Meags Fitzgerald

Anything but Idle Hands

2012-02-12T11:49:00.003-04:00

In the last few weeks I’ve been crocheting-away at the blanket I’m working on. However I encountered two hurdles, firstly I misplaced my 6mm hook and both yarn stores in the city were sold out, so I took an involuntarily two week break from the blanket. (I did eventually buy a new hook and then found my old one immediately afterwards.) Secondly, the Halifax Transit service has been on strike for the last ten days meaning I don’t have that time during bus rides to work on it and more generally I have less free time now that I’m walking everywhere.

All this brings me to say that I’m actually going to put the whole blanket project on hold. I recently accepted an invitation to participate in an exhibition at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto that runs from April 21 to July 15. The exhibition theme is the exploration of Canadiana through craft mediums. I have a piece in mind I’ll be making especially for the show, and you may have guessed it, it will be crocheted. I’ll be using Canadian wool to make a three dimensional form which will be shown in a display case. I don’t want to say too much more about the piece but I’ll definitely blog about the finished work.

Here is a picture of about half of the blanket triangles I was able to get done.

Feministory

2012-02-08T19:30:00.008-04:00

A couple weeks ago I submitted a one page comic to Bitch Magazine, out of Portland, Oregon. Every issue has a theme and a feature called “Adventures in Feministory”, the theme for the Fall 2012 issue will be “Elemental”. After much thought I decided the subject of my comic would be the career of Rosalind Franklin; the Jewish-British scientist who worked on decoding the molecular structure of DNA in the 1950s.

In addition to the finished comic, as part of my proposal I also drew up these portraits of two other women I’d be happy to make comics about. I did these drawings with ink and brush and tinted them afterwards in Photoshop.

I won’t put the finished comic here in case it is selected, though it will be a month or so until I find out. Cross your fingers for me!

Secret Message Give Away

2012-01-31T18:52:00.006-04:00

I made multiples of this “secret message” as a silkscreen test and now I have more than a girl could need. When placed in your window it beams a positive message to you throughout the day, but by night it is merely a discreet floral print.

I’m giving away one to each of the first five people who comment below, be sure to send me your mailing address to my email, meagsfitzgerald [at]shaw.ca.

Student Day of Action!

2012-01-28T11:26:00.003-04:00

If you are a student, if you have been a student, or if you plan on being a student at a post-secondary institution in Canada it's really darn important that you show up to your city's event on February 1st!

Positives Attract

2012-01-20T13:05:00.008-04:00

About three years ago, on a trip to Vancouver I bought a couple magnets from The Regional Assembly of Text, probably my favourite store ever. I liked them so much that every time I visited Vancouver I made sure to buy a few more. They’re made from vintage papers, rubber stamps and a 1 ½ inch button maker, with a magnet glued to where the pin would be. I eventually bought enough that could spell my first, middle and last name with a few odd letters leftover. I love anagrams and I take an odd pleasure in rearranging these magnets to spell various words.

This fall I found out that the Student Union at NSCAD (the University I’m at) has a 1 ½ inch button maker that students can use for the tiny fee of $0.30 a button! I got so excited at the prospect of making my own lettered magnets that I started to collect alphabet stamps and dead-stock accounting paper, to best mimic my store bought ones. (And no, I don’t want to put The Regional Assembly of Text out of business, it’s just that it might be many years until I visit Vancouver again.)

In the last two months I’ve made about 45 magnets, ensuring I can spell just about any short phrase that comes to mind. I’m going to make more this week of numbers zero to nine and then that’s it, I’m cutting myself off!

For now, it is clear to me that I have gone bananas for magnets and that my collection has far exceeded my little metal white board. But one day I’m sure I’ll be the proud owner of a vintage avocado refrigerator that will undoubtedly double as a playful message board.

Hibernation Activity

2012-01-15T11:47:00.007-04:00

I’ve started crocheting a blanket out of the yarn I bought while I was in Edmonton for the winter break. I hope to finish it this semester in all those pockets of “dead time” in waiting rooms or on bus rides. I've never embarked on such a large piece before but I’ve broken it up into tiny triangle sections to make it easy to work on while I’m on the go.

I chose the colours because of their wintery-palette and I think the finished product will fit in with my bedroom.

I’m not using a blanket pattern but instead have taken inspiration from this print I saw on Etsy, it’s by the shop Two Ems. And as far as technique goes, its about as simple as it gets, I'll be single-crocheting the entire thing. Check back in a couple of months for a progress report!

Gardens in January

2012-01-07T14:52:00.004-04:00

I’m slowly but surely working on my Garden State project, where I pose in photobooths in front of fabric that is the same material as my clothing. (See here and here for more examples.) I really like this project but seeing how it takes me a while to make a garment, it’s a little slow moving. Here are some photos of me in a classic blouse and some (slightly more awkward) photos of me posing with a tote bag.

While in Edmonton I went on a little shopping spree for some very lovely prints and dress patterns. So hopefully in time for spring I will have more photos to share.

Holiday Odds & Ends

2011-12-30T14:46:00.003-04:00

For gifts this holiday, I was conveniently able to print some illustrations I made this fall, frame them and give them to some family members. In addition to illustrations I also crocheted this cowl for my sister. I’d never made a cowl before and I didn’t use a pattern. Meaning, I just made it up and crossed my fingers that the finished product would be wearable. Which, thankfully it is, though I would make some adjustments to my design if I were to make another one in the future.

I also altered a store-bought hoodie for my brother with a wintery knit fabric I bought. I lined the hood and made triangular pockets out of the patterned fabric. It took me much longer than I expected because I forgot that tension and the stretch factor are so finicky with knit fabrics.

In January, I’m going to start to crochet myself a blanket out of small diamond shaped pieces that I’ll assemble once all the small pieces are made (meaning 95% of it can be made in that dead-time that I ride the bus.) And with the absence of provincial sales tax in Alberta, I’m going to splurge on some nice wool yarns to take back with me while I’m still in Edmonton!

Ambidextrous Song Search!

2011-12-24T15:06:00.003-04:00

In August I finished my last Ambidextrous Drawing Lesson video, where I drew my Two Hands Two Crowns logo, you can see all the videos here. I haven’t been practicing writing and drawing with my right hand nearly has much since I have gone back to school…. but recently I thought of a new approach to the Ambidextrous Drawing Lessons that has peaked my interest again.

I’m going to do two handed drawings inspired by song lyrics. The edited videos will use the songs as their soundtracks. So, I’m looking for some catchy (but not overplayed) songs. Any suggestions? Leave them in the comments below. If I pick a song you recommended, you’ll get a little mention in the video!

My Portfolio How To

2011-12-23T01:47:00.005-04:00

For my illustration class I needed to put together a PDF and physical portfolio and apply for illustration work. I have been trying to do more editorial work so I applied to freelance for a magazine out of Portland, Oregon. This is a little sample of what I sent them.

I spiral-bound a book with 25 pieces I made in 2011. I made a sleeve for the book and on the cover of the sleeve I inserted a postcard with my contact info. On the back of the sleeve I printed a repeated pattern of the Two Hands Two Crowns logo. And to top it off I hand-embroidered the postcard to give it a three dimensional effect.

And speaking of editorial illustration, I did my first piece for the Coast (Halifax’s free weekly magazine) this week. It’s out now so if you’re in Halifax, pick-up a copy and look for it amongst the short fiction!

Sew Busy!

2011-12-21T14:31:00.003-04:00

Wowser.

I’ve had a very busy December. I sacrificed my exercise routine and my regular sleep schedule to fit in more hours of work. Over the next week I’ll post a few updates on all the stuff I made in the last month.

To kick it off, this is a cocktail dress I made from a 1950s pattern in my Fashion Construction class. I plan on wearing it for my holiday festivities… and today being the Winter Solstice (my family’s holiday of choice,) I’ll be sporting this dress tonight. I also designed/made some clothes as gifts for my siblings, which I can post after we’ve opened our presents tonight!

Don't Worry...

2011-12-02T11:49:00.004-04:00

I've never posted work by other artists on this blog before, reserving it for things I've made. However, as I'm in the last stretch of this semester and stress is seeping from my pores (a great mental image, I know), I thought I would post this image that has kept me going.

It's by UK illustrator/designer Olly Moss.

Postal Greetings!

2011-11-25T17:30:00.016-04:00

I've been on a gouache & watercolour high lately so I illustrated two holiday postcards to send to my friends and family. A couple weeks ago I mentioned to Chara, the owner of Love, Me Boutique here in Halifax, that I was getting many dozens of cards printed and she offered to sell some at her lovely, all Canadian, all handmade shop.

Here's a sample slice of each card. The greetings are "Merry Winter" (cardinal card) and "Jolly Holidays" (mitten card). If you're in Halifax and want to send some yourself you can buy them at Love, Me. As for me, I'll be very busy gathering addresses and writing personal notes for the next few weeks.

Honing the Portfolio - pt.5

2011-11-20T10:21:00.006-04:00

This week I finished two posters, 11 x 16, for my Illustration class. I made them in part because I don’t have any pieces in my portfolio right now that have any hand lettering (which I love to do) and because I only have two or three other pieces that use watercolour, gouache or ink (everything else being mostly digital.)

The poster on the right uses Rob Ryan's words.

Productive Insomnia

2011-11-18T09:32:00.008-04:00

When I can't sleep I usually read in bed. Last night however I felt inclined to draw.

It was nice, I don't often draw without a purpose or plan. Even when I'm drawing for fun I almost always know what the final product will look like before I put pen to paper. We'll see if this becomes a habit, maybe I'll be posting more sleepy surprises soon.

This is ink and gouache on recycled paper.

Arc in the Sky Sketches

2011-11-14T12:00:00.007-04:00

I’m pleased to say that this winter I’ll be resuming a project that I really care about. Arc in the Sky is a collaborative graphic novel effort between myself and writer, Elizabeth Archer. Last spring I went to NYC to take reference photos for the book and I’ve just started sketching again. We’re working out a few of the finer story details and I hope to do the bulk of the illustrations this winter and spring. (It’s not a terribly long book.)

The break from the project was good for re-thinking the stylistic approach best suited to the story. So for the next while I’ll probably be posting some drawings in different media. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Drawing Factory

2011-11-13T16:27:00.005-04:00

Last week Picnicface’s Canada was released in bookstores across Canada and I final got to see my drawings in print! I did these illustrations in February but I wasn’t able to show anyone, so it feels new and exciting. The book also happens to be hilarious, and a good gift idea for comedy lovers, but maybe not for historians.

And speaking of illustrations, during the last two weeks I’ve converted my bedroom into a drawing making factory. I’ve been very productive and made a few new pieces I’m really happy with… however I’m not quite ready to share them yet.

In the meanwhile I thought I’d complete this survey that’s been going around some blogs. I’m such a stickler for lists!

♥ buying.... this necklace! I bought it two weeks ago on Etsy from Noble Town Vintage and I’m waiting for its arrival.

♥ reading… just finished Hark A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton and just started Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli.

♥ listening... still in the Halloween spirit I’ve been listening to Youth Lagoon and Dead Man’s Bones (check out this song).

♥ going... to the Strange Adventures afterparty for Hal-Con (Halifax’s sci-fi & comic convention).

♥ eating... veggie, gourmet sloppy joes and homemade cookies.

♥ watching... I’ve had a Philip Seymour Hoffman long-weekend. I watched Synecdoche, New York on Friday, Doubt last night and Capote tonight or tomorrow.

An Air Mail Halloween

2011-11-02T11:29:00.006-03:00

Well, I had big plans for Halloween this year that didn’t quite come to fruition because of a stubborn cold and a mountain of homework.

Early in the week I attended a Jack O’Lantern carving party, where I carved this little fella and ate some truly gourmet pumpkin seeds.

I spent Friday night making my costume and on Saturday night I won a prize for having the “Most Creative Costume” at Strange Adventure’s Party. What can I say? I just love snail mail!

I intended to make a bunted banner out of these non-spooky Halloween fabrics to decorate my porch, but alas time was too tight. Next year.

And… I really wanted to make Hank (my cat) a mane that I could attach to his collar. Here’s a photo of him being very lion-like. I will save this idea for a rainy day because cats in costumes is pretty close to the top of my list of favourite things.

Overall, it was a great Halloween but one of these years I’m going to go all out!

Honing the Portfolio - pt.4

2011-10-29T10:57:00.005-03:00

This week I made a postcard and a bookmark that I can give out as samples of my work. The bookmark features Post-War American authors alongside a pattern inspired by their most popular novel.

The postcard was actually an illustration I did as part of an advertisement for one of my classes and I thought it could work as a stand alone image.

Right now I’m working on illustrating a calendar and two large posters, it'll be a few weeks before they're ready, but they'll be worth the wait!

Honing the Portfolio - pt.3

2011-10-16T15:32:00.006-03:00

These are three alternative book covers for J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories that I made in my typography class for a little exercise in composition. The bottom two are digital illustrations and the one to the right is a photo I took with my manual film camera.

Salinger has also snuck into another piece I'm working on for my illustration class that should be finished next week.

