be merry

merry christmas

String Art

With the help of my one of my teacher, I learned that the thread and nail piece I recently did used an old technique called STRING ART. String Art is a technique that was pioneered in the 60's and has now been disregarded as kitschy low brow art. It often focuses on designing geometric shapes and patterns similar to the spirograph. Here are a few pieces that brought shiny stars to my eyes

And yes...That is Jessie from Saved by the Bell

oh...and yes a Star Wars string art

During my string art search I came across this little gem and couldn't resist....

I want one

Hammers and nails and threads OH my

Here are the photos of my wall piece from the FAT CITY WILDCAT show. It took a little over 40 hours to complete and a few sleepless nights but seeing it all come together was well worth it! This is by far the largest piece I've ever made and I definitely want to continue working at a larger scale. For a girl whose pieces are usually about 8 by 10 inches, a 6 by 7 foot wall space can be daunting. However I really did enjoy the process and was blown away by how rewarding it can feel to see your doodles on a wall!

OMFG ART: Amy Brown & Melvin Galapon

Due to annoying internet issues earlier this week, I'm running a tad behind in my postings but don't worry, everything is back to normal and I'm ready to chat about a few more spectacular creative’s as promised!

The OMFG artists this week are Amy Brown and Melvin Galapon

Though these folks are on opposite spectrum's artistically, they have both peaked my interest in something new and have encouraged me to step outside the box creatively.

Amy Brown is an illustrator based out of London. She creates playfully naive drawings that make you wish there was a space ship to the land of her brain! However, what really brought stars to my eyes was her colourful king tut short! Her simple yet fun style really got me turned onto the idea of seeing my drawings in motion and gave me the confidence to think it was possible. Here is the wonderful animation and a few examples of her work!

Egypt Egypt from Amy Brown on Vimeo.

Melvin is a graphic designer who is also based out of London. He creates stunning pieces of design which often use iconographic imagery to comment on contemporary culture. These few images don't do justice to the body of his work, so I highly suggest checking out his website! His beautiful designs continue to tweak my interest in word art and encourages me to keep exploring typography in my own work.

FAT CITY WILDCAT

So the FAT CITY WILDCAT release party went spectacular! It was quite surreal to see a couple hundred people fill my apartment but I was blown away by how supportive and respectful everyone was! Please go visit the official FCWC blog to check out pictures from the night!

FAT CITY WILDCAT

FAT CITY WILDCAT

FAT CITY WILDCAT

make noise

Here are some drawings I did for a school assignment based on independence day and non-conformity.

late night, hammer hard

So it's the night before the show and my house is no longer a home but rather a gallery. All of my furniture is packed away into my bedroom. All evidence of my existence is tucked tightly away. Its quite odd to be responsible for others peoples art. Hanging on my walls under my watchful eye, they wait. You can really look at peoples art when your alone with it. You see things that you wouldn't have if they were around. You feel guilty, as if your doing something you shouldn't do, even though their hanging there to be looked at. However, tonight I'll be staring deep into the eyes of my own piece. With over $50 worth of embroidery floss, buckets of nails, a 3 dollar hammer, some old fashioned elbow grease and plenty of caffeine I think I can survive the next 24 hours.

the wonders of the world

I've been avoiding posting this little guy because I submitted him for Fat City Wildcat but once Taya showed me first printed copy of the book I got too excited and couldn't resit! I've been doing some serious procrastination lately. From bleaching half of my head to sitting in the tub for hours watching reality television I just can't seem to focus. First step to a distractionless night is logging off blogger.

good night

OMFG ART: Shary Boyle and Cody Cochrane

I've decided that in an attempt to further my knowledge of contemporary artists and illustrators I will try to feature a few creative's a week on here! Not only will my wealth of art knowledge grow, now I'll have a place to share my relentless bookmarking.

The OMFG artists of the week are Shary Boyle and Cody Cochrane.

I have major girl crushes on these very talented ladies and whats even better then rad girl art...well that is rad girl art by Torontonians! Yup, thats right...these ladies are T.O. natives and they are sure doing a great job of representing Canadian contemporary art!

I certainly suggest you mosey on down to the AGO to check out Boyle porcelain figures which are in the permanent collection as well as check out Cochrane up coming show at Narwhal on December 11!

Sedmikrasky (daisies)

A brilliant Czech new wave film that I just can't get out of my head

Land of Milk

This is a piece I did for my media class based on the "got milk" campaign. I chose to upload the image without the milk logo so that it could stand alone as an illustration. I don't know what it is about digital illustration that gets me jonesing for anything and everything 90's.....busy prints and tacky colours..... sounds like perfection! This is actually a piece of a larger illustration I did for my best friend Taya's new art publication Fat City Wildcat! It is a book featuring an array of rad Toronto based artists and illustrators and if your in the Greater Toronto Area on December 5 I suggest that you stop by 461 Dundas west for the release party! There will be booze, food, art and music, plus a house full of uber talented art folk! Don't hermit your life away.... stop by and have some fun!

pretty little things

A sweet little pin I found a few weeks ago at a craft fair. It was quite honestly to pretty to resist and it made me feel all worm and fuzzy inside. It has a rather humble, hand made quality to it which just makes my heart swoon .... isn't it odd how even in November you can miss those pink hazy summer days.

ok, enough day dreaming...lets get back to work folks

The forecast is calling for nails...

I'm excited for:

christmas break

new ideas

tartan is the new plaid

An embroidery I did on the singer/songwritter Laura Gidbson

Skittle Skies

I've been pretty terrible with keeping up with this blog, but as Christmas break approaches I'll be trying my best to update regularly! Here are a few new pieces I did based on the book " The 48 laws of power". The first piece is based on law 23: concentrate your forces, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come. The second piece is law 10: Associate with the happy and fortunate, unhappiness is infectious. They are both oil on wood panel.

A buzzing Hallows' Eve