Viewfinder

I assembled these photos in the winter and just remembered them. The pairings of pictures are from 3 months of paper, chemical or filter tests I did at A&A Studios in Chicago.

The Model 11 booth is in the showroom, where vintage and antique cameras are on display, so I often grabbed one to pose with when taking a test strip.

Couple Tidbits

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated my blog, which is definitely a reflection of how busy I've been lately. I've got lots of news that I'll be able to share at the end of August/ start of September. For now, here are a couple tidbits.

I'm really excited to say that my animation LaCuna is an Official Selection of the Edmonton International Film Festival and will be screened on Sunday September 29th, as part of their "In Our Own Backyard" programming. I made a simple website for LaCuna, www.lacunaanimation.com, and this short video on the Making Of LaCuna. Personally, I love to see behind the scenes stuff.

The Making of LaCuna from Meags Fitzgerald on Vimeo.

Right now, I'm putting the finishing touches on some material for my publisher, Conundrum Press' catalog, which is a preview of their upcoming books and recent backlist. For the catalog, I drew this "author's portrait" of myself.

Best Podcasts List

I listen to eight to fourteen hours of podcasts and audiobooks almost everyday. Without them, drawing at my desk by myself gets very dull. Friends frequently ask me for recommendations, so rather than responding individually, I made this categorized list!

I recently counted and I’m subscribed to over ninety podcasts in iTunes, all of the ones I listen to are free. This isn’t a list of everything I listen to, just the ones that I feel are consistently good quality.  I’m going to keep this list updated as I find new ones. And I’m always looking for more to enjoy, so leave your recommendations in the comment section!

ARTS & CULTURE

-99% Invisible
-PRI/WYNC: Studio 360
-NPR: Tiny Desk Concerts (VIDEO)
-PRI/WYNC: This American Life
-NPR: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
-CBC: Q with Jian Ghomeshi
-The Walrus

SCIENCE & ECONOMICS

-WNYC: Radiolab
-Freakonomics Radio
-NPR: Planet Money
-TED Radio Hour
-HSW: Stuff to Blow Your Mind

HISTORY

-HSW: Stuff You Missed in History Class
-CJSW: Today in Canadian History
-LearnOutLoud: Great Speeches of History
-History of Photography

SPECIALTY KNOWLEDGE & FACTS

-CBC: Under the Influence
-Grammar Girl
-MaxFun: Put this On (VIDEO)
-MaxFun: Sawbones
-From Scratch 
-HSW: Stuff You Should Know
  
COMEDY, CONVERSATIONAL

-MaxFun: Stop Podcasting Yourself
-Hang out with Me, Myq Kaplan
-MaxFun: Jordan, Jesse GO!
-MaxFun: My Brother, My Brother and Me
-Earwolf: Comedy Bang Bang
-MaxFun: Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident

COMEDY, GAME SHOW FORMAT

-NPR: Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me
-MaxFun: Judge John Hodgman
-MaxFun: International Waters
-APM: Wits

COMEDY, SCRIPTED & IMPROVISED

-CBC: This is That
-CBC: The Irrelevant Show
-Superego 

STORYTELLING, PERFORMED LIVE
 
-The Moth
-MaxFun: Risk

STORYTELLING, WRITTEN
 
-MaxFun: The Memory Palace
-PRI: Selected Shorts
-CBC: Wiretap
-Slate: Stranger than Fiction
-Librivox: Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece

SEXUAL HEALTH & POLITICS
 
-Savage Lovecast
-MaxFun: Throwing Shade
-Life on the Swingset

FEMINIST & WOMEN'S ISSUES
 
-Bitch Radio
-MaxFun: One Bad Mother
-HSW: Stuff Mom Never Told You

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES & ILLUSTRATION
 
-Escape from Illustration Island
-Etsy: Handmade Portraits (VIDEO)
-Big Illustration Party Time
-Paper Wings

12 Questions

I feel very lucky to have been invited to participate in 12 Questions, an award-winning arts & culture blog with a twist. Each featured artist is asked the same twelve questions and can respond with whatever medium they choose. It's been interesting to read all the answers!