Honing the Portfolio - pt.2

2011-10-15T17:42:00.004-03:00

Here are some client pieces I did at the end of the August and start of September. The first is a taste of the visual identity I did of the Victoria Spoken Word Festival, the second is the logo for the UBC Improv Club and the last is a t-shirt design for the Vancouver International Improv Festival.

The location of these three clients seem to indicate that I'm living on the wrong Canadian Coast. However I do have clients outside of British Columbia, as you read this I have a few pieces printing for publiction. I won't be able to share the content until the books are released, the first book is Picnicface's Canada, which I have 3 illustrations in and the second book is Said the Gramophone Selected Works Vol. 1, which I have 2 illustrations in.

Honing the Portfolio

2011-10-14T18:23:00.004-03:00

Eek! It’s been almost a month since my last post. Time operates so differently when you’re in University. I certainly miss that bubble of time I had to work all on my personal projects while I was freelancing this past year. There are a few assignments though, particularly in my illustration course that I’m so excited to work on so I can have them as new gems in my portfolio.

September zoomed by and I have a handful of new portfolio pieces, from school assignments and from client work to show for it. I’ll post a new completed project every day for the next few days. This project is called Whyte Bull. It’s based on a Greek Myth about the origin of the Minotaur. The drawings are meant to show points in the story but not tell the full story, so the imagery may be a tad confusing without existing knowledge of the myth.

Let me know what you think, click to enlarge any pieces.

June 23, 2003

2011-09-17T18:27:00.008-03:00

June 23rd 2003 was not an especially important day. It was however the last day of the school year so friend, Emily Davidson (the mastermind behind Make Work Design) and I decided to commemorate the occasion with a trip to a photobooth in downtown Edmonton. Years later, we are still commemorating it. You see, though I’d visited photobooths a few times before this, these photos inspired me to start my collection and start my quest for photobooth related knowledge.

The following year Emily and I realized the role these pictures had in my collection (which back then was maybe 75 single photos), we decided it would be fun to try to re-take them. So, on June 23rd 2004 we awkwardly struck the same poses in the same booth.

In 2005 Emily moved to Halifax and I moved to Calgary. We started taking our June 23rd photos in December when we both were home for winter break. There have been a few anniversaries when our lives didn’t intersect and we took the photos separately and then sent the other person’s half in the mail.

And as the story goes, at the start of 2011 I moved to Halifax, where Emily still lives. And so, our high school spirits continue to be memorialized.

The photos here are my half of the June 23rd series, Emily’s half are of us as enacting a scene from a horror film and us with big smiles.

Writing Right: Wrapping Up

2011-09-03T21:23:00.004-03:00

Well, learning to become ambidextrous over the last seven months certainly has been a tiny adventure. I definitely have more control over my right hand than I used to and I have a lot more confidence using it for everyday tasks. Notably, there have been a few occasions when my left hand has cramped up after hours of illustrating digitally (tablet pens are not very ergonomic) and I have been able to switch to my right hand for simpler parts of the drawing.

Here’s the link to this month’s Ambidextrous Drawing Lesson video. As school will be starting soon this will be the last of the Writing Right project for the time being … However, a few weeks ago I received an email from a filmmaker who is interested in making a professional ambidextrous training video with me. With school, I’m too busy to take on this endeavour now but we’re going to visit the idea again in the spring to see if production will be possible in the summer. I bet it would be a hoot!

Chemistry, Biology and Life Sciences

2011-08-20T23:21:00.009-03:00

In keeping with my Garden State project, I made a sailor inspired shirt last week and attempted to photobooth wearing it. (Yes, I do use the word “photobooth” as a verb.) The first booth I visited is in the Halifax Shopping Centre, it is often out of order and has produced both incredible and horrible photos for me in the last 8 months. Unfortunately it was an off day for the booth and my photos came out overexposed and splotchy.

I re-took my photos yesterday at a different booth (in Scotia Square) and was delighted with how they turned out. Despite being oddly teal, the images are sharp. This makes me wonder about wet chemical photobooths and what makes them vary this drastically. Both of these booths are a model 17 and are serviced by the same person. There’s still a lot I don’t know about photobooth chemistry but I’m intrigued to learn more as I do plan on buying my own within the next decade… as soon as that jar of pennies labelled “photobooth” reaches 500,000 coins.

This week I also put together my first little terrarium. This was a low-risk endeavour because I used an open container and only one plant species. I don’t have much of a green thumb but I do daydream about making a large enclosed terrarium filled with orchards. I obviously still have a thing or two to learn, as my cactus seems to be exasperated in its humid bubble in my humid bedroom in this humid city. Sorry new cactus friend.

Last month I didn’t record an ambidextrous drawing video because I simply didn’t practice enough for there to be improvements from the latest video. This month I’m happy to report that I’ve been practicing and hope the August video will be epic. It will also be my last video for the Writing Right project for a while.

Autumn is going to bring a whole lot of thrilling change! I’ve decided to do a one year Post-Baccalaureate program in Graphic Design at the Nova Scotia College of Art + Design University. It will certainly be a bit of an adjustment to be a student again but I’m really keen to learn and build up my portfolio. Currently I’ve got four illustration/design commissions on the go that I’m trying to finish before I delve into school assignments in just 2 ½ weeks. Wish me luck and stay posted for the many updates to come!

Passport Photos

2011-08-02T23:19:00.007-03:00

In the springtime a friend and fellow photobooth lover, Marco from Northern Italy, sent me three strips taken in his own booth. (His original photos are below.) He sent them without instructions but with an understanding that he’d get something back. I like the idea of sending these once upon a time passport photos across international borders for bit of a cultural exchange.

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I came up with this idea which allowed us to each have a few of our own and a few of the other’s pictures.

Speaking of sending photobooth mail, my Photobooth Drawing Swap is still in full swing. Over the last six months I’ve gained a few trustworthy penpals who I’ve been swapping drawings for pictures with on a regular basis and had the occasional exciting one time exchange. Email me if you want to get some art in the mail!

Summer of Crafts & Kids

2011-07-16T11:09:00.005-03:00

In a few days time I’ll have completed my 4400km journey from the Eastern Coast to the very middle of Canada. Yes, I’m going to Northern Saskatchewan. Why? Because, my nieces, nephew, eldest sister and her pregnant belly (who all live on the exact opposite side of the world from me) are making the 12,500km trip, so the least I could do is to meet them there.

Playing the role of Aunty Meags is a pretty great gig. I get to spend all my time reading out loud, making crafts, and for one week I will scarcely check my email inbox and not feel bad about it.

Each time I see the kids I come up with some handmade gifts and some craft ideas we can make together. The girls love playing dress-up so I made each of the kids (including the one yet to be born) a gender neutral mask of a Canadian animal.

In the last month I’ve also rekindled an old favourite past time that I’m excited to pass on to my nieces and nephew. With a dedicated friend in Halifax I’ve relearnt how to play Cat’s Cradle! If I search back far enough into my memory I think I may have learnt this classic game at my grandparent’s cabin on this lake in Northern Saskatchewan and I’m happy to pass the tradition on.

A Garden State of Mind

2011-07-08T20:22:00.012-03:00

Many readers will recognize this film still from the iconic scene in the 2004 film, Garden State. Zach Braff’s character is trying on a shirt his aunt made with the material left over after she upholstered her bathroom walls.

In a blog post from mid-June I mentioned some summery and floral prints I bought to make a few items out of. Inspired by this scene in Garden State and the general joy of summer, I used the left over material from the shirts I made as backgrounds in some photobooth strips.

I plan to make a few more shirts and dresses in August and continue with this photobooth series.

Writing Right: Five Months In

2011-07-01T13:50:00.004-03:00

In June my ambidextrous lessons took the backseat while more important projects (ie. paid work) took priority. I scarcely practiced for about the first three weeks of June. Last week, in a panic I tried to get in enough practice time so that there would be noticeable improvement in this month’s Ambidextrous Drawing Lesson video. One of my strategies was to draw an X on my left hand in the morning, to serve as a visual reminder to sometimes let my right hand dominate. It really worked, despite the few odd looks I got in public.

This month I made two videos! First, the expected Ambidextrous Drawing Lesson #6, I’ll let you be the judge as to whether or not I have improved. And second, a wee video called Ambidextrous Advancements, compiling the last six drawings so the progress can be seen all in one place.

View all the videos here on vimeo!

Four for the Day

2011-06-27T10:58:00.003-03:00

I’m pleased as punch to be this week’s guest artist on Four for the Day. Visit the site daily to see the new collection I’ll post every day this week!

I’m also delighted to have received the help of my friend (and photographer) Krista Leger. Krista gave up her Saturday to help me document the collections that I’ll be showing on Four for the Day. Here’s an “action shot” she snapped while I was arranging today’s collection.

In other news… I was not very attentive to the blog in June because I’ve been knee deep in professional and personal projects. In about a month’s time a fun and frenzied storm of updates should hit this blog as the projects are completed and can be shared. Stay tuned and enjoy the sunny days!

Roses in my Eyes

2011-06-12T14:16:00.006-03:00

I have many items on my to-do list right now but I have no complaints because it’s all stuff I love to do! Firstly, I was a little over zealous when fabric shopping for some summery prints. I have very good intentions of making some shirts, skirts, dresses and bags and now all I need is a free weekend to sit at my sewing machine. In the meanwhile I have put some floral prints in cross-stitch hoops and hung them on a wall to brighten up my room.

The time I usually allocate to my personal projects has been in short supply because I just accepted a job at Napkin Works, a trendy design firm in downtown Halifax. I’m working on a handful of various illustration projects right now, some of which I will be able to share on the blog shortly. I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that I get to make drawings for a living.

I’m also working on a talk that I’ll be giving this Tuesday (June 14th) at the Fuller Lecture Series on the theme of “Things I Used to Be”, with a handful of other presenters. Here’s a description of my talk:

A lecture about a truly unfunny person’s accidental rise into the world of comedy, including stories about incredible luck, being in the right place at the right time and what happens when you always say yes.

Click here to link to the facebook invite, if you’re in Halifax please do come!

Writing Right: Four Months In and Feeling Great

2011-06-01T13:33:00.003-03:00

May was an utterly wonderful month in many respects, I was more diligent than usual with my right handed exercises and I’m proud to say that I had a real ambidextrous breakthrough moment. About two weeks ago I sat down to sketch out an idea, I started drawing and after a while thought “why does this sketch look so shitty?” and then realized I was drawing with my right hand! I hadn’t consciously picked up the pencil with my opposite hand but I think it’s a good sign that it felt so natural to do it.

The Ambidextrous Drawing video for June is ready (click on image to link to vimeo). I can tell I have improved a lot but I don’t think the differences between video 4 and 5 are that noticeable, truthfully I think my hands got camera shy when shooting this. Next month I’ll be recording my 6th video and will put together a clip showing the drawing from each month so you can see the progress in one place. Stay tuned!

FOUND Photobooth, week 9

2011-05-28T13:46:00.005-03:00

I found this strip with some friends in Champlain Place in Moncton, New Brunswick this winter. This is what I see:

Chelsea is the tallest girl in her eighth grade class, this doesn’t bother her much. Chelsea also has the largest shoe size and cup size and for the time being, this does bother her much. She is in the midst of the most awkward adolescent stage when even simple movements feel like she’s coordinating a giant, bulky marionette.

Chelsea still plays with her Barbie dolls but is very aware that this is not cool. She delves into the make-believe world with a new secrecy and caution. She plays with them behind her closed bedroom door, seated on the ground and if startled by a knock, she will in a flash, lance a doll underneath her bed to dispose of the evidence. On a few occasions Lois has come up to let Chelsea know dinner is ready and witnessed a Barbie hurdling past the bed skirt. Lois pretends not to notice.

Lois has been a registered nurse for sixteen years and is genuinely good at her chosen profession. She is an exceptional listener with both patients and friends. As a result Lois is a confidant to many and an excellent gift giver.

Lois has been a smoker for over twenty years and feels a great deal of shame about it, especially considering her chosen profession. She does her best to conceal her guilt-ridden pleasure from her coworkers, friends and daughter. At night, when Lois is sure Chelsea has called it in for the day, she lights up on the back deck. Occasionally Chelsea will get out of bed to confirm she can get a ride to school the next morning and catch her mother with a rigid hand cradling a cigarette, hovering just behind her hip. Chelsea pretends not to notice.

The ladies love shopping together and they make a good team. On this Saturday Lois needed to pick up a gift for a coworker’s baby shower and a few other miscellaneous items. At the end of every successful shopping day the mother-daughter team have a tradition to treat themselves to a cinnamon bun. Feeling extra perky after their treat, they decided to use the photobooth. Lois wanted an updated picture of them for her wallet and Chelsea would use the rest in her photo collage of her favourite things that occupied a full wall in her room.

It never occurred to them to do goofy things in a photobooth, their pictures always reflected their current mood, mostly happy. When the pictures came out of the dispenser Chelsea blew on them until the toner solution was dry and then placed them in her shallow coat pocket. On their way to the mall exit, the photos slipped out and fell to the ground.

