pan out, timewise, so nothing came of the drawings I did manage to get done. I figured I would scan a few of my favourites for all to see. Here they are:

I also realize that I neglected my little list of inspiring images last week, which has become a bit of a weekly feature for me. I decided I needed a little sunshine in my life, so I figured I would raid my craftgawker favourites and post a few happy yellow-y images.

First are these business cards I found here. I think that stitching on them is a really cool idea and I'd like to figure out some little hand done thing I could do to make mine a bit more unique. I need to order some more and my chosen business card provider happens to have a sale on right now. Hmmm...

Next are these pillows. I want them. I love felt and I love yellow and grey. This picture makes me want to crawl into bed and go to sleep for the afternoon.

Last is this bag. I could only find it on craftgawker. The original website doesn't seem to work anymore.

As seen here, my current bag - purchased over three years ago from the men's section of Urban Outfitters has seen better days and a bright yellow one with a lace ruffle seems like an ideal conveyance for my keys and crumpled receipts.

Well, until next time.

Square Foot!

2010-08-15T13:45:00.004-04:00

It's been kind of a rough few days. On Friday I started coming down with a cold that by Saturday morning had me dizzy, coughing, and my nose congested and gross. Not the most conducive to finishing up work for the install on Wednesday. I'm behind and still sick today, and I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed, and not in a good way.
I started a new large piece this morning, one of the three I had intended to finish by Wednesday, and so far it's looking good. Luckily I work fast.

In lieu of posting new five by sevens for the week, I've decided to post the pieces I submitted for AWOL Gallery's annual Square Foot show.

Sorry for the short post, folks, but I'm blogging from bed and I think it's time for some more medicine.

Spoiled

2010-08-10T16:15:00.002-04:00

This is the image I've come up with for Colleen's charity project. I wanted to keep it simple and feature the text most prominently. Then there's the little bird with a drip of oil on his little head, how sad.
First I'll be getting them printed up, to see how they look, then I'll post them for sale on my etsy. I'll be sure to update once I do.

let me know what you think! The image isn't finalized yet, so any feedback would be a big help.

A quick shout out to Dear Colleen

2010-08-09T18:17:00.002-04:00

Another artist and blogger I've been following for a little while now has come up with a great project to help raise some money for the oil spill off the gulf coast. In her words, "I know it’s not the current hot topic that it was but there is still a huge amount of clearing up to do and to have any hope of putting things right we need to keep raising funds." So I'd love to be able to help her out. My first step is mentioning her here, and also posting a link to the cute tote bag she has on offer to help the cause. The second is to start work designing a print or other small object to sell on my own, and of course, donate the proceeds. I hope to have this done by the weekend (because, as we all know, I've got a lot on my plate). I'll keep you all posted!

Down to the wire!

2010-08-08T10:43:00.004-04:00

It's only 10 days until I install the show, and I didn't want to talk to much about it on here because I know that repetitive post topics can be boring (I read a lot of blogs). However, I'm beginning to feel the last minute pressure of the walls closing in, and that's the feeling that allows me to be most productive. When it comes to research and essays, I'll start well in advance, carefully following my method of notetaking, drafting, and editing. When it comes to art-making, however, I'm at my best when it's a coffee-and-nausea fueled all-nighter with my body aching and a ticking clock looming over my head. Ahhh, makes me feel like a student again.

I was going to sell some of my greeting cards sets at the show, but I figured that the logistics of doing so would be a little tricky. I've decided instead, to set up a little area where people could donate a couple bucks, or whatever they think is fair, in exchange for some individual greeting cards and postcards, and these (the photo above). I've decided to make 50 miniature drawings (think business card size) and package them in folded paper - as seen above - so that you can't see what the drawing is. People at the show can take them in exchange for a little donation. I figure this will help me offset a fraction of the cost of the show.

