Jacquie Severs

Oshawhat, Blogging and the Time Crunch

2012-01-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Holy moly, I feel like all I ever blog about these days is not having any time to blog. It is true, with my various jobs and commitments time for this home on the web is just plain limited right now.

But it doesn't mean I'm not out there creating content, because I sure am! Here's some places you can follow along with me, if you miss the content I used to generate here a little bit more often than I do now:

I have been spending some time over on Pinterest. It is a good place to unwind and disappear into the fantasy that I will someday get my second bedroom redecorated.

I try to stop in at Polyvore once in a while, because it is pure clothing joy for me. Again, just a good place to mentally unwind and be creative with fashion.

The big news I am excited to share is my column All the Rage over at Oshawhat, a new online publication. Oshawhat has so many great people working on it! It is a new alternative community project designed to highlight what Durham Region has to offer and it is super cool! I'm very proud to be a contributor.

Lately I've been teaching Social Media classes and that has been very rewarding. As it turns out, I'm not afraid to stand up in front of a group and talk anymore. As with many things in life I have discovered if I just throw myself into it head first, I survive better than I could have anticipated.

As usual, you can find me on twitter every day @jacquiesevers.

Coming soon, (I promise) a new Oshawa Express column about poster design, with an extended post about one of the greatest graphic designers of all time, Milton Glaser.

Roundup: Top 10 Things of 2011

2011-12-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

Most yearly roundup lists focus on a particular topic: newsmakers, albums, events, and so on. My list is going to attempt to round up things about 2011 that stand out to me as defining for the year as a whole. I'm staying away from politics and world issues because you know, I care about that stuff, but it isn't what I blog about.

#10 Bacon

Bacon has been building in popularity for the past few years but it truly reached a new level in the mainstream market in 2011. I got bacon marmalade for Christmas, and the guys from Epic Meal Time took bacon strips (& bacon strips) to new levels of gluttony.

#9 Girls Kicking Ass
The past couple of years have been dominated by the Twilight female, one who waits around for her stalker to love her enough for marriage. She's helpless. Right now the feeling is a little different. The Hunger Games is the hot teen trilogy, with an ass-kicking female lead who needs no man (even though she has two to choose from) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is on best-sellers lists internationally, while being made into a film for the second time.

#8 Dubstep

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music. It isn't new in 2011, but it hit critical mass in 2011 and went from being an underground sound to so common in the mainstream that Britney Spears used a dubstep breakdown in a single. She'd been dabbling in the sound since 2007, and of course the roots of the sound can be traced back to at least the late nineties, arguably farther than that. As the sound began to hit pop charts around the world in 2010, it was really 2011 that the trend hit hard and suddenly everyone you know is posting dubstep tracks on social media channels, nightclubs began hosting dubstep nights, and dubstep artists are performing in arenas. While I personally think there is a lot of really bad dubstep out there, I will admit that I love the Zeds Dead remix of Paradise Circus by Massive Attack.

#7 Hashtags

Even people who aren't on twitter (where the hashtag originated as a tool to help users find interesting tweets) are now using hashtags. The National Post does a hashtag feature, rounding up tweets on a particular subject using them, creating an article. But the use moves beyond trends or sorting ideas as originally intended. Long has the idea of a sarcasm grammar tool been discussed, but the hashtag is fast becoming a way to denote a joke, self depricate or poke fun at something. I laughed so hard I cried at a stream of tweets using #failedchildrensbooktitle. An example? The Little Engine that said Screw It.

#6 Your Mom Joining Facebook
Social media has been a buzz phrase for a few years and now your mom knows what it is, and how to use it. Use of social media tools like facebook among baby boomers and seniors jumped from 18% to 65% across various platforms on the web between 2008 and 2011, with 73% of those users maintaining a facebook profile.

#5 Swag
"Swag" became the new "bling" in 2011, and hold onto your hats folks, but I'm pretty sure the phrase will be as tired as the phrase "bling bling" is within a few short months. The slang has been around since at least 2008, when Soulja Boy released Turn my Swag on, or maybe earlier in 2007 when M.I.A. said in her song Paper Planes "No one on the corner got swagger like us."
Swag, or Swagger is a way of defining how you present yourself, and either you have it, or you don't. You swagger when you're feeling stylish, powerful, looking your best. Therefore, you have swag. It's more than mojo, it's more than style. It's a blend of style, attitude and freshness. You don't necessarily need to wear certain brands or expensive things to have swag, but you have to have an attitude to carry it off. It's harder to define than a simple trend or idea, in the same way that defining what "cool" is, and is not, is almost impossible. Again: either you have swag, or you don't. In 2011, having swag was a big thing.

#4 Liking Things because they're Terrible
One of the top-ten viewed videos on Youtube this year was Rebecca Black's so-terrible-it's-funny Friday.
Personally this is a trend I'd like to see go away in 2012, instead can we focus on sharing things we seriously like? I'd rather give my time and attention to talent, instead of "epic fails".

#3 Ryan Gosling Hey Girl Meme

Memes are defined by Richard Dawkins as a tool for spreading cultural ideas. Two examples he provides are melodies or catch-phrases. Internet memes are jokes that travel, with various contributors. The themes are able to be related to by a number of different people, but usually they fall within a cultural group. The Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" meme started with the blog Fuck Yeah! Ryan Gosling! which had pictures of the actor with phrases entered across them that always start with, "Hey Girl..." and continued with some sort of phrase that would make him the perfect boyfriend. The meme has grown to include new sites on regular basis this year. It makes me wonder when the actor is going to make his own meme, dedicated to those who make the memes. Now, we're getting meta.

Feminist Ryan Gosling

Typographer Ryan Gosling

Roller Derby Ryan Gosling

Museum Ryan Gosling

#2 Adele
I assume that almost all year-end lists from music publications will list Adele. She's a talent and crosses all sorts of boundaries. A soulful, honest songwriter that had a lot of success with her first album, Adele became accessible across every musical genre in 2011. The first single Rolling in the deep appealed to almost any music fan: country, punk, rap, soul, pop. Adele, though an incredible talent, owes huge thanks to her producer Rick Rubin, founder of Def Jam. He oversaw the production of the album and acted as lead producer on 5 of the tracks. Rubin started out as an alt-punk rocker but then became really interested in New York's hip hop scene. Def Jam is the label that signed Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, so there's that, but Rubin went on to produce many of your favourite bands and songs, even making things you didn't think were going to be cool extremely cool. He was the one who suggested Johnny Cash cover Nine Inch Nails. He produced Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik. When I read he was going to produce the new Adele album, I knew it would be something special. He brought an edge, an American country flavour and a deep soulful rhythm to her sound.

#1 Smartphones
Smartphones are now the highest-selling electronic device. Estimates put sales at 95 million units in 2011. 43% of mobile phone users had a smartphone by October of 2011, and it is now the majority of users that have one. People don't bother to take books or magazines on train rides, they watch movies on their phones. Remembering where something is, or getting directions? Pointless, there's a smartphone app for that. An interesting statistic to emerge from 2011 is that the Android platform is now the dominant brand in the market, controlling 53% of the market share, with Apple's iOS at only 15% and RIM's blackberry system at 11%. This puts Google in a powerful position to control the smartphone mobile market, and they are now emerging as the true competitor to the iphone market, overshadowing RIM and other players with incredible momentum. Smartphones are on track to completely redefine how we communicate, express ourselves, compartmentalize information, network and more. Sure to have far reaching impact in the coming years, it is hard to predict all the ways in which smartphones will change our lives. Looking back at this time in history, we are certain to remember our first smartphone, and how our habits changed as a result. Without question, I have to put smartphones as the biggest "thing" of 2011.

Happy New Year, readers! See you in 2012.

SlowCity Magazine

2011-11-10T13:53:00.001-08:00

my dad and me in front of the new Coupland sculpture

I recently submitted an article to a new, local, grassroots publication called SlowCity Magazine.

Here's the magazine's facebook fan page. It just launched although the magazine is heading into its third issue.

I was asked by the publisher to write about the new Douglas Coupland sculpture, which I've posted about before here but I thought I'd share the article below. At left is a photo of my dad and I in front of the work on the day Mr. Coupland was in Oshawa to unveil it. It was a really exciting day for me as I'm a big Coupland fan-girl and I was so happy so many people came out and supported public art in this area. It was a standing-room-only event and had a fantastic vibe. And of course Mr. Coupland had the whole place laughing. My dad and sister came and though I see them both as really creative people I think they were both surprised at how much they enjoyed the art gallery that day and felt like they could understand the work and how it relates the the cultural heritage here. They left Oshawa after the talk and I headed up to Orillia after I finished work a few hours later and we all met up for dinner. It was really cool to sit around the dinner table, with the kids (no, not me, my sister's little ones) not able to get a peep in as my Dad and Sister buzzed about the event. Public art and artists like Douglas Coupland make art accessible and interesting and raises curiosity. It is good stuff any way you slice it.

Here's my article for SlowCity. The next one launches in December. If you're a writer, artist, photographer, musician or other creative type that wants to get involved join the fan page and submit work.

Douglas Coupland in Oshawa

Civic pride and culture go hand in hand. When people speakof cities that they want to visit or live in, they are usually speaking aboutcities that are cool, interesting and fun. Those cities are that way becausethey have great music, great art, great scenes to check out; culture is part ofall of these things. Oshawahas some civic pride, but residents have disparate sources. Some have takenpride in our work ethic, some our gritty punk rock scene, some our green spaces.We all have something new to be proud of; our new Douglas Coupland sculpture.

Douglas Coupland is no slacker. One of Canada’s mostinternationally renowned authors, he’s also a practicing artist. Here in Canada collaborationswith Roots, interviews on the CBC and installations in major parks and cities nationwidehave made him one of the top cultural household names. And now, The RobertMcLaughlin Gallery has brought him to Oshawa.

Oshawa,the city perceived as a nitty-gritty working class town is in transition,becoming a cultural centre. Oshawa, a city stuck between the big smoke and wideopen spaces now becoming a cool destination, an interesting and fun place tolive and work.

A visit from the artist himself got people excited; it gotthem interested in where we are headed, but better still where we could go as acommunity. The installation at the RMG relates to our cultural history too –the sculpture is inspired by the works of Painters Eleven, an importantabstract art collective whose modernist works are collected across the countryand internationally. The largest collection of these works is here in Oshawa at the RMG becauseone of the members, Alexandra Luke, resided here and helped keep that culturehere. Her legacy, and those of her peers, is transmitted through the work of anew work of art, Group Portrait 1957by Douglas Coupland.

Coupland’s work brings together residents, brings art to themasses (as it sits outside the gallery walls) and brings attention to our city.People are wondering, what is going on here? We’re honouring our history whilewe propel ourselves forward into the future, one drenched in circular waves ofcolour. Our civic pride and our culture are coming together, we’re becomingmore cool, more interesting, more fun. That’s where our pride connects, nomatter what your priority.

Bubble Chairs

2011-11-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

I recently fell in love with a chair in a decor store. It is the perfect mix of future and retro and it is surprisingly comfortable.

This is it - a Eero Aarnio bubble chair. Aarnio is a Finnish designer who was very popular in the 60's. This chair, designed in 1968 is one of his signature designs and has become a symbol of futurist furniture. I tried it out expecting it to be an odd feeling, better for looking at than sitting in. But I was wrong. It felt like a warm little cocoon and I could have curled up and lived in the thing.

I considered it, and my budget, for quite some time because it so happened I spotted one in a end-of-line decor shop at a ridiculously good price. Ultimately I decided I didn't know how I would actually get it into my condo and that I'd have to take some measurements. The next time I returned, it was gone. Snooze = Lose.

I recently came across these amazing illuminated bubble chairs by Rousseau commissioned for private project. Rousseau is a design studio in London England that manufactures luxury products, interiors, props and works on bespoke events. This project included a redesign of the bubble chair infusing illustrative artwork and LED lighting to create a piece that could be viewed as art or enjoyed as furniture.

The bubble chair "Information Lounge" at Frankfurt Airport

Considered an industrial design classic, the bubble chair is elegant and simple, but it also is brash and daring. I think that's what appeals to me most, is the way that a simple, colourless geometric design has such impact.

It is comfortable and has an interesting rocking sensation, not at all like any other rocking chair I've spent time in. It's also oddly quiet in the chair, like all outside noise is lessened. People were talking to me while I was in the chair and I zoned out. In my place with the bright west sunsets, I think I'd probably curl up in this chair on a sunny winter afternoon and fall asleep in a few minutes. I like thinking about that already.

There are many knock offs on the market and I know the one I saw was not an original. It's possible that it wouldn't hold up, the acrylic would crack, or the hardware wouldn't be of good quality. Which would be unfortunate, because even the knock-offs aren't exactly cheap. Research tells me an authentic chair will set you back about six thousand dollars, including shipping and taxes.

I guess I'm putting this one in the dream file for now.

Links:

Where to buy the authentic designer chair internationally

Learn more about Eero Aarnio's furniture designs

Roundup: October Edition

2011-11-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy lately. I know I've been saying that a lot on this blog but it is the truth. I do want to have some more time to blog but I love being busy (best kind of problem to have) and with so many birthdays, events and social occasions in October, it is no surprise that I've not had a lot of time for my writing here.
November keeps rolling until mid month when things slow down ever-so-slightly. At that time I think I'll blog a bit about some creative projects I'm hoping to work on in the coming weeks as Christmas gifts.

Meanwhile, here's a few things I've been up to lately.

I filmed an interview recently talking about what the Art of Transition means to me, and what creative community building is all about.

Here it is

It's weird to watch yourself on camera! I don't think I'm this serious in real life. I don't seem like the goofy gal that lives inside my head. Being involved in the Art of Transition project has been a lot of fun and has introduced me to loads of interesting people. The video speaks for itself, but if you want the quick answer to what I'm talking about, come to the Durham Tourism Summit & Creative Awards, November 25th. It's all day and there's going to be all sorts of interesting people there, from speakers to craftspeople, dancers to food samples to arts orgs and other interesting things.

As a little side writing project I published a piece about Douglas Coupland's new sculpture in Oshawa in a new grassroots publication called SlowCity. Here's an event page for the launch of the issue.

My newest column in the Oshawa Express is out, and it's about supporting your cultural community by participating in art classes and getting to know your peers. It's not only important for beginners, but also for emerging artists, people who want to network, or even people that want to get involved but are shy and don't know how.

Speaking of being creative, I've just come through my favourite time of year, Halloween. Costume parties are the best things ever! I also enjoy the few days following the holiday when everyone posts their costume pictures online, and I also make a point of checking out the celebrity costumes. Celebs have much bigger budgets than us, so I think expectations should be much higher.

My favourite celebrity halloween costume this year is from Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and his girlfriend who went as Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour, a nod to her dress in the November Rain video.

I think it's a funny costume because it's a pop culture costume in the genre of Amy Winehouse (the pop culture costume that just won't go away) but relevant to pop culture more than ten years ago. Hilarious!

This year I needed three costumes, and had a very limited budget. For the first event, I dressed as the new Douglas Coupland sculpture at the RMG. For the second event, I was a lawn gnome. For the third event, my own party, I dressed as the paper bag princess! Grand total expenditures on these costumes was under ten dollars.

This is the Paperbag Princess. She's very angry in the book so I tried to look angry in photos...though I'm not much of an actor and have a very hard time holding an "angry" face...I think I'm half angry in this photo and half laughing.

The Paperbag Princess is a character in a children's book of the same name by author Robert Munsch. I loved the story as a child and have loved reading it to my niece as an adult. I think it tells a much more positive story to little girls than most of those horrid misogynist Disney princess stories.

Here's the synopsis:
Princess Elizabeth plans on marrying Prince Ronald, who is practically perfect. However, a dragon arrives who destroys her kingdom, kidnaps Ronald, and burns all her clothes so that she has no choice but to wear a paper bag. Elizabeth follows the dragon and Ronald, and seeking to rescue her fiancé, challenges the dragon to burn forests with fire and to fly around the world. The dragon completes the tasks but after flying around the world a second time becomes tired and falls asleep. Elizabeth rescues Ronald, who is ungrateful and tells her to return when she looks more like a princess. Elizabeth realizes that she is better off without Ronald and sets off into the sunset to live her own life.

I also had a pretty great idea for my costume for next year. Since I normally have a good costume idea this time of year and then forget it when I need to think of one a year later, I'm going against my personal rules of keeping costumes a secret and posting it here.

Wouldn't it be fun to be Red from Fraggle Rock?

Red is another strong female character. She's exuberant and athletic, she's cynical and teases her friends and wants to be in control. Yep, this sounds like a perfect costume for me! Also, it gives me an excuse to shop for a cute little red dress...just 11.75 months to go!

I like stronger female characters, I really feel like there is a lack of them in children's (and adult's) entertainment and media. So often strong female characters have negative portrayals. I've been wanting to catch a screening of the documentary Miss Representation.

There's one this week but I'll have to miss it due to a prior commitment. It is a documentary film about women and how they are portrayed in media. From their own website, "American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths. Miss Representation.org believes that all people should be equally represented in our media, that our voices should be heard and that we should all be valued for our talents, capacity as leaders, and ability to contribute to the world at large."

The org behind the film created a great tumblr featuring positive, strong female halloween costumes. You can check them out here.

There's a serious problem in our culture when teenaged girls and children are buying their costumes at sex shops. I like lingerie and ridiculous outfits as much as the next gal (heck, I even blog about it) but I don't think it's appropriate for halloween. On my old blog I spent a lot more time talking about feminist issues and more personal things, which I think I'd like to find a way to infuse more on this blog as well, though I've hesitated so far. Maybe I'll find that voice again soon.
So that's what's been burning up my time this month. Bring on November!

Fall Rouge

2011-10-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Fall Rouge

Martini Madness

2011-10-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

I came home from work a little late today and decided for my extra effort I deserved a martini. As I was shaking it I thought, "I should blog about Martinis" and as these things generally go, as soon as I decide to blog about something I must do it immediately. The first thing I did was google "Martini Quotes". I thought it might give me a kicky title, but the first result was this quote from Doug Coupland (who, if you've been reading my blog, you will know I'm a bit of a fan girl for).

"Fondue sets, martini shakers and juicing machines: three things the world could live completely without." - Doug Coupland

I'll leave fondue sets for another day; suffice it to say I love those too. But Martini shakers? I am guessing from this that Mr. Coupland isn't much of a martini drinker because anyone I know who drinks martinis uses a shaker.

The argument exists that the proper way to make a martini is to stir it. Shaking it damages the molecules, though it seems shaking is is the 'healthier' way (if there is such a thing) as shaking releases more anti-oxidants. Bond's choice of the shaken martini is consistent, though his portrayal as a vodka purist isn't. He at times orders gin and at others vodka.

In the books, it is a different story altogether. In Casino Royale, (1953, Chapter 7) James Bond's drink of choice was the vesper, named for the beautiful double agent in Ian Fleming's book of the same name:

"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel.

Got it?"
Traditionally the martini is made from gin and vermouth, though I personally prefer the vodka version. (My actual order, if I was Bond, would be "I'll have a martini. Vodka, dirty, shaken, extra olives.") The popular way to make a martini is shaken, but it could be the most popular because of the Bond films. Written history shows martinis being shaken in recipes dating as far back as 1930. Made from either Gin or Vodka, Vermouth is the secondary ingredient, and the amount added determines how dry the martini is. Vermouth was traditionally made from a blend of juniper (derivative of gin), workwood flowers, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, mace, marjoram, brandy, white wine and tree bark, but these days, Vermouth is sweet wine infused with a blend of herbs and spices, sugar and caramel, fortified with alcohol.

The martini even has its own glass, but the V-shaped form with a long stem is not just for style, it is actually designed to keep any drink cool without ice. The wide mouth of the glass also helps the bouquet of the gin or vodka to be brought out. Various opinions exist on the origins of the martini recipe and name, everything from the town of Martinez, California to various professors and bartenders designing the drink. The Oxford English Dictionary credits Martini and Rossi with the martini. In 1871, the company, then named Martini e Sola, shipped 100 cases of red vermouth to New York. This version of events is unlikely however, as recorded accounts of martinis date back farther than 1871.