Moments later a woman stepped on the photos and a pebble caught between the ridges in the sole of her boot scratched the last frame of the fresh strip. Noticing the photos under her foot she returned them to the photobooth with hope that the owners would retrieve them there.

The Merry Month of May

2011-05-14T10:26:00.006-03:00

Along with the flowers, arts events seem to be sprouting up everywhere this month. Two weekends ago was the lovely Halifax Crafters Spring Event. I purchased a few nice trinkets for myself and as gifts. Last weekend was Free Comicbook Day hosted by Strange Adventures. Myself and hundreds of other stubborn fans waited in line for two hours to get 20 free comics and other geeky miscellaneous items. And next weekend is the Halifax Circus’s Cabaret, I’ve been training in the gym while the performers are rehearsing and I’m very excited for it.

I’ve also been in good spirits lately because every day of this week I’ve received wonderful things in the mail. Belated birthday gifts are still arriving (hooray!) and lots of photobooth pictures for my ongoing Photobooth Drawing Swap (where I trade drawings/little art for (non-digital) photobooth pictures). I also bought some vintage United Nations Air Mail envelopes on ebay that arrived yesterday. I can’t stop swooning at their beauty. And with my love of the postal system, good design and astrology, I couldn’t resist buying these limited edition Taurus stamps. Amazing!

I’ve recently added a few new pen pals to my roster and I’m looking for a few more regular or one time trades if anyone is up for it!

FOUND Photobooth, week 8

2011-05-12T00:18:00.000-03:00

So, truthfully I’ve been stalling from writing this week’s FOUND Photobooth entry because the photostrip for this week makes my heart ache. I found it in the summer of 2007 on the floor of Kingsway Mall in Edmonton, back when the mall still had a chemical photobooth. This is what I see:

Roy only has Angie on weekends. He clears all other plans and is careful to never schedule anything that might interfere with this precious time. She has her own bedroom at his place, there is a Winnie the Pooh wallpaper border and a crib, but Roy bought a little bed and is ready to assemble it as soon as she’s big enough.

Angie is short for Angela, her middle name is Margaret, the same as her maternal grandmother. She is most often under the care of her mother and grandmother and very seldom fusses. She enjoys watching Sesame Street and eating bananas. She does not care for talk-radio or dark leafy greens. Angie understands that Roy is a nice man but is sometimes confused why he is being so nice to her. At times he makes a funny face at her she can’t help but abrupt with laughter, other times she is overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation and bursts into tears.

Roy brought Angie to mall to pick out a few essential things for her that he can keep at his place. He spotted the photobooth at the base of the escalators and thought a photostrip of the two of them would look great pinned to the refrigerator door. The last time he’d been in one was years ago, with Angie’s mother.

Crammed in the tight dark space, Angie grew anxious and increasingly confused by the bright flashes. Roy held her tightly in frame but Angie misinterpreted his actions and felt a flood of momentary panic. Roy soothed her confused tears away in the three minutes that the photos were processed.

Roy’s optimism for their big day together diminished when he saw the developed pictures. Not only did they not turn out as the happy candid photos he imagined but they reflected back an awkward image of him as a parent. Angie typically posed well for photos, it had not occurred to him that this was her first time in a photobooth.

He tried to relay what had happened in the big funny machine to Angie by showing her the photos. She didn’t however even register that the pictures were of her, being used to seeing a playback of photos on the screens of digital cameras. Roy put her in the stroller and gave her the pictures to hold on to. While he tried to remember their next stop, she let the photos fall to the ground, as they proved to not be very entertaining.

FOUND Photobooth, week 7

2011-05-02T17:27:00.003-03:00

I found the photos on the left in the Halifax Shopping Center this winter. The strip was tucked behind the sign mounted on the photobooth. They’re quite water damaged so I imagine they were dropped in a puddle in the parking lot and a kind stranger returned the strip to the booth for the kids to hopefully retrieve it.

The center photo I found in the fall of 2005 in Millbourne Mall in Edmonton, it was attached to the booth with a large wad of pink bubble gum, left by the takers no doubt. This booth is no longer there, which is a shame because it only cost $2.

I found the photo on the right in the hands of an inpatient stranger standing beside a booth in West Edmonton Mall, in the spring of 2006. He had been waiting half an hour for the booth to deliver photos he need for an ID card, to his dismay these ones had just came out instead. He cautioned me not to use the booth, we chatted a little and I convinced him to give me the photostrip. This is what I see:

These kids have hearts of gold and eat so much sugar for breakfast. They are not naughty by nature but over compensate with reckless behaviour whenever they are not under the supervision of an authority figure. They keep tiny secrets and collect little stories of the mischievous things they’ve done to regale their peers with during recess. They wear these accomplishments proudly, as if they are badges stitched to a Boy Scout sash, invisible to adults.

The stories are so itty bitty but can easily enrapture a playground crowd while they devour their sugar coated snacks. One kid undertook a corporeal experiment with her best friend, taking turns touching their tongues to each other’s eyeballs. She remarked on the surprising sandpaper like quality of taste buds. Another kid wondered what his cat’s bum hole felt like and let his tiny index finger sink right, with no noticeable displeasure to the cat. Another kid stole 75 cents every day from a jar of coins on his parents’ dresser to buy candy cigarettes, the kind made from waxy chocolate wrapped with edible paper. He went through a pack a day, sometimes he shared and sometimes he didn’t. A junior high girl overcome with curiosity about what would really happen if she stuck a fork in an electric socket tried it to discover a painful numbing sensation lasting only a few minutes in her hand. This became a very popular pass time amongst her friends for the next few weeks.

Given that these kids have never got into any real trouble their parents do let them wonder in shopping malls with minimal supervision. With allowances starting at $10 a week, plus whatever they can find between the couch cushions, a trip to the photobooth is a pretty good way to kill some time and maybe have some fun.

Writing Right: Three Months In!

2011-05-01T10:29:00.003-03:00

Well I can’t believe April is over and I’m one year older. Where has the time gone? Sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in all the tiny things that make life beautiful that I forget about the bigger picture. Apparently I was living inside of a bell jar for the last month because I really can’t fathom that it is May already.

Anyhow, one of the projects that I happily get lost in is my ambidextrous training. Here’s this month’s drawing video. I am definitely improving but still have leaps and bounds to go!

And speaking of beautiful little things, at the end of June I’ll be the contributor at Four For The Day. I mention it now so any readers who haven’t heard of the website can check it out sooner rather than later. The site/project is the creation of Winnipeg artist, S. Arden Hill and put simply, each week a new artist presents four of something for every day of the week for one year. The results are pretty fascinating.

FOUND Photobooth, week 6

2011-04-24T12:00:00.007-03:00

A friend of mine who was working at West Edmonton Mall found this photostrip in the winter of 2007 and was thoughtful enough to give it to me. This is what I see:

Mike’s first wife had paprika coloured hair and a laugh like a magpie. At 18, they wasted no time and got married a few weeks after high school graduation. They got their first apartment and a tabby who they called Maurice. They had only been married 14 months when Mike’s wife was struck by a car on her way home from grocery shopping. Mike spent the following years in self-inflicted solitude, haunted by the image of his young wife flat on the pavement, decorated by scattered produce. However, when his fortieth birthday came he recalibrated his approach to life and was determined to find a new life partner.

Sandy’s first husband had terracotta coloured skin and the temper of a boiling pot. Sandy was convinced that the rocky early years of their relationship could be remedied by bringing some beautiful babies into the world. When their children were 5 and 3 it had come to Sandy’s attention that her husband had been unfaithful to her and being too afraid to confront him directly she fled in the night with the children to her mother’s in the country. The divorce was simple and she dedicated the next fifteen years of her life to raising those beautiful babies.

Mike and Sandy’s eyes first locked at a speed dating night held at a local bar. They both enjoyed playing cribbage, fishing, and watching stand-up comedy. Sandy appreciated his sensitive side and Mike felt a new sense of importance as a role model to her children.

They had been dating steadily for three months and like most Friday nights they were headed to The Comic Strip in West Edmonton Mall when they spotted the black and white photobooth. Neither of them had used one in years, they felt like clumsy teenagers as they negotiated how to seat two people in a space built for one, giggling all the while. When the photos were all taken Sandy turned to Mike and pecked him on the lips.

Unbeknownst to Sandy, the photos fell out of her purse when she opened it to retrieve a tissue and minutes later caught the eye of a young mall employee.

April’s Showers Bring May’s Flowers

2011-04-22T10:26:00.006-03:00

It’s true that it has been raining quite a bit here in Halifax, but I mean the title of this post a bit more metaphorically. I’ve been investing a lot of time into some endeavours that will hopefully pay off. I’ve also taken a two week vacation from the FOUND Photobooth series as I’ve been applying for grants and planning parties. Here’s what I’ve been up to…

Firstly, I’ve been taking acrobatics classes through the Halifax Circus and just love it to bits. I’m astonished at the muscle mass, flexibility and new friends I’ve gained in such a short period of time! The acrobatics, combined with doing yoga daily have revived a connection that I lost with my body during my student and traveling years. Anyway, I’ve been dedicating a lot of time to working out and soon as I master the perfect backhand-spring, I’ll post video here.

Secondly, it’s my birthday in a few days and I’ve decided to throw myself a Wes Anderson themed birthday! I’ve been sitting at my sewing machine working on my costume and some decorations. Here’s the invite I made to mimic Eric Anderson’s drawing style on the dvd cases. I’ll share some photos of the party here.

Thirdly, this past Wednesday I was running some errands and decided to pop into an intriguing antique shop I’d never been in before. I didn’t really know what I was looking for and generally speaking this is a high risk situation for me and my wallet. I got chatting with the owner about British Royal Family tins (which I collect), and she told me how the CBC had called that morning, looking to do a story on young people’s interest in the Royal Family, which she was convinced, there was none. Lone behold on my out of the shop I bump into said CBC crew and they decide to showcase me in the story. We filmed in the shop and I shared my knowledge of Royal Family memorabilia. (The expression “bull in a china shop” could just as easily be “camera guy in an antique shop”). When we finished they asked if they could come home with me to see the rest of my collection, I said yes of course and thanked a higher power for sending me the impulse to clean my bedroom that morning. Long story short, the bit will air nationally during the dinner hour and all throughout the day on the CBC 24h News Channel on Wednesday the 27th.

Lastly, my friend Becky Johnson, who is incredible in a spectrum of ways does a craft tour across North America every summer but this year her beloved car died. She is raising money so that the trip is still possible and she offers many sweet deals for your dough. The fundraiser only lasts another 5 days, visit here to learn more about it and to donate!

FOUND Photobooth, week 5

2011-04-04T21:38:00.006-03:00

Think about how often you find something on the ground that isn’t garbage, then think about how often that thing happens to be a photograph, then think about how often that thing happens to be a wet chemical photobooth strip. It doesn’t happen very often.

In the eight years I’ve been collecting, on average I only find a single photo or strip about every 6 months. So, you can imagine my disbelief when I found these three strips all within the same hour. The amount of them surprised me, but also of course, the peculiar similarities.

I found these strips in and around photobooths in West Edmonton Mall in the summer of 2010. This is what I see:

These girls, like most little girls have mothers. However, unlike most little girls they don’t belong to their mothers. They have large loving families in fact and are widely adored. These families see their little girls much like they see birds. A caged bird is distraught for it can’t fly and the owner is deprived the majesty of the bird that can only be realized in flight. These girls are trusted to know that fire is hot and that the night is cold and should they forget they’ll learn when they burn their hands and shiver in their skins.

All family members are connected with invisible dotted lines from their heart centers. When someone is far the spaces between the dots expand and the connection is weakened. If weak enough, a mother’s instinct will set in and she’ll put out something much like a bird call. Though, almost always the connection is strong. So strong that if you swat your hands in front of your chest you can feel the resistance as your hand goes through the force, much like when you wave your hand quickly underwater. So, it doesn’t matter where these girls are, so much as it matters that they are.

These families also understand that beginning, middle andnd are fine devices for storytelling but that life is not so linear. What matters is the force of the dotted lines and that the sequence that things unfold is just for extra clarity in our picture book world. These girls have a vague understanding of this, though it has never been explained to them. Occasionally however they are caught up in the chronology of their personal narratives.

To them photobooths are like little time machines. They know that they are just manmade contraptions but there is a pleasurable and unique sensation that accompanies the act of documentation. The booth is a marker for past and present states, a setter of tiny milestones.

Girls like these who lived in this space before these manmade machines were invented would stare into their reflections in ponds and not be able to stare away until a frog or fish came along to meet the gaze of their reflection. This simple act, the acknowledgement of another being, validated their physical experience and that moment was documented in a chasm somewhere far away.

The girls do not need to keep their photo strips, it is enough to know that they were taken and developed and that the moment was placed safely in a pocket in the Universe. In bus stations, shopping malls, and county fairs everywhere images of these girls are left for others to gaze into to.

Writing Right: Two Months In!

2011-04-02T14:45:00.003-03:00

Well, I’ve been perfecting the dexterity of my right hand for two months now. And, I have to admit, the novelty of the project is starting to wear off as my skills have plateaued. My penmanship and speed certainly have improved but consistency with the shapes of my letters and developing a personal style are still months and months away.