My sketchbook project sketchbook arrived in the mail last week! Here's a link if anyone's wondering what the Sketchbook Project is. I only just found out about it a few weeks ago and signed up immediately. This happy little fella now just needs to be filled, following my chosen theme: Great Hopes and Massive Failures.
The library will, at an additional cost, scan and digitize your submission, but I figure I'll just scan it myself as I go along. So, updates to follow! I'll get started when the show is over and done with.

So, til next week!

Just another Sunday

2010-08-08T09:13:00.006-04:00

So, as I mentioned before, I've been playing around with a few different packaging ideas for my greeting cards. I've made little paper belts for them, but I'm still playing around with that. I don't think the graph paper contrasts enough. I bought some pretty grey paper...we'll see if that looks better. Also, as seen above, I decorated some envelopes with chiyogami paper to package my 5 x 7 prints in, should anyone want that. They look colourful and exciting, like little gifts.

A friendly reminder, the cards, envelopes, and prints are available to buy online :)

On another note, here are my inspiring images for the week. I've decided to go with a grey theme because It's overcast outside and I'm feeling a little less than sunny myself. Not to mention, even at the best of times, I love the colour grey. It's soft and cozy. Maybe not cozy the same way yellow is, for example, but I think grey has it's own sense of un-flashy, quiet calmness.

I found this little felt business card holder on craftgawker initially, but it had been featured on Try Handmade. I love the felt, and I love the robots. Normally I don't love ric-rac, but I even kind of love it here.

I am sort of in love with this illustration of a shark, done by Sara Broski and featured on Penguin & Fish. It's simple and elegant, grey, and kinda cool.

So it isn't news that I've become somewhat of a design and type fanboy of late. I saw a different version of these that read "ctrl, alt, del" but these mac ones are super cute and I want, nay, NEED them for my couch. Seeing as how, at any time, there are two mac laptops in my living room, I feel it would be only fitting.
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Art post to follow shortly!

[little] update

2010-08-04T20:28:00.002-04:00

I made a little update on my etsy - original drawings weren't selling, so I posted everything as prints. Now, prints of almost all of my drawings are available on etsy, including most of the ones I post here.
I'm also working on a few different options for bundles and packaging. Let's see how it all pans out!

6 month blog-verasry!

2010-08-02T00:03:00.006-04:00

It's been six months since I started this little project, and since I posted new work yesterday, I figured I'd post some pictures of my workspace - my little corner of the room I lovingly refer to as my studio. I've explained before how I work in a little nest of stuff, all piled around an empty spot I sit in, with all of my pens, pencils, scissors, glue, coffee, etc at reach.
This photo is my favourite, and it includes my favourite piece of equipment - my typewriter. I bought it 5 years ago at Value Village and I've replaced the tape once. Sitting down in front of it always inspires me to come up with something, (even a few angsty poems I wrote after drinking a whole bottle of wine in 2005).

More junk, including my new screenprint squeegee and the boat tin I keep my sewing stuff in. And of course, the empty coffee cup from two days ago.

The thing on top of the black box is the folder where I keep all of my medium bits of patterned paper. Small ones go into a clear envelope, big ones stay in a large, flat paper bag. The other box is marked "fabric" and it's where all the medium and small bits of fabric live. The big pieces have a drawer.

The coarkboard hangs over my desk and houses some recent drawings as well as friend's art show invites and a few business cards.

My scanner! (And old laptop)

My cat Dee Dee, unimpressed at being woken up from his nap with a camera lens inching ever closer to his little nose. He is a constant fixture while I'm working, usually choosing to plop his fat self down on whatever piece of paper I'm trying to work on.
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Well, that's it for now, folks. Until next week! (And here's hoping for another great 6 months!)

Into the Woods

2010-07-31T18:05:00.004-04:00

Or just into wood? My inspiration post for this week features natural wood. The reason why is because the other day I stopped at The Paper Place and bought a few things. They had these small, paper thin sheets of birch in three different sizes. I bought the middle size, and I intend to make beautiful miniature drawings/paintings/collages/illustrations on them. Then, after a little more wandering through the store (which houses an overload of things cute and beautiful) and entertaining a little sugar high on macarons from Nadege, I also bought a little blank wooden bracelet. They are plain and unfinished so that they can be decorated. I wondered whether the work I do would translate to jewelery, so I decided to give it a shot. Of course, I'll post as soon as I finish whatever I manage to do on it.

