Monday, December 16, 2013

Gift Ideas

We all know Christmas is almost here, and most of us aren't finished our shopping.  If you have trouble with ideas for those you buy for here's some thoughts, beyond the big box store and gift card options:

- home made cookies/baking
- donation to a charity they support
- OK, so I said beyond gift cards, but an Etsy gift card
- take them to see a performance or out for a meal
- gift made by a local artist or craftsperson: painting, pottery, clothes/accessories, jewellery, bath & beauty, etc.
- note cards, especially if hand made, or reproductions by local artists
- something that came from a Fair Trade shop
- artisan/small batch foods
- a magazine subscription to something they like

Friday, December 6, 2013

Midnight Madness

Join us at Port Credit Emporium on Dec. 22nd (a Sunday), from 12 noon to 12 midnight for a last minute Christmas shopping midnight madness event!  There will be several artists participating, including myself.  I'll be there in person for the first half - noon to 6, and my table-buddy Marie will be there 6pm to midnight. 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Opening Saturday Evening

Join us Sat. Dec. 7, 6:30-9:30pm at The Guilty Dog Coffee House in Port Credit, along with Port Credit Emporium, for a Caribbean Christmas event, with special menu items, and the opening of my show at the coffee house, too! Stay for the evening, or just drop by. If you can't make it that evening, my work will be showing in the coffee house through late January.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Opening Tomorrow!

The Ontario Crafts Council Holiday Pop-Up Shop officially begins on Friday, running until Christmas Eve, but there's an opening preview event tomorrow evening (that's Thursday, Dec. 5), from 6:30-9:30pm at 990 Queen St. West.  There are about 30 participating makers, and I'm sure some of us will be there in person. 


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

New design

I got asked to make a little silk pouch for someone, which I have just done this week.  I really like the result, and am considering making a line of them in assorted colours - I'd appreciate some feedback, so let me know what you think!  I hope she likes it, too!

It's a simple, rectangular, flat, open top pouch, lined in grey silk on the inside, with a long cross-body strap. 



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Holiday Events

Updated my website yesterday with upcoming events.  There are 3 things coming up:

- I will be showing a few pieces in Port Credit's Guilty Dog Cafe in December & January
- My silk clutches will be available over the holiday season (starting soon), in the Port Credit Emporium
- Additional silk clutches will be available during the Ontario Crafts Council's Holiday Pop-up Craft Shop in their Queen Street gallery, Dec. 6-24

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Artisan Studio Tour

The Studio Tour is coming up soon - on Saturday & Sunday next weekend!  Go back to my Sept. 25 post, check my Facebook page, or follow my Twitter feed for updates all week.  Our stop, #4 on the tour, will have 6 artists including my friends and fellow Sheridan grads Noelle Hamlyn (textile artist), and Emma Gerard (glass and jewellery artist). 

Friday, October 11, 2013

Work in Progress

I am working on new clutches, intending to have them ready for the Studio Tour in a couple of weeks.  I listed one on Etsy the other day, rainbow stripes on a white background.  It seemed to make sense to have a rainbow on white one, as I'd already made some rainbow on black. 



I am also re-working the scarves, I think they work better opened up, rather than sewn in the round as 'tubes'. 

Lastly, I have been using up my accumulated small scraps of silk that I can't use in the clutches/butterflies, i started free-motion stitching them down onto a tear-away stabilizer, intending to use the results as bookmarks and on cards, but I like it so much, I've cut a couple of larger pieces from it, and will be making 'patchwork' clutches from those pieces, and using the rest as originally planned. 




Friday, October 4, 2013

Port Credit Emporium

Tonight from 7-10pm is Port Credit Emporium's 1st year party.  The theme is Mad Men, I'll be there with my silk clutches, and it sounds like there will be a lot going on. 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Coming Up

The studio tour is coming up on October 26 & 27, 10am-5pm each day.  There are 6 stops, I'll be at #4. 


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Art in the Park Show

The show on Sunday was great, the weather could have been warmer, but it stayed dry.  Here's a little peek at what it looked like, more pictures on my Facebook page!


