My Engagement(s)

This morning I got up at 11 AM and ate a piece of chocolate cake.

Yesterday afternoon I handed in a grant application that I spent weeks working on. When I got home my body had an allergic reaction towards my to-do list. So, I brushed it off for the day and  instead I cooked myself a nice meal, made the illustration here just for kicks and watched Moonrise Kingdom, again. The relief I feel is nice but will be short lived.

I have so many deadlines coming up that it's sorta overwhelming, but I'm also really excited for the projects. Aside from work for clients, I'm making some new portfolio pieces before I send it out to editorial Art Directors. I'm also finessing a stop-motion animation that I will be submitting to film festivals. I'm very please to say that Jason MacIsaac of the Heavy Blinkers will be composing the animation's score! (Seriously, this is amazing, I feel so lucky.) And, now I'm working full steam ahead on the illustrations for my graphic novel, Photobooth, A Biography.

I haven't had a break in a while, so fortunately, my brother Kieran and I are taking a three day trip to Saskatoon next weekend to see my lovely extended family. It's not exactly an exotic destination but the break in the routine will be much appreciated. I can't wait to hug my grandma.

12 Images of 2012

2012 was without a doubt the best year of my life so far, I was actually a little sad on this New Year's Eve to see it go. I started last year not knowing what to expect and everything just clicked into place. Here are twelve images that touch on some of the highlights. 

From January to April I was studying at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, where I finished a post-degree certificate in Design. Strangely I have no photos that reflect that bout of academia. Though this photo was taken during that time in my old bedroom in Halifax. This is Hank, the cat I had on loan for nine months, he was a total shit and I miss him very much.

 

A highlight from the wintery months in Halifax was that I got my first tattoos, as seen here above a hairstyle that I made up and sport often. 

My birthday is in late April and as a special treat, my friend Krista and I took a two day trip to Prince Edward Island. I had never been before, it was an amazing little vacation and my best birthday yet.

In May I went on the first half of my Photobooth Expedition! I ran an Indiegogo campaign to raise the funds I needed to do this research for my graphic novel. I was overwhelmed by the support I received from family, friends and strangers. The first trip was to Los Angeles for the International Photobooth Convention, followed by a trip to Montreal to visit Auto-Photo's warehouse.

In June my parents who live in Edmonton and my sister who lives in Montreal came out East for a visit. Together we went to Newfoundland, it was the first time any of us had been. I was blown away by the province, its history and charm, it's so unlike anywhere else in Canada. I would go back in a heartbeat. Below is a photo of Cape Spear, the most Easternly point of North America.

In July and August I continued my Photobooth Expedition to Europe. This was a last minute idea that I concocted while in LA. It was spurred on by a rare exhibit of photobooth art. My trip started in Brussels, the exhibit was at Le Botanique, featured below.

After Brussels I spent a week in Paris conducting interviews, it was exhilarating and very good for my French skills. From there I went to Amsterdam, for more interviews and to visit an old friend. A huge highlight of the trip was visiting one of the world's largest private collections of vintage arcade machines, complete with a rare photobooth model of course.

From there I went to the south of France. I stayed with an artist couple in the Roman city of Nimes and attended the Rencontres de Photographie in Arles.

I finished the interviews I needed with quick trips to Turin, Florence, Cesena and Milan. I spent most of my time in Italy on trains. I headed back to Halifax and within a few days I exhibited at the Dartmouth Comics Arts Festival. Soon after I packed up my things and said a tearful goodbye to my east coast friends.

En route to Chicago, I stopped in Toronto for a week partially on photobooth business and partially to help my little brother move. After much ado I finally arrived in Chicago, I'd only been in there for a few days when I got a phone call about acting in a short film in Toronto. So shortly after settling into my new apartment, I headed back for the Nuit Blanche weekend.

Chicago in the fall was lovely. With the help of old and new friends, I easily nestled into my new neighbourhood, the Ukrainian Village.

I can't begin to explain how fortunate I feel for my time at A&A Studios. I learnt so much and met some great people. Amongst the many projects from those months, I re-built an old photobooth, which I'm now the proud owner of! It's seen here, without it's back, being used in an experiment.

Leaving Chicago, I made some quick trips to New York City, Burlington Vermont and Montreal. 
In December I came Edmonton to have surgery on my jaw. After some initial hiccups the healing has been smooth sailing. I'm here now, working on a grant application, submissions to publishers, editing an animation, doing freelance illustration and working on a visa application! A&A Studios has offered me a job and if all goes well I should be moving back to Chicago for the long term at the end of February. 

I'm anxious to see what 2013 has in store.

Tiny Secrets

I've got a few projects on the go that I'm keeping quiet about until they're finished. Or trying to at least.

One of the projects is editing my black and white photobooth animation, which is nothing short of a painstaking process.  I've finished animating one sixth of it, once it's finished I'm having a musician friend compose a soundtrack and then I'll use it to apply to animation film festivals this spring.