The wooden bracelet (still naked for now) and one of the little birch cards, also naked.

And now for other people's stuff:

I've mentioned Charmaine Olivia before, but I love her paintings on board. I also love doing paintings/collages on board, and since completing one is my goal for the weekend, I figured I'd post one of hers.

This brooch from Veer is so cute and design-y. And since I'm having a little love affair with design lately, I thought I'd post it. Most of their merch is type based and after about two years of ogling their online shop, I know it's just a matter of time before I buy this. Or a typography themed t-shirt, or typography themed coasters.

And how could I not love these little guys?

Coffee Headache

2010-07-31T17:48:00.005-04:00

Unrelated to this weekend's post, I started off the day as I do every Saturday - with a hot black cup of coffee. What I failed to remember was that I haven't had coffee for a week so the caffeine made me jittery and gave me a killer headache. I powered through, though, and managed to get a bit of work done.

My first five by seven for today. It needs more but I don't know what.

The second. Not the best photo, unfortunately, but I didn't want to put all of that into my scanner. This is one of the ones that is going to be going into a shadowbox, and I'm excited to see it all finished. It was nice doing a bit of beading and embroidery again - I'll have to keep it up. I've got yards of fabrics and many little containers full of beads just waiting to be used. I haven't attached the text yet because I'm not sure exactly where I want it to go.

On another, unrelated note, the weather has been wonderful lately, and finally it's not humid! I was actually cold in my apartment this morning, which hasn't happened since I first moved in in May. I woke up around five and put a blanket on the bed! I was so excited to be cozy under my feather duvet I could hardly get back to sleep!

...And new for this week

2010-07-26T20:51:00.004-04:00

Two quick sketches for today. I know they're not as finished or polished as most of the work I post, but I gotta say, it's nice just doing lazy doodles in my sketchbook again. I haven't really used a sketchbook for maybe two years now, because all of the small scale drawings I do end up being finished completely. I also have to say, It's nice doing a landscape again. I used to love, love, love drawing landscapes like the one above but it started to get a little old. Oh well, landscapes are making a comeback (as far as I'm concerned).

I also wanted to post some of my work in progress. I've gone on and on about this show so I figured it's time to actually show how it's coming along. As you can see, it's a bit of a departure in size from most of the work I normally post, but it's been fun working on a larger scale. This particular drawing is 44" x 30".

Working for the Weekend

2010-07-26T20:26:00.002-04:00

I had such a busy weekend. It was a great weekend, but crazy busy and I didn't get much done. On Saturday, I threw a birthday party for my favourite boy, and the theme was Cake vs. Pie (as in, which is better?) I'm a cake person, through and through - whereas his allegiance lies with pie. As does that of his foodie brother, who took my idea for the theme as a personal vendetta against me and my cake loving ways. Needless to say, I spent Saturday night in a sauna of an apartment, surrouded by good friends, and in the throes of a serious sugar high. Saturdays have been worse.
On Sunday, I gave myself the entire day to work, but instead just cleaned my apartment and then went to friends' place for steak tacos. Again, Sundays have been worse.

Now, however, I'm already catching up on lost time and looking forward to spending the weekend (I know it's only Monday) working and getting stuff done.

Now, I really enjoyed putting together last week's "inspiration" post, so I thought I'd do it again, this time along a theme. I've really been getting into books lately, specifically artist books and handmade books, so I'm posting some of my recent favourites.

This lovely book also happens to be a pinhole camera! Cute and useful. I found it here.

This darling little book (and the how-to) are found here. I recently worked at a library and used to use these little due date slips to write to-do lists on. Now I kind of wish I'd held onto a few so I could use them for the covers, like on these ones. Oh well. I'm still determined to make a bunch of these little books.