And here comes my blogger's opinion. I don't feel anything with 'mix' should be called a martini. I don't really have any foundation for this claim but my irritation with the use of the term to describe a cocktail began around the time that Sex and the City was at its peak. The gals on that show ordered Cosmopolitans, which while served in a martini glass, aren't martinis at all, since they contain cranberry juice.That's fine, because as far as I can recall they referred to the Cosmo as a "cocktail" not a martini. But bars started calling anything they served in a martini glass, a "martini". Martini nights popped up, and they would charge $15 for what is basically a mixed drink. I find this to be completely unacceptable. The chocolatini, I will give a pass to, because the ingredients of Vodka + Creme de Cacao are at least both alcohol, there is no soda, juice or other non-alcoholic item included. The apple-tini is ok too, if it is properly made. But it is horribly dissatisfying to order a 'green apple martini' in a bar only to taste it and realize that it clearly contains 7up. This is why I abandoned this sort of order many years ago and became something of a purist. Though, I suppose if I was a real purist, I'd be having a gin martini.

Cheers!

Read more:
History of the Martini from the Martini Muse
History of the Martini from the Cocktail Atlas
Recipes from the Martini Muse
List of Martini Recipes from The Spirit

Road Trip: Vankleek Hill

2011-10-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have been able to take a road trip, and as a reader of this blog you know that I love road trips! This past Thursday a friend and I made the five hour drive east to Vankleek Hill, Ontario. VKH is a village located between Montreal and Ottawa, about an hour from both cities. The village is home to Beau's Beer, and they host a yearly Oktoberfest. I have a few friends who have moved there, some to work for the brewery and others to enjoy the opportunity smaller town life presents. I was charmed by the area.

Beau's Oktoberfest is a beer and food festival that includes music, traditional events, great local food and of course Beau's beer. Restaurants come from the local area to provide German cuisine. I saw smoked trout chowder, sausages, spaetzel and schnizel among other goodies. I tried the reuben sandwich from the Cheshire Cat Pub, which is locaed in Carp Ontario, just outside of Ottawa. They told me they are known for having the best fish & chips in the Ottawa region.

Beau's brews a number of specialty beers just for the festival and I was able to go to a beer and cheese pairing event where we sampled four beers alongside four kinds of cheese. I enjoyed all of them of course but loved Riopelle cheese, which I'd never had before. It was paired with Beau's well-loved Lug Tread beer.

Riopelle is a triple cream cheese made in Quebec. I remember the name because it is named after the artist Jean-Paul Riopelle, a member of the Automatiste abstractionists.

The pairing presentation was provided by a cheese expert, a brew master and a sommelier. The sommelier is the director and editor of Good Food Revolution, a Toronto-based not for profit whose mandate is to educate about artisanal food in Ontario.

After a long day of keg-tossing, beer drinking and cheese tasting, we needed a pick-me-up and had an Americano from Bridgehead Coffee. Bridgehead is a free-trade, organic, small-scale farm produced coffee shop with twelve locations in the Ottawa area. The coffee was fantastic. I really admired the effort Beau's had made in finding appropriate businesses with similar ethics to theirs for this event. There wasn't a big corporation in the bunch and it was refreshing to experience a festival of that size without any of the familiar things that come along with big festivals like overpriced water, rude vendors selling junk food, and so on. This was all warm and fuzzy feeling; organic, affordable, happy people, funny signs, family run. I'd highly recommend it and plan to go back next year.

Today we slept in late and then headed to Mary's Fine Foods, a "decadent market". I had a roast beef sandwich, which was served on a panini with horseradish mayo, dill pickles and cheese, which was fantastic. It was paired with two side salads, I chose bean and garden. This was a definite highlight; a great food experience. The restaurant is housed in a renovated victorian home (of which there are many in VKH, it is the "Gingerbread Capital of Ontario") with white washed walls and charming ambiance. The menu was simple but the food top-notch and very fresh. I took a goat-cheese brownie to go.

We made one last stop into the brewery to pick up some beer to bring home, which is available in growlers. I picked up two as gifts and we hit the road back home again.

More:
Here's a link to a blog I found that is mostly pictures of Vankleek Hill.
More about Vankleek Hill on wikipedia.
The Revision is VKH's satirical newspaper.

Here's a video that will give you an idea of what Beau's Oktoberfest is all about.

Oktoberfest 2010 from Beaus All Natural on Vimeo.

Fall Fashion on a Budget

2011-09-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

Animal Spots & Deep Hues

This is the time of year I look at my closet in utter frustration. I'm tired of summer gear, but the thought of putting socks on and wearing pants is completely unappealing. I am bored with last year's clothes! Since, like most people, I'm living on a budget, I can't just go out and buy a whole new Fall wardrobe, no matter how much I might want to.

Among my plans for getting ready for the Fall/Winter fashion season are:

1. Clean out my closet. I'm invited to a clothing swap in a few weeks, which are always a fun time. I haven't been in a while and they are always a good excuse to go through old things and figure out what works and what doesn't anymore. All the gals will get together, throw our clothes in the pile. Since everything you take with you is unwanted, even if you come home with just one swapped item it feels like success! The things that no one wants are then donated to charity. In the past I've gotten great items I've worn many times. The bonus to this is that going through your closet helps figure out what it is you want to fill in the gaps in your wardrobe.

2. Daydream. I hang out over on Polyvore sometimes, making little mood boards of styles I like. This helps me work through things I like and don't like, experiment with fashion and colour, and shop for things virtually that I couldn't ever afford in real life. It's fun paper-dolls for adults.

3. Read the Fall issue of Vogue. Sure, it is mostly ads, but I love the layouts and checking out the new designs is very inspiring. Then, when I shop in thrift stores and discount shops, I can keep in mind what trends are coming up that might interest me. I'm not a person that follows trends to the letter, I like to pick and choose the ones that work for me. But being someone that has worked in trend forecasting in the past, I'm hyper aware of the fact that sometimes the desire to have a trendy item can't be avoided. It is weird how it just happens. Like floral prints. I really didn't expect myself to want floral printed anything ever again...but this summer, I picked up a couple of items. Everything old is new again, and feels fresh again with time. I like to stay in touch with what is going to be popular down the road so I can pick and thrift wisely.

4. Shop vintage. Vintage shops, thrift stores, discount bins. These places are my friends. I'm never one to buy a whole look from a trendy store at full price, not because I disagree with that approach, but because I don't enjoy it! I think someone once wisely said that shopping is like hunting for many women; the search is as satisfying as the find. Shopping vintage is so rewarding to me, because to find something great, you have to work twice as hard. And when you do find something great, it feels as if it is one-of-a-kind.

5. Shop my Closet. This was the mantra for 'recessionistas' and I try to do it often. Just this week when running late for work I threw something together because I couldn't find the shoes I wanted. More than satisfied with the look I decided that I need to experiment with what I have more often. It isn't often that I truly need new clothes, so I just need to find new ways of putting together what I already have.

Some Links!

I've just discovered Nasty Gal. The shoes are almost too much for me to handle.

Check me out on Polyvore - ad me as a friend if you use it and say hello!

Trend forecasters say animal prints are back in...I say, did they ever go out?

Fall 2011 Inspiration

2011-09-09T23:36:00.001-07:00

Fall 2011 Inspiration by actionjacqson

Douglas Coupland in Oshawa

2011-09-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

September has arrived! Fall is my favourite time of year and while I miss summer, I always look forward to the change in weather. This year there are a number of things for me to look forward to. Among them is the appearance Douglas Coupland is making in Oshawa at the RMG.

My first experience reading Coupland's works was when I visited my sister in university. I was in grade ten and her roommate had a copy of Generation X. I'm not really of the right age to be considered Generation X, as I'm a bit young. However, I related to the generational dissatisfaction, the confusion with the world and loved the general tone of the book. I went on to read many more of his works and in a lot of ways his writing influenced the sort of novels I wanted to read for many years. My favourite was Microserfs.

Coupland is a writer and an artist, who has also blogged for the New York Times, designed a line with Roots Canada of clothing items inspired by the media and also writes a very funny twitter feed.

His sculptural works and artistic practice are more recent, having resumed in 2000, though he was educated at Emily Carr in Vancouver with a major in sculpture, and then studied design in Italy and Japan. He said once that he became a writer by accident, after he was hired to write for a magazine based on a postcard he sent to a friend from Japan.

It is funny that Coupland has created the idea of the "slacker", because he is something of a workaholic. Once quoted as saying, "I've never taken a holiday. To lie on a beach someplace seems almost sinful. What's the point of being around unless you're working on something?" he reportedly works 7 days a week.

Coupland's work for Oshawa draws on the importance of the history of the abstract art collective Painters Eleven and the work holds special significance to the history of the RMG and Oshawa. It is set to be installed in the next few weeks and unveiled before the end of September.

Doug Coupland will visit Oshawa on September 24th in the afternoon. Click here to see the event page.
Read more: Coupland's entry in the Canadian Encyclopedia

Road Trip: Orillia Ontario

2011-08-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

I recently traveled to Orillia, Ontario. Orillia, known as the "Sunshine City" is a summer destination city 1.5 hours from Toronto situated between the "Twin Lakes" Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching. Famous for being home to folk singer Gordon Lightfoot as well as humourist Stephen Leacock, it is also "in town" from where my parents live and a city I know very well. One of the best things about Orillia is their ability to throw a street party on the downtown strip. They close it a few times each summer and the street is packed for various fairs and events.

I wanted to check out the Orillia Museum of Art and History who are currently hosting an exhibition called The Hidden Shilling. Arthur Shilling is from Rama, a native reserve across the lake from Orillia, which is where my parents live. I grew up knowing his work as he is somewhat of a local art celebrity. I found a National Film Board documentary about him at the local library as a kid and have been fascinated with his style ever since. This show is made up of works from private collections that have not been recently exhibited. It included a few self portraits, some sketches and comics and a number of significant portrait works.

Shilling was a successful artist, quite prolific and was inspired by what he called "the beauty of [his] people." He wanted to inspire pride and togetherness in his community, and as a result his colourful style of painting isn't easily compared to other art that was being produced in the 1960s. He studied and worked in Toronto, but eventually returned to his home to build a studio and settle to have children.

See more of his work here: Roberts Gallery

Shilling's widow Millie still resides at the artist's studio/home in Rama Ontario. She appeared last summer in Southampton, Ontario where a major exhibition of his work was held. Shilling traveled to Southampton to study art as a youth and maintained a connection to the area. His sons Travis and Bewabon are also artists, who showed alongside their father at the Southampton gallery showing. They both work in Toronto and Rama Ontario.

I have always found his style inspiring and it influences my painting as well. Not accurately called impressionism, it is vibrant, expressive work that is moving and emotional. He has a way of capturing the depth and beauty of human emotion with swatches of colour and I can't accurately compare his work to any other artist I know of. Probably compared to expressionism or impressionism, it is infused with the region and culture of his life and that presents a distinct style to the work. In person it is interesting to see the contrast in how his paintings appears up close and how it changes and evolves as you stand back. The exhibition is on until October 29th so if you have a chance and are headed through Orillia, be sure to stop in and see this impressive show.

On the same day I went to see the Shilling exhibition, the Classic Car Show was also happening. Bringing in over 400 cars, the entire downtown is filled with Cadillacs, guys who seriously love Elvis and a number of old muscle cars too varied in finish to mention. My favourite car was probably a Studebaker, who were in business from 1852 until 1966. I believe it was this model, a mid-1960's Studebaker Gran Tourismo Hawk.

The Gran Tourism Hawk was considered competition for the Ford Thunderbird and Pontiac Grand Prix. One of the last models of Studebaker manufactured, it did not sell enough to save the company who were already in bad a financial state. In 1964, the last year of production, less than 2000 were sold, whereas the Thunderbird sold almost 100,000 units.

The car isn't really a famous car. I thought I'd see if any film characters or celebrities were associated with the car, and while I didn't find that I did find something online I wasn't expecting, the Internet Movie Car Database, a database of what films cars appeared in. Fascinating! Here's the result for this car.

If you are planning to make a trip to Orillia, there's a few things you should be sure to catch. Here are some links to my recommended stops, other than the usual fare of fishing, swimming and boating.

Mariposa Market - best bakery, cool shop, excellent candy selection, authentic tin roof, old timey goodness
Era 67 - best restaurant in town with a great menu and unique take on local ingredients
Orillia Opera House - a real opera house with theatre throughout the summer season
Plum Loco Vintage Clothing - 114 Mississauga St E
Carousel Collectibles - vintage stuff!
Downtown Orillia Farmer's Market - a great one that is year 'round.
Guide to Downtown Orillia Events - Starry Night is a favourite of mine

Roundup: Summer Scenes

2011-07-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

I've been keeping so busy this summer. I know I've said this before but it's true. I've had two columns published in the paper since my last post, and have started a new blog at work, which you can check out here. Column one was about a local artist and column two is about collaboration and community.

I checked out a production of Macbeth recently. I've really been on a Shakespeare kick. Maybe it has to do with getting older but I feel like I have more patience and understanding now than I did when I had to read it in school. Now I get a stronger sense of the story just from the words (no need for those handy Coles Notes) and am becoming more interested in the universality of the themes. The production of Macbeth I saw was put on the Driftwood Theatre troupe and it placed the story in a post-apocalyptic setting. The costumes were very Mad-Max meets Medieval England.

The witches were terrifying! They were in costumes made with gas masks and army capes and writhed around the stage with a sort of interpretive dance style that was truly mesmerizing. It was a great way to spend a summer evening. Out damn spot! Out I say!

I recently checked out a band called White Mystery. They were a rocking two-piece band from Chicago made up of a ginger-haired brother and sister team. They were pretty bad-ass performers and also super sweet people, which I know because I got to thinking part way through the show of those Airheads White Mystery flavour candy. I spoke to them after the show and it turns out, they are named after said candy. This is good with me, cause boy, do I have a sweet tooth and these are one of my favourites. A worthy namesake I do say.

It has to be tough to me a two-piece band made up of one male and one female these days. The comparisons to the White Stripes are unavoidable. I've recently seen The StandStills perform, who also suffer the comparisons (though, really if you cover Black Betty and play a lot of blues, are the comparisons that unfair?) and opening for White Mystery was a group called Skirt Chasers, also a female/male duo.

I'd have to say White Mystery had the least-comparable-to-the-White-Stripes-thing going on , in spite of the name. Probably because of the female lead vocalist. Ballsy to go with that name though, I still say. Even if their last name really is White. What comes to mind is questions about my own sexism. Would I compare a duo, if male, to the White Stripes? Possibly, if they played a garage blues sound but it is definitely less likely than if one half of the duo is female. I need to knock that off. It's not fair.

In other arts-related news I'm working on a committee that is helping to put together a new awards program called Durham Art of Transition Creative Awards (or DATCAs). It's an interesting project that will honour creative collaboration between the arts and business and it also encourages the development of creativity in the region that I live. You can check out more about that project by visiting the Art of Transition website.

I've been working on some guest blogging for a few other spaces, so stay tuned for posts about that. Speaking of staying tuned, my friend Eddy Earwigg has created a satirical newspaper called The Revision. I may or may not have had something to do with an article or lent my expertise in other areas. Regardless of if I did or not, you should check out the paper, because it is pretty funny and a light summer read.

Other things to check out:
My recent obsession: Naomi Elizabeth , performance artist.
Fashion brand Complex Geometries who make crazy awesome street wear.
Arts blog Hype Lighter.
This song by the White Stripes, because no matter what kind of mood I'm in, this song makes me want to nod my head and bounce my knee.

Trend: Planking

2011-06-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Trends are interesting to me because they seem to always hit me the same way. First I hear about something here and there and don't think much of it. Then there's always the wallop. Suddenly in the space of a week or so I'll hear about something constantly. That's what has just happened with Planking. Planking is simple. You lie down, face down, with your arms touching your side in public. Usually you then have a photo taken and post it on the internet. Sometimes it is done as a performance piece over a longer period of time.

Sometimes referred to as "the laying down game" or my favourite, "lazy Parkour", Planking seems to have originated in Australia and has become an out-and-out fad this year. This past May, things started to hit a tipping point when a man was arrested for planking on a police car, and shortly afterwards Australian Prime Minister John Key was pictured with his son, Max Key, planking on a lounge suite. The photo of the PM and his planking son made the front page of a newspaper and soon became a phenomenon.

The internet based version of planking certainly seems to be about absurdity and humour, the joy of capturing the bizarre. Some would call it an internet meme like extreme ironing or flashmobbing.

But what of this other, fine art element? When does it cease to be a plank-prank and become performance art?

Recently the curator of the gallery I work for was at the Venice Biennale, and shared pictures of Canadian (but Beijing-born and NYC-based) artist Terence Koh's installation "Tell it Like It Is" (pictured below.) The installation consists of him laying with his head in an ancient well for over ten hours. While I'm not sure the artist would himself define his performance piece as "planking" it certainly seems to me to be a similar type of art experiment. Has Terence turned an internet meme/street trend into contemporary performance art? It certainly seems that way, and I'm not the only one to make this pronouncement.

This past weekend I was in Kensington Market, Toronto for their Pedestrian Sundays. I stopped to observe three artists participating in a similar performance piece. Three tall square white pillars were placed on the sidewalk, each with a performer placed on or beside it. In the middle, a man sat on the pillar, but with arms dangling at his sides, bent at the waist with his head between his knees. On either side, the artists leaned up against the pillars, with their noses resting just on top of the pillar, arms at their sides...as if they were 'vertically' planking. With no signage, I was unable to ascertain who the performers were (and also didn't have a camera unfortunately). Here's a picture I was able to find of a similar performance piece on flickr.

I of course immediately think of planking when I see this because it has the same arresting effect. Especially in the hustle-bustle of Pedestrian Sundays, a completely still figure cuts a sharp contrast to the swirl and noise happening around it.

Observers seemed to look quizzically at the display for a moment or two, then moved along. Some stood and stared for a longer period. We stopped for a moment or two, and during the time we were there the fellow in the position pictured at left seemed to want to stretch his ankles and made tiny movements to do so. I wondered if they were falling asleep. He was careful to keep the rest of his body in the exact posture however, and his two companions were remarkably still during our time there.

While this long-term posing seems closer to what Terence Koh is doing, it also seems similar to me to planking. There is certainly a trend emerging of these long, still performance works. I'm no expert in performance art but I am also calling to mind the work of Marina Abramovic, whose work explores the relationships between performer and audience as well as the limits of the human body and mind. Her work won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale in 1997 and she had a major installation at the Museum of Modern Art in NY in 2010 called The Artist is Present.

That seven hundred and thirty six hour long work involved the artist sitting still in a chair, with the possibility for an audience member to sit across from her and look into her eyes for a time. The work gathered much press (especially since celebrities such as Bjork and James Franco were in the audience and participated). Each person who sat with the artist had their portrait captured. Those pictures can be seen here and they are quite haunting.

This stillness - planking in unusual places, leaning on pillars in the midst of a bustling pedestrian-filled street, laying face down for ten hours over a well, or sitting in a chair for over 700 hours is a trend that I can't ignore. I'm not sure what to call it, so I've gone with Planking. If you have another term for me, please share. Perhaps it is the intensity and fast pace of our lives that has led artists to take time to demonstrate the opposite of this life experience through a complete rejection of action and tension.

(I'm posting this blog without discovering who the Kensington Market artist is - if you know, please comment, and I'm also continuing to research it. So if I find out, I'll update this post.)
Read More:
See pictures of planking around the world.
Link to the Toronto Planking Association
"Planking Turns Deadly" via the Globe and Mail
Photos of how the other half lives - Vito Schnabel's party celebrating Terence Koh's installation

Summer Berry

2011-06-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Summer Berry - check out the price on that cuff! Wow. Sometimes it is fun to dream. Happy Summer!