I also have to admit that I missed my daily lessons on more than a few occasions towards the end of March. I have been busy! I was judging at the Nova Scotia Canadian Improv Games tournament, taking Two Hands Two Crowns special orders and doing illustrations for Picnicface’s book being published by HarperCollins this autumn. I’ve also been working on an EXCITING TOP SECRET PROJECT that hopefully will be ready to share online by mid-May.

Here’s the latest ambidextrous drawing video (this one is edited down two minutes and has music to go with it, so hopefully it is not as dry as the first two.)

Any advice on how to rekindle my relationship with my right hand?

FOUND Photobooth, week 4

2011-03-29T18:06:00.005-03:00

I found this strip of photos left in the dispenser of the photobooth in West Edmonton Mall in the summer of 2006. This is what I see:

Lewis is turning eleven in four days but his birthday party is tomorrow. His mother, Gary’s wife sent them to the mall to get last minute party supplies and one gift that Lewis could pick-out himself. For the last four years, Gary’s job has required him to be on business trips half of the time and work long days the other half. Unbeknownst to Lewis, his mother arranged this excursion for some father-son bonding.

Lewis was named after his maternal grandfather. It won't be until early adulthood that Lewis will realize he has lived his whole life with others wishing he was someone else. His unique combination of God-given skills makes him a rare gem, but his uniqueness makes others uneasy. Throughout his life his parents, teachers and friends have tried to condition or tweak him to fit into the norm. It started in Kindergarten when his teacher found his quick-wittedness and joie-de-vivre disruptive to the class, to remedy this he was diagnosed and treated for ADHD.

Gary is known as a no nonsense kinda guy. He is good at his job because other men trust his him for his stoicism and directness. Gary does not like clutter, excess or over indulgence, as these are all signs of weakness. This made it difficult for Gary to be in a place like West Edmonton Mall, an international landmark for frivolity. When a toy would catch Lewis’ eye and excitement instantly spread across his face, a small part of Gary recoiled at the dissimilarities between he and his only son. But today was nearly the kid’s birthday, so when Lewis saw the photobooth and asked if they could use it, Gary thought for a moment and said “Sure, kiddo.”

Gary was surprised by the weight of his kid on his lap. He reached over Lewis to insert the coins and then leaned backward, not caring too much to be in the photos himself. The adrenaline from the new experience took a hold of Lewis and in a few awkward seconds he spontaneously tried to find a new pose for each shot. Gary was amused but also felt bombarded with energy.

Once the flashes finished Lewis popped out of the booth ran in circles, accompanied by sound effects in the area. At first Gary was embarrassed for the way Lewis was acting, but as he tried to tame him without success, he grew embarrassed for his own lack of parental authority. He felt the eyes of other parents upon him while Lewis’ spectacle grew more and more attention. He was uncomfortable and gradually growing angry for having been made uncomfortable.

“We’re going.” Gary said sternly.
Lewis stopped his faux karate chops to rebuttal “But the pictures aren’t ready yet!”
“I don’t care. The stupid machine is broken, its taking forever.”
“It says it needs three minutes.” Pointing to the sign on the booth.
“It’s been three minutes.” To Gary it had felt like three minutes, but in reality it was still shy of forty-five seconds. “Anyway, we’re going, your mom is expecting us back.”

Lewis felt and then fought the urge to cry. Gary could see it in his face and remembered having that feeling himself as a boy but was not interested in exploring it in public place.

“Come’on, you’re almost eleven, act your age. We’re going home.”

Two minutes later the photobooth dropped a strip of black and white photos of a man and a boy into the dispenser.

Writing Right: Investigating Genetics

2011-03-23T11:18:00.003-03:00

Recently in the mail, I was happy to receive a handwritten letter and mix CD from my brother in Scotland. I don’t think he would be offended by me saying that he has brutal penmanship. When deciphering his thoughtful letter I realized that by now my right hand is probably neater than his right hand (and he is right handed). As a little experiment, I’ve re-written sections of my brother’s letter with my right hand at my quickest and most natural pace. What do you think about the differences?

This has got me thinking about sampling my other family members for their handwriting. My parents, two sisters, two brothers and I all have very different printing but I have a new hypothesis that my right hand printing (with probably another six months practice) will resemble theirs more than my current left hand printing. I’m conjuring up some new experiments to go along with my daily writing lessons and suggestions are welcome!

FOUND Photobooth, week 3

2011-03-20T12:16:00.004-03:00

I found this photo in the City Centre mall in Edmonton during the summer of 2005. Unlike the other photos in the series, I was there while these photos were taken and so myself and a friend are also characters in the story. This is what I see:

Marco and Amanda had being going out for almost 3 months but they had known each other for years. Marco was school friends with Amanda’s oldest brother. Marco had always dated women who were at least five years younger than him, this trend however went unnoticed by Marco. He was in fact, unaware of many of his tendencies. In high school he wore a large backpack on the bus that would swing into the faces of seated people. On elevators he stands unmoving in the exact middle, forcing others to awkwardly manoeuvre around him. He believes in Heaven, he believes in soccer, he believes fatherhood is the most important thing a man can do with his life.

The couple had just watched The Dukes of Hazzard, starring Jessica Simpson and decided to use the photobooth near the cinema. Amanda was not impressed to find two teenaged girls in the booth with clothing and props scattered everywhere.

“What’s happening in here girls? A fashion show?” She chortled.
The girls, slightly embarrassed cleared the booth and continued to plan their next costumed photostrip a few feet away, near the garbage bin.

Amanda sat on Marco’s lap as they flirted and posed their way through four flashes. They teased each other as the photos were mechanically dipped in and out of various chemicals. Three minutes later Marco spotted and grabbed the developed photos behind Amanda’s back. In a split second he did a quick assessment of the candid photos, guarding them from his girlfriend. Marco abruptly ripped the third photo out from the strip, tore it into six tiny pieces and threw the fragments into the garbage bin, the pictures not even dry yet.

Amanda pestered him, “I want to see! I want to see! Why’d you do that?!”
Marco disdainfully replied, “My eyes were closed.”
“Oh.” She replied, understanding that this was a normal thing to do.

Once out of earshot, the brown haired teenager said to the blonde teenager, “Can I have it?”
Her friend had who had the same impulse to retrieve it, replied “Yes.”

FOUND Photobooth, week 2

2011-03-14T14:49:00.005-03:00

I found this strip of photos left in the dispenser of the photobooth in Northland Village Mall in Calgary in the spring of 2009. This is what I see:

Kathy is a receptionist at a dental clinic, she excels at her profession with her exceptional organizational and small-chat skills. Drew’s mother is Dr. Marter, the newest dentist to join the team. About once every two weeks he would stop by the office on an errand for his mother. However, as time progressed, it seemed that the universe was finding reasons for him to visit the office more regularly. One Tuesday as Kathy was getting ready to leave for her lunch break Drew came by to see if his mother was free for lunch. Dr. Marter was with a patient but Kathy expressed that she would be delighted to have his company. As they sat in Swiss Chalet, discussing his future goals and her messy divorce they both felt tiny seeds inside them sprouting.

Kathy had promised her son, Oliver that they would pick out a new TV together before summer started and so she asked Drew, who was working full-time at Futureshop, if he could give her some advice. Drew replied that he would be happy to and that he could even get her a big discount. Pleased, they arranged at time to meet at the mall when they were both off work.

A week later, distracted, anxious & exhilarated, Kathy left work quickly to pick Oliver up from his after school club. They met Drew at the entrance of the mall and passed the photobooth on the way to Futureshop. An impulse overtook Kathy, she insisted they go in and after some hesitancy and negotiation Drew and Oliver complied. They planned the sequence of photos, reserving the last two for just Kathy and Drew so they could each have a copy. The blub flashed and for ten seconds everyone was happy, numb and tingly.

The moment was soon broken when Kathy’s cellphone rang. It was Oliver’s stepmother, she was supposed to pick him up that day and was hysterical over an important matter. Plucked from the ecstasy of the moment, Kathy, flustered and embarrassed realized she and Oliver must go at once. She apologized, offered an explanation, asked for a rain check and said goodbye in one long blurry sentence. Not waiting for Drew's response, she and Oliver walked briskly out of the mall. Drew digested what had just happened and in a trance left the photobooth as its insides were still rumbling.

Kaleidoscope Diversions

2011-03-13T14:52:00.006-03:00

I’m still working on the part 2 of the FOUND Photobooth series so I thought instead I would post some photos I took through a kaleidoscope. As far as pass-times and procrastination strategies go this is far more entertaining than watching online videos. Here are three collages of objects I photographed, to the right is a television and below are a wooden basket and a piano. I think next I’ll do some self-portraits!

FOUND Photobooth

2011-03-06T13:01:00.007-04:00

FOUND Photobooth is a new 10 week series showcasing my favourites from my photobooth collection along with my narrative interpretation of them. I’ll update the blog every Sunday. Feel welcome to leave comments of your own observations!

I found this strip of photos on the floor of a photobooth in West Edmonton Mall in the summer of 2010. This is what I see:

The girl, Jenny, is 17 years old and tries to maintain a sunny disposition. Her t-shirt that reads “Dream of Sunshine” is not unique in her wardrobe. Jenny and Tom, the boy, have been friends since childhood. Their mother’s met at church when they were toddlers and arranged many play dates. Jenny and Tom grew up as close friends but the dynamic of their friendship changed when they began at the same high school. She is in jazz band and taking two foreign language classes. He is an amateur smoker but still does not consider himself too cool for school dances. They only nod or smile at each other in the hallways but still spend the occasional weekend or evening together.

As their grade 11 year was coming to a close, one night Tom kissed Jenny in his basement. He also touched her breasts a little. They never spoke of the moment but they both thought of it often. This created a quickly escalating awkward tension. After the incident, whenever Tom caught himself saying something flirtatious to Jenny, he ‘corrected’ it by then saying something hurtful, which was easy with his knowledge of her insecurities.

When Jenny saw the photobooth in the mall she imagined tucking her half of the photos in the frame of her mirror, this delighted her. She inserted the coins before they had negotiated the seating arrangement. Tom felt it was only appropriate that she sit on his lap. Jenny interpreted his insistence not as a romantic gesture but as a mockery of her weight. Once the photos were developed, made upset by the reality they presented, Jenny discarded them to the booth floor. Tom followed her as she walked off.

(click strip to view detail)

Two Hands Two Crowns Contest Winner!

2011-03-04T13:16:00.002-04:00

Jack from the United Kingdom is the contest winner! I like his stream of consciousness approach to list writing and I also want to personally try some of his suggestions. His list is posted below (for the North American readers, in the UK candy often comes in paper or plastic tubes.) Jack picked the lion button for his prize.

ways to make art in everyday life

-Put sweety tubes on your pets legs for an interactive "robot" installation
-While waiting in a ticketed que imagine you are playing the national lottery (to increase chances of winning take many tickets)
-Video the suffering from a hangover and edit it into an "Exorcist remake"
-frame used loo-roll as expressionist painting
-Cut holes in the crotches of your trousers to make effective and fasionable jumpers.
-Speak at half your normal speed, hey presto a David Lynch eerie dialogue
-Talk to a stranger
-Be very, very messy when applying mustard and ketchup to things
-Walk slowly backwards with a video camera then watch it rewind to create the effect of walking forwards.
-Walk forwards with a video camera then watch it in rewind to give the impression of walking quickly backwards
-When using skype on an Ipad put it to your ear and pretend you are a midget with an Iphone
-Pretend you are a giant by treating your Iphone as an Ipad

Thanks to everyone who contributed a list, more contests to come in the Spring!

Writing Right: One Month Mark!

2011-03-01T14:26:00.008-04:00

I’ve been practicing writing and drawing with my right hand for one month now! One of the things I’m doing to measure progress is recording a video of myself drawing the Two Hands Two Crowns logo on the first day of the month. The new video is up, check it out! Also here are some lists related to my new pass-time.

AMBIDEXTROUS OBSERVATIONS:

1. It is surprisingly fun, I look forward to my lesson every day!
2. When I practice in a waiting room or on a bus, people can’t help but stare and formulate ideas. I assume they assume I grew up in the wild and just enrolled in elementary school.
3. Cursive is easier than printing because you don’t have to lift the pen, however is doesn’t look as neat.
4. Its very annoying to write while wearing a watch, I’ve started removing it before each lesson.
5. When drawing with both hands, even if my brain can send two messages to my hands, I still only have one set of eyes.
6. I hold pens differently in my left hand than I do in my right, soon as a let my right hand hold a pen the way it wanted to, things got easier.
7. When using both hands simultaneously, drawing is easier if the hands are mirroring each other, however, when writing it is easier if the hands are doing the same action.
8. I’m mildly better at basic mental math, perhaps this is because of my left brain is more simulated.
9. It’s not hard to make your printing look perfect, but very difficult to make it look perfect while writing at a reasonable speed.
10. On February 9th, CBC’s radio program Q featured Gwendolyn Bounds, a specialist who talked about the benefits of handwriting on the brain. This made me feel infinitely superior to the average person.

