One Year of Mail Art - September

For those who don't know, I'm sending Mail Art to four recipients for one year. Each month has a theme and there are two ongoing puzzles, one with images and one with words. I started in June and I'm just about ready to send out October's letters.

Click here for the previous months.

These were the envelopes I sent out in September... though I forgot to include/ misplaced some old photographs that got shuffled around in my move... not to worry though, I found them and they'll go out this month. The theme for September was Leaves and Leaving.


I'm really excited for October's Mail Art, it's my favourite month and the envelopes I'm using were a gift from my friend Lisa Amerongen, they're gorgeous. Stay tuned for next month's!

Mad Scientist Mode

I've spent a sizable amount of time experimenting with this Model 11 (with colour paper and chemistry) since I arrived in Chicago, enough so that I'm starting to feel like a mad scientist... in a good way? The booth I'm using is at A&A Studios. I've posted more photos and full strips at my flickr page, and I'll update it every week or so.

All of the effects here are created by using varying filters and techniques, none of the effects are created with the assistance of digital technology.

Shooting a Short at Toronto's Nuit Blanche

A few weeks ago I was approached by Tyler MacIntyre, a filmmaker out of Los Angeles that I worked with in 2007.  His latest project is a short film that uses Toronto’s Nuit Blanche as the backdrop. He’s cast me as the female lead, in part because of my improv background (the dialogue is improvised) and in part for my knowledge of photobooths, as they are central to the film’s plot. I’m really excited to be a collaborator on this project! Along with Tyler as the director, I will also get to work with Mike McLaughlin, a cinematographer based in Toronto/ Edmonton and Colby Cseke, an actor from Calgary. 

I fly to Toronto this Thursday and we shoot over the weekend. I’ve also never been to Nuit Blanche (only to Halifax’s much smaller event, Nocturne,) so I’m excited to partake in this massive event. This project will be a refreshing creative outlet for me and I also think that it’ll be a fun tidbit for my book.  I haven’t acted in front of a camera since 2007, so I have some butterflies in my stomach. Here is a production still and a poster from the 2007 short film, Sleepless, directed by Mike McLaughlin.

Cameras, Collecting & Chicago

Where to start?

Well, I arrived in Chicago almost two weeks ago and it’s been a whirlwind of activity. Finally things are starting to level out. I’ve got a good sense for the city and I’m starting to carve out a routine. Personally, it's been so nice to see some old friends here and I've had a lot of support, particularly from the improv community with settling in for these few  months. I’ve spent most of my time at A&A Studios, where I’m doing an internship. I’m helping out with a few projects at the studio, while still doing my regular illustration/ design jobs for Canadian clients. The studio is the perfect backdrop to work on my graphic novel, it's filled with inspiration- gems from bygones eras, analogue technology and smatterings of little collections everywhere.

Anthony, the President of A&A has let me loose on a beautiful Model 11 they have in the showroom. He put colour paper and chemicals in the machine for my visit. I’ve used a lot of colour machines that have been converted to B&W but never the other way around before, so it’s been a nice treat. I’ve been experimenting with the exposure, filters, acetates, magnifying plastic, mirrors and backgrounds. You can see a selection of my shots at my flickr.

Originally the plan was that Anthony would teach me how to service a chemical photobooth, the plan has since evolved so that together we'll re-build one. It’ll be the best way for me to learn the ins and outs of these machines. This is the booth we are starting with, there’s not much there and I’m sure I will get very messy figuring this thing out.  I have no doubt that it’ll make interesting content for my book.

Speaking of the book, I’m happy to say that Julia Caron has signed on as my editor. Julia is the journalist who produced the CBC Radio story about photobooths in the spring.  She is an excellent writer and we know from the radio story that we work well together. 

And lastly, I’ve got some fun news to share but I should keep my lips sealed for another few days as the last details are finalized. But for the sake of intrigue I'll tell you that it involves a plane ride, an all-nighter, a couple of photobooths and probably some kissing too.

One Year of Mail Art - July + August

In June I started my one year of sending mail art to four recipients. Each month is themed and there are two ongoing puzzles, one image based and one word based.  The word puzzle is an arrangement of the letters on the back of each envelope, it will take all twelve envelopes to decode. They get two of the twenty-four pieces of the large picture each month as well.  Other items include little drawings, photos, poems, lists, etc.

July's theme was "Travel" and August's was "Daydreams". For July's envelopes I collaged pieces of an vintage-looking map and for August's I used the fabric envelopes that I silkscreen and stitched them shut. I just sent out September's mail art today and I'll share those next month. To see June's mail art, see this blog post.

Booth Investing

I wrote a guest post for Photobooth.net this week summarizing my trip to Europe. For anyone curious, they best visit it here.

Here's a photo that I didn't include in that post of a booth in La Citadium, a clothing store in Paris. The booth belongs to La Joyeuse de Photographie (Camille and Igor) and it never gets a break in that location. Camille told me how many strips are taken there everyday and my eyeballs almost popped out of my head.

It got me thinking about buying a booth as an investment. For as long as I can remember I've wanted one for myself, to put in a shed or in a garage and use it for art projects and to document my growing family. It's only after meeting a few photobooth savvy business people that I realized how profitable they can be in the right location and if you service it yourself. I've spoken with a friend seriously about buying one together.... but then where would we put it? Looks like I need to find a place to call home before I can take that step.

Back from Europe & At the Dartmouth Comics Arts Festival

I'm back! After putting the blog aside for three whole weeks I'm back at the keyboard. Why was I away for so long you ask?

Well... first of all I was in Europe researching photobooths until August 10th. Lots of friends have asked me "how was the trip?" And it was amazing but it was also a business trip. It was less romantic and whimsical than people seem to think, truth was that it involved a lot of time on trains and many frustrating language barrier moments. That said, I'm so happy I went, it was so great for the book and good for refreshing my outlook on life in general.

The other thing that has kept me busy was the Dartmouth Comics Arts Festival (DCAF). This was the first year of the festival and no one was quite sure what to expect. Fortunately it was a huge success both from the artists' and fans' perspectives. I got to sit behind a table and talk to people about photobooths all day, so that was pretty great. Some people even recognized me from the CBC story I helped with about photobooths that has gotten a lot play across Canada in the last two months. 

Everything that I had at my table at DCAF I'm now selling at my Etsy shop. The items include a Second Edition of the Concept Art Booklet (I revised it to include my trip to Europe), a new Photobooth Portrait of a rare booth I got to visit in the Netherlands and the last few tote bags I have. 

And lastly... I've been busy with preparing to move and tie up loose ends here in Halifax. I have less than 9 days left in this city and a whole lot of work to do and an amazing bunch of friends to visit with. I've got a few illustration jobs on the go as well, just to add an extra layer of challenge to it all.

Over the next few days I'll be posting updates from my Europe trip, so stay tuned for that.

European Photobooth Expedition Half Over

I've been in Europe now for 15 days and have 9 more to go. I've been busy following photobooth breadcrumbs in Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam. Tomorrow I head to Nimes and then later to a few spots in Italy. As I have been interviewing people I've uncovered new leads and wishing that I had more than five days in Italy, as a large part of photobooth history is routed there. Hopefully I can break through the language barrier and make the most of it, I won't have anytime to play tourist.

When I get back to Halifax, I'll do a huge write up for my blog and photobooth.net's blog... so details of my adventures will have to wait.  

I'm here in a refurbished and functional chemical booth by Fotoautomat France, which can be found at Forum des Images in Paris.