Lanvin below the knee dress
$891 - farfetch.com

Yves Saint Laurent platform pumps
$720 - ssense.com

Skull handbag
$1,399 - alexandermcqueen.com

Cathy Waterman flower bracelet
$59,260 - barneys.com

Arena CPH amethyst jewelry
$324 - maxandchloe.com

House of Harlow 1960 gold plated jewelry
$165 - my-wardrobe.com

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Set
€85 - pret-a-beaute.com

Summer Trend - Analogous Colour

2011-06-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

I love this time in summer when all the colour comes out in people's wardrobes. This summer I'm obsessed with mixing multiple blues, teals and greens..

The old adage says, "Blue and Green should never be seen except in your mother's washing machine!" Well, I don't live with my mother anymore (though I do occasionally use her washing machine, especially when mine is on the fritz!) so I guess this means I can mix blue and green whenever I like.

I like mixing bright cobalt shoes with a soft teal necklace with navy blue blouse. Paired with a grey skirt the look is still soft and work appropriate, but allows colour experimentation.

Working teal into your wardrobe now will be a wise choice because as I've covered, teal is going to be an important hue for fall and will carry you through the next few years feeling fresh in your wardrobe.

img src

Combining multiple hues in the same section of the colour wheel is less garish than mixing opposites, and allows more experimentation.

Whereas last summer I was obsessed with wearing primary blue, red and yellow at the same time, this year I'm more interested in analogous colour combinations.

Analogous colour combinations are those that are created when adjacent hues are selected from one side of the colour wheel. This method of colour mixing requires a bit of a natural sense of warm and cool - not all blues and greens are cool after all, but it's hard to go wrong if you stay over on one side of the wheel.

Some more inspiration:

Getting Outside

2011-06-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

I've been neglectful, dear readers. All has been very quiet here at jacquiesevers.com. Alas it is not for an entire lack of work, but a combination of factors. For one, Spring arrived and I suddenly realized I hadn't been outside in months. So much has gone on in my life in the past 8 months I feel that I need a bit of a vacation, in fact, deserve one!

Last night for example I spent some quality time at the lake front park enjoying a blustery seagull filled vista. I've been quite busy socially, travelling to Napanee, Kingston, Orillia and Hamilton in the past month! I am still blogging over at secretsfromyoursister.com as well as tweeting up a storm. At work I've been busy with a website redesign and newly launched blog as well, so keep your eyes peeled over there if you can't get enough of the Jacquie prose. I've also been doing some creative writing that will perhaps see the light of day someday, but I'm not quite ready to share it yet. It's good to work on creative projects once in a while, ones that don't align with work or career goals. I may never share it but it feels good just to get the words on ~~paper~~ screen. The feeling of never having enough time is one that I adore, and if you wanted to keep up with local arts events lately you might share that same feeling.

Here's my Oshawa Express article for May, which covers some upcoming arts events around town, including a mention of the Peony Festival. Today I went over to the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens on my lunch break, and finally my spring allergies found me! Alas it was worth the sniffles as the peonies were just starting to bloom. I love peonies and they do smell like heaven. It will be a joy walking through those gardens as the June moves into full swing. The garden has over 250 cultivars of Peonies so it is quite the experience to behold.

Art surrounds us in Oshawa this Spring

May 25, 2011

By Jacquie Severs/Columnist

Conventional ideas about what “art” is are probably limited to the usual suspects; painting, drawing, sculpture. However art can be found, photocopied, installed and captured. It can be arranged, grown and designed. Art comes in many forms and exploring all of them can serve to expand creative minds and ideas.

Gardening, though perhaps thought of, as a practical trade more than an art form, becomes art when executed with precision and passion. The upcoming 6th Annual Peony Festival in the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens (June 11-12) includes artists of the gardening variety as well as the fine-art variety. Artists creating garden-inspired works will be on site alongside 300 varieties of peonies. Off site at Parkwood Estates, historic fashions, automobiles and games are ongoing throughout the day while tours of their gardens and the mansion expose visitors to arts of the past.

At The Robert McLaughlin Gallery Ikebana artists will install floral arrangements during the festival. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging and is a disciplined craft that brings flowers and artistic composition together. The method draws attention to line, shape and form using leaves, stems and blooms to create symbolic arrangements, which are typically minimal in design. Creative inspiration for gardeners, floral artists and those interested in slowing down to smell the peonies will flourish over the weekend.

Photographers will surely be out capturing the event. Our local area has a vibrant community of camera enthusiasts who participate in a number of annual events. The RMG has just announced they are accepting submissions for their annual photography event, RMG Exposed, details of which can be found at www.rmgexposed.com.

The event, held in November, has opportunities for contemporary photographers from the amateur to the professional. The RMG is leading into this event with an artist talk by Michael Cullen, a Peterborough-based professional photographer currently exhibiting “The Last Brick”, a collection of twenty photographs that recorded his recent journey to Kansas. Michael will be at the gallery the evening of June 2 at 7 p.m. to help inspire other photographers with his story. He’ll discuss why he recorded the trip and encourage photographers to see the world through their artistic medium with new vision.

The Broken Arts Collective, an Oshawa-based group, is preparing for their own arts festival this summer. In promotion of the July event they are participating in the RMG’s First Friday on June 3. Alongside live music and fine art, Broken Arts will host a zine-making station. Zines are small self-published magazines that contain anything from drawings to poetry to collage and comics. A RMG First Fridays zine will be the result and guests can hear about the upcoming Broken Arts fest.

Events from floral festivals to photography lectures, zine making to Ikebana displays offer opportunities for creative minds to be challenged into thinking about what art is and can be.

Independent Creative: PTAK Apparel

2011-05-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

I am proud to introduce a new blog feature this month called Independent Creative. The first to be featured is a product line that I think you'll love and should check out, PTAK Apparel. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm neither being paid for this feature or the advertising space at right so you should know how authentically I support this product line and think it is worth checking out.

Locally made products and sustainable materials have been growing in popularity and relevancy in the past years to the point where it is not only easy to find products and styles that suit any taste but also any budget. Best of all in purchasing hand-made goods you can trust that you are supporting independent business.

In past blog posts I've supported and introduced artists who work independentely and going forward I will be adding independent fashion, decor and product designers to my posts.

Debbie-Lynne, creator of PTAK Apparel is a self taught fashion designer whose values include hand-crafted quality and eco-conscious design. Her work includes recycled fabrics as well as natural fibres and processes. All pieces are handmade by Debbie-Lynne, who specializes in mostly limited edition and one-of-a-kind creations.

I'm a fan of her high-waisted undies and racer back tanks, as well as pretty fabric selections. Pictured at left is an adorable tea dress made from recycled fabric and bamboo. Perfect for a very hot, sticky summers day.

Last winter I picked up a recycled tweed cowl as a gift for a friend headed to Amsterdam for the winter months. Adorable, functional, affordable and a lovely mix of menswear-inspiration and women's femininity, the cowl was one of the hardest gifts I had to give at xmas as I really wanted to keep it for myself.

Find PTAKapparel on Etsy here.
Find PTAKapparel on Facebook here.
Follow PTAKapparel on Twitter here.
Be sure to use coupon code "Jacquie" for 15% off.

Royal Wedding Flower Bouquet

2011-04-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

As it is due to set wedding flower trends for the next ten years, I thought I'd post a detailed account of what the new princess Catherine Middleton carried on her wedding day.

The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers.

The flowers’ meanings in the bouquet are:

Lily-of-the-valley – Return of happiness

Sweet William – Gallantry

Hyacinth – Constancy of love

Ivy: Fidelity; marriage; wedded love; friendship; affection

Myrtle: the emblem of marriage; love.

The bouquet contains stems from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.

The tradition of carrying myrtle began after Queen Victoria was given a nosegay containing myrtle by Prince Albert’s grandmother during a visit to Gotha in Germany. In the same year, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House as a family retreat, and a sprig from the posy was planted against the terrace walls, where it continues to thrive today.

The myrtle was first carried by Queen Victoria eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, when she married in 1858, and was used to signify the traditional innocence of a bride.

Many of these flowers are not widely or easily available in Canada, and if are available are very limited by season. The trend to watch is shield shape (finally, an end to round bouquets!) and the mixture of white delicate flowers. The scent of the bouquet would be lovely as these are primarily garden flowers and the Lily of the Valley in particular would smell sweet and fresh. I've already starting thinking about what substitutes I could use in a bouquet to create this same look and feel with flowers more widely available.

Experiencing Art

2011-04-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

Edward Hopper

Judy Chicago

My column in this week's paper is out and it talks about art in current and historical terms. Friends of mine have been surprised when I tell them about some of my favourite artists.

I really enjoy figurative work and have always had an interest in feminist and erotic art. I think this might be what you would expect if you know me personally. Here are examples of favourites by Hopper , Modigliani and Chicago.

Amedeo Modigiliani

However other artists I enjoy you might not expect. One such artist is James Tissot.

James Tissot was a French painter who spent much of his career in England. Often discounted as a painter of banal subjects who focussed too much on decorative and flattering portraits, Tissot refused alignment with the Impressionists who were his contemporaries. I first fell in love with Tissot's work after seeing his painting The Shop Girl at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. I found it to be mesmerizing and endlessly interesting to look at. I could stare at it for hours appreciating the detailed fabrics and notions. It is in the permanent collection of the AGO.

James Tissot - The Shop Girl

It is unusual for me to be so fascinated with work of this style. Typically I enjoy more modern or contemporary work that is conceptual or haunting in some way.

The work of Tissot however is fascinating to me, so much so that I did a road trip to Buffalo to see an exhibition of his work a few years ago. I had to drag along some of my contemporary art-loving friends but once they saw his work in person, their minds were changed.

It's over-sized and filled with spectacular detailing, so rich you feel as if you could reach into the frame and feel the texture of the fabrics. The historical details are interesting too, for example in the image at left you can get a sense of fashion history and the role of women in the era.

There is something in the eyes of the shop girl that has always stuck with me and left me feeling as if I connect with her, especially having worked in retail for so many years. She's happy to open that door for you to leave the store. I can relate to that.

This brings me to my Oshawa Express column this week which addresses current exhibitions at the RMG.
While there is great divide between historical exhibitions and contemporary conceptual installations we shouldn't forget that learning about our past is as important and relevant as thinking about our future. Even if conceptual art or historical art doesn't interest you in the slightest, there is still value to going out and seeing it in person. The experience of viewing art in real life can't be compared to sitting and viewing it at home on a screen or even reading about it in a book. The detail, colour and size are never properly expressed in other formats. Further to that, the beauty of experiencing art is person is that you can see art that you would never bring home with you. Would I ever bring a Tissot home with me? Well....ok, I would if it was offered, but it's not what I would choose if I was spending the money. While I love to look at it, it's not what I would want to surround myself with for the long term. Art can be interesting and challenging and still something that you don't love and want in your life forever. That's part of the fun of going to galleries. It's an experience, a moment, a fleeting immersion in a world you might never be able to enter again.

Here's my article for this week.

Avant-garde and old guard in Oshawa

April 27, 2011
By Jacquie Severs/Columnist
Contemporary art is often conceptual and therefore challenging to understand, even for those of us who love art and visit galleries often. To some, this is a welcome test, one that creates new thoughts and brings forward ideas about how to perceive the world, our self and our culture. Avant-garde works, or those that are experimental or innovative, push boundaries and ignore the norm.
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) regularly presents art that is avant-garde and there is no exception in the work of sound installation artist Gordon Monahan. Monahan is a Canadian composer of experimental music and he also creates fantastical sound machines using everything from abandoned pianos to midi-controlled computer sound systems. His current installation at the gallery creates an eerie, immersive experience that creates a sonic environment that couldn’t accurately be called musical and instead is called sound artistry. A piano, stationed at one end of the large north gallery and tethered to walls at either end with cables, will create pause for any visitor.
Where is all that sound coming from exactly? Is the piano playing itself?

Some of the artist’s best-known performances are his speaker-swinging events, which were performance pieces that used speakers, cables, a large room and a lot of muscle power. See and hear Monahan in action as he presents a live sound performance at the gallery as a part of their First Fridays series on May 6 at 7 p.m.

In striking contrast to this thoroughly contemporary art experience the RMG is also presenting a historical exhibition of portraits on loan from the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. These fanciful portraits depict hairstyles and fashion of society women that date from 1790 to 1860. Accompanied by silver and gold pieces, photographs, jewelry and furnishings from the era, these portraits provide a glimpse into the public and private worlds that the sophisticated class of Lower Canada inhabited. It is through these portraits that we can look at our country and culture from a historical perspective but with a fashionable eye. Traditional decorative arts and fine art portraits pair well with the RMG’s showing of selections from their Thomas Bouckley Collection of photos of women in Oshawa from 1890-1940. Titled “Oshawa’s Fashion History,” the exhibit includes artifacts on loan from The Oshawa Community Museum. Items loaned from their collection create context and help bring to life these fashionable garments captured on film. On Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8 at 1 p.m., the RMG, in partnership with the Oshawa Community Museum, present a free lecture on Oshawa’s fashion history.

What links to our cultural identity can be found between a sonic experience and a visual fashion feast? The RMG’s presentation of these exhibitions alongside each other is an opportunity to seek knowledge from the past while imagining a world of the future. These early-May exhibitions stretch across our cultural landscape bridging a gap between the old guard and the avant-garde.

Spring Fashion: Perfect V Neck Tshirts

2011-04-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

This spring I can't get over an urge to find perfect v-neck tshirts. I want white, heather grey, cobalt blue and green. Essentially anything but black, which is the virtual opposite of any tshirt lusting I've ever done in the past.
Here's a polyvore set I did, thinking about wearing grey tshirts this spring.

Spring is Here by actionjacqson

I read somewhere once that the most affordable way to update your wardrobe each season is to purchase new tshirts in the on-trend silhouette. I have always remembered this tip and I do find it to be true. New fabrics, cuts and fits will make an old pair of jeans seem up-to-date. As well, is there any more affordable fashion joy than a fresh new tshirt? I don't think so.

tshirt: urban outfitters

I searched for some style pics featuring great vneck tshirts and here you go! I've listed the where-to-buy if I could find it.

tshirt: gap

Dress it up or down, wear with a blazer or a skirt, wear over a bathing suit or with cut off jeans. It's perfect for every scenario.

alternative apparel

I'm not ashamed to admit I picked up a couple for myself this week at Walmart, for a whopping $7. Hard to resist at that price, but who knows how they'll hold up in the wash. I'm hoping to find some better quality perfect-tees in the next while.

More reading:
Blog dedicated to tshirts - tcritic
Blog dedicated to tshirt addiction - taddict

Awesome Graphic T's
Threadless
Busted Tee's
Brooklyn Industries

Local T's (Ontario)
66 Thieves

Oshawa Express Column - Reflecting City Growth

2011-04-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went over to the new city hall to see the unveiling of a new sculpture by artist Ron Baird called Oshawa Rising. It's pretty and reflective and the artist is such a charming, jovial fellow that you can't help but be thrilled he won the contest I mention in my article this month.

Here it is.

Reflecting city growth

The Lakeridge Health mobile was designed by Ron Baird, whose work will also be featured at City Hall.
By Jacquie Severs/Columnist
Evidence of various metals being used to create sculptural forms dates back thousands of years.
The art form evolved from a functional artisan trade used to cast weapons and coins to the decorative arts over time. The oldest decorative item in existence (a cast copper frog) dates to 3200 BC, but evidence of the Egyptians using cast metal for sculpture dates back at least 300 years before that. Many of the best decorative examples were likely destroyed during times of war when the metals were melted down to create weapons. In modern times, metal sculpture has become familiar as a defining element of urban landscapes and interiors.
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) has a collection of metal sculptures that are primarily contemporary and minimal in style. These works are currently on display in an RMG exhibition titled ‘MetaLogic.’
The exhibition explores space and the relation an object has to its surroundings. A sculpture alters the feeling you have when entering a space.
Walking through MetaLogic one senses their place within the space of the gallery in a different way than possible when looking at two-dimensional works on the wall. This is something you may have experienced in the atrium of the gallery, where one of the best-known works in the RMG collection is on permanent display.

The ‘Silent Bells’ hang in the upper atrium space and rotate at a slow, methodical speed, creating a space that is fluid, full of movement and reflected light.
Mesmerizing and monumental, the Silent Bells define the space they are displayed in dramatic fashion.
The Bells were donated to the gallery by artist Ron Baird, who recently won the Oshawa City Hall art commission with his sculpture Oshawa Rising.
Visitors will see themselves reflected in the polished stars of the sculpture, which in turn reflect each other and the movement and colours of the day. The work symbolizes a growing city built on a solid historical foundation, while reflecting light onto walls, ceilings and stairs. The five metre high work is designed to define a space that Oshawa residents will come to know well. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and member of the Royal Canadian Academy, Baird has completed more than 150 public commissions and installations of his dynamic metal works.
Among those is his breathtaking mobile, found at the Lakeridge Health Oshawa Hospital entrance. The mobile shimmers through the air like a flock of birds or is perhaps reminiscent of a sun-spotted lake surface, suited to the namesake of the hospital. Whatever the interpretation of sculptural works, they animate the space surrounding them simply with their presence.
The City Hall sculpture is to be unveiled in a ceremony at hosted by Greg Murphy, dean of the School of Media, Art and Design at Durham College, on Tuesday, April 12 at 1 p.m.

Illustrator of the Month - March 2011 & Fashion Week!

2011-03-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

So it happens that the blog post I want to write is about Fashion Week, while the blog post I need to write (in order to stay true to my own blogging rules) is Illustrator of the Month. So, since this is my party, I'm gonna combine the two into a fashion extravaganza! Details about my illustrator of the month are below, and his images will decorate this post, along with some tidbits about my trip to the fashion shows yesterday.

Frederick Watson is a Toronto-based fashion illustrator who first rose to prominence in the 1960's when he launched a series of illustrative black and white posters that sold like wildfire. Here's an example:

Over time he worked in creating theatre advertisements and eventually moved onwards towards painting as his primary passion.

His best-known works are of glamourous art deco-inspired women; women who appear to be from a bygone era.

These femme-fatale characters evoke a sense of freedom and luxury, ideal for works that are designed to promote luxury items and the upscale lifestyle. I got to thinking about the concept of the femme fatale at the Attitude by Jay Manuel runway show last night.

attitude by jay manuel img src

attitude by jay manuel

Jay Manuel, if you don't know, is the guy from America's Next Top Model (and Canada's too). The runway models were from those shows, which didn't mean much to me since I don't watch, but the crowd was pretty excited about the celebrity factor and the house was packed. The line is a celebrity diffusion line for Sears, which isn't really something to be that excited over (I mean really....Sears?) but I really enjoyed it anyhow. The secret to making his clothes-from-Sears wearing models look like glamourous femme fatale characters was all in the styling. He started out with greys and blacks with berets and sunglasses, very Bonnie and Clyde. You get a sense in the picture at right (my snap of Jeanne Beker looking on).

the artist Watson and Jeanne Beker

Then later in the runway he mixed colour and texture to create rich looks and then piled on a dramatic hair and makeup look. Above pictured is one of my favourite femme fatale looks; a model in a teal coat, rusty red hose, patent pumps, a dramatic eye, pin curls and a patterned blouse with dramatic jewellery.

The connection to the femme fatale illustrations is the illusion of glamour and luxury. After all, glamour is just a perception. And done right, even clothes from a department store can have the upscale luxury look pictured in these illustrations if curated in such a way as to create the illusion of total style freedom.

Speaking of style freedom, if you've been following for a while you know I'm pretty into colour. My favourite look last night was a woman who was wearing an outfit just like this red and green illustration. She was wearing bright green pants and shoes and a red blouse and blazer. Amazingly, the look didn't scream CHRISTMAS! which is truly no small feat. It worked because of the exact tones of green and red, and the multi-hued necklace. And her fierce attitude! Being able to pull off green and red is style confidence, is glamour. Here's a little spy picture I snapped of her.