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Arms 2 Arts

As part of Doors Open & Culture Days, there will be a number of artists in various media and subject matter showing at the Small Arms building at Dixie & Lakeshore in Mississauga, on September 28th.  I'm unfortunately not one of them, as I'm doing Art in the Park tomorrow, and felt that two weekends in a row was too much for me, but I know some of those who are participating. 

Monday, September 16, 2013

Art in the Park

On Sunday, September 22, 2013, I'll be participating in Art in the Park, at Riverwood (Visual Arts Mississauga), from 10am-5pm.  There are nearly 60 artists and various media attending, on the lawn, in the main building, and in the barn.  I will be in the barn, and will have my silk clutches, and cotton scarves with me.  

Friday, August 30, 2013

Sketches

I am working on a workshop/course proposal about sketchbooks...  It's a process, I want to be organized and there's a lot of things to look at.

Also, this weekend is the end of my show of my butterflies at Woodside Pottery & Gallery Craighurst in the Barrie, Ontario area.  There is a new show going up on Sept. 2.  They will continue to carry a few of my pieces, like my silk clutches. 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

The pop-up

I dropped by a pop-up jewellery show and sale at Port Credit Emporium on the 20th, which a friend of mine was taking part in. There were 3 jewellers in the show, which ran for 3 days. 

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Toronto Outdoor

This weekend (Friday-Sunday) is the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, a big art show downtown.  I was in the show in 2011, but not this year, so I went with another artist friend of mine who has done it too, to check out the show and visit some people we know.  Also ran into a few other friends who were dropping by the show.  The weather on Friday was rainy, but yesterday was sunny and hot. 



Friday, June 28, 2013

Artisan Studio Tour 2013

I've signed up to do the Mississauga Artisan Studio Tour again this fall, on October 26 & 27 in Port Credit.  You can get more detailed updates, map, participating artisans, etc. on my Facebook page, or the tour's website.  The paper brochures are being printed currently, I'll share when I get some in a few weeks.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Picture with strap on purse

Here's one of the silk bags with the strap attached.  My Etsy listings for the clutches indicate which colour the strap on each listed bag is - black (like this one), navy, gold, or beige.  The cross body style, as pictured here, measure about 46" (117cm) long.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Clutches with Straps

My silk clutch purses have now got straps.  The strap is 50-50 cotton viscose cord.  I have added shoulder/cross body straps to many of them, and wristlet straps to a few. 


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Gallery Craighurst

We took a trip up to Craighurst, ON, north of Barrie today to bring a selection of my work to Woodside Pottery & Gallery Craighurst.  The owner is a potter himself, and has his studio space attached to this gallery shop, in which he sells work by various artists and craftspeople, including his own work of course.  He visited the Spring OOAK show, where I had a small booth back in March.  He now has some of my butterflies, scarves, and silk clutches. 



Thursday, May 30, 2013

Plants, Flowers, Colour

Recently we've planted a bunch of new things in the garden, some herbs, vegetables, and flowers.  One that I was looking at last season was false indigo (Baptisia).  I just added a small one to the garden last week.  It can, apparently, be used as a dye plant, like 'true' indigo, though does not produce as good a blue colour.  I will have to wait until the plant is a bunch bigger, at least 2-3 growing seasons I think, before it's big enough to try it. It's got buds on it so once the flowers come out I'll share a picture.  I've also got rhubarb, beets (not a dye plant, but maybe a good stain?), red onions, and possibly other things that might make good dyes or stains.

Also, I'm going to be changing the layout of the blog shortly, so if you notice anything that isn't working properly, let me know?  Thanks!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Leaf Prints

So many plants have great shapes and textures.  Yesterday I was feeling a little badly about neglecting my artwork in favour of the outdoors, so I decided to bring the art outside.  I set up a little space on the patio table, newspapers as a table cover, a small sketchbook, old paintbrush, bottle of black India ink, brayer for pressing/rolling, and a small selection of leaves from the garden.  Especially in the breeze, the ink dries quickly, so only ink one piece at a time, but the idea is simple - brush the ink onto the leaf, top and/or bottom side, place on a blank page, cover with the next page or a scrap piece of paper, roll the brayer over top (this helps get a better print, though you can just rub with your hand or put some weight on the page), then gently open the page and remove the leaf to see the print.  If the first print had lots of ink, you can sometimes get a faint second print.  Here are two of the best ones from yesterday:


The first is celandine (a wild plant), the second is top and underside of lovage (an herb).

