Nostalgic: Wedding

I was getting nostalgic about our wedding today.  It happened a few years ago but, it was a really fun time.  We had a wedding with around 140 guests; we both have large families so 100 people were family and there were 40 friends.  It was a really intimate and fun time.  Everything went well and I just remember being really happy and having a blast.  

One fun thing we did was name our tables after bands we have seen (we love seeing bands); so there was the Oscar Peterson table, the Fatboy Slim table, the Sarah Mclachlan table, the Zero 7 table, the Barenaked Ladies table, etc.

The picture below is a photo of an ornate door decoration on the patio entrance of our location.  Unfortunately, the restaurant we had the reception/wedding at, has recently been sold.  Boo.

Sketch: March 30, 2008

I hung out with my family today.  My brother came back from an amazing trip, and had a slide show to go through the pictures and videos.  He's a really interesting guy; he is enthusiastic, energetic and super creative.  It was really good to see him today.  The sketch below is a bit of a departure from what I've been drawing lately, but it's a throwback to a decade ago.  When the art was well, a little more raw.

sunny weekend

Kittie and I spent the weekend mostly at home.  We did however go out to a grand opening of a mid-size local grocery store near our house.  Outside, they had volunteers from the Canadian Cancer Society (they are one of our favorite charities) selling daffodils.  How could we resist!

On a sidenote, I also purchased some fabric yesterday , and started creating a stuffed toy.  I finished the sewing yesterday, and began the processing of stuffing it today; around 95% done, I was so unhappy with how it was going that I couldn't bear to finish. :)  I have since, created a new pattern, and intend to restart.  I don't have a sewing machine, so I'm doing this by hand right now!  Sewing machine?  Sometime later, maybe.

Artist #4: Jenna Rose

One last artist that I loved very much @ the One of a Kind Show, was: Jenna Rose.  She is a printmaker and textile creator.  Her prints are then turned into fantastic products.  My favorite is definitely the Audrey Hat, which I have shown below:

Sketch: March 28, 2008

The weather here in Toronto is warming up.  The big pile of snow on our little front lawn is almost all gone.  Springtime is upon us!  Tomorrow is the Earth Hour.  Our city is participating, and we will be shutting down all our lights and electricity for 1hour!  I think it will be beautiful! Let's see how many of us will participate!

Sketch: March 27, 2008

I found out about this new craft show in Montreal called Pomme Pomme (via Toronto Craft Alert).  It takes place in mid-July.  Right now I think I'd like to definitely be a visitor, still thinking about whether I should apply to join the craft show.  It happens a week after the jazz festival (boo, doesn't line up) and it looks like Woody Allen is going to be at the jazz festival performing clarinet.  Yes, you read that right!  I made a quick sketch below.  I have been inspired by wallpaper and patterns.  So I thought I'd give it a try here:

Artist #3: LU Prints

LU prints had some pretty kitchen linens and clothing at the One of a Kind Show.  They screen print their designs onto fabric.  We really liked Ulla's work.  We ended up buying a handkerchief which we plan to frame and add to our gallery at home.  She's from the West Coast, so it must have been a long trek to get out here!  I'm glad she came!

Sketch: March 26, 2008

I entered the haiku contest at yougrowgirl a few weeks ago.  I wonder how I will do, it's been some time since I wrote a poem.  :-)

I drew a sketch, I'm really into fuscia lately.  That was the color Kittie picked for our wedding, black and fuscia!

Artist #2: One of a Kind Show

I first saw Emma Nishimura and her work @ the Artist Project a few weeks ago.  I really really liked her work.  It is so simple, but it captures an essence of the subject.  I love the prints of the bird with the wave.  She was also featured in an interview at the One of a Kind Show: here.

I assembled a collage of some of her art, you should check out her work for yourself.  It is really beautiful.  When I was at the Artist Project, she was by-far my favorite artist there.  It's really neat.  She does her work at Open Studio, it's an artist run Fine Art Print Making Centre.  I find the artistic process so intriguing, I'd love to do some screen printing.  Enjoy her work, and visit her site!

Sketch: March 24, 2008

I will feature four artists that I just loved at the One of a Kind Show over this week.  The first one was from Montreal, Quebec.  (If I had to replant myself, my friends, my family and my work in a different city, that city would be Montreal).  They made some amazing plush toys with an eco sensibility: Velvet Moustache.  There's also an interview of them here.  They were fun, and they let our little girl play around with the plush soccer ball and stuffed toys with such a good spirit.