You can also see her pictured above in the front row for Comrags in this panoramic shot I snapped waiting for the show to start. Amazing how much she stands out in the sea of black and white. Though colour is in style and there was the odd person working it, she was really taking it to the next level.

comrags f/w 2011

Comrags is not a line that I am a huge fan of, their styling isn't always for me. Typically made up of sheath dresses and high necklines the overall look is more minimal and austere than I prefer, but the show last night had a number of really lovely textile prints that I liked. All of the textiles appeared vintage with a definite 1940's feel.

We were able to take in Lovas, Comrags, Attitude by Jay Manuel and last but not least David Dixon.

David Dixon F/W 2011

Dixon's show was his 16th anniversary show and it started off with a dramatic nostalgic video about his family and lives loved and lost. He showed a few items from classic collections such as 2009's Barbie by David Dixon. The Fall 2011 collection was inspired by a trip to Jakarta and was a basic colour story of black, white, grey and hot coral red. It featured some of the most incredible coral jewellery items I've ever seen.

David Dixon F/W 2011 img src

His styling and cuts were the most luxurious I've seen up close, (we were lucky enough to be in the second row for this show!) as his work is truly that of a designer who focuses on tailoring, cuts and drape.

He had some incredible pieces with texture and shape that can't be properly described in photo, only the movement of wear does proper justice. I loved this show and loved the hot red tone.

In the last few posts I've talked about colour, I've been talking a lot about orange and teal. One of my favourite colour vibrations and definitely hot for fall 2011, this trend was all over the runway.

Bringing it back to my Illustrator of the Month, here's a great illustration using my beloved orange. Orange is definitely hot for fall. One of the shows I didn't catch this year that I like to is the Joe Fresh line. Joe Fresh featured loads of orange and teal this season, luckily for us the internet lets us see it all!

Here's a video.

TOFW: Joe Fresh from istoica on Vimeo.

This year the show was extra hot because the line is moving to the US market for the first time and rumour has it, representatives for Harpers Bazaar and the New York Times were in the house!

The best part about this news is that I'm going to get some great orange pieces at Loblaws prices! Can't complain about that.

Here we are on the way out the door, stopping for a quick shot in the hallway mirror. The best part of this quick snap is that my friend was actually on the phone, even though the posture looks staged, it's 100% authentic moment! There will be more and better pictures of us, but what I love about this shot is our attitudes! The amazing thing about Fashion week is people watching. Everyone at the event is there to see and be seen. I've been a handful of times now and though the people watching never gets boring, the whole 'being seen' thing gets boring. I spent all of 5 minutes getting ready (though to be fair I did lay my clothing out a night in advance) and felt perfectly dressed. People ask me about the experience and what I can say is that it is a lot of hurry-up-and-wait.

You stand around (having a cocktail) waiting for the showtime. Then you stand in line for the show. Then wait more. Then you get herded in like cattle and seated. Then you wait again. Then the models walk for less than 10 minutes, then you applaud, then you leave again for another cocktail, while you wait for the next show. Rinse and repeat.

In the case of last night, the Attitude show was an hour and a half behind schedule. Most of this hour and a half we spent standing in extremely close quarters huddled together waiting in line. I was so relieved when we got to sit down. The shoes are fab, and I can walk in them no problem but a straight up hour and a half of standing on concrete floor and I figured either I was going back for another cocktail or I had better get a seat pronto. It is a lot of fun though and you always leave with a goodie bag.

I also always leave with some fresh fashion ideas. One was a new way to wear one of those giant loop scarves, another a fresh way to mix patterned and colourful hosiery with knits and prints. In particular though you leave with the excitement and admiration for the work designers put into their collections. Months of work go towards preparing for a ten minute moment in spotlights. The pressure is immense and the crowd at times very hard to please. Over all I can say I'm really into the inspirations for the coming fashion months as the 1940's trend stays strong with nipped waists, lush texture, pattern mixing, incredible colour and over the top glamour. I don't want to rush summer but I'm excited to see the fall lines (and especially fall colours) enter stores.

Frederick Watson is represented by David Leonard Fine Art in Niagara Falls, ON.

Extra special thanks go out to the artist himself who sent along many of these images for my use after discovering my blog.

Thanks so much Fred! I love your work.

Trend: Organizing Books by Colour

2011-03-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Chris Cobb

It is possible this trend had it's origins earlier than 2004 but that was the year that artist Chris Cobb did an on-site art installation involving organizing one book shop's twenty thousand books by colour. The exhibition, titled There is nothing wrong with the whole wide world was completed by Cobb and a group of volunteers in one night. The effect (seen at left) was truly magical.

I've noticed that this organizational technique has become a decor trend and it pops up a lot lately in magazines and on blogs. The lovely thing about this is that it creates a sense of order in a room full of books. Have you ever looked closely at an Ikea catalogue, and noticed that the shelves full of books always have white spines? This is because a bookshelf filled with a normal array of books looks messy at best and junky at worst.

But what to do about that little messy shelf filled to the brim with books you love and just can't part with?

This solution is one that creates order in the chaos, is easy, affordable and makes for a really pretty display.Especially if you have colourful books. On that note, I don't advise going out and buying books just because of their colour. That would defeat the purpose of this. Anyhow, I'm seriously considering undertaking this approach with my own library. It creates a sense of peace in me when I look at the books organized this way, I think that's why so many designers are borrowing this idea. I also think I'll be able to find my books faster, because as a visual thinker I tend to remember the cover of a book very easily.

Here are some lovely examples. As always, click to see images at full size.

image source: apartment therapy

image source: design*sponge

source: Better Homes & Gardens

Could you also organize other things by colour to make them look prettier? How about CDs or your Vinyl collection?

I think it would be a great way to organize a collection of kitchen goods, and of course, the classic would be your sock or underwear drawers (if you are the colourful underpinnings type like me.)

Further reading:
Here's an article in the March 2011 Print Edition of Toronto Life Magazine featuring this technique.
An in-depth article on organizing books by colour from Design Observer.
Chris Cobb is also a writer who blogs for the San Francisco MOMA. Here's his page.
The Rainbow of Books flickr photo pool.

I'm a Dot-Com

2011-03-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

This week my sister joined twitter. I was pretty excited because I'm a bit of a tweet-a-holic and am always happy when someone I know joins up, so I can tweet at them. She was saddened to discover that in spite of her name being fairly uncommon her chosen twitter handle wasn't available.Worse still was the discovery that the gal who had taken it doesn't tweet and follows exclusively celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Snooki. What a waste!

Alas she settled for her second choice and joked to me that perhaps she should purchase domain names in the name of her two young children now.

The joke is topical because I had just read an article about people naming their children based on available domain names. While I think this is utterly ridiculous, I also took this into consideration when deciding this week to move this site from jacquiesevers.blogspot.com to jacquiesevers.com. I'm a dot-com now. How about that?

If you are here on the old domain, not to worry, eventually it will redirect to the new address. I think it will be a lot easier to post the link to the dot.com instead of adding the blogspot addition and mostly I'm just excited to have ownership of my name in the web world.

And with that I leave you this little ditty from the late 90's and say until next time.

Fall 2011 Colour Trend: Teal

2011-03-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

Anna Sui Fall 2011

Spring has just arrived and I'm already thinking of Fall colour trends. The Pantone colour report is always released in step with Fall Fashion Weeks. Paris, New York and London have passed and I'm getting excited for a trip to Toronto's edition!

The colour I'm most excited for is deep teal. It's one of my all-time favourite colours! (Especially mixed with orange.)

I never really grow tired of this blue-green shade so I'm happy to see it officially listed as a trend, because that means I'll be able to get my hands on some great examples of it in the next few years. Delicious paired with saffron yellow, it works well with browns, greys and some greens.

One of the reasons I love this tone is the warm/cool vibration. It manages to sit delicately on the line of cool while still seeming to be a warm fall hue. A perfect colour for all seasons, in my books.

Looking ahead at the fall collections, here are some yummy examples of the colour on the runway. I'll keep my eyes peeled in Toronto for more.

source

Alberta Ferretti Fall 2011

Marc Jacobs Fall 2011

Mackage Fall 2011

Oscar De La Renta Fall 2011

Road Trip: McMaster Museum of Art

2011-03-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I headed to The Hammer, Hamilton, Ontario to visit with some friends. They live there but were in town so I hitched a ride with them on their way home. Our first stop was the McMaster Museum of Art, on the campus of McMaster University.

Michael Davidson, Distant Shore 2008

I was encouraged to go check the gallery out by artist and curator Michael Davidson who is currently working in Oshawa on a project. He curated an exhibition at the McMaster as a guest curator called Autoplasmic.

The exhibition explores the idea of an artist both being and making art and includes works by the curator himself alongside other Canadian and international artists. Some big names with works featured in this exhibition are Paul Klee and Auguste Rodin, whose works are sourced from the permanent collection of the McMaster Museum of Art.

In his curator's essay Davidson cites Barnett Newman’s 1945 essay The Plasmic Image: “it can be said that the artist, like a true creator is delving into chaos [and] it is precisely this that makes him an artist [trying] to wrest truth from the void.”

Though the big art names are always cool to check out I was most taken by the artist-curator's works. His technique is a mystery to me, as it is noted as "mixed media". Ah, the elusive claim that is "mixed media"! If I was to guess I would venture to say the artist places wax on heavy paper and then uses gel transfer or another printing method to transfer photographic works over top of this wax medium, but that is just a guess based on observation. The result is a translucent layering of image and shape that is engrossing and haunting.

Michael Davidson, Caspar 2008

While the essay and concept of the exhibition is challenging, the works appealed to the senses, creating an exhibition of unique experiences for the eye and an accessible art experience for any type of visitor.

This exhibition took up one of four of the gallery spaces, while other travelling shows assumed other available spaces. A variety of works including sculpture, installation, video and more traditional forms such as print and painting were on view. Just the right size of space to spend an hour or two, the McMaster Museum of Art is well worth stopping into.

The exhibitions change about every two months, plus it gives you a worthwhile excuse to feel like a student again, whilst walking around on the pretty campus.

It's a pay-what-you-can gallery on the McMaster University campus.
Learn more about the gallery here.
Read the gallery blog here.

Pink is for Girls

2011-03-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

Back in the day (meaning, about 2007), I started a blog that was a lot more personal than this one that touched on feminist topics, social issues, erotic art and trends. It was a bit of a mixed bag. In 2010 I decided to move here under my real name and to change the direction and themes I was writing about. I had a number of reasons for doing this but mostly the reason was that I didn't want to continue to be so personal on my blog and have to remain somewhat anonymous, meanwhile, I wanted to keep certain aspects going. (Trends and Illustrator of the Month, in particular). Going back through the blog and deleting all the personal stuff and changing the name of it seemed unfair to any established readers I had, so I just shut it down. You might even be a reader that came here from that site, because it automatically redirects here.

source

Two things got me thinking about that blog this week. One, I started going through all my facebook notes and deleting them. At least the really personal ones. It's not that I'm ashamed of any info I shared (or once shared) it's just that more and more facebook is becoming a tool for me to communicate with new contacts through work. It doesn't seem appropriate for them to be able to look through all kinds of old notes of mine on various personal topics. I am trying to get through them all but there is no quick method and there is almost 100 of them.

Some I'm ok with leaving up so I want to read them all. It's taking forever! Anyhow loads of them are on feminist issues, and those posts helped shape a lot of the content on my old blog.

One post on the old blog was about the meaning of the colours pink and blue. I got thinking about that post this week because I went out to pick up a mouth guard for roller derby practice. I walked into Sportchek and stood at the mouth guard section feeling a little bit lost. I've actually owned a pretty good quality guard in the past, as I had to wear one for playing field hockey in high school. I've worn poor quality and better quality and knew I was going to have to spend a little bit more money to have something comfortable to wear. I compared and contrasted all of the various options deciding I would try to cap my spending in the $20 range. And then I found a pink one.

I'm not really a pink kind of girl (though I do wear magenta and hot pink from time to time) and in the past have turned down pink things simply on the principle that I hate the fact that just because some company makes something pink I'm supposed to want it more. That said, I was pretty into the idea of a pink mouth guard. And then I noticed something. The identical mouth guard was also available in navy blue. For one dollar less.

Look, I might work in the arts but $1 difference wouldn't stop me from buying something I really wanted. Unless that something was identical to the blue variation, except it was in pink for ladies. In the midst of realizing this fact, a staff member approached me and asked if I was finding everything alright. I said yes and pointed out the price difference to him. He said, "huh, that's weird," and walked away. That is exactly what the woman at the counter said when I was checking out as well. I wasn't rude about it. I simply pointed out, when they asked if I had found what I was looking for that I had found it and would be buying it in blue because pink was a dollar more expensive.

Coming back to the beginning of this post I was reminded of a post on my old blog called "Pink is for Girls and Blue is for Boys". Here's an excerpt:

Pink and Blue have not always have the same gender associations as they do now. In fact, in Western culture, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s. From then until the 1940s, pink was considered appropriate for boys because it was the more masculine and decided color while blue was considered appropriate for girls because it was the more delicate and dainty color. Since the 1940s, the societal norm apparently inverted so that pink became appropriate for girls and blue appropriate for boys, a practice that has continued into the 21st century.

I've decided raising this topic on this blog makes sense because I write about colour from time to time. Colour trends are cyclical and by this logic, the overwhelming influx of pink-is-for-girls products should wane and go out of style sometime in the next 50 years. At the rate we're going though it doesn't feel that way. What this feels like is a generalized taking-advantage. The company is taking advantage of the pride girls have in their athletic ability. The product being available in the "feminine" colour is designed to play on the desire athletic women have to be seen as feminine. It is most likely hoped that none will notice the price difference, or will not care enough to feel angry about it.

Where I'm left with this though is a general annoyance. For one, I got no explanation at the store level. Then I tweeted @ the company, which they didn't respond to. Which I can't really be angry at them for I suppose, the probably don't really 'get' twitter. Now I'm posting this blog and I guess my next step is to email them to inquire about their pricing decision. I'll keep you posted on the results, of course.

By the way, I bought the navy blue.

Pretty patterns on the floor

2011-03-09T07:18:00.001-08:00

Pretty patterns on the floor

Spring 2011 Fashion Colour Trends

2011-03-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Oh darlings, I've been itching to make a trend post for weeks! And here I am with a little bit of time. I've mentioned before in my blog that I like to think up style themes on which to base my wardrobe decisions. Anyone who has known me (even by vague acquaintance) for a long time knows I'm a bit of a chameleon style-wise. While in some ways I'm consistent (bit of a spaz, nervous, shy-at-first gal with a loud outgoing sublayer who loves art, music and all things culture) in other ways I love and embrace change. Especially self image. One minute I'm obsessed with mens wear, the next with architectural styles, the next with saturated brights. I think this is what lovers of fashion really are, people who love to experiment and explore various versions of themselves. I guess I caught this bug early on, playing dress up with the big garbage bag full of vintage goodies my mom collected for my sister and I as kids. Side note: I would kill to have that bag now. Ack!

Anyhow this time of year is tough because I try desperately to resist the urge to shop or thrift as the spring months are underway. The dregs of winter goods are all that is left - the good sale items already picked over - and the new merch is still full price! Ick. FULL PRICE (shudder). So this time of year is a good time to start the virtual shop, checking out magazines and thinking about what style theme I might like to consider for my spring/summer wardrobe. Last year I titled it 'Equestrian Metrosexual' and was pretty obsessed with striped shirts, blazers and flats with skinny jeans. Leather and menswear. I'm still feeling that look but I think it needs to evolve. I'm also pretty tired of wearing black. I wear it constantly ('cause for me, everything is tempered with a hint of gothic edge) and I think it's time to shuffle things up a bit in my life and to try to wear some more colour, in particular red and other brights, especially in combination.

source

Style.com lists HYPERCOLOR as one of the hot trends for spring. To quote,

"We can't remember a season in which fashion has wrapped its arms around color like it has for Spring—and it wasn't just the designers you'd expect doing the hugging. Haider Ackermann tried teal and electric blue on for size; Aquilano Rimondi combined poppy citrus hues; and Mr. Understatement himself, Raf Simons, served up a Crayola cocktail at Jil Sander. The best part? As Simons so cleverly demonstrated, brights look great with black."

What do I say to this? Yes, that's what. The good news is that these colours all mix so well with black items they will be easy to work into my exisiting wardrobe. After all, while I might have the tastes of a independently-wealthy sophisticate, I don't have the budget. So it will be pieces here and there that I can add to my existing items to refresh my looks.

I'm also enjoying the 70's colour trends that are inspired by Yves Saint Laurent's iconic looks.

source

Where I see real potential is in the combination of these two trends. This is probably best expressed in the Fendi look above that shows a olive green shoe with a magenta dress, red belt and orange sunglass. Love! Working the saturated colours in a 70's variation. Paired with the hot new length for skirts (below the knee or mid-calf) this look seems fresh and contemporary but is very retro-influenced. I think doing the wild colour combinations with the seventies silhouettes and tones makes for a fresh interpretation so that a very costume-like look is avoided.

I also want to figure out more excuses to pair my favourite colour combo, orange and navy blue. This spring I want to challenge myself to include more hues to make it more interesting. Here's my multi-hued, 1970's inspired inspiration board for spring.

Saturated Seventies Spring (click to find out what the items are and where to buy)

What colour trends are you excited for this spring?

Illustrator of the Month February 2011

2011-02-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

I was sent along a link to the work of illustrator Alexey Kurbatov by a friend. At first I was confused, was this digital or watercolour? Hand-rendered or careful digital tracings?
I'm left with the answer that it doesn't really matter how an illustration this stunning is created. If it is successful, it is successful and I am trying not to question it much more than that. I have to leave my technical questions behind, and what remains is stunning work from this young Russian artist.

please click to enlarge as always

He has a gift for mixing bold areas of black with thin lines in a way that is balanced. Tone and shadow become dimensional. The portraits he creates are stunning. I love how areas of the works fade into nothingness, like watercolours washed out into the paper. Beautiful technique.

I love the image of Frida Khalo (below right) because the artist herself painted so many self portraits, yet this image still seems like a fresh interpretation of her. In particular her head is turned to the side, giving the viewer a fresh perspective but still the familiar images we are used to seeing alongside her are there, the flowers, the brows. I like the pensive expression as well.

The artist is Moscow-based and works as a graphic designer, illustrator, photographer and fine artist.
His work has appeared in the Russian publication Snob magazine, among others. A public gallery that shows experimental work had an exhibition of his illustrations last year.

Sorry this post is a bit of a short one dear readers! For one, researching someone in Russian is not a specialty of mine! Eep! For two, I still wanted to post his work. And for three, I did my first training night for Roller Derby tonight and now I need a hot shower and to go to bed! So much fun but I'm pretty sore and I'm sure it will be worse if I don't get a good night's sleep.

Check out some more of Alexey Kurbatov's illustrations here.

Perfect Day & The Creative Class

2011-02-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

My new column in the paper is about the creative class and some upcoming events related to momentum-building in that area. Today I emailed it to some of the people at the Art of Transition group and they were so kind as to forward it onwards to Richard Florida. I received an email back that he had read it and liked it. I feel so happy. Almost as happy as when I sent and received an email with Douglas Coupland. Maybe more happy. Either way, it has been an awesome day. I was slaying design dragons all day today. I met with someone from the Ottawa Art Gallery to share ideas for communication. 100% good stuff today.

After work I went to visit my high school art teacher and we chatted for three hours and came up with some super-cool ideas. It was inspiring and weird all at the same time because I'm not really the type to go back to my school after graduation. In fact after graduating college I didn't even go to graduation itself to pick up my diploma, I had them mail it to me. It just isn't my style to go backwards.

In any case it was fun to see my old haunt and see how crazy the art program has gotten there since I left. It's specialized now and you have to apply to get in. It was always pretty intense compared to most schools but now it's like the Fame of fine art. I felt a little jealous of all the advanced classes that are offered but I had more than enough high school when I was there so not jealous in any sort of wistful way. Mostly I felt jealous when he said students have gone on to the Parsons School of Design and the Chicago Art Institute. But really that's awesome cool beans and it's great that a program like that exists in high school these days. Those students are lucky!