I recently bought a copy of this zine from wonderfully talented illustrator and animator Julia Pott. It is more beautiful in person. I'm in love with the cute, chubby animals and the heartbreaking captions. I guess I'm a sucker for heartbreak. Also, I'm already wondering how I can get my drawings to translate into the zine/book form.

Case of the Mondays.

2010-07-19T00:46:00.005-04:00

I think I may be getting too old to use the floor as my studio. My back is killing me. On the plus side, I've finished one large drawing, and am nearly done a second. I've also done a new small piece (above), so the weekend has been a productive one. Even though tomorrow is Monday and I've got a busy-as-hell week ahead, I can start the week comfortable and confident in the knowledge that I didn't just waste away the days in front of the television.
I also had an impromptu photo shoot of my greeting cards so that people could get an idea of how they actually look, rather than just the scans.
It feels good to be busy and productive, and I'm glad that things seem to be coming together. I've got three large pieces for the show off to be framed later this week, and I'm also involved in a second upcoming show! Next weekend I've got a birthday party to host, but I'm hoping to compensate for the lost time during the week. Wish me luck!

Images to keep me Inspired

2010-07-17T18:59:00.006-04:00

Since I've been getting myself into high gear in order to get work done for the show (or, ore importantly, in time to be framed for the show), I've been thinking a lot about where my inspiration comes from. I've decided to post some images and links so that I can share some of my interests. I also figured it might help me to compile some of these things in one place so that as I'm working, I can refer back here and feel...I don't know, more creative? The work that I do differs - in some ways greatly - from each of the artists below, but I find their work compelling. I've really enjoyed compiling all of the images and links for this post, so I think this is something I'd like to keep doing on a (semi?) regular basis.
After hitting "publish post", I have to go straight back to work - but this has been a fun, inspiring, and much needed distraction.

Sara Cwynar's design work makes me wish I had done a degree in design. Well, it's not just her work that makes me wish that, but it certainly helps.

Noel Rodo-Vankeulen and Rob Canali's Atmospheres & Illuminations book project is an in progress work that I had the pleasure of seeing an early version of when I had class with both of them this past year. The photographs are of many different things, but are all light and ephemeral - of things that are fleeting, such as clouds in the sky or the reflection of light in a mirror. They combine original photographs in colour and black and white - and almost exclusively analog - with found images. Even though I moved well away from photography this year, I still (and will always) find those that can do interesting things with it to be inspiring.

Lately I've been using a lot of text in my work, and like Sophie Blackall's "Missed Connections" ongoing series, it has had to do with relationships. The relationships in my work are always ones that are ending, or just on the verge of ending, so the optimistic nature of these works is always fun to see. Reading craigslist missed connections in real life is always a little depressing, but she turns them into something whimsical and hopeful.

I can't remember exactly how and when I came across Kate Wilson's Etsy, but since I've been on a bird kick lately, her work has been great to look at. It's so whimsical and beautifully done. I have never seen birds look so cute, not even in real life. But then again, I've never seen a bird with a cupcake on it's head.

Speaking of birds, I found this image on a blog I frequent that features photography in many different styles, from many photographers including the blogger herself. The blog is in Dutch, so I generally have no idea what her posts are about. Luckily, her posts always feature tons of great phtos of hip European people and places for me to ogle. I chose this photo because I my post last week about my (lack of) studio. I feel like if just had a sweet yellow room with birds all over the place I'd be set.

Another room for me to wish i lived in. Don't get me wrong, I love my apartment, but lack of time and money makes interior decorating another one of those things that I just kinda dream about. I like to think I won't be poor forever, but at least looking at pretty pictures is free! I found this pretty, symmetrical little gem here.

Charmaine Olivia's beautiful paintings and illustrations are always a pleasure to look at. Her portraits and figures, such as the one above, and her patterning and animals are always a joy to look at. I enjoy how the figures have a certain level of realism (most likely the hyper-detail in the facial features) that makes her work quite striking when combined with her gorgeous stylization.