You can find my responses here, http://12questions.us/2013/07/17/meags-fitzgerald/.  I made four little illustrations for the piece. I made this one in response to "Cat person or dog person?"

Festival Design!

I recently finished up these designs for posters and social media for the Vancouver International Improv Festival. The Artistic Director, Alistair Cook and I conceived of this idea of Regions of Improvisation. I drew inspiration from maritime signal flags, which at their core, like improv are just about communication. I designed fourteen in honor of the festival's 14th year. I owe thanks to my brother Tiegh Fitzgerald, who's also an improvisor for helping me finalize the regions' names.

I did a t-shirt design for the festival as well, but I think we're keeping that secret until the actual event.

Right now I'm designing the visuals for another festival, illustrating some posters for a theatre company and working on a couple t-shirt designs. It's been fun!

Ten Years of June 23rd!

Today is a special day! It's been ten years since my friend Emily and I took our first photobooth pictures together.  Before June 23, 2003 I had only used a photobooth a handful of times. Something about that particular day inspired me to start actively collecting/ art making.

By June 23, 2004, Emily and I realized how fundamental those original pictures were to my collection so we decided to re-enact them and we've been doing it ever since.

After high school, I moved to Calgary and Emily moved to Halifax, so we started taking the photos bi-annually, during our winter breaks in Edmonton. We also took long distance photos, where we took our halves respectively and sent them to each other. In 2011, I moved to Halifax, where Emily still lives, which made the series a little simpler.

This is my half of the collection, Emily's pictures are of us with big smiles and with monster faces. This year we took the photos early when Emily visited Montreal, it was the first time we ever took them twice in a row, because as you can see, the booth was in need of a chemical change in the second last photo.

It's sad to say, but in two years colour photobooths will almost entirely disappear. (The paper hasn't been manufactured since 2007 and it's projected to run out by summer 2015.) But I'm hopeful that Emily and I will find a way to keep our tradition alive.

Drawing is Good For You

I've been busy working on my graphic novel but I still have time built into my schedule to work on illustration and design jobs. Here are pieces from some recent jobs.

First up, I did a tshirt design and the website graphics for Wormbug, a short film made by Arlen Konopaki. The film is dark with a surreal twist, which, inspiration-wise, was a fun change for me.

Next up, I made a logo and a few graphics for a new improv company starting up on the east coast.

And lastly, I made this poster for a series of shows at Bad Dog Theatre in Toronto. Their season is baseball themed and while drawing this I realized that it was the first time I had ever drawn anything sports related and only the second time I've ever drawn dogs. (The first time was for another job for Bad Dog.) The black frame is their design.

I'm working on a few really fun jobs right now, some of which will be ready for the end of June, stay tuned!

Graphic Novel News!

I'm delighted to announce two pieces of excellent news.

Firstly, today I signed a book deal for Photobooth, A Biography, the graphic novel that I've been working on for the last year. Conundrum Press will be publishing the book as part of their Spring 2014 line up. I'm thrilled to be working with Conundrum, who've published several of my favourite artists/writers including Jillian Tamaki and Michel Rabagliati. The press is ran by Andy Brown, who has a soft spot for photobooths, so this partnership should work out perfectly.

Secondly, early this week I got a letter informing me that a grant application I wrote in January was successful! The Alberta Foundation for the Arts has awarded me the full amount I applied for, which will cover most of my expenses until I finish Photobooth, A Biography. I feel so fortunate to be able to treat this book like my job. I feel very grateful and quite happy.

I haven't shared any content from the book in many months, I'm supposed to keep it under wraps. But today is special, so in the spirit of the good news, here are two of the newer Photobooth Portraits.
 

Copyright 2013 Meags Fitzgerald