Souvenirs from Newfoundland pt.2

I got back from Newfoundland two days ago, where I had a lovely vacation to the east and west coasts of the island. Along the way I collected some goodies at junk shops, tourists shops and of course, at photobooths. Here are some of my finds.

I really like the illustration style of this massive poster, intended for a child's room. It fits the colour scheme of my room perfectly so I decided to put it up to keep my room cheery, since I've already started to pack up my usual decor in preparation for my move to Chicago.

I bought these handmade mittens at the Newfoundland Crafts Council shop, which I was really impressed by. I love visiting the Crafts Council galleries in different provinces, it makes Canada feel so unified to me. I bought this deadstock stationary items and old house-letters at a few places but mostly at Blue Star Traders in North Sydney, Cape Breton. Blue Star was a small department store that closed in the 70s and recently reopened to liquidate the vintage stock. I spent a lot of time in there, mostly in awe at the polyester trends of yesteryear.  

 

In a specialty tea shop in St. John's I found this silkscreened tea towel with a message and theme that I truly take to heart. I also thought it made for a nice wall hanging while my bedroom is in transition mode. And lastly, I found and used four photobooths in Newfoundland and one in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. I documented the booths for Photobooth.net's Locator feature.

Photobooth Expedition Tote Bag Update

Yesterday I silkscreened the tests for the photobooth tote bags I'm giving to people who donate $30 or more to my campaign. I had designed the pattern a few weeks ago (knowing that they would be a perk for my campaign) but I hadn't got a chance until yesterday to test out the pattern.

The colour I mixed came out more sunflower then mustard when it dried, but that's why it's a test. I printed it on cotton but the actual bags will be printed on bleached canvas. I bought 12 meters of it last weekend, I have a dizzying number of hours printing ahead of me.

I originally planned on making 30 bags, but because of time restraints I think I will only be able to make 20 (17 are already claimed on the Photobooth Expedition.) I'm excited to start printing the actual totes this Friday and sew them after I finish my classes later in the month.

I'm very please to say that I've raised 125% of my goal, the campaign is still on for another 15 days so I'd like to raise as many funds as possible in the next two weeks, as anything I raise from now will go to costs associated with producing the graphic novel. If you want to one of the three remaining tote bags to be yours, you can donate at ww.indiegogo.com/photobooth-expedition!

Silkscreened Airmail Tests

Over the last two days I printed over 4 meters of this airmail pattern. I designed the repeating pattern using vintage airmail envelopes and registered the two colours on two screens. I printed test samples on mercerized cotton, bleached linen, canvas and on a few coloured cottons for fun.

I’m going to spend another 7 hours in the studio this weekend printing another 3 meters on the fabric I decide on. Eventually I plan on making some oversized cushions and some tote or messenger bags. I’ll keep some for myself, give some to special friends and sell the rest at my Two Hands Two Crowns Etsy shop!

Sew Busy!

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!

Chemistry, Biology and Life Sciences

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!

A Garden State of Mind

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.

Roses in my Eyes

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!