artists' flea market, part the second.

aitor and i spent another day in katharine mulherin's lovely gallery space today hocking our wares and meeting new folks. it was less bitter cold than last week, and there was certainly more bustle about.



it's been a pretty sweet four-week experiment (with its terminus next sunday). i really get excited about art and craft interminglings. katharine also has big things planned for next weekend's wrap-up. as i said last time, these events are small but very worth checking out. there is a feeling of undiscoveredness all around, be it rifling through people's old stuff or encountering new artists. i also really like the revelatory nature of displaying one's art alongside one's cast-offs. it really reveals a lot about the artists in a way that never occurred to me at other flea markets. maybe the gallery just inspires such contemplation. but speaking of discovering things,...





today i was extra excited to encounter the personage and work of one sarah mcneil, a recent toronto transplant from australia. her work certainly spans the art/craft gap with an aesthetic and sense of humour that both appeal to me greatly.

i purchased one of her zines and read it to myself on the short streetcar ride home. it was the perfect length to take me stop-to-stop which reminded of how the time it takes to get from the land of point to the pointless forest is directly proportional to the time it takes to sing a song (big props if you get that allusion - it also means we shared a part of our childhoods).





just look at that table of contents. how could i not be smitten? after my chance encounter with mia nolting in portland and with ray fenwick's hall of best knowledge on my bedside table, i am beginning to feel surrounded by a comforting swirl of lists and charts and text as art. and i will tell you something: it feels good.

issues of security in america's new dawn.

envelopes are still trickling in from collection phase one. it's nice. the pace is easier to keep up with and the security envelope project has gone back to being a loving process to me (i react poorly to being beholden).

above is the new pattern i found in a contribution from frank in indiana. i have seen this pattern before but never in red. i love it!

in a recent letter, my friend melissa brought up the idea that i should bring this project to the states, what with the connotations of security there these days. of course, i had considered these themes before but they were not central in my artistic motivations for this project. regardless of that, she's right; security seems to be on everyone's minds these days in one way or another (american or not). i like the notion that these scraps of paper could keep us all safe. i think it's working for me. there is a security in being focused on a project or goal. well, it's one of the best kinds of security i have come upon in my creative life, at any rate.

happenings far away (that i have a light involvement in).

trampoline hall pie by margaux williamson

A few things have been piling up in my inbox and mind - things to which i have vague allegiances or have subtle involvements in, but all things happening outside of toronto that i will not be able to attend.

firstly, i am busily hammering out buttons for the vancouver installment (premiere?) of the trampoline hall lectures. misha is flying out there to do a one-night-only presentation of the show, curated by veda hillie, as part of the push festival. my old frined johnny b will be manning the merch table, with buttons made especially for the event and trampoline hall's ubiquitous comic book zine. go say hi! the information is kind of hidden on the push website, so i recommend checking out the facebook event for details.

little mountain crest by ehren salazar

on february 13, avncouver's little mountain studios will be putting on their first off-site event with a night of the hidden agenda variety show at the waterfront theatre. my involvement in the birth of hidden agenda is so convoluted that i won't even go into it. but i can say that i have looked over the line-up and it seems pretty awesome. in my opinion, you should never miss a chance to see ehren salazar do anything. the creaking planks (who i just saw perform on my last visit to vancouver) are also a sight to behold. and the waterfront is such a lovely venue. it's one of my favorites in vancouver.

berner/wiseman poster by tyler brett

and finally, coming up in march, is an amazing little show in bruno, saskatchewan, that i am allowed to claim some kind of involvement in. i didn't really do anything to make this show happen, but did serve as the connective tissue between bob and the good folks at all citizens. aside from looking like it will be an amazing show, this event also gets to serve the added purpose of fulfilling mr. wiseman's lifelong dream of performing in bruno. although i do not know mr. berner (or i don't think i do), i have long been a fan of his music and have even read his book on accordion playing which is very funny and will make you a genius.

city of craft snowstorm t-shirt party.

i already used the best camus humour i could muster on the city of craft blog so i am not exactly sure what existentialist sales pitch is left for me and these shirts. i was hoping to convince the world that our new merch could protect a body from frostbite and hypothermia...or feelings of disillusionment. what do i need to say to convince you of that? or will these pictures work?

with the snow mageddoning down again today, i decided it was high time to drag my life partner out into the fray to take some pictures of these brand spanking new tees, fresh off shannon gerard's able squeegee. the image comes to us courtesy of caitlyn murphy, up-and-coming illustrator to the stars, who orginally made the design for our 2008 city of craft show programs. we decided it was lovely enough to merit a slightly less ephemeral incarnation...so now you can wear it on your chest! you will also be able to wear it under your arm, but i don't have pictures of the new tote bags yet. they look pretty swank, though (hemp and cotton blends have really grown up).



these will be making their real world debuts at the love and rummage trunk show in a week and a bit, so you can ogle and molest them there. there is some chatter that city of craft may also be launching a humble etsy shop, too. well, i made one. now we just need to sort out the logistics of filling it with goodies. out of curiosity, would anyone here be interested in such a thing?



thanks to caitlyn, shan and aitor for being so helpful with this project. hopefully this will keep all of toronto stylish and crafty at the same time. unless life is meaningless, that is.

your heart may be cold, but your neck will be warm.

i have just finished and photographed a veritable heap of crocheted neck warmers. if you are the type of person who likes to peruse woolens on the internet, you can ogle here.



these tracheal cozies will be available at the upcoming love and rummage trunk show, next saturday's artists' flea market (just confirmed) and then at the good catch general store in toronto. if you live out of town, and one of these guys catches your fancy, feel free to get in touch. i can provide you with things like measurements, fibre contents (they are all natural) and shipping quotes.



what better way to say i love you in the middle of winter that by warming a throat? it sure beats candy hearts and stuffed bears with glossy hearts sewn to their hands.

also, i know that katharine is still looking for a few vendors for next sunday's flea market. perhaps you are interested?

parting the curtains and singing of love.

above are some very special one-off versions of the love porn buttons by emma segal that i made for the very special folks at worn fashion journal.

these bad boys (and girls) will be slipping their way into the swag bags being handed out to the first twenty five attendees of worn's heartbreak karaoke fundraiser being held at the cameron house on valentine's day proper.

i don't know that i will be in attendance, as valentine's day is my birthday and i prefer to hide under a rock and avoid the panic and forced whimsy of a day i have complicated feelings about.

i will be turning 75 this year, so condolences and funeral wreaths are being accepted as of now.

artists' flea market.

for me and the reverend, today's major activity was the artists' flea market at katherine mulherin contemporary art projects. i am not going to lie to you, potential participants, it was a rather slow day. but i didn't feel the day was wasted, by any means. i completed 25 neck warmers while there (i love to crochet and hate to sew buttons) and made some good connection with people who don't normally interact with the craft scene.



also, katherine has an incredible curatorial ability (obviously) and access to artists that most events of this format will not have. she plans to continue these events every satuday and sunday through february 8th, with a different line-up every time.



will i do it again? i am not sure. but i will definitely make a point of attending as much of the rest of the series as i can, and encourage you to do the same. there are some astronomical art deals to be had, and it's all being sold alongside the artists' used gloves. it's a nice situation all around. and katherine has mulled cider on hand, to boot.