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I'll be posting my regular stuff tomorrow. I've been drawing all day (with less to show for it than I'd hoped) but I'm spending the rest of the evening, and all day tomorrow working on show stuff too. I've also very recently (aka Thursday) made a huge decision concerning this coming year, and my future in general. I'll go on about it more when everything falls (a little more) into place. I've had a lot on my mind in last few days, but the show isn't getting any farther away. So, until tomorrow.

Another Fast Weekend

2010-07-11T22:41:00.004-04:00

Weekends have been going by so. fast. Probably because weekends always go by fast, and summer always goes by fast, so weekends in the summer must go by extra fast. Must be it. On the plus side, I've started work for the show. The top two posted here are going to be part of the twelve five by seven illustrations in the show. I want them all to have a 3-dimensional component to them, and then to be framed in shadowboxes. So, 2 down, 10 to go! The nice thing about working in this size is that they are (well they can be) quick, and they don't take up much space.

My apartment is studio-less. A one bedroom with two people, two cats, and no air conditioning is not the most conducive to clean, organized, stress-free creativity. The nice thing is, we've got an air conditioner being delivered tomorrow and I've staked out a corner of the living room where I've built my nest of workspace. I'll explain that. Never having had a proper studio space, I've had to adapt. I usually lay all of my supplies (watercolours, pens, pencils, papers, fabric, sewing machine, and glue) in a semi-circle on the floor with an empty spot in the centre for me to sit in. Then, I add a big glass of ice water and a mug of coffee and the nest is complete. I have spent hours and hours, sometimes all-nighters, in this set-up. My back is usually sore the next day, but it works for me.

Greetings!

2010-07-11T22:01:00.002-04:00

A wonderful friend of mine recently had the idea that I get greeting cards printed of some of my drawings and offer them for sale, both on my Etsy and at my upcoming show. This works perfectly because I have a lot of friends who like my work but are, like me, poor students and can't afford my original works. The cards are beautifully printed and the colours are true to life, so if anyone were to buy them, it would almost be like having the real thing!
I love the way they turned out, and am hoping to get more as soon as possible (well, as soon as I figure out which drawings to use next, and as soon as I see how popular these actually are).

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I was so excited during the entire process of making these - from choosing which illustrations to use to excitedly speed-walking home from the post office to open up the box.

p.s. - you can buy them here :)

Poster!

2010-07-04T12:07:00.002-04:00

The poster is done! I finished it earlier this week and put some finishing touches on it today. Once again, there is still a long list of things on the go (namely all the the work that is supposed to be going into the show), but it's nice being able to cross at least one thing off the list.

That said, it's Pride Week here in Toronto, and the parade is today. With all of that colourful excitement going on outside my door (I live almost literally on the parade route), I need to go outside in the sunshine and enjoy it. Happy Pride! (or just Happy Sunday for non-Torontonians)

Another Weekend Over

2010-06-28T07:01:00.003-04:00

It's crazy how fast these things go. It's a combination of the fact that it's summer and that I have a huge to-do list looming over my head. I started working on the design for my show poster, and I hope to have it done in the next day or two, hopefully tomorrow. I haven't started any of the final works for the show yet, but, whatever - that's not all I ever want to talk about.

The last two days have been strange here in Toronto, with the largest streets and intersections looking like barren, post-apocalyptic movie sets. Windows smashed, cars on fire, and no one to be seen. I live a little North of all the anarchy, and so in my safe little bubble of Yonge & Bloor it really seemed like there were no problems at all, except for the sirens rushing down Yonge every now and then. Oh well, it's over now and this blog isn't my political soapbox.

I'll post any new work as it comes, and the link to the website when it's up and running, which like everything else I set out to do, should be any day now.