Cupcakes = Delicious + Satisfying!

Kittie made two dozen cupcakes with buttercream icing on Friday {thank you!}.  It was completely satisfying to come home from the show today and enjoy not one, but two cupcakes. {Afternoon tea is absolutely our favorite meal of the day.}

Toronto: One of a Kind Show

We went to the One of a Kind Show today in Toronto.  We loved it!  There were so many great artisans and people browsing.  I will post some of my favorite artisans up later during the week, but for now, here are two photos:  [1] monster factory toy {I really really love this company, I was given the Kyle plush for Christmas one year, go figure} and [2] mackenzie at the front display.

New Print in the Shop: Etude de la chute libre

I added a new print to the shop!  It is a Pink Martini inspired piece, with a little bit of a French twist (also as an nod to my Canadian'ness).  I hope you enjoy it, I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

March 21, 2008

Sketch: March 20, 2008

Sketch: March 19, 2008

black birds on branch.

Jorg and Olif

I really love this bike-maker: Jorg and Olif.  They are based in Vancouver, and they make this neat Dutch City Bike.

Monday, March 17

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  

blurry and quickly

Our daughter is growing up quickly. It feels like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. Later this year she will turn two. Time is flying like a blur... I just want to stay in these moments forever.

p i n k m a r t i n i

We saw one of our favorite bands in Toronto downtown last night: Pink Martini. They were absolutely amazing. It was the first time we have ever seen them perform. They're a large band, but they sound like a mini orchestra: violin, harp, piano, voice, trumpet, etc.

It was inspirational to see these folks live. The trombonist moved me...

Sketchbook Project

I signed up for the Sketchbook Project this week.  It's an art show held in Atlanta.  You register and they will send you a moleskin sketchbook which you fill in and send back to them to participate in a gallery.  The topic: How to Save the World.  This is very exciting, I am thinking about all the things that I could do!  

Rockstar Drummers: Red & Blue

I added two new prints to the shop.  They are little rockerstar drummers!

Toronto Artist Project

The snow hasn't stopped at all.  In fact, it is still falling and will continue falling until tomorrow night.  We braved our way into the city today to see the Toronto Artist Project.  There weren't many visitors on this wintery day.  It was a beautiful art show, with a wide variety of artists and a great venue.

There were two or three artists that really moved me a lot (Phil, Emma and Emily).  It was nice being able to speak with these artists, to understand their work and process.  It was an inspiring art show.  I now just want to play and create and see where things go.

Here's the snow I am talking about non-stop (this is a picture taken from my kitchen window):

sketch: march 7 / 08 and Dinosaur-love

The snow is coming down in Toronto. We do really love the snow. We are expecting another 30cm over the next 24hours. This year has been a record year of snowfall. We originally planned to go downtown tomorrow to visit the Royal Ontario Museum, but now we may hold off due to the weather. (I would still like to go see Dinosaurs tomorrow! We are members, so we do get to go often! But who can pass up the thought of Dinosaurs??)

Here's another sketch:

sketch: march 5 / 08

I have been busy with the prints tonight. I have almost completed one of them, and still have two more to go. I plan to print them, and take photographs of them this weekend. It should be ready for Sunday: that's the target! I'm excited!

I do think that in addition to writing about things, it would be fun to also try putting some sketches up here. Here's one, inspired by circles, balloons and fun! I was thinking about bridges and friendship when I drew this.

Stephan Moccio and Denzal Sinclaire

Tonight, Kittie and I spent a nice evening out to see Stephan Moccio and Denzal Sinclaire at the Markham Theatre. It was the first time I ever watched a show at the Markham Theatre. It was fantastic. The two are both soloists: Denzal performed first, he's a jazz musician from Toronto. He has a smooth voice, and a delicate soft jazz style. I'm no expert, but it was very moving, with a throwback to an old jazz sound; I really liked his performance. Kittie and I listened to his My One and Only Love CD a lot during the first few months after Mackenzie was born. With blues and reds, and the Steinway & Sons grand piano, it was fantastic.

Stephan is a songwriter, but he's also a great performer. He was an artist I had never heard of until tonight. His piano styling is inspiring, emotional and moving. I really enjoyed his pieces. He is doing very well on the charts right now in Canada. You should check out his stuff. One of his songs: porcelain was written for his wife and baby daughter. It was a delicate song, with a lot of tenderness and love. He has had a very interesting life, and his anectodes are really funny and engaging.