Alas jealousy is a waste of time. Life is about creating new opportunity and forging ahead and doing your best work. Today I'm inspired. Again, today is a day I'd rather not sleep and work the night through. Unfortunately I also want to work (and need to work) tomorrow so now I'll sign off and paste in my new article.

Creative class means creative thinkers

By Jacquie Severs/Art Columnist
The term “creative class,” coined by economic intellectual Richard Florida, refers to workers who inhabit fields that require them to be creative thinkers. This isn’t limited to the creative types that might spring to mind right away; artists, writers and musicians. It also includes creative thinkers who you might not consider at first; scientists, computer programmers, small business operators, teachers and so on.
Our local economy has historically been based in manufacturing. As a result, our community is familiar with the struggles come with the downturn in manufacturing jobs. While the change is certainly not going to happen overnight, in order to survive and thrive in the future, growing our economic diversity will be a key to our prosperity. In turn a prosperous local economy benefits all members of a community.

A forum has been created by the Region of Durham in support of this economic process of change, called The Art of Transition. The Art of Transition offers an invitation to all members of the community to connect, share and innovate. The hope is that in doing so new partnerships and opportunities will arise, new jobs will be created, a vibrant arts scene can continue to foster and creative class workers will seek homes here in the Region. The result can be new economic drivers that in turn improve our quality of life, revive our historic buildings and encourage new investments by industries of all types.
A quarterly publication called Transitions which highlights local entrepreneurs, creative thinkers and events supports the efforts of this evolutionary concept. The newest issue will celebrate its launch on Friday, March 4 at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) during their First Fridays event.

The March First Fridays event features live music by Forest City Lovers, who were founded in 2006 by Whitby-born Kat Burns. The band were recently nominated for an Independent Music Award and are making this stop in Oshawa en-route to Austin, Texas where they will be performing at the well-known South by Southwest music festival.

This is a unique evening, presenting a live band performing alongside the launch of a locally-produced magazine, in the setting of an art gallery. A place to kick-start your weekend immersed in culture, First Fridays is free to attend for all members of the community.

The partnership is well-timed as The Art of Transition is set to launch their Culture Fund later in the month of March. The fund is a permanent endowment for charitable initiatives that help culture thrive in our community. The fund launches at the Regent Theatre March 25 paired with a performance by the Ontario Philharmonic.
Richard Florida highlights that purpose and meaning can be found in the new creative economy. In his estimation purpose and meaning are created by three things; meaningful work, social relationships and community. The artists, entrepreneurs, partnerships and events that create the content of Transitions magazine are comprised of these three components. The feeling that places exist in our community that we love, that we feel free and creatively inspired in, are keys to creating a livable, lovable city. That is what the RMG seeks to capture in this event series.
Creative thinkers of all stripes are encouraged to attend, connect, celebrate and enjoy.

Leopard Print Theme Party

2011-02-19T13:14:00.001-08:00

Leopard Print Theme Party tonight, this is what I would wear if I could dream my wardrobe into reality. That's an Alexander McQueen dress. If you want to see what all the items are, check out my Polyvore.

Valentine's Day Special

2011-02-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

image source

Just a quick note tonight to let you know my new blog post over at The Bump & Hustle is up! This time it's a Valentine's lingerie post focused on items suited to new moms and moms-to-be. Check it out by clicking here!

Kat from The Bump & Hustle and I went to college together and caught up in person for the first time in ages on the weekend!

Modern life is funny, I feel like not a day has gone by since the last time we spoke in person since we've kept in touch by twitter and facebook. She's a real sweetie and I think The B&H is going to lead to great things. I'm excited to be part of it.

Tomorrow for Valentine's Day I'm going to a fundraiser for Art With a Heart. They were kind enough to offer me a seat at the organization's table. I'm a little nervous to go on my own but I'm sure a glass of wine and some conversation will help me shake that off. Art With a Heart is a new organization doing some great work with youth using art as the medium. You know I'm totally behind that so I'm looking forward to attending and learning more about the organization and the people behind it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Beautiful Blogs

2011-02-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Last week I was honoured to receive a Stylish Blogger Award from the lovely Alessia at The Vintage Ramble! Thank you Alessia!

Yay! Such a fun idea, I always enjoy looking at other blogs for inspiration, motivation and joy. The Vintage Ramble chronicles Alessia's business bringing vintage fashion to the home party concept. She will literally bring her awesome-filled vintage closet to your house while you throw a party for your gal-pals and shop to your heart's content. I love the concept so much! Her blog is adorable too, and is chock-full of fun vintage fashion ideas, which you know I love!

Alessia also operates an Etsy Shop for the Ramble and sells handcrafted goods under the banner Six Dollar Goods. Such cute stuff, go check it out.

There are a few rules to the awards:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Tell us seven things about you.
3. Award seven recently discovered new bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received the award.

So here are my 7 Things:

1. I added going to a soccer match in England to my bucket list today. My entire family on my father's side lives in England and I've never been. I need to go soon! I decided today I will start saving now. It will make a good blog post too.

2. I make mean chicken fingers. It's a simple meal that I always think isn't very special but when I have cooked them for other people they rave about them endlessly and for years afterwards. I pair them with chipolte mayo and dijonaise.

3. I'm going to use a Feng Shui expert to help me layout my condo. It is a little out of character for me to believe in things some people might call hocus-pocus but I've been following some of his tips and they have worked in a way that I actually find a little eerie. I don't care if it is the power of positive thinking, I'm just going to go for it anyhow. I'll blog about it, of course.

4. I love mustard. I recently cleaned out my fridge and discovered I had 6 different kinds: regular, dijon, seeded, horseradish, deli-style and hot. I don't like honey mustard though.

5. I'm hard of hearing. I say 'pardon' a lot and try to look people in the face when they are talking to me so I can see their lips move. I apologize for not hearing people properly all the time and really hate any situation involving speakerphone. I watch movies with the subtitles all the time.

6. My sense of humour is a combination of Archie Comics and Benny Hill episodes.

7. I've been to Detroit on vacation a number of times. It's not high on people's lists of places to go on vacation but I have (well, actually had, they moved to LA!) friends there. The art gallery is great and that city has a lot of character.

And now, for my seven stylish bloggers!

Just Beachy
Inside the Makeup Case
The Bump & Hustle
Hungry Hammered & Home
RuralUrbanist
The Make Den
Pink Blackbird

Until Now, Non-Advertised Fact: I'm a Floral Designer

2011-02-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

kellie's peacock theme wedding

I'm a floral designer. I learned the trade mostly by doing, as I was lucky enough to apprentice to a talented designer when I was in high school.

It's a great trade to have because it is somewhat like riding a bicycle. Once you have the technical skills you keep them for a long time and from there staying up-to-date is related to staying aware of trends, colour themes and new techniques.

It's a communicative process, much like all design really, because getting to know what your client wants style-wise is related to listening, interpreting and providing a result that fulfills their needs.

I don't really advertise the services I offer and find that word-of-mouth gets me more-than-enough work every year. I've never even really blogged about it but I thought I would today for fun because I got some great pics from a bride I've been wanting to share for a while.

a rainbow of peacock-inspired hues

I really enjoy the work and am passionate about offering one-of-a-kind service and upscale design. I don't do it on a full-time basis, because I'm not interested in being an assembly-line designer turning out project-after-project with the same look.

I love a challenging client like Kellie - she had a real vision for her wedding. Upscale, trendy, glamourous, pretty and with a peacock theme that had to match a variety of blues, browns and rich golds, this wedding was a real design challenge, but a real treat to work on.

Emily's Aubergine & Kawasaki Green Polka-dot Wedding

The wedding industry is a tough one to be in. For one, you work every weekend of the summer, which I'm not willing to do. Most summers I consider it and have come close to pursuing this full time many times. But I haven't done that yet. In spite of this statement, I've decided to open up a little bit and put it out there that I do offer these services. I limit myself to about four clients per summer so if you are interested, or know someone who is, please feel free to contact me - leave a comment or use the 'contact me' tab on the blog to find me.

table centre piece for natural theme wedding

What I offer that makes me unique is a level of personalized service that you can't get from a flower shop. I'll come to your house, sit with you for hours if need be, working through your options and working to find something that will completely express your idea. I help with everything from colours to hall decor to accessories in order to create a dynamic story to be told on the wedding day. From there, I think I will let two recent thank you letters from clients speak for me, along with the pictures in this post.

graphic/bold for summer 2010

Jacquie, I just wanted to send you a quick note to say thanks for the wonderful floral services that you provided to us on our wedding day. We had a real blast and all of our guests did too! Everyone we've talked to has given us great feedback about the flowers, decor and appearance of the hall itself, and just how it was such a wonderful wedding! Colin and I felt like a prince and princess that day. The flowers played a huge part in this. We're so happy to have chosen you to do our flowers and centrepieces. Thank you for working so diligently to help make this day so special for both of us. We will certainly be recommending you to anyone we meet in the future who is looking for a florist for their wedding day!
- Kellie & Colin

lipstick, yellow and a blast of romantic pink blended with burgundy...

Jacquie, The flowers you did for our wedding were truly amazing. You went way above and beyond what we could have hoped for! Everyone commented on how spectacular the flowers were. Thank you for everything, including all of the questions you answered and advice you gave.. - Emily & Mike

iris honoured the place where the bride & groom were engaged, new orleans

Trend: Chevron Print

2011-01-29T20:38:00.000-08:00

Stripes are simple, elegant and timeless. In bold size they are able to make a graphic statement while remaining clean and uncluttered in appearance. A fresh take I've noticed around lately is the chevron stripe (also called herringbone).

The interesting thing about this trend for me are the variations that have developed. The look emerged in the past couple of years with other 1980's revivals, but the trend is evolving to include more sophisticated, classic looks like the red bed cover at left, and the grey and white variations below.

This trend has been gaining momentum for the past couple of years, but it hasn't reached a saturation point and probably won't as quickly as something like the black and white brocade print trend.
Chevron patterns have been around for hundreds of years and are used in masonry, textile design and parquetry. Because the design has existed for so long, depending on how it is used it can work in any decor style from classic to modern.

Glassware by Artel

The name "herringbone" comes from the fish, which are well known for having a dense bone structure.

This picture has inspired me, I'd like to have some chevron print pillows for my sofa. Which is orange - hence the inspiration coming from the stack of Hermes boxes beside the blue chevron rug.

I'd also like a stack of orange Hermes boxes, but I think that will require marrying a rich European and then taking up horseback riding, so the chances of that happening are pretty slim.

I also like that this is a DIY-friendly style.
Here's a how-to guide to putting a chevron pattern your walls - even better, it's temporary and can be taken down later!

source

Work Hard & Be Nice to People

2011-01-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Friends, I'm so pumped up today. I've got some pretty exciting projects on the horizon that I can't wait to kick off. The biggest problem I seem to be having at the moment is a lack of hours in the day to produce things, and that is a good problem to have. I'm having an intensely optimistic week as things seem to be falling into place. It's good stuff.

I've got two poster designs on the brain. The now ubiquitous "Keep Calm & Carry On" poster for one, which I'm sure you know about by now because it's been all over the place for a few years. It's a good message because too often in life we get caught up in the craziness and forget how truly lucky we are. And further to that, it's a good message for any workplace because even small crises are usually manageable if one stays calm and stays the course of their goals.

It's fitting that the poster has reached a height of popularity during a fiscal crisis; the poster was originally designed during the beginning of World War II to raise the morale of the population who lived in fear of being invaded. Now that's something to incite panic; a fiscal crisis pales in comparison. None the less it has been a fitting popular message in the past couple of years. (Not to mention a great piece of design work.)

But there's another one that is a take-off of it that comes to mind too and it really seems to be something that is working for me lately.

That's the "Work Hard & Be Nice to People" version.
It's a mantra for me really, because I don't know what other approach to take in life. Sometimes you are rewarded for this approach and sometimes people take it for granted. I've learned that if people take it for granted, they aren't the right people to be working for.

The past year has been one of intense change of direction. I gave up a desirable career and some money in order to have moral and personal fulfillment in my work, and while the decision seemed hard at the time, in retrospect the choice seems to have been a no-brainer. It's easy when I consider all that I've gained.

Further to that, new opportunity keeps coming my way. It seems the more effort I put in, the more hard work I do (sometimes for little or next to no pay) the better the opportunities are. So long as the bills are paid, I'm not even that concerned about the money. (Though, I wouldn't say no to more, lets be honest here...) The point is, life is bigger than a paycheque, and the liberation in realizing that fact has been so profound, I can't imagine how I ever got through my day-to-day otherwise.

I guess I'm one of the artist types I write about in my column this week. Here it is.

Artists connect and collaborate to support community

By Jacquie Severs/Columnist
You often hear in the mainstream media about high dollar sales of artwork, rich and famous musicians, the big blockbuster shows and names. But the reality of being a working artist of any kind is very different. Artists hustle, often undertaking numerous business ventures and seeking opportunities in various career fields in order to keep themselves financially afloat. It is a passion for the craft that motivates and inspires, not cash payouts and fame.
Though I’m sure many artists and musicians would love to earn more money for their creations, thus allowing them more time and freedom to create, I think many would say the act of creating is the greatest reward, outweighing any financial benefit.
This very attitude must be the reason that so many are driven to give back to their communities by donating their creative skills. With momentum gaining in the local creative community, a number of ventures are coming up in Oshawa, encompassing both art and music together in order to support causes worthy of the attention.
On the evening of Friday Jan. 28, the Instruments and Easels fundraiser supporting the Oshawa Community Health Centre includes artists donating their works for auction and sale, while musicians perform to entertain the crowd. Entrance is affordable, just a donation of canned goods or cash in any amount will get you in the door. All the details are online at instrumentsandeasels.blogspot.com
In early February the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) introduces First Fridays, hosted on the first Friday of the months February, March, April and May. The pilot project brings together musicians who have donated their time and talent to help the RMG build awareness in the community about the art gallery. Donations at the event support War Child Canada, and in return War Child Canada helps bring regional and national attention to our local gallery gem. It’s a win-win, and the community benefits; it’s free to attend. Feb. 4 local acoustic soul performer Gibbran is the featured act, while March brings Ajax’s Forest City Lovers to play. April features Mandi J Byrd and the Hamilton Trading Company, both based out of Toronto but with a shared connection to Oshawa. In May, nationally-recognized sound installation artist Gordon Monahan performs.
Friends of the Second Marsh are hosting an art event on Feb. 26; photographers are invited to the marsh to capture the wetlands in winter. Designed to raise awareness about the marsh and create a sense of community stewardship over this important ecological locale, the “Day in the Life of the Second Marsh” project is fully volunteer run. Photographers will be offered space to display what they have captured in various venues downtown Oshawa. There is sure to be musical participation during the showings, as local music aficionados are organizing this one.
Contact mcguirkwill@gmail.com for details on how to participate.
Connecting, collaborating and finding new audiences for their work is a valuable bonus to those who have donated creative time, energy and skill to these events.
In turn, grassroots campaigns build community partnerships and goodwill. Participation by artists and musicians is not enough; the key for events such as these is the community at large coming out to offer support.
In return, the community is engaged, enlightened and entertained.

I've Got a Crush on Orange

2011-01-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

Readers and people that know me well will know about my obsession with orange. There's the orange couch, there's the collection of odd vases, there's the teak furniture with the orange hue, there's the love for halloween. Orange, I'm all about it. I don't wear it a lot, but I love using it in my home and surrounding myself with orange accessories. I also like Orange Crush. And that new Fanta Orange pop is pretty fantastic too.

A bit about the colour orange:

"Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity."

Associated with Joy, Creativity, Stimulation. Sounds about right.

Having recently gone through a difficult time and some major changes in life, I'm craving and manifesting a fresh start and I think redecorating is a part of that. After all, 'they' say that your surroundings have deep impact on your emotions. I believe that. I've started in small ways. I changed up a lot in my bedroom. As a result, what I see when I wake up each day is new, and I like that because it makes me view each day as new and revitalized and full of possibilities.

I want white, white walls (ok, well, craft white but still white) to go with my teak wood pieces, orange sofa and mid-century modern aesthetic. I've got a chair I want to recover to match the sofa and I'm starting to research fabrics. I'd love to find one that combines orange, teal and chocolate brown with a cream. Or maybe even with some lime green and purple. Or perhaps do a contrast with a teal pattern. Stay with me folks - I think it works. Vibrant colour and unique pattern will be the deciding factor in the fabric selection. I love the vibration between teal and orange, and that has been much of my decor inspiration lately. Here are some swatches I've liked and some inspirational pics I've been collecting lately. What is your favourite colour combination?

by sara morris

source

Also, I joined Pinterest. It's fun. Are you a member? Let's be friends if so. It's a place to collect images like this, and share them. Do it!

Illustrator of the Month - January 2011

2011-01-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

This week I received a thank-you card from a client for whom I did wedding flowers. She tucked in some prints of the professional photos, which are always nice to receive because photographing flowers is difficult without the proper equipment. Here's one of the shots. The wedding was, as the bride described it "Kawasaki Green and Aubergine", which in floral terms isn't exactly the easiest combination to pull off! But, I managed to make it work with green spider mums, button mums and used deep purple lisianthus and freesia. While the bride's bouquet was really graphic in design, (it was essentially green with a streak of deep purple through the middle like a stripe) I knew the cake was going to be polka dotted so I had some fun making the topper appear green with purple polka dots too. It was a fun wedding to work on!

It got me to thinking about floral art. I really enjoy doing interpretive things with floral designs, and I enjoy painting using flowers as inspiration. I'm working on a floral-inspired canvas at the moment, though it's quite abstracted and perhaps not immediately recognizable as a floral painting. Outside of the classics like Georgia O'Keefe or the Impressionists, Floral art can get a short shift for being banal and decorative but I think it is one of the more pure forms of art, because flowers are so rich in colour. If I imagine more primitive times, I think you wouldn't often see rich purples, chartreuse greens or deep hot reds very often, if at all, as in most cases those would be found in summer months for a brief time as various flowers bloomed. There is something pure about seeking to capture that as an artist. One of my favourite kinds of floral art is botanical illustration.

A very famous, perhaps most famous botanical illustrator is Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919). He was a contemporary of Darwin and zoologist, naturalist, anatomist, biologist and natural history illustrator. He was actually responsible for creating the term 'ecology' among others, and wrote several influential books such as The History of Creation. Haeckel was an outlandish figure, made controversial claims and found himself criticized for his theories at times.He was first to postulate a "missing link" between ape and man and was proven correct when Java man was found in 1891.

His first art book was published in 1862, and was called Atlas of Radiolarias. His technique is credited with influencing later art forms and design as well.

His publication Artforms of Nature (1904) contained 100 lithographic and autotype prints of a variety of organisms, all of them both scientific in nature as well as masterpieces of composition and detail.

Deeply influenced by Jugendstil (the Art Nouveau movement in Germany), his work had influence on artists and scientists alike. His idol was Goethe, who maintained that art as well as science could unearth the truths of nature.

Haeckel traveled widely, from Sicily to Ceylon, to the North Sea, and beyond. Sketchpads and watercolors accompanied his microscope wherever he went. His on-the-spot drawings of deep-sea vegetation, aquatic creatures, frogs, birds, and higher animals and plants were turned into more than 1000 engravings.

I really would like a framed print of his work. If you would too they're easy to find. Here are some:

Art.com

Classicnatureprints.com

Buy the Art Forms in Nature book on Amazon.

Interested in studying Botanical Illustration? They have a certificate program in Denver at the Botanical Gardens.

ok, not floral art. but cool, right?

Logo Love: Smile

2011-01-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been going through my piles and piles of books deciding what to keep and what should go to the charity shop or garbage bin. Some things are obvious decisions and others not so much. I have a touch of pack-rat flair to me so I have a hard time letting go of sentimental things.