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Textile Museum

Friday and Saturday the Textile Museum of Canada (in Toronto) had its yardage sale fundraiser - they gather donated fabric, notions, patterns, garments, crafts, yarns, books, etc. and have a tent sale each May.  I went on Friday, and scored some super beige silk dupioni (which I use in both my butterflies, and my clutches), 4.6m + 1m for $20!  I also got two bags of wool fibre, and a cute frog pattern 'batik' style piece of quilting cotton. 




Thursday, May 23, 2013

Greetings!

Sorry it's been almost a month since I updated.  I've been working on adding and reorganizing my website content, gardening, cooking, watching soccer, and so on.  I've decided to add thin cord straps to my silk clutches, so I am working on those.  The MARTY Awards were handed out on May 9th, and you may remember I was nominated in the Creative Community category - I'm happy to tell you I received an honourable mention!  I also attended, and donated a silk clutch to, the Ontario Crafts Council's Maker Shaker cocktail party & silent auction fundraiser, a social media workshop, and hope to check out the Textile Museum's yardage sale this weekend. 

I have also been watching the spring birds, and have started a personal blog on that subject, so if you're interested in casual birdwatching, gardening, backyard wildlife, and such, you should follow!  Visit A Year of Birds

Saturday, April 27, 2013

One of a Kind Show Spring 2013 Recap

Back at the One of a Kind Show I received this gift from another vendor -- they are into real insect specimens, and had several of the same varieties of butterflies that I've made in fibre.  We had quite a chat about them.  This top left one is very similar to one I made a while ago.  The cocoons are from luna moths. 






These are from the One of a Kind Show, my booth during setup, the centre aisle feature display, and a closeup of some of my clutches, which were included in the feature display. 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Dinos!




A few images from the ROM's Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit.  It closed just yesterday, I was able to visit on March 8th, before the start of students' March Break.  :)

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Nine days to OOAK!

Just nine days to go until One of a Kind Toronto starts!  Thanks to the Mississauga Arts Council, Ontario Crafts Council, and Sheridan Alumni for mentioning me/the show in their e-newsletters!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

OOAK preparations

It's less than 3 weeks until the One of a Kind Show starts in Toronto, and I'm getting nervous and excited.  If you're in town, visit me at booth # O-28.  Meanwhile, here's a little peek at the things I have been working on lately. 
 





Monday, February 25, 2013

Monday Maker

The Ontario Crafts Council's Facebook page is featuring my work as their 'Monday Maker' today, based on my Portfolio of Makers profile on their website.  You can also see more of my work and info about me on my own website

Sunday, February 24, 2013

MARTY Awards

Some great talents are nominated for MARTY Awards this year, and I'm excited to be among them! I'm nominated in the Creative Community category, which is for art forms including fibre arts, spinning and weaving, tattoo art, jewellery, fashion arts, etc.  Vote for the People's Choice with your pick at the Mississauga Arts Council site Feb. 25-Apr. 1.  Awards are to be presented on May 9th. 

Friday, February 22, 2013

OOAK Booth Number

Just announced today, my Booth number for the Spring One of a Kind Show (March 27-31) in Toronto is O-28.  Hope to see you!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Etsy Treasuries & Colour Trends

It's been quite a while since I made any Etsy treasuries (collections of items based on a theme of the maker's choosing), so over the past couple of days I have made a whole bunch of them.  I based them on the Spring and Fall 2013 Pantone colour trends. 

SPRING
African Violet
Poppy Red
Nectarine
Lemon Zest
Tender Shoots
Emerald
Grayed Jade
Dusk Blue
Monaco Blue
Linen
Tidal Foam
Alloy
Sunflower
Vibrant Orange

FALL
Mykonos Blue
Linden Green
Acai
Samba
Koi
Deep Lichen Green
Vivacious
Turbulence
Carafe
Beaujolais

Sunday, February 3, 2013

One of a Kind Show Toronto

This March 27-31, I'll be participating in the Toronto One of a Kind Show!  Booth numbers aren't available yet, but it will be the Rising Stars section.  A number of other artisans I know will be there as well.  You can get discounted tickets ($1 off the online price, $3 off the on site price) here