NEW EXERCISES FOR THIS MONTH:

1. Designating one day every week where I only write with my right hand.
2. More simultaneous exercises, both mirrored and identical motions.
3. Start making the switch from pencil to pen.

The image above is of a simultaneous lettering, when I did it I kept my eyes mostly on the right sheet, trusting my left hand to know what it was doing. Normally (when writing with just one hand at a time) my penmanship is at least twice as good as what you see there. It seems by ordering my brain to do two tasks at once, each task is executed at half its normal quality. Interesting!

Two Hands Two Crowns Giveaway to Best List!

2011-02-26T21:52:00.005-04:00

My new website is up and I feel FANTASTIC. I owe many thanks to talented web designer Scott Borys for putting up with me for a second time (Scott also programed my first website.) Designing it and setting up my Etsy shop occupied so much space in my brain for so long that I feel very exhilarated to move on to new projects. Firstly I’m helping with the new online photobooth art gallery, Fotomaton.org. Secondly, I’m doing the illustrations and cover art for a new book. And thirdly I’m designing the t-shirts, posters and a mural for an improv festival happening this spring. (More on these as they unfold.)

And for the next three months I’m going to do a new weekly series on the blog. Each Sunday I’ll showcase a photobooth strip I’ve found along with a narrative I’ve fabricated. Stay tuned for what I think are riveting photos!

And now the CONTEST DETAILS!

In celebration of my new website and the Two Hands Two Crowns shop on Etsy I’m giving away a Beast Button (of the winner’s choice) to the Best List. The list must be original and related to Art, Design or Craft in some way. Post it below in the comment box. There’s no maximum number of entries per person and the “judging” will close on Wednesday March 2nd at midnight EST time. I’ll be judging the entries with my experience as a self-proclaimed list-connoisseur but there is no rubric. Be creative, have fun and good luck!

Design Philosophy

2011-02-13T18:10:00.005-04:00

Recently my cousin asked me to help her design her bedroom. I don’t have any training in interior design but I’ve always made my bedrooms shrines to my interests at the time. It definitely started as a teen when I needed a safe haven to escape my large and loud (and loveable) family. When I was 15 I asked my sister to drive me to the paint store so I could secretly paint my room while my parents were camping with my brothers. Since then I’ve helped friends and siblings out with their rooms and tried to make the most out of less than desirable living situations while I was a student. Here are snapshots of four of my bedrooms over time. The last one is my current room, which is a work in progress.

Here’s the list of things I wrote for my cousin and another list of things that have been occupying my mind as of late.

INTERIOR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
-Your living space is a reflection of your head space
-Space should be clearly divided into the functions it serves; don’t apply your make up in the same spot you do your homework
-To avoid things getting messy and unorganized, make sure everything has a designated place
-The bed should only serve one (or two) functions; don’t eat in bed, don’t work on your laptop in bed, don’t use your bed as a laundry hamper
-Think in clusters and be mindful of composition
-A good palette should have two or three neutrals to ground things but don’t be afraid to have several catching accent colours
-Search for one of a kind items in junk stores, you will love it more if you restored it or it has a story behind it
-Big box stores are fine for finding your furniture but your decorations should be personal to you
-Hang photographs and fill the room with personal touches, like art work from friends
-Have multiple lighting arrangements so you can change the mood when your room is serving a different function
-You don’t need to invest a lot of money in a nice nest but you will need to invest a lot of time

THINGS I WILL HAVE WHEN I’M A REAL ADULT
-A different pair of prescription glasses for every day of the week
-A library in my house, with a sliding ladder
-Either so many children or so many cats
-Someone to do my taxes for me
-Investment property somewhere far away
-Beautiful tattoos on my arms
-A studio/ office in my home that nobody but I (and maybe my cats) are allowed in
-A photobooth

Stay tuned to the blog, my website will be ready this week and I’ll be announcing a Two Hands Two Crowns product giveaway!

Writing Right: Practicing Pangrams

2011-02-05T11:54:00.007-04:00

I’ve been having a surprisingly fun time working on my ambidextral skills. I’ve been at it for less than a week but I already see an improvement. For my lesson today I looked up some pangrams, sentences that have every letter of the alphabet. Some of these sentences are just fantastic and I would love to find a way to make them relevant in everyday conversation. Any of your suggestions as how to do so would be appreciated. (To read them click to enlarge the image.)

I think my progress has been good though I currently have the death grip on the pen. So aside from teaching my hand to move smoother and steadier my next goal is relax my hand more. My next lessons will be some drawings of things in nature and hopefully that will get the hand relaxed and flowing.

Writing Right: Lesson #1

2011-02-01T21:14:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a coffee shop sketching variations of the Two Hands Two Crowns logo. The logo is mostly symmetrical and so I decided to pick-up a pencil with both hands and have at it. I’m left-handed but my right hand has always been useful with a pair of scissors, a computer mouse and a crochet hook. The right half of my drawings looked like they had melted but I felt like a superstar. A really cool ambidextrous superstar.

For years now I’ve dreamt of being ambidextrous and you know what? 2011 is gonna be the year. I searched Halifax high and low for Hilroy Exercise Notebooks (the ones with the dotted lines in the middle) and starting today I practiced my alphabet in uppercase and lowercase letters and in cursive. I will come up with exciting variations of the lesson plan every day. To track the progress of my drawing abilities I’ll also practice the THTC logo and make a video at the first of every month. I’m committing to occasionally posting updates of my progress as an incentive to keep with it.

Here are today’s sheets and here is a link to a video of the first drawing (which I didn’t have time to edit or put music to and is consequently a very dry 4 minutes of footage.)

Also, you may have noticed a new look to the blog. The website is days away from being ready and this is the new look. The Two Hands Two Crowns logo can be found on the ribbon in the header.

More Lists

2011-01-27T16:46:00.000-04:00

Here are two lists I’ve written in the last two days. They aren’t quite complete but I think the general idea gets across. Also, in the comments from the previous post Marco requested I provide photographic evidence of my black, white and red years. I don’t normally post photos of myself on the blog but I will make this exception, here are three photobooth pictures of myself, circa 2003 (there are so many more examples but oh my god, they are embarrassing).

THINGS THAT AREN’T SCARY IN MOVIES BUT ARE TERRIFYING IN REAL LIFE:
-Reality turning from black and white to colour
-If a stranger (no matter how attractive) decides unbeknownst to you that they love you and vigorously romantically pursues you
-The thoughts that all locks could be picked in seconds with a hairpin
-Getting hit with a baseball while watching a major league baseball game
-Someone that decides to disregard all of their professional aspirations and start a longterm relationship with a prostitute they’ve known for a few days
-Finding a snake in your boot
-The casual use of very strong drugs
-Sitting in the passenger seat when the person driving only looks at you instead of the road
-Magic

NAMES I WOULD GIVE MY ENEMIES’ BABIES, IF GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY:
-Olga
-Poop
-Quintavius
-Adolf
-Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
-The Chosen One
-Eggwine
-T.E.R.R.O.R.I.S.T
-Carrot Top

Living List to List

2011-01-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

I’ve been chipping away at a mountain of work. And though I’ve been working 14 hour days on various projects I haven't completed much. As of right now, I may not have a lot of finished pieces to show for all these hours but I do have a wastebasket full of checked-off daily to-do lists.

Some people have religion, I have lists. I believe they are the most efficient way to manage daily and long-term goals, nevermind being a fun categorical tool! My personal touch when making To-Do lists is two columns of check boxes. The left column is to be checked off once the item has been started and the right column for when it’s finished, to convey the maximum accuracy of your progress!

Though of course, not all lists have to be To-Do lists. They are, most definitely an unrated creative form. I have a few book projects in the works write now and when I can’t find 30 minutes in a day for creative writing I try to at least write a list to get some ideas out. Here are two pretty standard lists (as far as subject matter goes). I will post more (perhaps crazier ones!) in the upcoming days while I chip away at my mountain.

THINGS I WILL LEARN, EVENTUALLY:
-to be perfectly ambidextrous
-flawless French
-basic carpentry
-the names and appearances of about 50 fonts
-advanced carpentry
-how to swim
-how to service a wet chemical photobooth
-how to play the guitar enough to justify owning a guitar
-how to dance, cool

EMBARRASSING PHASES THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN AGES 12 AND 17:
-When I was a hockey fan and occasionally wore my dad’s oversized Guy Lafleur jersey to school.
-The time I learnt everything I could about all the Canadian Prime Ministers with certainty that the knowledge would come in very handy, all the time.
-When everything I owned had to be Anime, no, really, EVERYTHING.
-When my fashion philosophy only had room for black, white, and red clothing, preferably striped garments featuring diagrams of the human heart
-When I wanted to be a writer and titled my first finished novel “Determined Destiny”
-That time I bought a guitar
-When I used Sailor Moon as inspiration for how to style my bangs

The image of my magnet board features magnets from the Regional Assembly of Text in Vancouver, a very fine store indeed.

Photobooth Project: Tracking Desmond

2011-01-14T20:19:00.000-04:00

Quite a few years ago I started tracking photobooths by their model and serial numbers. I then began to volunteer for Photobooth.net by giving them the booth information I had collected. With all the traveling I did in 2009 and 2010 I was able to find and document quite a few booths in Canada, Australia and Europe in the hope that people would find them on the website, use them in person and that the booths would then be less likely to disappear as a result. While tracking for the website I also, sorta accidently started tracking something else too.

In Canada we still have many chemical photobooths because we still have a distributor (whereas in most countries, chemical booths are owned privately and are found in bars or museums instead of in shopping malls and bus stations.) Auto-Photo, the manufacturers in Canada (founded in 1953) have quite a few models in circulation and most Canadian cities have at least one and as many as twenty-five booths. The example photos on the exteriors of the booths are not taken in that specific booth, but, I imagine at the warehouse in Montreal. (Photobooths develop photos without negatives so no strip can ever be authentically reproduced). As a result you can find reoccurring individuals on the sides of the booths, which is interesting because some of the booths are decades old. For whatever reason, this past spring I started photographing one individual that I kept seeing. A few months ago, as I was walking to a new booth I thought in my head “I wonder if I’ll see Desmond?” And sure enough, this fellow, whom I subconsciously named Desmond, was featured on that booth. I assume that he must be an employee of Auto-Photo to have been featured so readily for what appears to be about a decade. There are lots of other fun folks to follow too, the women especially are interesting because you can guess the year pretty well based on their hair styles.

Here’s a melange of some of the photos I’ve snapped of Desmond from booths in nearly every large Canadian city. He seems to like the colour orange.

Duck Duck (Canadian) Goose

2011-01-11T14:55:00.000-04:00

I promised at the start of December that I would post the finished piece of photobooth art that I made for Fotomaton: Selections, a show in Miami showcasing photobooth art. I meant for the piece, Duck Duck (Canadian) Goose to be a fun and visually simple piece based on the idea of a Canadian artist sending their work South for the fall.

I planned and made the piece in a short time frame, and I’m happy with it though if I had more time I think I would have retaken the strips with the bad hotspots… but then again those kind of characteristics are just part of the charm & frustration of working with chemical booths.

(Click to enlarge the image)

The times are a changin’

2011-01-09T13:06:00.000-04:00

Well, after an exciting whirlwind of projects, holiday festivities and a 5000km move across the country, I’m finally ready to dust off the blog. On a personal note the holidays were a very exciting time, I was in Edmonton with my parents and one brother and got to see my sister and bro-inlaw who live in Montreal, my brother who lives in Scotland and my sister and her family who live in Japan. I also made a quick trip to Saskatoon to say hellos and goodbyes to family out there.

On the professional front, my new website and product line, Two Hands Two Crowns will be ready this month. Stay tuned for a contest giveaway I’ll be hosting on the blog to coincide with the launch. I also had pieces in Love and Money (see the post below), I was happy to sell three of my five pieces and additionally I was privately commissioned for two more pieces. To the right is a picture of the ten dollar bill once it was hung. Again, it was a pleasure to work with the lovely ladies in the Toronto craft scene, so my many thanks so all the City of Craft organizers!

In December I was very flattered and excited when I was asked to contribute to a book that is being published on photobooth art. (As the book is still in its early stages I won’t go into any details quite yet.) In the small window of time I had between the holidays, the stomach flu and the move I executed a new piece for the book in a black and white booth. This was done with much help from my mother and brother who didn’t complain for the whole hour and a half that they stood outside the booth (my brother patiently holding the storyboard and my mother endlessly feeding loonies into the machine.) I won’t post the finished piece here as it’s reserved for the book but as a teaser I’ve posted this one frame and will say that afterwards I was covered in bruises.

The biggest change though, by far, has to be my recent move to Halifax. I’m still getting set up in my very cosy and lovely home with lots of help from my roommate. The house was built after the Halifax Explosion in 1917, and being the historical appreciator that I am, I feel very content in this home and neighboorhood. I live a few minutes walk from some lovely little coffee shops and a yarn store! I’m in awe by a city where you can walk from one end to the other in an hour.

I’ve also had a good response to the Photobooth Drawing Swap, I’m waiting for a few more pieces to come in the mail and I’ll post scans of what I’ve sent and what I’ve received (with permission of the senders, of course.) As I have just moved, you can email me at meagsfitzgerald@hotmail.com to ask for my address if you would like to participate!

