January Wind

The wind twists and ties my memories down
It howls and sparks and would rather I not forget...

January has been such a peculiar month so far.  I feel terribly behind in my creative pursuits but yet at the same time energized and excited for the year to unfold.  I think it's just been hard to get back into work mode after such a long holiday break.  My mind still seems to be focused on boiling large root veggies for stews and curling up in a nest of comforters on my bed and napping hours away.   

You leave tiny stab wounds, slivers of small branches.
Leaves flutter around us, an added drama.

To curb these lazy actions, I am giving myself little goals and creative adventures.  Sketch for five minutes before I head to work (meaning get up 5 minutes early already...lol).  Or next week I have challenged myself to swim at least once.  I need to be back in the pool...let my mind wander through lengths of chlorinated blue.

I suppose I have also been a little preoccupied with planning a wedding...kye and I are finally getting married.  Anyone who knows us well, also knows that we have been engaged for a very LONG time.  It's fairly ridiculous.  This is our ten year anniversary year, so it seems fitting to throw a party and get hitched.  Of course with a wedding comes invites and decoration and thus crafting! Hello favourite things!

 Our theme is robot marries monster.  I've been sketching out some ideas for the invites...nothing but ideas at this point...and we have many...I like the one above...and want to colour the tie and head band with pinks and orange, leaving the rest of the line work black.  I think that would look sharp.

We are also playing around with some 8Bit imagery...might be a fun take...I like this image...but it's just not entirely there yet.

I am also in love with these lithuanian wedding head dresses...something tells me I will be making these!

My dad has also offered to help construct these hats...they are so crazy...but I kind think they would be a real show stopper!

New year, new journal...

a new beginning.

Kye bought me a new journal for Christmas this year and I love it! A size change from my last journal...more roomy, and it has a horizontal layout, which makes me feel like i'm journaling on long landscapes...and that makes for many happy pages.

treasures from sewon!

The first few pages i've worked on have included some of the treasures i've received in the mail from my art pen pals. There are a couple collages of small special secrets from sewon, whose blog i absolutely adore following. Her photographs are so lovely and really capture the everyday!

handmade stickers make everything better!

Along with sewon's secrets, there is a collage of handmade stickers that jeannine sent me from the west.  They are so fragile and sweet. I had to use them in collaboration with some illustrations.

a trio of owls.

And of course i received a package of sunshine and rainbows from my friend jessica, which included a trio of handrawn owls! I've yet to journal with these wonders, but my mind is racing on how i might...so many possibilities!

rain dancing.

Another creative beginning that I am really excited about is getting back into poetry with the help of one of the most incredibly talented writers I know Lindsay ZV. On the second day of 2012 we ran into each other on our way to work and challenged each other to write a poem or poems each day and send them to one another. 

Way back before the monster factory began, i used to write poems and pair them with images and drawings. As the monsters took over, I continued the image making but let the words fall aside...but it's time to collect them again.  I feel a bit like a baby deer on wobbly legs falling a whole lot, and writing hilariously bad verses...but hey we all have to start somewhere right! Oh and thank you Linds for bearing with me while i try and find my words again.  I've sprinkled some of my first attempts in amongst the images.

a winter collage.

i hear a song
a blue jean melody

and then

worn memories
catching in my chest.

handmade stickers from jeannine...i love the sprinkles...like rainbow snow flakes.

in the cold months
i carry bits of green and sun,
tucked in with bank statements and receipts.
my wallet burns.

our resolutions.

the cotton flowers in the closet
softly mimic
the sounds of summer.

Everyday Party!

First off Happy New Years Everyone! I really hope that 2012 is smashingly bright and full of sparkles and happy dust! Now onward...

The busy months are finished, my holidays are packed away in the upstairs closet and it's back to regular routine of the everyday.  This got me thinking that it is the perfect time for another 'Everyday Adventure!'.  So I got to work and made a bunch of these tiny little bunting banners to send around to some friends.  The idea is that you can stick them up in a place somewhere in your life that might need some cheering up. I put up mine in a little corner near a window in our house that needed a little something something.  Then I put on this song and had a solo dance party...I highly recommend it to everyone!

I took a very LONG vacation from everything over the last couple of weeks, partially due the fact that I got taken down by a silly cold...but now I'm back...ready to start drawing...lots of incoming mail to post up...and a future textile line to create.  2012 feels like it's starting off just right...

Happy holidays!

Holiday Cards are printed and ready to be folded into envelopes and sent all over to friends in far and not so far places.

These cards are lino cuts. A little tricky to get the hang of but I am fairly happy with the results.

I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season filled with lots of love and good people.

Busy monsters...

Above is the Monster Factory, One of a Kind Show booth.  This is what has been taking over my life as of late.  So many monsters! 

I can't wait to get back into sketching and illustrating over the break.  Some big ideas! 