One thing I discovered on the shelf was an old notebook. It was my logo journal. When I was in design school a wise professor suggested we start collecting logos and paste them into a notebook for reference. No real organization required, but try to find ones you like, cut them out and paste them in. I have a whole notebook full of them and it is really interesting to look through. Even though I went to college less than ten years ago, in some cases the logos have dramatically changed.

Here's a great image showing the evolution of the Shell logo:

Logo evolution is important because companies grow and evolve. Their logo should let them appear as if they are staying with the times and have evolved like their customer. In some cases a logo should say "tradition" while in other cases it should say anything but that.

I wanted to call attention to the Smile.co.uk logo, which is designed to be used in some cases with different smiles in the pink box. Marilyn Monroe's smile, Mona Lisa's smile, Little Miss Happy, etc. But here is the basic logo:

Even if it isn't animated, the simplicity of the logo literally makes me smile. I find it one of those logos that is deceptive because it looks so simple and cute, you'd think it's forgettable. But if you saw this logo often enough, if it became branded to that level, I think it could reach a point where you think of this banking website simply be seeing a smile of any kind. The logo was designed by a firm in the UK The Chase.
It is interesting that it is both an image that can been seen as an image or artwork, as well as it can be read. Much like the Nike "swoosh", the "smile" as a logo is a very universal idea. It also breaks away from the concept of what a bank logo should look like in a dramatic way, which is the brand identity that Smile.co.uk is clearly trying to express. They aren't like other banks, and their brand identity makes that clear.

I like it, it makes me smile. That's a good start with any logo or brand program, right?

Speaking of smiling, logos can be wildly unsuccessful and sometimes it has hilarious results. Want to see some funny logo misfires? Click here.

Art for a Good Cause

2011-01-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

Check out this awesome fundraiser:

The November Illustrator of the Month, Dani Crosby, OCHC, Danny Guay and Natalie Garcia have put this great event together supporting the Oshawa Community Health Centre. Music and Art and a friday night? Love it.

While I'm talking about art in the local community I should mention that my last two newspaper columns of 2010 didn't get blogged. Oops!
Here they are:
Creativity is a Gift Worth Sharing
Pictures from the Past, Pictures in the Future

My column is going monthly for 2011 which is great because I love doing it and I'm looking forward to continuing onwards. I've got some other projects in the cooker I can't WAIT to tell you about, but with everything that's gone on in my personal life in the last few months (which some of you know about, others, not so much) it's been held up with getting some things in order. But, as we near the middle of January I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and projects, the blog and some other good creative shenanigans are going to kick off the new year (well, if you follow the Chinese calendar anyhow) perfectly.

Stay tuned.

Illustrator of the Month - December 2010

2011-01-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog,
My new year's resolution is to post my Illustrator of the Month Column on time each month in 2011. Kisses, Jacquie

Illustrator of the Month December 2010

My selection of Arthur Paul this month comes as a result of a delicious Christmas gift I received from my dear friend S.V.Con.It is the collected issues of Playboy from the 1950's, and it includes a dvd rom where you can browse every issue, a lovely book and the first ever issue reprinted. It's amazing and I've only just grazed the surface checking it out.

as always, click to see full size

Arthur Paul was born in Chicago and was educated at the Art Institute. After serving in the war, he went on to the Institute of Design in Chicago, often called the "Chicago Bauhaus" where he studied with Bauhaus educator László Moholy-Nagy. When he left in 1950, he was imbued with the idea that there was no such thing as high-brow and low-brow, that all arts were relevant and that his love for the canvas and illustration could be carried forward with equal importance. I personally relate to that idea deeply. He abandoned the idea of doing only one thing as an artist and started out quite successfully freelancing as an illustrator.

the first issue,art direction by Art Paul

He quickly grew frustrated with the dry and traditional world of advertising, so when Hugh Hefner came along and offered him the job of Art Director at a new magazine he was starting called Playboy, Paul jumped at the opportunity to start something new and groundbreaking. At the beginning, Hefner and Paul were the only two people working on the magazine. Art Paul led what Print Magazine called the "Illustration Liberation Movement," and in so doing, made Playboy the most visually exciting magazine of the day. His greatest challenge in buying art for Playboy was to convince illustrators to free up and to persuade painters that they weren't selling out.

arthur paul's illustration for the july '54 cover of playboy

At first this proved very difficult and much of the work printed in the magazine was his own. By doing so, he successfully began to blur a line between commercial and fine arts. Some of his design and layout techniques are still used in the publication to this day - one such example is the interview page where there is three photos of the subject with quotes above each shot.

With exception to the first issue, Art Paul-designed bunny head icon has appeared on every cover of the magazine (often hidden) and has become one of the most recognized icons used on thousands of products to great success. Perhaps its greatest success is the fact it can be recognized as the symbol of the magazine completely independent of the word "Playboy". More than just a logo this design has become a symbol of a lifestyle, an image and a worldwide brand.

art direction by arthur paul

Paul worked for Playboy for thirty years, winning many awards including many Art Direction clubs, Typography associations and Illustration societies. He is seen as instrumental in advancing the art of illustration to new levels of importance and relevance as an art form.

I'm loving browsing through these issues from the 50's (which are pretty hard to come by at yard sales these days) because the statement "I read it for the articles" couldn't have ever been more true. I also read it for the design, fantastic illustrations and amusing advertising and of course the lovely photographs. I find them respectful of women, respectful of women's rights and issues and groundbreaking in terms of modern publishing.

Funny how we've moved forward so far in many ways in society as women, but in other ways have also gone backwards. Perhaps the Playboy magazine of today isn't exactly as I'd like it to be, not presenting the image I really relate to as much, but the history of the magazine to me is enough to make me forgive it some mistakes.

Sources included: Art Directors Club Hall of Fame
Learn more about Art Paul:
AIGA Profile
Chicago Institute of Technology Article
Eye (Int'l Review of Design Mag) Article

Orange Pumps

2010-12-20T16:58:00.001-08:00

It's All Make Believe, Isn't It? featuring delicious orange shoes
I'm obsessed with these shoes. That's all.

Non-Traditional Christmas Decor Trends

2010-12-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

In a previous job, everyday when I arrived to work it was Christmas. Literally the showroom always had a Christmas section, there was no 'off season'. During that phase, I purchased a lot of cheap ornaments and baubles for decorating the house.

This year, due to some personal shifts and generalized busy-ness, I'm not doing a full-sized Christmas tree. That means my collection of red, white and silver do-dads is staying in the storage unit and I'm only "putting up" my mini Barbie themed tree. It's about 2 feet tall and is decorated with mini disco balls and vintage Barbie doll ornaments. Each year Hallmark releases two different collectible ornaments, the yearly release, which is usually in a horridly large and gross princess dress, and then a historically popular Barbie from the archives.

It's those ones I love best. My mom usually buys me one on Boxing day for half price, that's how I started collecting them! I've got a great series of them and it's almost as much fun unpacking them and putting them on my mini tree as it was playing with Barbies as a kid.

As an aside, I'll mention that I think Barbie has really started sucking lately. Why must all new Barbie toys be pink? Why doesn't she get to wear other colours? As demonstrated by the image at right, this was not always the case. I'm irritated this year by girls toys and how pink they all are, as if little girls shouldn't be allowed to even touch anything navy blue. Don't even get me started on the Disney Princesses! That's another blog post...

This post is about the pink Barbie tree being the centrepiece of my holiday decor this year, and how it's gotten me to thinking about different holiday colour schemes.

The traditional colours of green and red have a long history, and though many theories about why they are the Christmas colours are out there, it's likely because of the use of "Paradise Trees" used in Miracle Plays which were popular in the 15th Century. The plays were used to tell the story of Adam and Eve, and the trees were often pine trees decorated with apples. Evergreens were used because they could be sourced year 'round and kept their lustrous green colour.

image source

Non-traditional colour palettes are so pretty though! Using non-traditional colours isn't really new either, as evidenced by those lovely vintage glass ornaments finding themselves desirable again.

To me the best way to do a non-traditional holiday theme is to include one traditional colour and then go wild from there. Designers use this rule as well, because the traditional colours always sell better than the wild ones at retail. For this reason, collections have a 'safe' base colour and this helps them sell the more wild, contemporary looks.

Use Silver, Gold, Red or Green or White and then have some fun. In my case, I'm using pink and silver!

The hottest trend in decor, fashion and jewellery is definitely still Peacock. A holiday peacock theme uses green, and in this image also uses gold and silver.

image source

With a mix of lovely teal, purple, copper and brown ornaments it creates a lively, warm glow at the holidays.

When you tire of the peacock look in a few years, you are left with gold and silver accents for use in a new theme.

If you use the bright green tone, like in the place setting below, this paired with rich gold or copper is a more traditional spin on the palette.

image source

Also popular this year is Tiffany Blue. Mixed with white and silver, it creates a pretty, glam holiday look.

image source

Reminiscent of snowfall, icicles and jack frost, blue works in the home throughout the season and is perfect if you are planning a new year's eve party as well. The white and silver elements can be used year after year if you tire of the blue touches. Clear beads and crystals, your plain glass vases and pinecones spray-painted white and silver are affordable ways to add a little oomph to a few blue purchases without breaking the bank.

image source

Coming back to those lovely vintage ornaments, the third holiday non-traditional colour trend I adore is saturated brights like pink, chartreuse, hot red, orange, bright blues. These looks often feature stripes and polka dots and are over-the-top whimsical. And I say if you can't be over-the-top whimsical at Christmas, when can you be?

image credit

Vintage ornaments, plastic holly, hot pink? Kitsch done right! I love the little plastic elves, feathers and jolly snowmen.

image credit

It's so child-like and fun and playful, and is definitely affordable since you can mix and match vintage and dollar store finds easily with this look. I also recommend hitting after-season sales if you're into pink, because it is typically the worst-selling holiday ornament colour, so they boxes are usually left on store shelves on deep discount.

image credit

What colours do you love at the holidays? Are you loyal to tradition or do you like to mix it up? Do you decorate to match your home decor or have your gotten your orns as hand-me-downs? This year I'm adding to my decor with some new affordable silver accents like tinsel and silver icicles, just to shake things up. And I'm keeping my pink tree front and centre. I feel like it's time to have a break from tradition.

Road Trip: Halifax

2010-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

My goodness, did I ever love Halifax!! I really wanted to stay for a longer stretch but I did manage to jam pack my weekend. And, I achieved my goal of eating seafood for every meal (if you count that bloody caesar I had with brunch as "seafood", which I do, because it includes clams!).

My trip started out as most do at the airport. I realized while waiting that it was my first trip on a plane where I wasn't leaving the country. It's so much better when you don't have to go through all that security! I'm taking this under consideration for my next planned trip. I flew into Halifax airport around lunch time and unfortunately didn't have the window seat. Oh well. I picked up my rental car and drove into Halifax. It was pouring rain and freezing cold, a typical November day. I was headed that way because one of my best friends has joined the Navy and is stationed in Halifax, so I stayed with her.

view of halifax harbour from outside stayner's wharf

After finding her place and getting quickly changed, we headed back out to the Historic Properties neighbourhood for some grub. I wanted something warm and cuddly, and somewhere we could sit for quite a while and catch up. We went to Stayner's Wharf. We each had a local cider and split the fishcakes as an appetizer. They were delightful with a curry flair and a zesty sauce for dipping. An interesting spin. After that I had a yummy Chicken and Shrimp Hot Pot noodle soup. As it turns out shrimp taste different in Nova Scotia. Different good!

We walked around the neighbourhood afterwards, and peeked in and out of some local shops like Christmas by the Sea which had every sort of holiday ornament you could ever imagine. Even a Santa Claus praying over the baby jesus. Odd.

"Kneeling Santa"

The evening grew dark quickly, and the rain kept coming down. After discussing our plans for the whole weekend, and an inspiring trip to the DeSerres art supply store, we decided to have a night in with a bottle of red wine, loads of white paper, and some Christmas movies. Our friday night was spent giggling over making paper snowflakes (a veritable blizzard of them no less!), watching Rudolph, Elf and Charlie Brown's Christmas Special, and eating loads of pasta. It was very joyful and afterwards her apartment looked so festive.

Rocks at Peggy's Cove

Saturday morning was beautiful and sunny and we woke up fairly early to head out on our planned day trip. First up was Peggy's Cove. The cove is the biggest tourist draw in the area, and it really is beautiful.

Peggy's Cove

The day was a bit blustery and dark when we arrived, but the sun started to break through the clouds as we stood on the massive rocks.

I have to admit, I was a little bit scared. I kept thinking to myself "they just let people walk out here, all alone? People must die all the time!"

And then I saw this sign:

Don't fall on the rocks at Peggy's Cove or you will die.

Peggy's Cove is 43kms from downtown Halifax. It's a very old settlement of German fishermen, and their families. I was actually surprised at how small the community has remained, being the tourist destination that it is. Wikipedia lists the population at under 50 still. The lighthouse on Peggy's Cove was our first stop on the Lighthouse Trail scenic route along the coast from Halifax to Yarmouth.

a panoramic shot of Peggy's cove

After we narrowly avoided our deaths at the cove, we continued onwards along the trail to Mahone Bay. Mahone Bay's slogan is "Pretty as a Picture" and wow, is it ever. When we arrived however, it was snowing large heavy wet flakes, and was very dark. It looked beautiful, but my pictures are terrible! So here's a picture from the internet.

Mahone Bay

When you drive into the area the first thing you see are three churches, all lined up like soldiers along the bay. There's an Anglican, United and Lutheran church, and the view of of the bay of the three churches has become an iconic image for Nova Scotia, used often on tourist memorabilia and calendars and such. The shopping area is situated around the curve of the bay, and it was busy even in bad weather. The bay itself is apparently very busy with boats all summer and Mahone Bay is known for wooden boat building, its original industry.

Pretty, huh? We stopped for a bit and did some shopping at this great little boutique called the Teazer. I can't say what I bought just yet, because it's a gift, I think. Unless I decide to keep it. I'm still thinking on that one! We were getting hungry and it was getting late, so we continued onwards to our next destination, the equally picturesque Lunenburg.

Lunenburg

Lunenburg is a world heritage site. It was established in 1753 as the first British Colonial Settlement in NS outside of Halifax. The settlers though were mostly from Germany, Switzerland and the Montbeliard region of France. The area became a trading post, farming town and fishing village. Today High Liner foods is there and the seafood industry still dominates. Perfect for a gal wanting to survive on a seafood-only diet while travelling! We walked around to explore the shops, and found a great vintage clothing and antique shop called Charlotte's Web. Though things were mostly out of my price range, they had fantastic real vintage corsets, hats and dresses from the 1920's, a selection of antique folk art crafts and loads of neat home decor items. Definitely worth a browse.

Lunenburg

On the plane I flipped through the EnRoute magazine and it happened to have a feature on Lunenburg, and it highlighted the Salt Shaker Deli, so we went there. It was delicious! So So So good. I had a lobster roll on brioche, which was so good I wouldn't even share one bite. The lobster salad was tender and the celery in it just the right size and still crisp. I basically inhaled it. Meanwhile Rose had the Tomato and Parmesean Soup, which was so good she ordered a second bowl. Not to be outdone, I decided to try their Smoked Seafood Chowder, which had the most incredible scallops in it. I shared one bite. We both paired our meals with a locally-made Propeller beverage; I had their cream soda and Rosie their root beer.

Afterwards we did some real-estate browsing, and a little bit of Christmas shopping before heading back to Halifax. Though a nap was in order, we decided to have a redbull instead and get ready to go out on the town. Though local favourites, east-coast punk legends the Mahones were playing (for only $10) we decided that deciding on only one thing to do wasn't nearly enough, and that we'd have to hit a number of spots that evening.

First up, we headed to a local dive bar and sang Karaoke. Rose sang Cher and then we sang a New Kids on the Block song together. It was a beautiful thing and drinks were cheap. Then we headed downtown and went to Tribeca, a cool-kids bar having a rock night. It was pretty fun but also was the sort of place where a drunk girl in a mini dress spills her drink on you and doesn't apologize, and we wanted to dance to actual dance music, so we headed out again after a round or two. We planned to go to the safe-bet for dancing The Dome, but ended up walking past Reflections Cabaret (the gay bar, aka "Where Halifax Goes Dancing") and got talking to the bouncer. They were hosting a DJ idol night to determine who would be the house DJ that season, and who could resist that? So we headed in and were not disappointed to find a packed dance floor and pounding music to let loose to. Good times!

On Sunday we slept in late and then had the hang-over brunch at Brooklyn Warehouse. I really, really liked the hang-over brunch. The meal included a tomato-based cocktail (I had the wasabi caesar) and coffee and the first thing they did was to bring a large bottle of ice water to the table. Plus the ambiance and food was great. I'd highly recommend it.

After brunch we walked downtown to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. I wanted to take in the Alex Colville exhibition. I was generally surprised at how large the gallery was. It had a really interesting and diverse collection and numerous exhibitions ongoing at the same time so there was a lot to see.

I learned about Maud Lewis, who is a local hero of sorts. She is a famous Nova Scotian folk artist who created truly lovely and charmingly simple folk art. The gallery has a huge permanent exhibition of her works and even her home moved inside the gallery. I've since learned that she is widely forged and even her husband forged works of hers once she got popular!

I guess her style would be easy to forge and this certainly isn't limited to Maud Lewis. You can find Maud Lewis stuff in just about every gift shop and store in the area. Funny how things like that are so regional.

I found a lot of the folk art at the NS Gallery really fun and interesting. One specific work that sticks out was a large wood carving of the Obama Family. It made me smile and I thought it was a pretty cool work. I giggled a lot in the folk arts section.

The gallery didn't have a huge contemporary section but did have some nice works, and the space was interesting too, it was spread over two buildings connected underground.

After the gallery I was hell-bent on fresh oysters, as they say you should eat them in months ending in the letter "R". We went to the Five Fishermen Restaurant & Grill for their Oyster Happy hour and I was delighted to have two varieties of local raw oysters. Divine. I couldn't talk Rose into them though. Perhaps next time. I also ate their seafood cobb salad, which had the best scallops in it ever. Also a nice stilton cheese and avacado and lobster...it was delicious.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some of what I saw and ate and did in Halifax. I really enjoyed the city and wish I could have had more time to explore. I found it just large enough not to feel like a small town and just small enough not to feel too large and busy. I can't think of another way to say it, really. I hope to visit again soon.

Illustrator of the Month - November 2010 & Oshawa Express Column 5 - Artscape

2010-12-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

I am a day late posting my Illustrator of the Month. This seems to be becoming a pattern! No good, no good. In any case, I'm doing a joint post for IotM and my Oshawa Express Column about making creative spaces in Oshawa, and thought it might be an appropriate time to highlight some of the talent in this community.

(as always, but especially in this post, please click to see images full size)

Dani Crosby is an illustrator who lives and works in Oshawa, Ontario. She is a freelance illustrator, and a part time professor at Durham College in the School of Media Art and Design, and was educated in Oakville at Sheridan College in their Illustration BAA program, the only one of its kind in Canada.

Dani's work is lyrical, expressive and interpretive. Capable of communicating ideas clearly, her work is illustrative in the purest sense.

I'm pretty much in awe of her talent.

Her work varies from the deliciously grotesque to the simply sublime, capable of suiting a number of themes and styles, but still manages to have her own distinct flavour, especially the line work.

Her work has included editorial, concept development, creative product development and fine art. Clients have included How Magazine, Bitch Magazine, The National Post, Protest the Hero, 66Thieves, Happy Worker Toy Company and many more awesome projects.

Seemingly never short on energy or ideas, Dani's work finds unique ways of expressing ideas that will lead you to think, "why didn't I think of that?"

Dani is also the co-founder of a new organization called United Arts of Durham. The basis of the org/website is to provide a networking tool to the arts community in Durham Region. Often disjointed, this community is vibrant and full of energy, but we seem to have trouble connecting to one another. The website offers a tool where creative types of any kind can find one another, as well as clients could find potential creatives. Check it out and register yourself here.

unfolded

folded

Dani's site has loads of images to check out. Be sure to do so by clicking here.