A Slight Re-Tooling, and I'm a bad person

2010-06-25T14:08:00.002-04:00

I'll start with the second part of the title first. I am a bad person. Last post I went on and on about how optimistic I was about my work ethic, hoping upon hope I could convince myself to be more productive. Productivity is the word of the month, and it's one that eludes me. All this to say I have not worked on my show yet. I've been planning, making lists, and conceptualizing. Tonight I'm working with the beautiful Jess Thalmann on my website (aka, she does my website for me while I drool all over her and commit to millions of favours as payment for her hard work). But as for the actual production of work? Well, as of now my exhibition consists of one drawing, beautiful, but not yet framed. I plan on doing six more large scale works - four on paper, framed, and two on wood panel, as well as 12 shadowboxed 5" x 7" tableaus. I do, however, work well under pressure. The work for my last show was done in about 10 days. But that's not the plan for this one. I swear.

As for the second part of the title: a slight re-tooling. I plan to put my finished work - all finished work - on my new website, so having it here too might be a bit redundant. This blog will still be dedicated to displaying two newly produced small scale drawings per week, but they'll likely be rougher, mostly sketches for larger or more finely rendered work that will appear on the website. I'll see how it will all work out, but I am more dedicated than ever to keeping this project alive. That said, this weekend marks the third since I've updated and I owe you six drawings. This weekend...it will happen!

Two of Two, and Productivity

2010-06-06T11:16:00.002-04:00

So here, as promised, are the other two drawings for this weekend. There are a bunch of gallery applications I'm trying to finish for this week because I'm trying to get more exposure and more experience on my CV so that MFA applications go a little better next year (aka, I get accepted somewhere). For some reason, I've been procrastinating and I don't even know why. I hate that feeling. I know that I need to do these applications to get into any shows, and I also know that I need to do some hardcore work and planning for the show I have coming up at the end of the summer. I want to finish around 6-8 new, large works and those take time. I want the quality to be good, of course, and I want to get them framed. All this translates into the fact that I need to get to work.
Doing this blog definitely helps. For new ideas I'm constantly looking at different sources, for instance, the one of the lady with the flowery beehive was inspired by this. These sources of inspiration help me think of more concrete ideas for my show. The next step is just doing the work. Easier said than done, but hopefully next week I'll have something started and be on my way toward being more productive. Fingers crossed?

One of One, and Portraits

2010-06-05T11:29:00.002-04:00

So here they are, and only a week late. I know, I know - the whole reason I started this blog was so that I would push myself to remain productive. That's why this post is titled one of one - I promise another post within the next 24 hours. Or at least by the end of the weekend. So there.

The second drawing is an attempt at a portrait. I draw a lot of people, but none of them actually exist. The faces (which all look the same, I know) are just made up. Recently, in an attempt to make a sort of fun office job more fun, my friend put a plastic duck in her hair and asked for a portrait. What should have been a 2 minute doodle became a weekend long affair as I tried to make the face resemble hers - which is beautiful, of course. Attempts and crumpled paper piled up as I tried to make the face look like hers. Finally, I came up with the one above and both she and I were happy with the result. Is this something I should attempt more? Portraits that resemble actual people rather then the nondescript faces I normally doodle? At the very least, it's a challenge. I'll see how it goes.

P.S. - her hair is brown and gloriously curly. Not grey. I still need to tweak the colour settings on my new scanner.

Long Weekend and the Blahs

2010-05-24T11:39:00.004-04:00

It's the long weekend, which means, for most, bad beer and fireworks. The weather outside is beautiful and it's Monday at noon and I'm still in my pajamas. However, I've been having one of those days where everything just feels kind of bland. My two drawings felt laborious and I'm not too happy with them, but good drawings or not - it's nice to be productive.
I've had a healthy breakfast and I'm going out for lunch, so hopefully today picks up.

Short post for today, I suppose. I'm still working out what my show is going to be, and I'm excited to start working on some bigger pieces. I'll update with any developments as they come.

Edit: I wanted to add that I bought a new scanner on Saturday. These two drawings were scanned with it - first, mistakenly, on the "illustration" setting, which did not work at all, and then as colour photos, with success. Next stop, a good printer so I can (hopefully!) start selling prints.

