Reflections on ideas, artifacts, people and places I find interesting.
Moreover, a record of my ongoing projects.
29th Mar 2011

Neil Buchanan would be proud. Sunday was my full day silkscreening workshop and yours truly made it on time and hang over free. A bit intimidated by the prospect of a 9 hour class without a nap time, it turned out to be proper awesome. From stretching our own mesh, emulsifying, preparing our artwork, solving world peace, burning the screens, and printing, the time passed quickly and I met some really interesting characters. I ended up staying an extra 2 hours, most stayed longer, and I’ve already set a date to go back!

Truly, this workshop was fantastic — definite recommendations all round. At the end you’re given a booklet on everything you need to do it yourself at home, including building your own light table… new project perhaps?

24th Mar 2011

This entry carries over from my last post of photographs taken while on a recent visit to the west coast. We traveled light, so the only camera I brought was my iPhone. Thank superman for Photoshop! I played around with creating double exposures and bringing out a grainy film aesthetic. Despite the original photos being poorly lit and low res, the images ended up with a great film camera look appropriate for this On The Road style trip.

* I’m still figuring out this tumblr thing;- because of an image limit on slideshows I have added new images to my previous post after reaching my limit on this one. Call it  incentive to have another look at my last post.

13th Mar 2011

After a 4 hour knitting binge I finished my first scarf last night. Well, I finished the ball of yarn and decided to cut myself off at that point. It turned out rather well, in spite of my many wtf moments, and I am now the proud owner and creator of a slick, smokey grey knit scarf. Though nearly Spring, the Canadian climate has provided a few more opportunities to sport my new thermal threads. Oh Canada, you so crazy.

After a 4 hour knitting binge I finished my first scarf last night. Well, I finished the ball of yarn and decided to cut myself off at that point. It turned out rather well, in spite of my many wtf moments, and I am now the proud owner and creator of a slick, smokey grey knit scarf. Though nearly Spring, the Canadian climate has provided a few more opportunities to sport my new thermal threads. Oh Canada, you so crazy.

It’s a busy month for birthdays! After blowing my savings on a trip to BC (completely worth it), I thought I’d go home made on some gifts, or at least the gift tags.

A few pictures from my trip to Whistler, more details to come :)

There’s a scarf in there somewhere… As a birthday gift for a friend, I enrolled her in a knitter’s crash course scarf workshop. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I got myself in as well and Friday we embarked on our little adventure. The workshop was hosted by the Knit Cafe, a cozy shop downtown, near the corner of Queen and Ossington. The class was a good time and although my southpaw status has me fumbling backwards through situations like this, the instructors were really nice and explained everything thoroughly. So far I’ve got about a foot and a half done, and I’m giving myself a deadline of a week to finish ‘er up. One thing; I didn’t realize at the time (despite being reminded), that the yarn expands a deceiving amount when taken off the needles. As a result my scarf is a solid 14 inches wide, a virtual blanket of warmth… just in time for Spring? Note to self: Co-ordinate projects with appropriate seasons.

There’s a scarf in there somewhere…

As a birthday gift for a friend, I enrolled her in a knitter’s crash course scarf workshop. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I got myself in as well and Friday we embarked on our little adventure. The workshop was hosted by the Knit Cafe, a cozy shop downtown, near the corner of Queen and Ossington. The class was a good time and although my southpaw status has me fumbling backwards through situations like this, the instructors were really nice and explained everything thoroughly.

So far I’ve got about a foot and a half done, and I’m giving myself a deadline of a week to finish ‘er up. One thing; I didn’t realize at the time (despite being reminded), that the yarn expands a deceiving amount when taken off the needles. As a result my scarf is a solid 14 inches wide, a virtual blanket of warmth… just in time for Spring? Note to self: Co-ordinate projects with appropriate seasons.

Last Sunday I was excited to take a silk screening class at the Toronto’s Peach Berserk. Too bad Steph’s birthday party had me waking up with a massive hangover and clawing for my phone to declare myself unfit to attend, or stand for that matter. Less embarrassingly, it turned out the class had to be rescheduled anyways (I guess I wasn’t the only one double fisting rum and cokes that weekend) and, though I have rescheduled for the end of March, I decided to give it a go on my own.

The result? Well, for my first try I’d give it an A for effort. I managed to turn my little bathroom into a dark room and got all the steps right, but the print was a little sketchy. I’m definitely up for a second try, I figure I had let it wait to long between burning the screen and washing it down with cold water. I think I’ll wait till I’m surrounded by professionals until I make my second attempt.

I discovered this cover of a Mamas & The Papas tune after watching Fish Tank. The film was a good watch but the real gem was hearing this song for the first time as a soul track.

While I was at work Sunday, Maryse showed me a movie clip. It’s from Heaven’s Gate, a film infamous for being an epic Hollywood failure. A 4 hour, coma inducing ticket to bankruptcy pretty well sums up the general opinion. This might be true, but for a movie that has gotten a lot of flack, this scene had me. It’s incredibly charming. I could describe it to you, but I walked into it without any introduction and it was a really great surprise. Further reading: this article sums up the scene nicely.

While I was at work Sunday, Maryse showed me a movie clip. It’s from Heaven’s Gate, a film infamous for being an epic Hollywood failure. A 4 hour, coma inducing ticket to bankruptcy pretty well sums up the general opinion. This might be true, but for a movie that has gotten a lot of flack, this scene had me. It’s incredibly charming. I could describe it to you, but I walked into it without any introduction and it was a really great surprise.

Further reading: this article sums up the scene nicely.

“

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.

”

— The words of Dune, a novel by Frank Herbert