It is appropriate to talk about a local illustrator this month because my article this week is about the arts community coming together to help create a space in the city for artists, designers, and other creatives to congregate. It's a space that is desperately needed here. I'm sprinkling my article with a couple more of Dani's illustrations.

Community collaboration makes for creative spaces

By Jacquie Severs/Columnist

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a Creative Spacemaking Workshop hosted by the City of Oshawa and an organization called Artscape. What is a Creative Spacemaking Workshop you might ask? Well, that would be a fair question, because when I first heard about it, I felt a little confused. How is it possible to make space? In essence, however the concept is quite simple, it isn’t about making space, it is about thinking creatively about existing spaces, to reinvent them.

Artscape presents a model for old and underused spaces to be remade into something new that will in turn help to improve the community in which it is based. Artists, if given opportunity in the form of affordable, accessible space, contribute to communities and improve neighbourhoods with their creative energy. Artscape has facilitated the development of a number of successful projects of this kind, such as the Distillery District in Toronto.

Another example is the Wychwood Barns project in the neighbourhood of St. Clair and Christie Streets in Toronto. The long-abandoned TTC streetcar repair barns were re-imagined and dramatically renovated to provide a multifaceted community centre. The five barns and surrounding parks house artist studios, community groups, retail gallery spaces, an organic farmer’s market and provides event space for rent.

These spaces take a long time to bring to reality, as well as the vision and grassroots efforts of community members, artists and neighbourhood residents to bring it to life. The workshop was attended by a number of members of the local community who share a desire to create such a space in Oshawa.

Diverse groups all seemed to have the same message to bring, and that is the need for a community hub for artists, designers, craftspeople, students, not-for-profit organizations, musicians, theatre groups and other members of the creative class to congregate, share and learn from one another.

One interesting suggestion was the former Honest-Way department store in the downtown core. This space is currently unoccupied and offers a number of benefits; centralized location, diverse interior space including small offices and large open areas, proximity to performance and fine art tourist destinations, and a highly visible storefront that could offer retail gallery space.

The sharing of space provides a stable base of funding to support the project and in turn helps area businesses by offering events, culture and endless energy to the lifestyle of downtown Oshawa. It’s a winning combination to diversify our city.

From what I learned at the workshop, I believe it is a concept that would work in our community, if scaled to suit the needs of arts groups that have been crying out for a venue of this kind. As with any project, there are sure to be challenges. There will surely be diverse opinions about how the space should be operated, who should offer leadership (and financing). What the workshop highlighted to me most of all, however, was not the impossibilities, but instead the opportunity to create a fantastic space for the community to share.

The Bump and Hustle - Bra Fitting is Feminist

2010-11-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

My guest-expert post is now up on the Bump and Hustle blog, check it out here. Anyone who knows me well, (or at all, really) treats me as their go-to bra expert, which is great because I love talking about bra fitting and helping women in an area that is very confusing to most. Indeed it was six weeks of training and job shadowing before I was a trusted bra fitter. And you keep learning as you go, and over time I've become very comfortable with the title 'bra expert'.

Though some women are embarrassed to talk about bras, I'm not. I have always felt it's extremely important to share the information I have learned because it shouldn't be so hard for women to be comfortable and well supported. The fitting system is complicated and I know for myself as a young woman it was very distressing to go bra shopping. I even cried once in a Bay store. How humiliating is it to be forced in to grandma bras at 16? Very humiliating.

I feel in a lot of ways that bra fitting is a feminist act. We're forced by society to wear bras (I love wearing them but by no means am I delusional enough to believe they are physically required for our health) due to years of social conformity to a particular look and silhouette. The thing is, I don't imagine in my lifetime that women will suddenly change their minds and decide that wearing a bra isn't required anymore. So, since we're in for a lifetime of it ladies, might as well do it right. No more grandma bras, no more sore shoulders, no more straps falling off, no more sports bra injuries. Only stuff we love; stuff that looks great and feels great.

Ask yourself if a man would stand an uncomfortable garment for even five minutes? Men complain about wearing ties and even those aren't particularly uncomfortable. Would they deal with pants coming in only 32-36" waists at the clothing store? Imagine the outrage if companies just stopped carrying size Large briefs and only offered Small and Medium. It would be pandemonium!

Alas this is the reality with bras. Most stores carry only 34, 36, 38, B/C/D and some DD. Bras are available in 28-44 (and slightly beyond, smaller and larger, in some brands) in cups AA-L. That's a lot more sizes!! The only way to combat the evil large bra manufacturers that want us all to be 36C's is to actively seek out and buy only the right size. What really grinds my gears lately is bra boutiques that claim to offer fitting but then carry limited brands, thus still leaving out a huge range of women. These stores pretend to offer all sizes but still carry only the large back sizes in the larger cups, assuming if you are busty, you must also be overweight. Tell Scarlett Johansson, Christina Hendricks or Katy Perry that, right? All three of those women are 32 backs at the most, ScarJo and KP probably 30". These so-called fitting boutiques that don't carry 28-34" backs are leaving them out entirely from the store. Ach! It makes me mad.

I'll refrain from naming names because they at least offer more selection than Victoria's Secret, but if they aren't doing fitting 100% the right way and are still selling bras with backs that are too large, they are as much a part of the problem as VS is.

Here's a video that explains fitting produced by one of the most reputable bra companies in the world, Fantasie:

If you want to continue to learn more about it, you can follow along on secretsfromyoursister.com, where I'm the resident blogger. Back to the topic at hand, the Bump and Hustle blog, and my expert post there.

I have to say helping Kat with Bump and Hustle was pretty fun. The blog is great and she was easy to work with. She wrote to me to explain that she couldn't understand why her 34B bra didn't fit post baby and asked me to be an expert on her blog on the topic. The funny thing is I knew right away that 34B wasn't the right size pre-baby let alone post-baby. I say it's funny because Kat and I haven't seen each other in person since college. But I could remember quite well her general figure, and she's in no way a 34, likely wasn't even a 34 when pregnant. So I recommended changing to a 32C which is the same cup, with the smaller back and presto, it fit perfectly. I knew it would.

I'm able to guess what bra size a woman is wearing, and what size she should be wearing, just by looking at her. It's much like riding a bicycle. Once you get it, you just get it and you can't lose it. I've learned however that sharing this information in social settings should be avoided. I remember one time a gal asking me over and over and over what size she should be, since she'd heard I was some sort of bra whisperer. She told me she had just purchased a number of 36DD bras. I finally cracked and let her know that size was wrong I would try something like a 32F. Well, despite a 32F actually being the same cup with a smaller back (therefore a much smaller bra) she burst out into tears. In the middle of the party. Not exactly the best ice breaker!

bra fitting guide for a store with specific brand notes as related to the brands they sell.
complicated, what? whatever do you mean? click to enlarge.
also, don't ever buy a "jeunique bra". just trust me on that one.

So now my policy is fairly strict. I try to speak about the band sizes only, because for some odd reason the numbers aren't nearly as upsetting for women to talk about as the cups. Coming back to my point about bra fitting being feminist, I'd like to point out that only a patriarchal system would create such a horrid, complicated system for sizing, and then make it so shrouded in mystery and difficult to understand.

In Canada there isn't a nation-wide chain that carries all sizes. Change is reputable and offers a large range at good prices. In Toronto, try secrets from your sister, (if you think I'm biased, maybe you'll trust Jeanne Beker instead) Sophia's on the Danforth or Tryst. I've heard Diane's is good in Vancouver, but I don't have tips for you on Montreal or anywhere else. I'm sorry!

If you live in the US, check out Intimacy. They offer fitting and a huge range of sizes and styles and are helping the revolution along in spades. Their tagline is even "changing women's lives" and though that might sound like an overstatement, it is anything but. A good fitter will change your life, if you haven't ever been fit before.

If you live in the UK, check out Bravissimo. They specialize in D cups +, but they offer fittings, clothing, swimwear even pjs designed for gals on the busty side. P.S. D cup isn't really so busty - in my estimation I'd say that D cup gals make up easily 50% of the population if not more.

Lets hope that soon enough the statistic that 75% of women wear the wrong size is no more, and that women will be able to find bras in all sizes much more easily, especially in North America. After all, we're worth it.

Oshawa Express Column 4 - Controversy No Stranger to Fine Art

2010-11-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

I'm getting excited for the William Ronald exhibition coming up. Since I started at the gallery I've developed a little fascination with him. I happened to stumble upon this you tube video the other day of "Drumbeat", potentially his most famous work (well, that's what I was told today) being auctioned in 2008:

The work is included in the exhibition I'm talking about in this post so that's a pretty interesting coincidence. I didn't know you could watch art auctions online and now I'm a bit obsessed! It's like my favourite board game Masterpiece come to life!

Have you ever played? I've been into it for a long time, though not since childhood like you might think. I actually received it and my first piece of original artwork for my 18th birthday. The game comes standard with selections from the Chicago Art Institute, which was a happy coincidence, since I went there on a trip the previous spring. Since that time I've added to my edition with post cards from various galleries and now my version is stocked with an amazing art collection to bid on. It's a very easy game to play. I have found the most challenging aspect of the game (besides speaking in "Millions",) is the temptation to curate your purchases to your taste, when the goal of the game is to succeed financially. Unfortunately many players begin thinking about how their purchases would look together in a gallery and make bad purchasing decisions.

I'd like to get a tournament together, I have two copies of the game. I've been saying that for years but something tells me it might happen soon!

Here's my article from this week's Express.

Controversy is no stranger to fine art

Various opinions and concepts about what art is, and what art should be, have evolved and changed over time. In particular the question of the artistic and fiscal value of abstract art is alive and well. Though some of the first abstracted paintings were done as early as the late 19^th century, abstract art in many ways has still not reached mainstream acceptance. As recently as 1990, the notorious 1.8 million dollar purchase of Barnett Newman’s “Voice of Fire” by the National Gallery of Canada stoked much public outcry and questioning. The works of the Group of Seven, painted during the 1920’s, were widely disliked at the time they were created. It was not until the nineteen fifties that their landscape paintings became popular.

Though the acceptance of those works had been achieved, during the fifties, tastes of the day were still so conservative that it was nearly impossible to have an art exhibition of works that were in abstracted styles. The first exhibition of abstract art in Toronto came as a result of a young artist by the name of William Ronald. He worked at Simpson’s Department Store and convinced the owners to show some abstract works in their windows alongside furniture and home accessories. Two of the artists shown were William Ronald and Alexandra Luke, an artist from Oshawa.

It was shortly following this that Ronald, Luke and nine other artists met in Luke’s Oshawa studio. The result from that 1953 meeting was a collective called Painters Eleven. They were Ontario’s first abstract art collective, and as a result of their collaboration, were able to show their work in a gallery setting in Toronto and shortly after that, in New York. All 11 members went on to have various artistic impacts across Ontario and the rest of Canada.

However it was William Ronald who went on to became one of Canada’s most important artist exports. In 1955 Ronald took some winnings from a Canadian Amateur Hockey Association award and went to New York City to study and practice his art. He eventually gained a contract with a commercial gallery that required him to produce 18 works per year. Those works were purchased by numerous public galleries throughout the United States and in New York City by the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim. It was during this era of his career that Ronald set himself apart from the New York scene by using what would become his signature Central Image icon.

Because of the important historical connection between Painters Eleven and Oshawa, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery has set out to collect and show the works of these 11 artists. A collection of Ronald’s Central Image works are being presented in an upcoming exhibition, opening Saturday November 20 at 1 p.m.

These works are in part selected from the permanent collection of the RMG, but have also been loaned to the exhibition by various private collectors, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery, and the Royal Bank, among others. The exhibition presents a rare opportunity to see works by an artist who is well known on the international stage, but is also relevant to our local history. In addition, the exhibition presents an opportunity for those who continue to question the importance of abstract art, to see some of Canada’s finest examples brought together in Oshawa. Viewed in person, a visitor can contemplate their own impressions of a style of art that just over 50 years ago was considered by most to be controversial, and to many, still is.

Oshawa Express Column 3

2010-11-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

Whoops! I forgot to post my last column here. It doesn't seem to be on the website yet but perhaps that is an oversight. It seems to me that this happens often - I've looked for digital versions of various articles for other reasons, and not been able to find them so lets just chalk it up to that. I'll assume they are busy, not that they don't like it, cause they printed it.

Anyhow here it is. I wrote it in anticipation of an event that happened this past weekend. What a lot of fun it was! I really enjoyed it, the auction was very interesting to see and the photography was top-notch. Things have been so busy at work but if you've been reading for a while you know the workaholic in me loves it.

Capturing Images and Ideas

Photography has long been a popular form of art in our community. Studios and photography stores allowed for local hobbyists and professionals to work on their art. Clubs and associations encourage one another to learn more about the art form. In recent years though, the availability of digital photographic equipment has changed the art form dramatically. While one aspect is the move from using film and traditional processing to digital storage and output, the greater impact of this change has been the dramatic cost reduction in capturing scenes, images and ideas that live in the eyes and mind of the artist. This has allowed more budding photographers to explore the medium.

While in the past capturing an image could take hours of careful preparation to ensure the perfect shot, today it is virtually cost free (once the initial cost of equipment is paid) to shoot thousands of digital images, seeking just the right look. Some might say that this has created a level playing field for photographers, but this is less than true. Though one of those thousands of shots might be lucky, it is truly the skill of a trained eye and years of practice that results in the most breathtaking effects.

Recently The Robert McLaughlin Gallery held a community photographic competition to go hand in hand with the upcoming fundraising event RMG Exposed, happening on November 13th. This competition encouraged photographers in the community to submit three of their images for a jury to review and select the finest ones. The results were truly overwhelming. A breadth of talent lives in this community, creating an incredible challenge for the members of the jury. Selecting from the images only, knowing nothing about the artists themselves, the jury was presented with the challenge of selecting only 20 images from well over 250 submissions. (You can have a sneak peek at the finalists by visiting www.rmgexposed.com.)

Images captured around the globe, images from our own backyards, images of what seemed to be another world, all presented unique visions of what the art of photography is. The use of digital after-effects, in some cases, created images that seem impossible for the eye to comprehend. Other images were simple, stripped down, utilizing traditional photographic techniques.

The finalists in the competition have a chance to win prizes, and in return have generously donated prints of their work which will be auctioned during the event, with funds returning to the community in the form of events and programming at the gallery. The photographic community has come together to create a truly unique event for Oshawa, celebrating an art form that is living and evolving as technology rapidly changes. It shows just how alive and well the passion is for photography in the local area, potentially greater than ever before in history. It is one way in which the digital age has changed our lives, changed the way we see the world, and changed the way we express ourselves every day. The final photographs capture more than just images; they also capture ideas, and help define our identities as members of the artistic community.

****

Oh, I should also mention a reporter from the Durham College blog Downtown Oshawa News also popped into the gallery and interviewed me as we discussed the current exhibit Obsolete Concepts. I was nervous because I don't really enjoy myself on film, and I have a tendency to talk fast. I dealt with it! I was also worried because though I know the exhibition pretty well, and have read the essay and done some writing about it, the one piece the author wanted to talk most about was the one I felt the least comfortable discussing. Ah well, I think it went ok. Anyhow, here it is:

Look mom, I'm on youtube!

This week I've got so many writing assignments on the go I don't really have time for the blogging. I've got to get a post together for secrets and I know what it will be about. It's going to be saucy so keep your eyes out for that one. I've got a number of pieces for work on the go, and I have been acting as an expert on a new blog called The Bump & Hustle. It's pretty and it's a good read too. It's still fairly new but already has a good chunk of content. I believe that my post goes up in four days. The B&H is a new blog by an old school chum of mine Kat. Kat is actually super woman, I'm sure of it. When she's not being a new mom, she's running two businesses out of her home and I hear also renovating it, all whilst being a super-talented designer. Oh, did I mention she's also the author of another blog called Spin the Idea? She's amazing. Anyhow The B&H is all about how to juggle it when you are a new mom and it's fun to be a part of it, even though I'm still sans bebe. Stay tuned, I'll provide the link.

A Blog about Blogging

2010-11-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

A few people recently have asked me about my blogging and why I do it. How I come up with content ideas, how I stay motivated, and so on. It's gotten me to thinking about why I do it and what I'm trying to achieve. Recently I watched the kinda-terrible but still amusingly-knocked-off-of Revenge of the Nerds movie Sydney White. Yes, it stars Amanda Bynes. No, I didn't choose it. But anyhow there was a blogging character in the movie (one of the geeks, of course) who said the line "you don't blog for the readers, you blog for the writing."

I think that's pretty true for me. I've been a writer for a long time. Not in any public way, but I was an avid diary keeper for many years, wrote epic letters to my friends (and almost failed grade 9 typing because of it) and when ye' ol' internets came to be, I started writing epic emails as well. I first dabbled with blogging back in 2004 with an anonymous blog that I now can't remember the name of, but I think it's still out there. I used it to vent about various problems in my life, emotional moments spilled onto an internet home I don't think anyone was reading. It felt good. I'd like to find it again.

I also blogged a bit on myspace, (which reminds me, I'm going to go login over there and check it out, just for kicks) and then moved to a blogspot blog that was also anon. I was encouraged to continue by a friend who told me he saved all the emails I wrote him so he could read them again later, because they made him laugh.

I figured if that was true maybe other people would enjoy reading what I was writing. And since I was enjoying writing it, there was no loss to doing it. It's free, it's cathartic, it's win-win. Then I moved here, to jacquiesevers.blogspot.com.

What I've come to enjoy about writing my blog is that it creates this little square on the web that is mine, all mine. As well it's a permanent place, or at least as permanent as anything on the web is, where my history is being written. I moved the blog to being under my first and last name because I decided it was something that I might enjoy looking back at in 10 years. Who knows what opportunity it could bring. I also figured if I was going to spend time on it, that I might as well take ownership of it. Some things I stopped writing about because I decided they were too personal. A gal's got to have some mystery. Other things I thought might hurt my real-life career in some way, (people like to tell me this is false but I know conservative business better than anyone I think, so I know differently) and that I didn't need to be publicly talking about them anymore. In another way, I started to feel a little one-note. I'm not a very one-note person, I'm interested in a lot of different things. So, if I feel that need to vent now, I do it in an email again, to the person I think is most interested in that writing. So far, it's helped me get the job of my dreams so that's a good start. It also helped me get that little column in the paper. I couldn't have predicted that outcome, but it's kinda cool it happened. Bloggers, why do you blog?

There's a lot of blogs out there right now that are about being the authority on a particular topic. They want you to sign up for their newsletter, and follow their twitter and learn from them. That's not what this blog is about. Maybe I'm not doing it right but I don't care much for rules, really. This isn't an effort to get fame or money or to make a living. If it was, I'd approach it differently. Besides, I do write another blog that's for commercial purposes as its heart, and that's a different beast.

What you're getting here is a diary, one that is as much as I'm comfortable sharing (with my real name attached in bold letters) and a written record of the interesting things I like and do. It's much less stabby than my earlier blogs but I want it that way. I think my other blogs were too stabby and really, in real life, I'm not a very angry person most of the time. I'll leave anger to other people.

Some critics of bloggers and tweeters say that we're narcissists. That we think, somewhat incorrectly, that the world cares. Oh, maybe that's true, I've never been great at the whole knowing-ones-self thing. But to me, it's more about sharing because that's what I'm interested in from other people. I love reading other people's blogs and tweets, even the inane ones about what they're eating for dinner. Am I nosy? Yes, I think that would be a fair statement. Do I have a life? Yes, a busy one. I just find real people more fascinating than characters on Two-and-a-Half-Men. I'd rather spend a half hour reading a blog by someone I don't know anything about than watching a fictional character demean a woman, ok? Real life is pretty entertaining.