A Month Later

2010-05-16T13:52:00.004-04:00

Ok, I'm back. And it's been too long. Between going away for 2 weeks and then moving a week later, and then starting a new job, I've been distracted. But I'm back now, week to week. (I just unpacked and organized all of my art stuff!).
The top drawing - the one with the two girls - is kind of exciting for me, and here's why. Just a few days ago I found out that I've got gallery space for a show. A solo show! The final two weeks of August. And the reason why that drawing is significant is because You Make Me Feel so Misanthropic is (almost definitely) going to be the name of my show. So there's that.
Otherwise, there hasn't been much else going on. I'm living downtown now, after 4 years of being stuck in the no man's land of North Toronto, and it's really, really great.

So that's that till next week. More about the show to come.

Au Revoir!

2010-04-09T01:30:00.002-04:00

So, one new drawing for now. I really, really don't want to be a complainer, but I've been pretty busy lately. I'm leaving for 2 weeks the day after tomorrow - to Paris! (and Rome, Florence, Brussels, and Amsterdam!). Less than a week after I get back, I'm moving into a new apartment. And I only just found out that I got the apartment this morning.
Nevertheless, I wanted to do a drawing this week, and hopefully another before I go. The drawing contains art paper printed with a vintage Paris map - fitting, I thought.

So, if I don't post before Saturday, have a good two weeks - and look forward to new drawings upon my return!

New Drawings and a Love Letter to Photography Pt. 2

2010-04-06T01:50:00.002-04:00

Today was my last ever photo class. Ever. It was also my last undergrad class. I have an exam the day after tomorrow (and so I have studying to do) but I'm pretty much all done.
There's a reason why both of my drawings this week are in black and white. I do (did?) black and white photography. My drawings are generally not black and white. Since drawing/illustrating is pretty much all I'm going to be doing now, I wanted to give one last little nod to black and white. Well, it's not like I'll never do anything in black and white again ever, but I guess I'm already feeling nostalgic. Maybe it's the 18 or so hours I spent in the darkroom over the long weekend.
So goodbye photography, goodbye chemical smell, goodbye safelight, goodbye enlarger, goodbye rolls of film, and goodbye black and white (for the most part). We had a good five years together, didn't we?

Now about the drawings specifically. The top one actually contains a test strip from one of my most recent photos. The bit in the middle that says "none of your business" is the lower half of a photo I worked on this weekend. The lower drawing is actually sort of taken from a (much larger) drawing I did earlier this year for a class. We had to do a piece on voyeurism, so I did a large drawing called "Wallpaper Design for People Who Like Being Watched". It was like the one above, but it was just the wallpaper, no floor/window and it also had a guy in the pattern - wearing sunglasses.

Once again, I apologize for the lacklustre scans. Along with the end of the school year comes the end of my access to stellar equipment. Once I get a bit of money, I'll buy a better scanner.

That's all, folks.

2010-03-29T22:02:00.002-04:00

So, as promised, here's my second drawing for the week. I mentioned earlier that I've been on birds lately. Well, I've also been on birches. I think they're great. This one turned out a lot moodier than I intended. I painted the background with this lovely teal blue colour I have in my Marie's Chinese watercolour set. Then I went in with some black-ish brown, intending to just add a bit of shadow. In all fairness, the colours are much lovelier in person, and this one was scanned with my crappy all-in-one (proper scanner and high quality printer hopefully to come in the next few months).

Now, tomorrow I have to hand all the drawings I've done this semester for my drawing class. Problem is, I've been working small - as you can see - and the drawings I submit for class have to be on full sheets (22" x 30" I think) and I'm in a small drawing state of mind. Second problem is, I haven't really kept up on those drawings too well. After my show in January I felt really burnt out and haven't been up for doing much drawing, so tonight I'm faced with the daunting task of making up for lost time. I've had a cup of coffee and a handful (or two) of chocolate chips and I'm ready to face the big, blank sheet of paper staring up at me from the floor. Here goes.

That Drawing

2010-03-28T17:38:00.001-04:00

Here it is- I said I'd add it. Another soon to follow, I swear.