During the evening, I would slip off into the corners of my mind. There I would sit and play with words and images. Y'know what I mean? It was just inspiring to hear these fellows play with such raw emotion and feeling. I will get back there, but it will take time.

A great e-zine

I found a great ezine today from Design for Mankind. It is very inspiring and a beautiful collection of images and text. You have to check it out! I found it from Sylvia May's website. I will probably contact Erin (Design for Mankind) to see if I can participate in the next e-zine!

I posted a picture from the zine here, I hope Erin doesn't mind. Enjoy!

Too much cooking, not enough Etsy

Weekends go by wayyy too fast. I have been trying to finish off a collection of four prints so that I can put them up on the shop. These prints have taken a week or so already, but I think they are pretty fun and a little more progressive. However other more important things have been coming up than completing my art.

For instance: cooking. I love to cook probably as much as I like to make art. And unfortunately, art-making has to take second seat to cooking. Not cooking will impact some pretty important and immediate family members if not taken care of in a proper way. Right, Kittie?

Although this blog is relatively young in age, a large % of my posts have revolved around cooking and/or eating. This post continues in that vein (I guess I really really like food). Today, was another visit to BVB cafe. Oh man, another cappucino, and a tasty dessert! I brought a novel with me: it is by Neil Gaiman called Interworld; I sat in the cafe for probably 45min reading it. I'm 1/3 of the way through, and it's hilarious and quick paced like a movie.

Afterwards, we headed back to my mom and dad's, spent some time with family then came back up to Markham. I immediately I got started on two dishes:

1. Osso Bucco (Lamb Shank Stew) to cook tonight, and to eat tomorrow (and to distribute to Kittie's family)
2. Tasty Pasta Sauce for Penne

Last summer, a few of our friends got together and we made our own Tomato sauce! Our first annual Tomato Sauce Day was a great success! We each came out of that event with 26 or 27 one litre jars of sauce. It took an entire day to make, but the sauce tastes fresh and we know that it is of high quality (at least we believe so!). :) Hopefully the first annual event, won't end up being our last annual Tomato sauce day event.

Dinner was good, and the Osso Bucco is resting up for it's big reveal tomorrow! I love Osso Bucco, it's great comfort food.

Toronto's Queen West

We really love going into the city whenever we can find the time; in our P.B. (pre-baby) days, we would probably head into the city a couple of times a month. We're now getting back into the swing of things after the long parenthood-lose-all-our-friends drought, and have emerged from hermit-hood, and can now foray back into the city! Yay!

Toronto's downtown is a decent size, with many different cultural attractions, restaurants, clubs/bars and enough shopping to keep us happy. We were heading down to see the Ossington district, but when we got to Queen West just west of Bathurst, we knew we had to stop. This was definitely a good stop for us.

Our friends opened Balisi two years ago on College street, and just opened their second store, two weeks ago on Queen West. Their store is fantastic in the product that they carry (shoes, clothes, accessories), and also in how they have designed the store. It is progressive, comfortable and very trendy. We haven't seen them since the first store opening and it was great to catch up!

Another store that we came upon that we really like was Kol Kids. They carry some different products than the ones that you might see in some of the big box kids stores. It also appears to me that they carry interesting products from a variety of small indie designers (go handmade!). We really liked this store for its quality of selection, indie promotion and good service. We bought Mackenzie a music box called Busy Bug Music Box. It's so cute!

We love this place! As usual, as part of our day, Kittie and I managed to duck into a cafe for a quiet read of today's paper over a vanilla latte and a cappucinno! We do love our little cafes. On a side-note, tomorrow is another visit to my parents, which means: we're going back to BVB Cafe for more coffee and dessert! We're already thinking about it! Yes, we are piglets. :)

Smoked Salmon Fruttatta

We hosted a Saturday brunch this morning! Kittie was the chef, and I was in the sous-chef role today. Menu:

1. Blueberry Scones

2. Smoked Salmon Fruttatta (recipe from Barefoot Contessa)

3. Sausages

4. Fresh Fruit (Grapes & Oranges)

It was a really good time preparing the food, and having Kittie's family over. We ended up using 16 eggs for the Fruttatta, so we're well on our way to using up the 4 dozen eggs that Kittie has stocked up in our fridge. Kittie's family is really great to have over, they are an easy going group, and squeezing 8 of us around our table designed for 6 is always a fun-time. :) Take a look at Kittie's creations and some of the various stages of the brunch below. They were definitely tasty. I am getting hungry looking at these pictures!