City of Craft, Love and Money

2010-12-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

A strong suggestion for those in the Toronto area, City of Craft, a wonderful event that I had the pleasure of being a part of last year is happening Dec 18 & 19 at The Theatre Centre. It only happens once a year, so don’t miss out! It's a great chance to support local crafters and buy some one of a kind holiday gifts. If you aren’t in the Toronto area, check out their website, it has lots of nifty stuff on it, including an artist interview I did this past weekend for an upcoming exhibition!

In conjunction with City of Craft, Tara Bursey has curated Love and Money, it's on from December 16 to 31st at the Ontario Crafts Council Gallery. The opening is Thursday, December 16, 7-10pm. This group show features lots of stellar artists working with the themes of craft, fine art and commerce. Unfortunately I'm not able to make it out to Toronto this year for the show, but there will be a long list of awesome people in attendance. To read more about the exhibition visit here and to read the ongoing artist interviews visit here.

I’ve finished and shipped off my piece, which is compromised of five cross-stitches of the former Canadian dollar bills. I posted an image of the 50 dollar bill a while back and I won't share the other bills until the show is over, but as a little sample of the work here is a close-up of the two dollar bill laying over the ten.

"Fotomaton: Selections"

2010-12-05T22:37:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I was happy to be approached by Miami-born artist and photobooth connoisseur Aran S. Graham for an exhibition he was putting together. The show, "Fotomaton: Selections" is the first of many in a series of small exhibitions that feature photobooth art. I’m pleased to have two pieces in the show, other artists include Odile Marchoul from Austria and Verdi Yahooda from England.

Here’s the show information if you happen to be in Florida:
Location: Andy Gato Gallery at Barry University, 11300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores, FL 33161-6695
Opening: December 17th at 7pm

For more information, including how you can submit works for future exhibitions, contact Aran Graham at aran@aranphoto.com. The website (which is still under construction) is www.fotomaton.org.

As a teaser here is one frame from the 20 frame piece I submitted to the show. I’ll post the final work here when the exhibit has finished.

NEW PROJECT: The Photobooth Drawing Swap

2010-12-01T02:46:00.000-04:00

My three very favourite things in the whole world are photobooth pictures of other people, sending and receiving real mail and the making drawings. And so, I’ve come up with a simple ongoing project to swap your photobooth pictures via the post for my original drawings. This is how the Photobooth Drawing Swap works:

1. You decide you would like to make a mutually beneficial trade and email me at meagsfitzgerald@hotmail.com to give me your address and request my address.

2. You then find a nearby classic black & white or colour photobooth (not a digital one), you can use Photobooth.net’s Locator* feature if you don’t know where the booths in your city are. Then have some fun and take some candid photos.

OR

2. You dig through that old shoebox or junk drawer and find those old pictures you don’t need to hang on to any more. Whether you send one individual photo, a whole strip or 10 strips, you get a one of a kind drawing/drawings. (Let me know if intend to send multiple strips and I will send you several drawings to make it at fair trade.)

3. You pop your photos in a mailbox.... wait a few days and presto! You’ll have a pleasant surprise waiting for you.

Just to give you a feel, here are some drawings from some old sketchbooks, the sort of things you might expect to get.

*I volunteer for the Locator feature on Photobooth.net and you easily can too. If you know of a photobooth in your area that has not been added to their database, click here to see how you can contribute a booth location.

Femme Avec Un Chapeau Rouge Update and Other Photobooth Projects

2010-11-18T13:55:00.001-04:00

I have been slowly amassing more Femme Avec Un Chapeau Rouge photobooth pictures and thought that I would post an update. (Click to enlarge the image.) If you’re curious about the project please read the post I wrote for it back in April and it will make more sense. Here’s a selection of the photos I’ve taken with the mask, it includes photos from Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Sydney, Paris and Berlin.

And now’s as good as a time as any to announce that in January I’m moving to Halifax! I'm excited for the move for many reasons that I'll go more in depth about in a later post. Though specifically I am excited to take the mask with me to new East Coast towns and also to find new booth locations for Photobooth.net’s Locator feature.

I’m generally anti-digital photobooth but while travelling I’ve made a few rare exceptions to my own rule. In countries where photobooth pictures can still be used for passports, the digital booths are taken more seriously, ie. you can’t overlay a flowery border or a Wanted sign on your picture. I like differences between the French, German and Japanese borders in these supposed passport pictures.

I still have plans to make the short narrative into a photobooth animation, it’s all storyboarded and ready to go but I’m waiting until I have a free weekend, a pal who can donate their time and a whole lot of loonies.

In the meanwhile you can watch the (very) short film I made the first time I experimented with photobooth animation in 2008, The Birth of a Genius. There aren’t many frames so the transitions are quite choppy, though I think its decent considering it was shot during rush hour in the infamously tiny booth in the Bloor-Yonge Subway Station in Toronto.

Stay tuned to the blog as next week I'll be announcing a new photobooth project that you can participate in!

A Glimpse into my Collections

2010-11-14T02:42:00.001-04:00

To my knowledge, I own more things than any person I know my age. This is for a few reasons. Firstly, I have moved eleven times in my adult life, and each move has required the purchasing of new furniture and what not. Inevitably things get confused between all the moves and needless to say I have four tea kettles, three cheese graters, fifty dish towels, a humidifier, a dehumidifier... you get the idea. Then there is also the matter that I am an interdisciplinary artist and craftsperson, and have just about every art + craft supply you can imagine. And then there is the art... oh, the woes of storing sculptures. However, I also have a lot of things because, well, I like things. I’m very tactical and garner a lot of pleasure from one-of-a-kind objects, particularly of the vintage assortment. Above is a collection I just started of old Air Mail envelopes.

As far back as I can remember I’ve been interested in collecting and organizing. As a child I collected “cool” cat posters, as a pre-teen I collected porcelain dolls, as a very awkward teenager I collected anything (and everything) Anime, and as an adult I have a few very specific vices. As I am always on the go and haven’t had a home of my own in a year and half to display my collectable goods I thought I would do a show & tell here. (Click on the images to see larger versions.)

I have quite a bit of Canadiana memorabilia from the 50’s to 80’s including many pieces from the Centennial, Expo 67 and the Montreal and Calgary Olympics. Though, currently my most prominent collection would have to be Queen Elizabeth II Coronation tins and other commemorative tins, trays and dishes from her Silver Jubilee and other royal visits to Canada. I do have a small assortment of older tins from other members of the royal family including George V, George VI and the Queen Mother. Next on my wish list is a commemorative tin (but I may have to settle for a chocolate or cigar box) of King Edward VIII, which are very rare because he was only King for eleven months and because most of his items are in more serious collections due to his affiliation with Nazi Germany. I love their colour palettes, design aesthetics and the histories behind them. The photos reflect about half the tins in of my collection. (Note the antique toy sewing machine is named “Little Queen”, adorable!)

When collecting, it’s important to me to have the whole experience. I don’t find it very satisfying to acquire something just because you can, so I don’t buy things online. (For this reason I don’t collect things that are common either, like bookmarks or rocks.) I sometimes shop at antique shops or markets but I prefer to go to flea markets because there’s nothing like the feeling of finding a diamond in the rough and bartering for a deal. Though if anybody wants to give me a Queen Elizabeth II tin, I promise I won’t object.

Jack'o'lanterns & Phot'o'booths

2010-11-08T02:04:00.001-04:00

It had been years since I had the chance to celebrate, or even acknowledge Halloween. During the University years I was too busy making art to make a costume and last year I was in France, where no could understand the allure of dressing up and embracing the dark side for a day. So, naturally this year I was enthusiastic when Mark Meer (a Halloween expert no doubt) asked me if I would do some speciality pumpkin carving for his live late night talk show, Oh Susanna. I said yes, but first I needed a costume!

As per usual I have been busy working on various commissions and on some pieces for my own art practice, so budgeting time for making a costume was tricky. However it only took me about 45 seconds to think of this idea, as it is always on my brain anyway and justa few hours to make it.

Before going to Oh Susanna I practiced carving the show’s logo into a pumpkin and realized that drawing skills and pumpkin carving skills are not the same thing, especially if you took a five year hiatus from Halloween. I was nervous, though I’ve become used to making art on the stop with a full audience watching (check out previous posts here and here about Improv Art) and the show’s cast and audience are as kind as they come. “Susanna” (Mark hosts the show in a drag persona) also gave a drawing I did of Susanna in my Friends as Beast and Creeps series away to an audience member.

Without a doubt my highlight of evening was during intermission when an audience member approached me while I was still carving on stage. She said she had heard of "this girl" who knew everything about photobooths in Edmonton and was wondering, (based only on my costume) if I was her. It felt amazing to be recognized not by my name or face, but purely by my hobby. That means something, right?

All in all, it was a two-thumbs-up evening.

Photo credits: Top photo by Brad Fischer. Carving on stage by Theresa Wynn and the two pumpkins by me.

In anticipation of Two Hands Two Crowns

2010-10-17T16:19:00.001-03:00

I’ve been a busy bee working away on new items for a more focused product + project line. It will replace my current line, Go Eat Some Poison Productions. (I started working under that name when I was 17, and feel like its time to update it a bit to reflect who I am now.) The new items will be available for sale on Etsy in December. In the meanwhile I'm still toying around with a new logo. The company name is Two Hands Two Crowns. I won’t go into the backstory for the name but I will say it relates to a pair of tattoos I’m getting in November. Currently I’m trying to come up with a simple but eye catching logo, though along the way I’ve had some fun experimenting with some more elaborate designs. I've had a Wacom tablet for almost a year and haven't got much use out of it (I just like drawing on paper), so playing around with these designs was good practice for my hand to screen coordination. I’ve posted some of the “just for fun” and early drafts here and would appreciate any comments/ feedback you’ve got, as it may help me solidify the final design! Click to enlarge the images.

A Long Overdue Update!

2010-10-11T17:43:00.000-03:00

My blog has gone neglected for almost the last two months as other projects have taken priority. I’m up to my ears in new projects, commissions and collaborations. This is great, but does mean I have a few more balls in the juggling act than usual. The primary project that has consumed my time is my new website design, which is correlated to launch at the same time as when my new production company and line of crafts are ready. Here are some samples of the things I’ve been working on. The banner is part of the new craft line and the cross-stitch below is one of six old dollar bills, the series is titled Tender Tender (click to enlarge). I’m making them for a show in Toronto in December. The show, at the Ontario Crafts Council is curated by Tara Bursey and is titled Love and Money, more details here.

p.s. I was a judge for The Art of Waiting's Photobooth Contest and it was a real treat to see all the submissions! The very creative winning entries were announced at the end of September and can be found here.

From One Pacific Coast to Another

2010-08-14T03:55:00.000-03:00

Well, I’m back from my adventures in Australia and Japan and have been thoroughly filled with new and enlightening experiences. Some highlights include photobooth-hunting in Sydney and San Francisco, improvising with my friend Cale in our duo “Hands are for Friends... Werewolves are for Night time,” spending hours in stationary stores in Tokyo and getting to spend quality time with my sister and her family in the lush wilderness of Northern Honshu. I had many thrilling experiences though I am, without a doubt, pooped. I’ve had a few days in Edmonton to shake off the jetlag, only to leave in another few days for Victoria, Vancouver and then Hope, British Columbia.

I’m partially going on this trip to do some research for an art project and for some tattoos I’ll be getting in October (stay tuned). Though the primary reason for the trip is to go teach at the Improv Camp! This will be the ninth camp I’ve attended (including last year’s one in Australia) and the sixth one I’ve instructed at. This year I’m working on bringing a few new features to the camp such as a library!

I’m also juggling a few other projects; a handful of illustration commissions, continuing the Anonymous Pen Pal Matchmaking Service, helping with the Art of Waiting's Photobooth Contest (which you can still submit to!), putting together applications for Toronto’s City of Craft and a Prism Comics grant and getting ready to launch my new production name & line of craft products, which should be ready in three weeks! I’m reminding myself that I can sleep when I’m dead, or more realistically, during the winter holidays.

The photo was taken underneath an art installation on the east side of the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo.

Adventures over the Pacific!

2010-07-08T20:42:00.000-03:00

I’m stationed beside the only free electrical socket amongst the hustle and bustle at the San Francisco airport, not because I prefer the city’s airport to the city itself but for the practical reason that I’ve got a layover before I fly off to Sydney, Australia. I’ll be teaching improv at the Australian Institute of Performing Arts at their Winter Improv Intensive. I’m going with three other representatives of the Canadian Improv Games to help bring the format we teach in Canada to the Australian school systems. With just a little bit of down time after the Intensive, I’ll be flying back into the Northern hemisphere to Tokyo! I’m going mostly to visit my sister and her family but I’ll also be teaching a little bit of improv (to English speakers). I’m excited and nervous for the cultural differences and the language barrier (I plan on using my six year old niece as a translator.) I’m particularly excited for all the paper and stationary stores. I love handmade paper and thematic stationary kits. (Speaking of which, I’m still taking folks for the Anonymous Pen Pal Matchmaking Service.) After Japan, I’ll fly back to Sydney to visit with some friends and then fly to Edmonton from there. I’m really excited for the trip, I’ve got loads summer reads packed, a few illustration gigs to work on, some Beast and Creep drawings to keep up with and some final details to work out with the storyboard for Arc in the Sky. I’m also putting the final touches on a blog entry I’m writing for Art of Waiting. Their Summer Photobooth Contest is on now until September 1st , this is a super fun way to win some swell prizes. I took the photos above (collaged together for from different strips, click to enlarge) to help inspire some creativity.