One New Drawing, and a Love Letter to Photography

2010-03-28T12:23:00.002-04:00

I have a new drawing this week, but the scanner I use is on campus. I'll scan it and post it later today. I wanted to post now because, frankly, I'm late. After only three posts (excluding this one) I don't feel I've earned the right to be all "sorry I haven't posted in so long, I've been busy blah blah". But I'm sorry I haven't posted. I've been busy. Blah Blah.

I've been busy because the school year is coming to a close. It's scary because I'm graduating. In about a week and a half, I'll be done with undergrad. Any excitement I may feel at the prospect of being able to put letters (BFA!) after my name is overshadowed at the moment by due dates that creep closer by the minute and hang over my head like angry, angry clouds.

A further reason for my business and subsequent neglect to this blog project (bloject?) has been photography. I have one assignment left, and I want to make it a good one. I have studied analog black and white photography for every school year since 2005 (with the exception of 2007 - digital photography, pffft). This is the final year I'll be able to do it and my last assignment is due a week from tomorrow. I'll miss it. Not for the taking pictures, I can still take pictures, but for the process. I'll be hand-processing my last ever roll of film this afternoon and printing thorughout the week. This is my last week of coming home smelling like vinegar and death. Goodbye, darkroom. We had a good run.

Am I getting sick or is it just art school?

2010-03-17T16:03:00.004-04:00

Today is my university art department's open house. Everyone was allowed to install whatever they wanted and the walls of the art building are plastered with student work, for better or worse.
I was at school taking advantage of studio space until 12:30 last night (that's 12:30 in the a.m.) Wednesdays are my 10 hour work day. 4 hours in the film library, 6 hours in the darkroom. I'm tired, but at least my jobs are cool.
My 60" x 44" pen, ink, graphite, and watercolour drawing is done. So are my 2 five by sevens, as per my weekly deal. I used a better scanner for these ones, so they oughta look better than the last two, scanned in my old dell all-in-one.

On the flipside, I think I'm getting sick. I usually get sick this time of year, and I blame daylight savings. Yes, the days are longer, but at what cost? My head is cloudy, my nose is stuffy, but at least I feel I've accomplished something in the last 24 hours.
Also? birds. They're everywhere this week. In my drawings, I mean. Both of my drawings this weeks are birds and the aforementioned 60" by 44" drawing is of birds too. Maybe I like their beady, lifeless eyes.

That "end-of-the-weekend" Feeling...

2010-03-08T00:50:00.005-05:00

I have it.
You know when it's Friday afternoon and you're all fired up about the things you're going to do on the weekend? All of the procrastinating you're finally going to make up for? I have a class on Fridays from 2:30 until 5:30 and I often spend it daydreaming about the hyper-productive and efficient version of me that is going to take over for the weekend and not only get tons of homework and reading done, but make art, healthy breakfasts lunches and dinners. Where does that me go? Now it's Sunday night and my well crafted to do list sits there with nary a checkmark (well, aside from "blog post"). But that's okay. Technically, it's Monday - 12:55am - but for me, I'm still riding on that wave of weekend optimism. I've done my drawings, I'm posting, and I'm getting ready to start moving on to the next of the many items on my list.

Oh, and my 2 new drawings! See?

So, here I am

2010-03-02T12:25:00.002-05:00

I've started this blog in an attempt at trying to trick myself into being productive. It's my goal to post two new drawings on this blog once a week, hence the name "two per week" and the url: five-by-seven (the drawings will be that size).
A little about myself: My name is Tori. I'm in art school, for the time being. I'm all set to graduate later this spring. I'm waiting to see what the wide world has in store for me in the coming year - I've applied to graduate school with some small hopes of being accepted. We shall see.
At school, I study visual arts, with my focus on photography and drawing. I'm also an English minor. My drawings have been leaning more toward illustrations lately, and I'm going to keep going with that. So, here I am.

I'll get the ball rolling with a couple of images that though they weren't done this week, are indicative of what I do and what I'll be doing.