polyhedrons

So I am back in Toronto, and finally making things again.

This is a thing I made today. Plenty more in this series to come...

(copper etching with chine-collé)

'don't touch my chicken stone'

'don't touch my chicken stone'
a recent sketchbook page with pen and oil pastel, giving my gemstone legs

model chairs

I'm carrying my little point and shoot digital canon camera everywhere with me here in Paris, not necessarily to get touristy shots, I carry it in Toronto just as much, but this is my way of journaling. Instead of writing everything down I just go snap happy and keep a kind of visual record of the things around me. 

Here are some amusing things from the other day, the first being a window filled with models wearing garbage bags - too timely since I had just been in a couple churches that up until easter, cover any Jesus statuettes with a purple cloth - they look eerily similar to these mannequins. 

The second photo is taken from the roof of the Grande Mosquée de Paris, it's a beautiful mosque filled with wonderful gardens and mosaic tile work. I don't know if it's the season or if they generally don't tend this one area of this rooftop garden, but I enjoyed the contrast of the industrial view in the middle of such a lovely oasis...

laser hands and head waves

This is what I make when I try to trick my brain into thinking I'm in a creative mood. I'm not. 

But it does help a little. Also it's not done.

As per usual here, my collection of collage material is fairly sparse, so for this one I resorted to a picture from the right wing newspaper that's given out for free at my school. It's an art school, and they give out the religious and the right wing newspapers. Backwards?

My studio has a serious lack in terms of any kind of table/surface to work on, so this is my set-up: 

a muskoka chair for me, a school chair for my pens, a stool for my laptop and a typically green 

parisian portfolio as a lap-desk. Seems to work juuuust fine.

Postcards from Paris

Some more postcards from the early 1900's that I altered and sent home to Toronto, these two feature the Gare St. Lazare and la Grande Roue set up in the 15th arrondissment. 

house blocks

These are some house woodcuts I used to do a varied edition of prints last year, I ended up liking them much more as individual objects than as woodblocks. Also I didn't think things through and they were incredibly hard to print as they have edges that tear through paper in a press, and none of them are the same height....

Siamese Twins

"Well!" He cried. "I can't tell which is Jack and which is Joe!"

Earlier this year before I left for Paris I made this little shadow box piece for my dearest friend and detached siamese twin Niomi. The twin image and two lines of text float on some foam-core, the rest is collaged with old graph paper, dictionary clippings and other odd scraps. The siamese twins are inflicted with bacocortical hyper brain content syndrome (details of which can be seen in an older blog post). 

Siamese Twins (detail)
Mixed Media, 2011

Carte Postale

I adore the old booksellers by the Seine - one of those typically Parisian things you expect when you get here, but are still delighted to see in person. They have some of the most beautiful old and rare books, posters etc. although most are beyond my price range (and often priced for tourists). They do however, also sell old (and used) postcards, which I adore. These postcards are far better and have much more character than the glossy and not-quite-cheesy-enough postcards they sell in souvenir shops and tabacs. This postcard is from 1904 and already has a delightful message written on it in french, but it was a pleasure to add to it and then send it on it's journey to Canada.

Livre d'Arrondissements

I collaged the cover of my little Paris map book so I look lest touristy and feel more comfortable whipping it out on the streets. Also I needed a project to get me into the swing of things. Considering the fact that I brought almost zero art supplies with me, it was a good little challenge. The other day I treated myself to a new pad of tracing paper, and some glue. I also decided that I'm done with the vogue I bought for my plane-trip across the pond and it has now become one of my few collage materials.

collaged live d'arrondissements; 2011
tracing paper, vogue magazine, sticky note, whiteout, scotch tape, pen and marker.

lanscape lines

These are some older drawings, probably from around 2009 - although I still draw both of these patterns compulsively...

Travels with my Aunt

Today I went to Shakespeare and Co. to spend a little time in the library upstairs reading. I ended up sitting on a bench in front of a bookshelf of fiction in the section of authors last name beginning with 'G'. After being unable to settle on a book to peruse, I had browsed many titles, and decided that maybe I wanted to write something of my own instead. I ended up making a few poems with two rules:

1.) Each line of the poem must be one book title
2.) I must not add any extra words of my own.

This process feels much like collaging - I like that I am not accountable for the content and simply the arrangement, and since I'm not an experienced poet (or a poet at all, for that matter) it takes the stress out of it and makes me a little less responsible for the outcome. If you look up any of these book titles, you'll find that all the author's last names begin with the letter 'g'. If not - they were badly shelved.

Travels With My Aunt

the past must alter,

travels with my aunt.

spirit of time and place,

limbo,

the glorious adventure.

inclinations, 

for special services.

the promise of joy.

wheels, 

from noon till three,

the giants eye,

corpse in a gilded cage,

under the greenwood tree.

I think I would like to take these weird book title poems and illustrate them in hilarious ways. The poems alone feel a little too humourless...

almond butter

I treated myself to a new 7" square sketchbook so I have lots of new room for parisian doodles. Here we have some classic almonds, new blobs, and balcony rails. They look pretty good on my plaid parisian pillow case.

En Paris!

Je suis finalement en Paris, et c'est magnifique!

fiery plates

A photo of our decorative wall plates from my old house Casa Rosa - it was either the first or the last shot on the roll, but either way it's good and fiery.

bevel gear

A postcard-sized paper collage on board, I started it last night and finished this morning! 

Made with some of my favourite collected bits of dictionary illustration.

'Bevel gear'
paper, ink and glue on mdf board
4" x 6"