I have the finished portion online but you need the link and the password to view it. If you'd like to give me feedback or you're just curious, leave your name here in a comment and I'll send you the details.

A Year of Birthdays!

Last year for the 2011/12 holidays I illustrated two postcards and sent over one hundred of them to friends all over the world. I was happy to have done it but what I didn't consider was how much time it would take to collect everyone's addresses and write out dozens of personalized messages, during final exams nonetheless.

So, this year I've come up with a new way of sending a little bit of love through the mail. Instead of sending postcards for the holidays, I'm going to do birthdays! Since January 2012 I've been saving those email notifications that facebook sends out to tell you which of your friends are celebrating their birthdays that week. I've been keeping track of them in a little calendar at the back of my address book. My plan is to set some time aside every Sunday and write out postcards for upcoming birthdays.

I illustrated this card today and I plan on making a couple more birthday specific ones. I'm already a little behind on January birthdays so I have to get a batch of these printed pronto! If you'd like to receive a postcard from me and you're not sure if I have your address or not, email me at meagsfitzgerald[at]gmail.com.

One Year of Mail - December

The theme for last month's Mail Art was Hibernation. I had lots of fun with the sleepy and cool palette. It was definitely inspired by the week I spent sleeping after the surgery and general wintery feelings up in Edmonton.

I started sending mail art to the same four recipients in June, you can see the other months here.

On the Mend

I've taken this past week pretty easy while I've been recovering from reconstructive jaw surgery. There have been some bumps along the way but I'm more or less healing on schedule and trying to stay sane inside the walls of my parents' house in snowy Edmonton. I'm eager to get well soon and get back into a routine, especially when it comes to food. Oh goodness, I miss all firm and crunchy foods.

I've taken lots of photos of myself for documentation sake, but decided that in between the bruising, swelling, black eyes, stitches and weight loss that they're are a bit much to share here. Instead, here's a sleepy illustration I did last night. I'm rarely seen without an ice pack accessory these days.

There have been a few really nice highlights. One of which is Lisa Farlow, one of my oldest bestest friends. She's a new resident to Edmonton and it's such a treat to have her in the city.  She is an expert listener and also very good at watching television beside me.

A couple weeks before the surgery I got a really nice email from my Uncle Paul who suspected that I would be spending many hours in front of the computer in the coming weeks. He and my Aunty Celine generously bought and shipped me a new scanner to make my life a little easier. (My last scanner broke in the Halifax to Chicago move.) The scanner is excellent, I used it for the drawing here.

Another highlight has been a daily surprise courtesy of my Aunty Annette. A few months ago my aunt was passing through a small Saskatchewan town and decided to stop in an antique store. There she found several Queen Elizabeth II commemorative tins (which I collect) and she couldn't help herself from buying all of them. (Yes, she is amazing.) She wrapped the tins individually and handed them off to my parents. I've opened one a day, it's been a lovely treat  to look forward too! I've also received some supportive snail mail, for which I'm always appreciative of and I'm happy to reciprocate if anyone would like a pen pal. 

Yesterday I had the stitches taken out, it was a breeze. I start a rigorous regime of physiotherapy on Monday.  My current goal is to be able to eat some sort of holiday feast.

Shooting the B&W Photobooth Animation

A couple weeks before leaving Chicago I shot a stop motion animation in the Model 11 photobooth at A&A Studios.  Leading up to the big day I shot some of the simpler sequences by myself and saved the more complex sequences (which required me in costume and make-up) for that day. Two wonderful friends, Elizabeth Archer and Rachel Winslow helped me immensely with the slow and time consuming process. This post here shows some of the test shots and gives you an idea of the imagery I was working with.

Here are some tests and out-takes from the big shoot. I'm really happy with how the final images look and I'm excited to work on it. Next I have to sit at my computer for a couple hundred hours to scan, align, crop and put the one thousand or so images in sequence. Fortunately I'll have lots of time post-surgery to do just that.



















 

  

One Year of Mail Art - November

It's been a while since my last post, things have been busy since I realized my time in Chicago had to be cut short. The last few weeks have been amazingly productive, as I've packed and moved and also incredibly fun as I spent my last days in the city with good friends. I have lots of fun projects to share in the coming weeks.

I'm writing this in my sister's kitchen in Montreal. I arrived here after great trips to New York City and Burlington, Vermont where I was interviewing people for my graphic novel, Photobooth A Biography. Nothing could have gone better, and I'm feeling very appreciative towards all the people who made those trips a breeze.

I'm starting on a batch of mail art for December, which means I can share what I sent to my four recipients in November. The theme for the month was "Miniature" and I had lots of fun making itty bitty drawings, folding tiny envelopes and creating tiny photobooth pictures (taken in a real photobooth by adjusting the focus and photographing an existing strip.) I sent the miniature envelopes in regular sized ones so they wouldn't get lost in the mail.