On Vacation...

I think Kitten Face says it the best.

I am off to the west coast! So excited! But when I get home I am hoping that this postal strike will be resolved, and that I will have my next envelope diorama ready for it's blog debut.  Until then, happy June to all.  Now bring on the mountains!

Found.

Blossom hunting.

I leave on vacation in a few days.  Off to a wedding and to see family and friends! I can't wait to give those big mountains and the ocean a huge 'Hello'!  Also, I am really excited to write letters while on vacation and hopefully make a trip to the regional assembly of text.  And most of all, i can't wait to have some time to write and journal in another place.  It is always exciting to get inspired by a new location...hopefully there is also some time to dedicate towards little Kitten-Face as well! 

Falling from trees.

Finally, a few shout outs to some new friends who received their 'wolves' zines in the mail recently and graciously shared it on their lovely blogs:
1. The awesome Robyn!
2. The fantabulous Jeannine!
3. The super sweet Kye!
Thank you so much you guys! I can't wait to see what hits my mail box next:

Post-It Notes.

Friend Confirmation.

So a few weeks ago my excellent friend and biz partner Bliss, bought us some new post-its for the office. They look just like little miniature letter stationery and are ridiculously cute,  I couldn't resist drawing on them! So here is the current collection of my office post-it doodles. Does anyone else doodle away on scraps and post-its? It would be cool to see other examples. I know GR had an entire show dedicated to them which was pretty fantastic!

Next step is to write some mini letters and send them out...three cheers for post-it mail!

Happy Thoughts.

Verklempt.

Are you bear claw approved?

Sketching in Trinity Bellwoods

Fox Park.

Tonight, due to my lack of organizational abilities these days, I found myself an hour and a half early for an art opening.  I figured this was a great time to grab my sketch book and hit the park for a little impromptu sketching!  It was beautiful out tonight...Toronto hot with a warm wind rolling around the park.  I had forgotten to bring my sketch book with me (bad rhya), so I dipped into a corner store and bought some lined paper and ball point pens for supplies.  Here are the results of my sunny sketching session, which I spent on a park bench until I was scared off by some very very very dark clouds accompanied by long and flashy vines of lightening and lots of thunder.  I never made it to the opening...instead I raced the rain home on my bicycle. 

Mr. Pinecone in a bad mood.

Kitten Face sketch.

Don't worry, the grass will catch you.

Sketching in Trinity Bellwoods, before the storm.

We Are Made of Thorns.

we are made of thorns.

Experiments with markers. thinking a lot about the thorns in my mind these days.  would like to remove them...but then again maybe they add more character? I think these guys certainly wear them well.

A Trout In The City!

So a couple of weeks ago, the most excellent Jessica from Nature is My Friend, sent me on my own 'mail art adventure'.  She mailed me a lovely trout sticker and instructed me to search out an industrial spot that was in the need of a little nature.  I finally had a chance to complete my adventure today!

On my ride home I pass by lots of industrial areas that could use a little love, but there is this one apartment building wall that I see everyday that just looks so minimal and bare and screams out for some love! Now I realize it is not entirely an 'industrial area', but I feel like it is surrounded by garbage bins and not much else, and looks really lonely and in need of some nature.  So here is where my 'trout' swims, next to a stream of pipes and stone.

This project was really great.  It got me thinking all about industrial spaces and especially the abandoned ones. I admit I am drawn to these desolate areas which I believe my dad is somewhat responsible for, as he was always dragging me along on his own adventures through barren places and eventually I fell in love with these lonely lands as well.  I like the quiet and the emptiness, the lack of signs and text and the lack of people, left with only minimal flat walls and the sounds of abandon...it is definitely an eerie love affair I hold with these spaces....anyways...just thoughts...

I also managed to finish one of my own 'everyday adventures', the secret fort addition.  I made a fort of sugar, and invited my cat Koshi for tea!  It was very civilized....

Fox - A Mini Diorama!

Fox, a mini diorama! Photo courtesy of the love Jaime Maddalena

It has been a busy few weeks.  Finishing up our upstairs reno, so much painting! We painted our bedroom 'smoky green'...love this colour name! I feel like I could write several poems all about it...maybe i should challenge myself to make a 'smoky green' titled zine?

Anyhoo, I think that the weather has finally switched into a happy mood! So I can get outside with my mail art project from Jessica! I am really excited to take a cycle/mail art adventure tomorrow night. 

A few big thanks to these little friendly's who made some mentions of my 'envelope dioramas' and zines on their very beautiful blog spheres! It's so cool to see how people decide to 'tell a story' with their diorama's:1. Lady J from Send More Mail, who is also responsible for the lovely photo of a 'mini envelope diorama' I made one night all about a fox.
2. The wonderful Tanya, from Snap and Tumble, who received her 'Wolves' diorama and made a beautiful spread with it!
3. And lastly to Ms. N from Pretty Little Thieves, who posted up about my 'Wolves' zine on her awesome blog! I am such a fan of her work...completely inspiring!

Woodland Friends!

Woodland Friends, envelope diorama.

Latest 'Envelope Diorama' is all about Woodland creatures of a sort...you could call them forest spirits! I thought it might be fun to do something other than an animal and these little critters were the first things to come to mind.  Now i just need to figure out who to send this one to? In the meantime, I hope you enjoy their magical adventures. 

Hidden magic helps with hiding.

A gathering of forest spirits.

A good place to stow away your secret treasures

The only sounds are the whispers tangled in the tree tops.

Tiny spirits in training.

Lost in the orchard.

It's best to wait in the flowers.

Lightening is our night light.

Morning Blue

 

The sun is up, leaving the sky a brilliant blue. I like this. Spring has been so moody this year, constantly weeping.  i feel a change in the air.  My botty and i have been painting our upstairs bedroom and hallway, it's taking us forever, but the end is in site, and hopefully just in time for the tail end of what could turn into a sunny spring.  fingers crossed my dream of a park date will happen next weekend. 

Also, finally posted a new Kitten Face!  And two new Envelope dioramas coming soon, and some snaps of a sweet project sent to me by Jessica! So much to look forward too.  Plus, I dropped a huge handful of letters in the post box yesterday, fingers crossed that Canada Post resolves their issues and there is no strike!

Raccoons

Raccoon - Envelope Diorama

So I am just putting the finishing touches on one of my newest envelope dioramas.  This one has a 'Raccoons' theme.  I am an urban dweller and so I am often inspired by the nature that I find in my back yard...hence the 'Squirrels' diorama and now of course 'Raccoons'.  There are so many raccoons in Toronto and two in particular live in the trees at the back of our house and they are quite the wily duo.  Always trying to break into garbage bins and messing with my garden, and yet at the same time their little faces are so hilarious, I kind of get a kick out of watching them run around our neighbourhood causing havoc.  I based these raccoon illustrations on my hometown friends.  Now to send this diorama off...

Raccoon Family.

Wandering through wheat fields.

Waiting for rain in the hills.

Staying at home on a rainy night, wrapped in warm flannel floral sheets.

New found friends.

He will meet you by the flower patch.

Blossoms tumble around us in late spring.