Anonymous Pen Pal Matchmaking Service

2010-06-29T19:05:00.000-03:00

Who doesn’t love snail mail? Who doesn’t get enough of it? I thought up this simple, low commitment project to make the most of our postal service and to brighten our days. Here’s the project:

1. You send me your current mailing address, the number of pen pals you want and an alternative name for yourself; it can be a code name, alter ego, anagram or anything you’d like to go by. Send the info to go.eat.some.poison@gmail.com

2. I reply to your email with another person or persons’ information. (I will only match up people that I know will not use other people’s info to harm them in anyway.)

3. You and your new pen pal can send each other letters, drawings, recipes, quizzes, stickers, postcards, pictures, crafts, lists, compilation CD’s, article clippings or anything else. A good way to start is by committing to each send one piece of correspondence a month. If you’re afraid of forgetting about your pen pal, pick a day of the month that you will always write to them on, like paying your bills, but more fun!

4. The rest is up to you! You choose how many pen pals you’d like, how long you’d like to be pen pals for, and if you want to remain anonymous to each other.

I will be running the Anonymous Pen Pal Matching Service as an ongoing project, so there’s no deadline, but why put off a good thing?

Improvaganza + Beasts & Creeps

2010-06-29T02:28:00.000-03:00

This June brought Rapid Fire Theatre’s 10th Annual Improvaganza, Canada’s largest improv festival. As per usual this year’s festival featured performers from across the globe, which included some of my favourite people. It was a super blast, needless to say. I did some visual consulting for the festival and a drawing project I originally started just for kicks. “My Friends as Beasts and Creeps” is a project I started on Facebook at the start of June. It consists of me “stealing” friends’ photos, re-interpreting them with drawing skills and giving them back to the source from which they came. Amy Shostak, the Artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre asked me to do a ‘ganza specific edition where I drew performers from the festival and displayed them in the theatre’s lobby. Here a few of my faves so far (click on photos to be enlarged.) If you have a Facebook account you can view the album here.

Art of Waiting: Photobooth Contest!

2010-06-26T02:24:00.000-03:00

Earlier in June I got an intriguing email from Jeffrey Nachtigall who had heard of my photobooth expertise through my work with Photobooth.net. Jeff, who also goes by the name Dirk Lancer online, runs an fascinating website, The Art of Waiting where he uses the young medium of the internet to promote interest in old analogue technologies. Art of Waiting is mostly dedicated to photography but also to other ideas like using the postal service. (I love real mail!) We’ve collaborated on a summer contest for Art of Waiting and it’s all about photobooths! The project is really exciting and there are some really awesome prizes to be won. I highly recommend you check out the details here on the site, you’d be missing out if you didn’t.

June: the sit still mod podge month

2010-06-07T16:52:00.000-03:00

I returned from my trip to Toronto a few days ago, I was there for PROJECTproject’s incredible COMBUSTIONfestival. The Tumbleweed Project (cross-Canada improv tour) went extremely well as well. May was a really swell month that involved a lot of moving and shaking- both in the geography and dance floor sense. Though June has brought a drastic change of pace and the way things have worked out I’m going to be in Edmonton for the whole month! This may not sound so outlandish to most but for the last 12 months I haven’t stayed in the same city for more than three consecutive weeks, with an average of one week in each city I visit. I’ve got ants in my pants and one month of sitting still is a lot for me to handle these days. Though I do have good reasons to be here, Rapid Fire Theatre’s Improvaganza is on from June 16-26 and I will be helping out the festival. I’m also collaborating with a retired UofA art professor on a series of photographs (more on this in a future post). For the most part I’ll be doing Go Eat Some Poison commissions and freelance gigs here and there; little things that will be good at occupying my time and putting moneys in my pockets. Which will come in handy because July brings travel adventures in Australia and Japan. All I have to do is ignore the ants biting at my legs for 4 weeks.

The photo is of a banner I made upon my return in order to encourage myself to get through June.

The Tumbleweed Project !!!!!

2010-05-11T18:46:00.000-03:00

Yes, that’s right, there are five exclamation points in that title. “Why so excessive Meags?” you ask. Well, I’ll tell you. There are five exclamation points because this is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of. The Tumbleweed Project is the brainchild of Julie Dumais, Artistic Director of the Combustion Festival; an enormous and lovely improv festival in Toronto in the last week of May. The project is essentially a cross-Canada road-trip that picks up a new improviser in every city it visits, does a show, takes some workshops and finally arrives in Toronto were we’ll perform as an ensemble at the Combustion festival. Each improviser also loosely represents a region of Canada, though that region may not be the location the improviser is joining the tour, for example Justin Collette of Moncton, New Brunswick is joining the tour in Chicago. I’m going to be 3rd to join the team on May 15th in Calgary. I’m looking forward to the road-trip across the prairies, particularly to visit Winnipeg, where I haven’t been in years. I’m also going to seize this opportunity to track down some photobooths in each city for Photobooth.net.

For more information about the Combustion Festival, the Tumbleweed Project or to follow our on-the-road blog visit www.projectproject.ca. (The artwork on the poster is by Vancouver’s Ehren Salazar.)

Here are some tour details, for the specifics please visit the Facebook event here.

MAY 13: VANCOUVER- Tim Carlson @ Little Mountain Gallery
MAY 14: EDMONTON- Hannah Spear @ Rapid Fire Theatre
MAY 15: CALGARY- Meags Fitzgerald @ Loose Moose Theatre
MAY 16: REGINA- (no new member) @ The Fainting Goat
MAY 17: WINNIPEG- RobYn Slade @ Exchange Community Church
MAY 19: CHICAGO- Justin Collette @ Playground Theater
MAY 20: OTTAWA- Cari Leslie @ Elmdale House Tavern
MAY 21: MONTREAL – Kirsten Rasmussen @ Mainline Theatre
MAY 23: TORONTO - Mark Little @ Clinton's Tavern
MAY 24-29: TORONTO – @ the PROJECTproject COMBUSTIONfestival

Back from the Chicago Improv Festival!

2010-05-07T16:53:00.000-03:00

I’ve just returned from Chicago where I was making Improv Art at the 13th Annual Chicago Improv Festival (CIF), the largest improv festival in the world. The festival was spread out over multiple venues in the city; Second City, IO, Annoyance Theatre, The Playground, Comedy Sportz... and others. There were hundreds of acts from all over the world, though unfortunately the festival was less international than originally anticipated because the European groups were unable to fly in because the Icelandic volcanic residue. The biggest highlight for me was CIF’s Award’s Night where they gave a best Ensemble of the Year award to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Best Improviser to Susan Messing and three Lifetime Achievement awards to the late Severn Darden, Dick Schaal and to Harold Ramis. It was at Second City’s intimate ETC stage and the tone of the evening was uplifting and inspiring. It was very exciting and humbling to be around many of the field’s most talented individuals. I may be writing an article for improvisation.ca about the evening’s events and will post a link here if I do.

From an improv art perspective, the festival was a challenge for me because I had to carry my materials with me from venue to venue, usually doing three shows a night and sometimes with only minutes to set-up. (Usually at a festival I have a little studio on stage, where I sit comfortably for the whole time and have a convenient area in the lobby to display and sell my works.) The challenge ended up paying off because I got to meet tons of people that way and got to work in some great venues. After this experience I feel like I could make improv art under any conditions. In an Icelandic volcano? Probably.

I’ve been to a lot of Canadian Improv Festivals (spectating, performing, or art-making) and I’d like to think that I know a good percentage of Canadian improvisers, and that if I don’t, that it’s just a matter of time until our paths’ cross. Going to a Canadian festival is like going to my family reunion, if my entire extended family were comedians. CIF was the first American festival I’ve been to and though it still very much felt like a family reunion, it felt like someone else’s family. This may sound like a silly observation but it was crazy to meet that many improvisers at that level that I’d never met before. Once I got over my shyness I made some great friends from companies all over the states and Mexico, and I’m looking forward to my next American festival which will be that much less daunting.

The photo above is of my make shift studio at Comedy Sportz, it was taken by Jerry Schulman.

"Femme Avec Un Chapeau Rouge" Series

2010-04-29T21:21:00.000-03:00

This project requires a bit of back tracking to explain it best. In 2002 I was looking through some old magazines in art class, in a French haut-couture magazine from the early 90’s I found a grainy but captivating image. I wasn’t sure what it was but something about this woman dining with this huge red hat really fascinated me. In 2003 I tried to paint the image to the best of my abilities in acrylic paint. In 2005 I found the image again and thought it would be an interesting experiment to paint the photograph again as a measure of my artistic growth, this time in oil paint. In 2006, I had a university painting class where the teacher had asked us to work with repetition. I decided to test my painting skills, but also artistic range once again and painted the “Femme avec un Chapeau Rouge” over twenty times in various mediums and styles. Above is the original magazine image (I drew on the horizontal and vertical lines in 2003 for reference) and the first and second attempts. On the right are a select few of my attempts from 2006.

In the fall of 2009 I spent a month in France. While I was there I was looking for non-digital photobooths (a personal passion of mine, see old post) and was visiting more booths than normal, though I didn’t necessarily have ideas every time I was taking pictures. A week into my trip, in the children’s section of the gift shop for the Musée D’Orsay I found a mask. Being in France and seeing this red had, I was automatically reminded of the magazine photo from years before. For the rest of the trip the mask and signature pose of the woman became a default pose for me while photoboothing. Since returning to Canada I’ve played around with the background in these photos because the background in the original photo is very non-descript and it was always a difficult formal decision to make when painting. The mask is conveniently light and small so it’s been ideal to bring it with me for my other travels this year. I brought the mask on my latest trip to Ontario, Quebec, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois. I’m also going to bring it with me while touring an improv show across Canada in May and when I visit Australia and Japan in July.

Here are some pictures I have taken with the mask during my travels so far.

The next step in the project is to do a stop-motion photobooth animation, done in a similar style to an animation I made with artist Pamela Norrish last year, which you can check out here.

Comics Everywhere! Adventures in Montreal and New York City

2010-04-17T21:14:00.000-03:00

I’ve had very lovely visits to Ottawa, Montreal, Boston and now New York. In Montreal I had the pleasure of visiting the Drawn & Quarterly storefront. I whizzed with excitement and ended up making multiple visits to pace myself. D&Q are my favourite graphic novel publishers and also happen to be Canadian. At the shop they sell all the works they publish but also a wide variety of other books (comics or otherwise).

New York has always been great for comics and graphic novels, in between the amazing selection at Forbidden Planet and Midtown Comics and the ultra-discounted finds at the Strand Bookstore. This past weekend though, was particularly exciting as it was the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art’s (MoCCA) Festival (a.k.a. a finer comicbook convention). There I got to meet some up and coming graphic novelists that I’ve been following like Austin English and Lucy Knisley. I also got to meet a long-time admired illustrator, Jillian Tamaki. My favourite of the booths included Drawn & Quarterly (obviously), Sparkplug Comic Books, PictureBox Inc., Secret Acres and Book by its Cover. Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day and have no pictures.

I’m here in New York working on a graphic novel with writer Elizabeth Archer. The book we are working is mostly auto-biographical but a melange of her’s and my experiences, it’s titled “Arc in the Sky”. Elizabeth and I have been working with the help of telephones and the internet for months now but I came to New York specifically to take photos to use as reference for the drawings. I’ll be doing some sneak-peek drawings when this leg of travels whines down and post them here.

And on another graphic novel note, I’m going to be in Toronto at the end of May, where I’m already saving for my next visit to The Beguiling. It’s an amazing independently owned little comic shop tucked away in the Markham area. I’ll be arriving too late to attend the Toronto Comics Arts Festival, May 8-9, but I would give my pinky finger to be there.

A Visit to Our Nation's Capital!

2010-03-24T19:41:00.000-03:00

I’m in Ottawa for a week to volunteer at the Canadian Improv Games National Festival, where hundreds of high school students from across the country will participate in friendly competition. In high school I competed in the games myself and owe many thanks to the organization for giving me an outlet in my formative years. It’s one of the two weeks a year (the other being Improv Camp) that I whole-heartedly look forward to! It’s a fun and uber supportive environment and hosted in the National Arts Centre! This photo is of one of the founders of the Games, Howard Jerome speaking before the competition.

This trip also marks the start of 6ish weeks of travel in the area. I’m working on various projects, (most of which are collaborations), of the visual and performing arts variety. After Ottawa I’ll be visiting Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago. Stay tuned for some recounts of the adventures! This photo is of a Louise Bourgeois sculpture outside the National Gallery, with Parliament in the background.