The statement being thrown 'round of late, "The Internet is Dead" is true in so many ways. When was the last time you went to the net to browse websites that weren't crowd-sourced or user-created? YouTube, Wikipedia, Trip Advisor, Chow Hound, social media platforms, all the ones with the most interesting stuff are the ones that users themselves create the content for.

I think it is because we're isolated in our lives. We've lost, in many ways, the art of conversation, the art of sharing intimately. We work so much and barely have time to get to know one another, so these portals into private lives are our ways of sharing, connecting and relating. The beautiful thing about it is that people for many years said the internet would close us off from one another but in many ways it has opened us up to one another, has made us connect in new and more personal ways, if not face-to-face, at least on an emotional or mental level. Why do I blog? I blog for the writing, the creation, the joy of sharing, as a place to put up photos and talk about adventures, as a home for my thoughts and ideas, and to create a place that in time I can go back to and remember who I was, at this moment.

Illustrator of the Month - October 2010

2010-10-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Halloween is easily my favourite holiday of the year. Sure, Xmas gives me the warm and fuzzies but it's Halloween that makes me have sleepless nights and a twisted tummy bubbling with anticipation. I host a party each year and take costuming quite seriously. But enough about my obsession... I thought in honour of the festive season I'd feature an artist whose work features Halloween themes!

It's possibly a little known fact that I have a soft spot for folk art. Maybe it was all the years I spent in the giftware industry. Not the geese-and-checkerboard sort that is well known, but the modern take on it. Especially with Halloween stuff, I'm pretty into folksy takes on the look.

Suzanne Urban is an illustrator who works primarily on product design and surface pattern. Her Halloween stuff is so fun! And unique.

She has a degree in studio art from Marymount College and has worked for greeting card companies, publishing houses and newspapers, among others. Her style is neo-folk, which to me means that it is informed by other styles of art, and a skilled hand, but isn't so much simple as it is based on simple themes, shapes and concepts.

She has a day job in an elementary school, and lives and works in Connecticut.

Suzanne is a juried member of EHAG (I just learned what it is! Eclectic Halloween Artist's Group...um, how awesome is that?), and has been published by McGraw Hill, Scholastic and the New York Times. She's currently working in licenses for a gourmet ice cream company and has in the past worked on stamps, stationery, greeting cards and needlepoint patterns.

Suzanne makes these cool felted dolls too.

Learn more about Suzanne here.
Follow her blog here.
And have a very very happy halloween!

Bouffant Hair is Fun...Until Morning Comes

2010-10-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

I hit up Fashion Week - or what they want you to call it, "LG Fashion Week Presented by Loreal". Sponsors! Geez. I was hoping the Fortnight show would be runway, but it was Studio, which means it's just on mannequins. A lingerie show without models? What fun is that?

I had a bunch of fun as per usual and this time was pretty thrilled to find myself seated in the front row for DUY. Duy is a Montreal-based designer who was born in Vietnam. He's been designing his signature line since 2001 and his work is known for tailoring, unexpected details and innovative cuts.

The Spring-Summer 2011 line left a one-word impression with me: ethereal. Even the structured pieces, like a camel coloured trench were floaty and feminine and had incredible movement as the models walked.

You can check out the whole collection here.

In between shows you stand around a lot and drink wine. There is no source for food, though I did notice in the vip section there was some candy on the tables. I always find this funny, because while I know that fashion isn't exactly known for being pro-food, I find it funny that it is so much so that there isn't any available, at all. Like, NONE.

I also caught the Amanda Lew Kee show which was monochromatic for spring.

The models had bright blue lips though, which was the only shot of colour in this line that was structured and had interesting zipper details and cuts. Amanda Lew Kee is a very young designer, having only graduated from Ryerson's fashion school in 2010. This was her debut at fashion week!

Lew Kee was invited to participate in an effort to bridge the gap between established brands and up-and-coming designers. Lew Kee is known for her leather jackets and rock-and-roll street styling, and of course that signature blue lipstick.

One thing from the presentation I thought was really innovative was her use of hosiery on footwear. I'm assuming since this was her debut finding footwear in the natural hues of her line proved difficult and expensive. Instead models wore their own heels and they slid their feet through opaque nude hosiery, letting the heels poke out the back. The result was a uniform footwear look that would be easy to knock-off. It creates an unique bootie-slash-sock effect.

Read more about Lew Kee's rapid rise to fame here.

I skipped the next show to have my hair made into a huge bouffant courtesy of the on-site Loreal stylists. I know, I should have gone but I really wanted one! So I waited on the sofa with a glass of wine instead of scrambling to get in.

This is the result:

So awesome! I had two people approach me afterwards and tell me I looked like Joan Holloway from Madmen which is a pretty stellar compliment in my books. It felt great too - so secure on my head. It felt great until I tried to sleep on it (knowing it would last until the next day). I don't know how women do it, but I can't sleep on 100 bobby pins, I just can't. So I have a lion's mane crazy rats-nest today, which I think was worth it. I'll deep condition it!

I learned that to make my hair big, which is something I'm always trying to do, backcombing is the only way I'll succeed. She also said I'll need to "spray the shit" out of it, using the craziest-gluey-est hair spray I can find.

She used the Studio Line "Indestructible" spray.

Also after my hair was done I had someone from the Stephen Lewis Foundation approach me and ask me for a picture. Which is a testament to it's awesomness. They were there because the final show was a fundraiser for the organization, which raises money for grassroots, community organizaions who work to stop the spread of HIV, and improve the lives of those affected by HIV in Africa.

We weren't able to get seats for that show so we were watching from the soundbooth, which was a fun perspective too. Celebrities walked in designs made of African fabrics created by designers who participated in Fashion Week. I found it intresting but I found for some reason watching the sound guys do their thing with all the switches and panels more interesting.

What fun! Now I'm going to go and see if I can't wash these knots out of my hair. I think the Children's detangling spray "no more tears" might be getting a spin today.

Oshawa Express Column 2

2010-10-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

My second column for the Oshawa Express ran today. Funny what the topic is, because I just recently discovered my boss, the gallery CEO was one of the experts on the Canadian Antiques Roadshow. Despite quite a lot of time on the net searching (and the inadvertent download of at least one worm) I haven't been able to find her clips online. Hurry up and post them CBC! However, I did find this gem:

Here's the Article. They apparently did not like my colons or semicolons. Oh well.

Investigating original art
By Jacquie Severs

Setting the scene.
It’s Saturday morning around 8 a.m.

Curbside.

A yard sale is already in full swing and you’ve got your eyes on a piece of original art for the low price of $20.

Sound familiar? Now you face a decision.

Is purchasing the item a good investment?

Here’s the quick answer.

If you love it, and want it on your wall, it’s the best investment you’ll ever make.

Art, like antiques, can change in value based on desirability.

While it is fun to discover that the item you picked up for a steal is actually an original item that has commercial value, the joy of purchasing art work, be it second hand or directly from an artist, is the feeling you get when you look at it on your wall.

Original art is truly one of a kind.

If you want to purchase the yard sale find for any other reason other than liking it, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Sure, we’ve all seen the televised antique shows with tall tales of attic finds and everyone has a ‘friend of a friend’ who found a Group of Seven original in their garage.

Let’s keep the dream alive and keep that in our minds as a possibility.

However, it’s much more likely that you’ve, at best, found a decent replica or study by a student. And if this is the case, you should be sure that you’ve purchased something you actually like, because in the scenario that the item isn’t genuine, you are still left with something you can live with.

With that said, there are numerous resources online and in libraries to help you research the art you’ve found.

The first step is to investigate the piece to see if you can find an artist’s name. Having the artist’s name can dig up many tidbits of information that will help you piece together its history.

Your next step is research.

Libraries offer computer commons for “googling” while another avenue is to make an appointment to visit your local art gallery’s archives.

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery has an extensive archive and library with information on Canadian and international artists, galleries and styles.

Most of all, enjoy the search for answers, and enjoy your purchase of original art.

Oshawa Express Column 1/Dreaming Big

2010-10-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

This fall I'm trying out writing for a local paper, the Oshawa Express. I'm writing about the art scene from the RMG perspective. I'm thinking this article should have been placed second in the series, since it doesn't explain what "RMG" is in long form...but oh well, you send the columns, they edit and print them I guess! I've got a couple more in the bag but otherwise I really need to get writing. I'm playing it down but I'm pretty excited about it, cause now I'm officially published and everything. It's not groundbreaking literature, but it's great experience and keeps me writing regularly, something I set about doing in 2007 and have managed to stick to as a general plan.

Maybe that book I dream about writing really will happen someday? I'm sure eventually a topic will come to me. Or I'll settle on one of the characters that lives in my head. Or, I'll decide it's time to tell a few of those stories people seem to like so much, that I seem to like telling so much, once I've had a martini. Or two. Like the one about crashing Fashion Week, parking in the VIP section and getting in through the bathroom exit. That's a good one.

I like dreaming big. I think it's healthy. Not like "I wish I had $10,000,000!" big, but big like "it would be nice to be a published author someday," which to me seemed pretty big when I first dreamed it back in '07, since I had no real writing experience and hadn't ever been published anywhere. I have always had lofty goals, and sometimes I push them back thinking, "Oh, that will never happen," to make myself feel less sad/pressured/worried about them in the short term but then secretly (even from myself) I try to make them happen. I say secretly from myself because I think sometimes I even try to forget the goal so that the road there won't seem so long and impossible. To help myself avoid inevitable over-thinking.

Having a column in the paper was one of these random goals that I didn't over-think, and now it's happened. That means my next goals get to be bigger and more ambitious, I think. Ah, who am I kidding. I've already set bigger goals, and forgotten about them.

Anyhow I thought I'd compile the columns here as well. I'm not sure how long they'll maintain them on their website so I'd like to have my own archive.

Here you go.

Understanding art takes involvement
Have you ever felt intimidated in an art gallery? Perhaps you feel like you don’t understand what you are looking at, or that you aren’t acting the ‘right way.’ Galleries and museums are facing this challenge across the country. Those of us who are comfortable within the walls of a gallery know an important secret.
The rules of an art gallery are very simple: Please don’t touch or take pictures. From there, it’s a go!
Library voices are not required.

So if it is as simple as two tiny rules, why aren’t people hanging out in art galleries all the time? Art shouldn’t be viewed as something precious and elitist. Rather, art is the ultimate equalizer. We all have an opinion and all opinions are equally valid. Sure, there are experts and historians that may have education that leads them to see art in a different way from others, or to recognize some fiscal value that some might miss, but the reality is your experience in looking at art is unique to you and that’s all that matters. What you dislike, and better still, what you like, can be equally enjoyable.

It is important to remember that art isn’t just what you see in the gallery. More accessible art forms include film, music and literature. If you wouldn’t feel odd expressing your opinion about a movie without a film history degree, why should you feel out of place expressing your love for a recent exhibition of paintings?

Recently the RMG has begun ‘tweeting’ in an effort to gain insight and feedback from the community. It is the hope of the gallery that people might visit and ‘tweet’ about their experiences. Tweeting has a limit of 140 characters, no more than a text message, and just the right length to offer an opinion. While galleries offer online views of their collection and books provide pretty reproductions, there is truly nothing better than seeing a piece of art in real life.

The size, the colour, the texture, are better experienced in person. The next time you are looking for a lazy Sunday activity, pop into the RMG, find your favourite (or least favourite) item, and tweet us (@theRMG).
We’d love to hear what you think.

New Eye Glasses

2010-10-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've worn glasses since grade one. At the time I was told I needed to wear them, I took the news well. I wasn't old enough to be vain about it, but my sister was and somehow found a way to be jealous of my poor eyesight. I remember her saying, "Everyone in my grade has either glasses or braces and I don't have either!" as if this was a bad thing. Now that we're older and she has both perfect teeth and near perfect eyesight, that comment seems hilariously misguided. But seeing as she was in grade 5, I'm sure she just wanted to fit in.

My first pair of glasses were Christian Dior. Anyone who wears glasses knows that 'designer' is somehow different when it comes to eye wear. The prices even out and I'm sure the Dior glasses for kids were no different in price than the Fisher Price glasses for kids. As well, in 1986, Dior hadn't been revived by John Galliano yet, so it was still a sort-of old lady brand. None the less, I still feel quite chuffed knowing my first glasses were Dior.

They were clear with pink stripes and cats-eye shaped with a tiny pink plastic bow in one corner. I wore them with a geeky pink strap so if they fell off, they would hang there like you might picture a librarian would do with a pair of bifocals. It wasn't long after this that I learned what vanity was.

Next I had a pair of those big big eighties glasses, they were black and looked like they had been paint spattered with neon pink. Good lord. If I was less vain (and had a scanner handy) I'd post a picture of myself drowning in the sheer size of them. Instead I've found a picture of a pair that are identical, save the colour palette. Terrible, and not in an ironic-hipster-cool way. Just plain terrible. I loved them at the time, and was pretty sure paint-splatter was the coolest finish for eye wear ever, until another girl in my class showed up in the same pair. Less cool, suddenly. That was the beginning of something that happens to me a lot.

I enjoy being an early adopter. I wouldn't say I'm cutting edge or anything, but I definitely have a tendency to want something as it is just beginning to surface in culture. I recall many episodes of being made fun of for wearing something, only to see many other people wearing it just a few months later. (See docs, birkenstocks with socks (ah, the 90's), clogs, paint splattered glasses, black nail polish, etc)

Being an early adopter in the realm of eye wear takes some guts. See, I have to wear glasses every day, and since I have both a lazy (or should I say "effort impaired") eye and an astigmatism, my glasses are expensive. Both of those failings are in one eye, and the other eye is virtually normal. What results from this imbalance is a literal imbalance of lens. If I don't pay the big bucks, I've got a coke bottle on one eye and a reading glass on the other. Since that look is not only unattractive but uncomfortable, I always upgrade to the better lenses and my glasses cost an arm and a leg. For this reason, there has been only one 5-year stretch where I owned two pairs, and that was only because my sister's benefits were awesome, and she took pity on me because I was a poor student/young professional.

So I was an early adopter with the last 2 pairs, which I've now had for 5 years. I guess since I got two pairs it was easier to delay getting new ones - which you should have about every 2 years - because sharing the wear of them elongated how long it took for them to get scratched and all bunged up.

One pair was bright blue, Emporio Armani, and had those thick thick arms on the side that everyone wears these days.

(these are them in the black variation.)

The other pair is a black plastic frame, also very popular at the moment (though mine are slightly different in shape than the ones that are basically Ray Ban Wayfarer Knock-offs, pictured at right). I would have likely purchased Wayfarer styled ones, had they been available, because the look I was actually reaching for was Woody Allen inspired. I less than succeeded in that quest. At the time, however, I was just happy to have two pairs that were very different than any I'd ever had, and that one pair was black and kinda geeky. Alas time passes and what at one time seemed unique, now seems very Wal-Mart.

So for the past 8 months I've been shopping for new frames. The decision is not made lightly, as I will be wearing these glasses every day for the next few years. I've shopped and shopped. All I could seem to find were ones exactly like the ones I already had.

At Walmart, I noticed they had Vivienne Westwood frames. I got really excited by this because although I try to avoid brand loyalty when shopping for glasses (see Emporio Armani, who I have no love for) and just shop based on look, I love Vivienne Westwood. I did a project on her once in highschool and now she feels like part of me.

Though the Vivienne Westwood frames at Walmart were rhinestone-studded and pretty awesome, they weren't quite right, as much as I tried to convince myself that they were.

In an odd twist/test of brand loyalty fate, the ones I liked best at Walmart were by Baby Phat. I am just not willing to wear the Baby Phat cat logo on my face, I'm just not. Perhaps inspired by the logo, they were cats-eye shape, which was in my mind as a new shape to look for. But, I'm not a Baby Phat girl, nor do I like cats. It just wasn't happening.

And so the quest for cats-eyed frames continued. I've shopped at Lens Crafters (they have lots of Ray Bans) but nothing struck my fancy there. Everything seemed very same-y. I shopped Sears, the Bay and a mall optical shop, as well as my optometrists office. All were filled with same-y disappointment. Though I had been recommended The Optic Zone many times, and know a lot of people with great glasses from there, the trip to Toronto (which would then be followed by at least one more trip there) seemed excessive. I did happen by there one time while already in the city for another purpose...and of course, they were closed. So it never happened.

The reason The Optic Zone is so highly recommended is that it is the sort of place you go into and the guy who owns it picks a pair for you and you put them on and think, "Holy crap, I would have never picked these for myself, but they are AWESOME!!" Needless to say, I wanted that experience, but I wanted it closer to home.

Enter my dental receptionist in a great pair of frames. I had to comment. She pointed me towards The Optical Boutique in Oshawa with the warning that it was the sort of place where you had a lot of help and they would virtually pick the glasses for you. Though this was intended as a warning, this is just what I was looking for. Walking in the front entrance today was a joy.

Loads of different styles and many things off the beaten path. Colour! Shape! Variety! Ah, a glasses heaven right in my hometown. The service was great, I found great frames (that I am now positively dying to have) and feel confident that while they are very different from what I expected to have, they will be something I will love, love, love. They have a bit of an upwards-swing, like a cat eye, but are larger and a bit different in shape. They are tortoise shell on the outside, and green inside. I'll tweetpic them when I get them!

The best part was the service. Though I can't really review the service and follow-up once I receive my glasses, I can say the purchasing experience was spectacular. The owner himself helped me, wasn't too pushy, gave me time to think, but gave me real reasons to consider the ones he was picking. I bought the first pair I tried on at his request. Though I tried on many others in between, and then different colour variations of the first pair, I ended up with the first pair. He had an eye for faces, I can tell you that.

This is the difference between great service from a professional and standard service at big box stores. The cost wasn't even higher than I expected either, which was good news. I don't know if it is something to do with getting older or if it comes from having worked in a service industry before, but I really appreciate professional service. The best haircut I ever had was from a talented stylist to whom I gave the instructions "a haircut please". After all, he's the pro, right? Why am I trying to tell someone who sees faces with glasses or people with heads of hair all day every day what works and what doesn't? I appreciate a business who will straight up tell you when you are making the wrong choice. When I worked at Secrets from your sister... this was something we did every day. After all, you don't spend 45 minutes helping a woman find the perfect bra and then just let her walk out of the store in the wrong size. You tell her it's wrong. Because you know, and you're the expert, and you've seen happy customer after happy customer who followed your advice.

So, I'm just a few days away from the next phase of my glasses-wearing life. In an odd way I can segment my life and memories by the glasses I was wearing at the time. Though I like to think of myself as someone who isn't really materialistic, I do sometimes like to think of what I would buy with an unlimited budget. After giving my friends and family a boatload of gifts (and maybe a boat as well) I'd definitely splash out on an eye wear wardrobe. A different pair for every occasion and event. So many people try to hide the fact they wear glasses, wear invisible frames, or contact lenses. Lately I've even been taking off my glasses for photos, because someone somewhere said I look better that way.

But I think the reality of the situation is I'm not me without my glasses. And when these ones arrive in a few days, I get to be a new-and-improved me. And that is boatloads of fun.

Illustrator of the Month - September 2010

2010-10-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

September all but disappeared. I've been super busy at work and doing flowers as well as a jam-packed social schedule. It's been great! But I've missed you, dear blog, and am now a few days late in my September Illustrator post. Ah well.

Lisa Connolly is an Irish-born illustrator who was educated in Wales at the West Wales School for the Arts. Initially, she studied fashion design but soon transferred into textiles and began working on designing textiles, learned to stitch in a method she calls "stitch-a-crazy-stitch", then print on fabrics and ceramics, and as a result has developed a unique illustrative style.

Lisa creates strange and unusual characters, often stitched into fabric, as above.

I'm particularly interested in the characters she stitches and then prints on home goods, which can be found and purchased on her website.

The home goods are unusual, and really anything but "cute" that seems to dominate the current look for illustrative pattern. I admire the expressive nature of these faces.

Lisa has shown her work across London and Dublin. Currently her work is supported by the Laura Ashley Foundation.

Check out some of her recent work on her blog found here.

Her work was also featured on Design Milk in 2009.