Things are finally starting to slow down some, which is good because I also need to do some major house cleaning...it's hilarious what happens to your home when you are working around the clock for a month straight.  

This weekend, I believe I will have a chance to finish my holiday card and hopefully attend city of craft here in Toronto!!!! If you are in this city I implore you to go because it's going to be fantastic!

Paper Memories

Wow, November has flown by! I can't believe December is almost here. I also can't wait for the holidays, I am dreaming of hot chocolate, hot cider and a billion baked goods...which i am hoping to bake.

I have not had as much time for sketching and blogging over the last few weeks due to all the craziness over at the Monster Factory. Things tend to go a little banans during the holidays.  But I am still finding the time to throw down ideas here and there, as I plan on developing my first attempt at a line of textiles for the end of January. 

None of these sketches are concrete, more just bits of inspiration on paper, things I don't want to forget, kept for later.  I am really excited to get going...don't you just love the beginning stages of a project, when you have so many ideas and then you actually start to see them appear in front of you...it must be one of my favourite things in life!

ps...there are some AMAZING textile designers down at the Toronto One of a Kind show.  I met Alison from Lovell designs...she was so lovely and made incredibly inspiring work...check it out!

Breath Out and In - A mail post.

I have finally found a moment to put together a few letters to let loose into the wilderness.  My 'Flurries' dioramas are flying off in these little quiet envelopes.  I think they will be cozy enough wrapped in their paper blankets.

These colourful folks are carrying some special surprises for old and new friends! I hope they move quickly through the woods.

I have also been getting a few lovely treats in the mail myself!  First my friend Tanya sent me one of her own creations.  It's so beautiful, I've been keeping it on my desk and looking at it whenever I find myself craving a pocket of stillness during the day.

I have also been so lucky to have received, not one but two amazing packages from Merissa!  I was introduced to her via my friend J.  Her calligraphy is out of this world awesome and she shares a love of Elvis with me!

Finally, I'm not even 100% certain how I stumbled on Beebee's blog, but I am so glad I did.  We are doing a zine exchange and I received her package first.  Holy smokes...it's outstanding.  Her Workshop zine is so beautiful! But not only beautiful also crazy informative, full of diy projects, and informative tips about stationery and stationery accessories.  Here is a link to where you can get your own copy!  I can't wait for our next exchange, but first I must send out her package!

A little DIY gift you can make!

Kawaii sticker sets! my favourite!

Flurries.

Looking to the sky for clues.

It's a very misty morning.  The leaves have been shed and nature has moved to a cool and hazy colour palette. I can feel winter on the tips of my fingers.  I made some sketches last night and turned them into these little dioramas.  Going to send out some treats in the mail tomorrow.  Not much time for too much else.  The one of a kind show is around the corner and our office is slowly filling to the ceiling with monsters.  I am looking forward some quiet time at christmas, but until then I am really enjoying the rush of the holiday season.

Let's all disguise ourselves in snow piles.

Catching winter.

Textiles...The early stages.

early stages...mucking around in illustrator.

So when I started to get back into my blog a couple of years ago after a long monstrous hiatus, one of the goals of this project was to make a dream of mine come true: Textile Design.  Before I started though, I really wanted to develop my illustration style more and give myself some room to work on a mess of ideas...but now I feel ready.  So I have given myself a deadline, and I want to have a line of textiles ready for end of January...fingers crossed I can make this happen. I think my first line will most likely be called 'The Friendly Bears'...it's a hunch I have...

Pocket Sunshine

I've been buried deep in my sketch book for the last few weeks. Time is thin during the holiday season due to all the monster madness at work, but I've been enjoying my swift and stolen moments with my journal. I've posted most of these little bear drawings before via quick instagram shots, but I thought I would display them again in a bit more detail. 

My mail box has also been a flutter of beautiful treats...I can't wait to share some of the posted secrets that I've been keeping.  I'm also looking forward to a big mail out myself, I have been a little behind on my correspondences lately, and I've got my own post secrets to ship off to old and new friends!

There is no snow yet here in Toronto...and I am OKAY with that...the longer the snow stays away the longer I can stay on my bicycle....but it will come.  Luckily I've been stocking up my music pod with a whole new soundtrack for the frozen months.  I am calling it either 'Mix for Snow Stepping' or 'Pocket Sunshine'.  Here are my top 5 favourite tracks so far:

1. Lana Del Rey - Video Games

2. Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know

3. Kavinsky - Nightcall

4. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

5. Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks - Whenever I Call You Friend

 (Please do not hesitate to suggest other tracks)

Into the meadow, following old footwork home.

The last fall flowers.

She keeps secrets tucked deep in her pockets.

A hint of spring through wool and fur.

It's always best to cover your ears in a wind storm.

The birds that stay on are stand out against the quiet winter horizon.

They decorate the branches and telephone wires. Removing some of the stillness from the cold sky.