Back from the Woods

2010-03-05T12:33:00.000-04:00

I spent the month of February in Saskatchewan, most of that time I was in a cabin on a lake near Prince Albert National Park, up north. I was there all by myself to work on art in an internet-less, cellphone-less and more or less distraction-less environment. I chose to go this lake because my great grandparents bought a cabin there many years ago and the area has hosted five generations worth of family reunions. I spent many of my childhood summers there and I was interested to return as an adult, this time in the starkness of winter and without the company of dozens of family members. In my art practice I’m interested in origin points, familial history and personal meccas; I felt like this place deserved some time and meditation. While there, I worked on a series of landscape paintings (not my usual medium), sorta as a means of reflection, while simultaneously I brewed about other larger, more conceptual projects. I was also interested in being a “Canadian artist” and what that means in a historical context. I couldn’t help but think of the members of the Group of Seven painting the great Canadian wilderness as a means of understanding it. The experience was a very rich and rewarding one, partially for the paintings I did but mostly for the time I had to think about the direction of my practice.

Here are two of the ten oil paintings I made. I’ve sold all the pieces to fuel the next leg of my travels.

Canadian Winter = Time for Crafts!

2010-01-16T22:37:00.001-04:00

I wrapped up my travels by going to my parents’ home in Edmonton for the holidays. I get antsy if I go five minutes without having something to do with my hands so I capitalized on being locked in doors by making some commissioned Go Eat Some Poison products and by organizing some family-fun crafts.

The first project was a Solstice banner (our holiday of choice). On the Winter Solstice every member of the family completed one or two banner pieces by sewing letters I cut out in advance to a triangle of a different material. The level of sewing ability varied greatly but everyone felt very accomplished in the end.

We also made a felt wreath, I crocheted some berries and everyone cut-out different shaped leaves and petals (based on their scissor abilities). I stitched the pieces of felt holly together and glued it to a wire wreath ring.

I was also busy making some more cross-stitched Interracial Sex Sketchbooks (I’m working on some gay couples now), and decided to try out a less controversial image for a sketchbook cover. All in all, it was a restful and productive holiday season.

Toronto's City of Craft!

2010-01-16T21:13:00.000-04:00

Best friend and fellow artist, Pamela Norrish and I travelled thousands of kilometres to meet up at Toronto’s City of Craft event where we showed a film piece we had collaborated on months early, titled Coast to Coast to Coast. It was a stop motion animation that we shot it in a non-digital photo booth using objects made from various craft mediums. For now you can see the film here, but soon it and photos of our installation will be on my website once my computer savy friend, Scott Borys tweaks some things to support video files.

The event itself was a really lovely experience with loads of talented artists, crafters and DIY’ers. It was hosted in the Theatre Centre on Queen West, and for sentimental reasons ( I used to live in Toronto) it was really great to be back in that neighbourhood. I also showed pieces from my Crèche exhibition at a show curated by Tara Bursey titled Home and Away. To the right is a photo of the vendor's tables once some of the hustle and bustle died down.

Photobooth Pictures in Art and Abroad

2009-12-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows of my passion/ obsession with photobooths. I’ve been collecting non-digital photobooth pictures for seven years now and have thousands of pictures. Taking and collecting photos is primarily a hobby but I have also used them in my artwork. I store my photos in archival plastic sheets and have divided them into four categories; Found Photos, Donated Photos, Film Stills (more on this later) and Self Portraits. I own almost all the published books on the subject matter and I’m especially interested in their history. This summer when I travelled to Australia I was happy to hunt for the remaining non-digital booths in Sydney for Photobooth.net’s Locator feature on their website. I was curious about what I would be able to find in Europe. At one time the continent’s train stations and streets were rampant with “Photoautomats” but today they have been almost entirely replaced with easier to maintain digital booths. In Paris I visited a few booths that are owned by businesses committed to preserving these iconic machines but it was only in Berlin that I found the occasional classic black & white “dip’n’dunk” booth in the streets.

Nevertheless, Paris was a real photobooth highlight for me because the Centre de Georges Pompidou had a very thoroughly curated exhibition titled “La Subversion des Images” or “The Subversion of Images” which featured Surrealist photography and film. The exhibition had original photobooth pictures by famous Surrealists such as Paul Eluard, André Breton, Louis Aragon, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Luis Brunel, Salivador Dali and others, taken for both fun and to use in their artwork.

Top photo is of the Fotoautomat in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Bottom picture is of René Magritte's "Je ne vois pas la [femme] cachée dans la forêt", 1929.

Back from Europe and overflowing with inspiration

2009-12-23T00:18:00.000-04:00

I feel a little bad for a leaving my blog unattended for so long, but I had good reason; I was overseas taking in some culture! First on my list was France, where I stayed with an artist friend in Paris before I headed south to Provence, the Alps and the Mediterranean. I returned to Paris for another week and then headed for Berlin where I stayed with a musician friend. The gray skies and freezing temperatures were pretty dismal compared to the sun in Southern France. I was in for more of the same when I flew to London to stay with some actor/improviser friends. I created a bit of a homebase there and took small trips to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Totnes (a small village in Devon). I returned to London for a few last splendid days and flew to Toronto from there... more about that later.

As you might imagine I saw a lot of art in that time, I visited approximately two galleries/museums everyday for two months. There is a point when you just can’t absorb anymore visual stimuli, (I hit it a few times), though there were still a few stellar exhibitions that managed to resonate with me. Since I’ve been back a lot of people have been asking me about the best shows I saw, so here’s a list of the best temporary exhibitions I visited while I was abroad (in order that I saw them):

-Chasing Napoleon at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris
-La Subversion des Images at the Centre Pompidou, Paris
-La Biennale de Lyon hosted primarily at La Sucriere, Lyon
-Né dans la Rue at Fondation Cartier, Paris
-Elles at the Centre Pomipdou, Paris
-Thomas Demand (retrospective) at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
-Kiosk – Modes of Multiplication, presented by Christoph Keller at the Kunstbibliothek, Berlin
-Anish Kapoor (retrospective) at the Royal Academy of Arts, London
-Jill Magid: Authority to Remove at the Tate Modern, London
-The End of the Line: Attitudes in Drawing at the Fruit Market Gallery, Edinburgh
-Sophie Calle: Talking to Strangers at the White Chapel Gallery, London

Photos are of 2/3 of Barry McGee's installation, titled "Installation" at the Biennale de Lyon.

Improv Art at 10th Anniversary of ViiF

2009-11-03T03:22:00.000-04:00

I was in Vancouver from Sept. 29 to Oct.3 for the Vancouver International Improv Festival, hosted by Instant Theatre (a.k.a. Alistair Cook). Alistair invited me to the festival to make and sell improv art and also allowed me to sell Go Eat Some Poison merchandise. The art making was a little trickier this time than in Edmonton because I needed to bring all my supplies with me. Planning and improv aren't best friends. However I was able to take twice as much time to make the art during the shows and so overall I was much happier with the quality of my work.

I also designed the ViiF t-shirts, which I will post photos of later with some other recent t-shirt designs. The first photo here is from the first day of the festival, before the board filled-up and it was taken by Alistair. The second photo was taken later in the festival once my studio space had become messy, it was taken by Stefana Fratila.

Die-Nasty Theatre’s Annual 50 Hour Soap-A-Thon

2009-10-14T03:34:00.000-03:00

This September was my third time performing in Die-Nasty’s famous Soap-A-Thon (which in the past was known for being the longest in the world at 53 hours). The Soap-A-Thon is a completely improvised play that runs continuously from Friday to Sunday night in mid-September and is how the company kicks off their new season. It’s different from usual improv in that there is a director, costumes and sets. Most improvisers will play the same character for the whole thing or switch back and forth between two characters. (I really love costumes!) The first time I did it was in 2006, I completed 36 hours, then in 2007 I did 43 and this year I did the full 50. That’s not to say that I didn’t unintentionally fall asleep during scenes and whatnot, but for the most part I was awake for 60 continuous hours. The key (for me at least) is having a character that you enjoy to play, is uplifting and isn’t too demanding of your voice or body (because that’s hard to sustain for long periods). I’ve always had a blast playing with Die-Nasty but I realized this Soap-A-Thon that when playing with their cast that I tend to play young girls. In normal improv I pride myself on my physicalization and commitment to any character but because our appearance is created through costumes and not solely through our imaginations, I tend to play characters that I could realistically be based on my actual age and body type. In all three Soap-A-Thon’s and whenever I’ve guested in Die-Nasty’s regular season I’ve played young ladies who are generally naive and very positive, “fix-it” type characters. This hasn’t been a problem but is something that for the next Soap-A-thon that I do (which could be in Liverpool England this November) I’m going to challenge myself to play the opposite sex and a character that is not so good willed.

Some of the highlights for me included the mascot heist, where I got to kung-fu style stage fight all the male cast members (photo by Jana Hove), the “Face Down Dance”, the highest energy musical number we could muster at 6 AM on Sunday (photo by Brad Fischer) and the completion of my “banner for peace in Millwoods” (photo by Jana Hove), which my character was crocheting the entire time and was a great help in keeping me awake.

Improv Camp earns title of “Best Camp Ever” for its eighth consecutive year!

2009-10-14T03:06:00.000-03:00

This August Improv Camp moved from our home of seven years in Regina to the scenic and lush Gambier Island, a short ferry ride away from Vancouver. I think the new environment was responsible for surging extra energy into staff and campers alike. It seems dull to bring up the weather, but really it is noteworthy. It was beautiful for the eight days, which makes all the difference when most of your programming revolves around outdoor activities. There were so many highs for the week that I’m flummoxed as where to start. Swimming in the Pacific Ocean, eating the most delicious food and being able to ramble on about improv history without boring people all made it a great experience. I really enjoyed the ensemble I worked with, the Boal ensemble (named after the late, great, Augusto Boal). My teaching muscles were still warm from camp in Australia so I found it really easy to bond with my ensemble. I was especially proud of their evening performances and got lots of great feedback as to their skills from other staff. The staff are a whole other jar of rainbows. Most of the counsellor & trainer teams included friends that I made at Improv Camp in 2003, my first year there. I look forward to seeing them every year and hold them dear to my heart. As usual, there were new staff members too, these are people that I’ve added on to my list of “new lifelong friends”. I may sound like I’m gushing all over the place here, but really, it’s the best camp ever.

Improv Camp, Down Under!

2009-10-07T15:19:00.002-03:00

I went to Sydney Australia for two weeks this July. For five days of those two weeks myself and a team of Canadian improvisers were teaching at the first ever Improv Camp Australia. In the eight years that Improv Camp has existed we had become very comfortable with the dusty landscapes and endless horizons of southern Saskatchewan. Our cabins could best be described as well loved, or decrepit. Point Wolstoncroft, the retreat location where the Australian camp was held was nothing short of paradise, complete with exotic plants & animals and pretty much, all you could eat food. Despite the fact that it was their winter, the weather was very agreeable, in fact, it was nicer there than back home in Edmonton.

In so far as teaching goes, it was very different from our Canadian camp. Most campers didn’t have previous improv experience and few of them knew each other. Over the years in Canada, camp has become an annual reunion of sorts, for campers and staff alike. There were some growing pains, as to be expected with anything in its infancy. But through and through the campers were interested and for the most part really keen on this improv thing we were talking about. We received favourable reviews and have been invited back for next July for a bigger and better camp.

I had some time in Sydney to myself after the camp, it seemed to be a cross between Miami and London, and I say that never having visited either of those cities. I was surprised at the architecture and how old the city is. Perhaps it’s because I’m from another one of the Queen’s colonies, but I thought that the city seemed very liveable. Aside from specific areas, such as Manly Beach (see photo) the city wasn’t all that touristy either.

And after much hard work, I did also manage to find both a colour and black & white photobooth in Glebe. I promptly sent in photos of the booths and sample strips to Brian at photobooth.net. He replied with the most grateful email I've ever received.

Edmonton’s Improvaganza, yes it is an improvisational extravaganza.

2009-10-07T15:06:00.000-03:00

Kevin Gillese, artistic director of Rapid Fire Theatre invited me to come up with a visual aspect to Edmonton’s Improvaganza this year. I came up with what was so cleverly coined “improv art”. This meant that I had a little studio on stage and was working away during the Theatresports scenes. The work was inspired by both audience suggestions and the content of the scenes themselves. Afterwards the work was hung in the lobby for the viewing and purchasing pleasures of the audience and performers. It was a great experience and I thought of lots of ways to improve upon the structure for future festivals. Check out the website for photos of the art pieces!

Photo by George Basil of Magnet Theater's group Four Track.

New Website and Blog! better than most religious holidays.

2009-09-30T16:07:00.000-03:00

I'm very happy to have my new website and this blog up and running. I owe many thanks to Scott Borys, who was incredibly generous with his time and website making abilities. Here I will blog about new art, improv and craft endeavors. Currently I'm in Vancouver for the Vancouver International Improv Festival (VIIF) to make "improv art". However I've had lots of art & improv projects on the go this summer and will be posting some recaps and photos from the adventures.

Stay tuned!