sebtemper

i felt a change last week, maybe the planets shifted, & that feeling of september hit me

i started working on the unfinished projects that lived in my closet for a long time

and suddenly i've thought of all kinds of things to blog about

it feels like i will be changing colours soon

 

paper leaves by owen gildersleeve

berndnaut smilde

USUALLY when I come across some new work 

by someone i've never seen before 

at least one aspect reminds me of someone else's work that I know very well

but in the case of berndnaut smilde

I am reminded of many different artists' work

I find this type of diversity of interest, and of style to be a very powerful thing

NO TAX!

the POPUP is now OPEN! 1801 Danforth Ave.

we are thrilled to be selling all these gems

that have been hibernating in the closet Oh So Long

vintage attire & décor + handmade jewelery + artist multiples

enjoy NO TAX this weekend only Dec 7-9

Friday Dec 7         12-7

Saturday Dec 8     12-6

Sunday Dec 9         1-5

virginia kraljavic

i came across the illustration of new-york artist, virginia kraljavic

after being severely charmed by her personality + her sweater 
in this etsy symposium video

 i highly recommend watching this 

if you are interested in the world of making/selling

funny & cute & clever & fun

see more + buy from her website

giant pom

i had a vision, to string up a grand amount of pom-poms

in the space up our up-coming POP-UP shop

then i considered the amount of time i have to get ready for this sale

in relation to the amount of work i have to do (hahaha)

next followed the dream of making one GIANT POM

to hang like a chandelier in the middle of the room

i did some research on how to accomlish this

and i came across this gem:

my dream pom!! made by chicago based artist, ellen nielsen

she made this video showcasing the pom machine she constructed to realize the work

its not a full tutorial, but an idea of where to start in order to save time 

or i suppose i could make a giant version 

of the classic pom-pom diy

full diy found here

julia hepburn

today after visiting the rent-able akin collective studios at 87 wade ave in toronto

 i oogled the AKIN collective website and discovered:

the fantastical paintings/dioramas of Julia Hepburn

"In my work, I attempt to reclaim the innocence and curiosity of childhood.
 

Each compartmentalized piece displays a single scene with virtually no context. 

Viewers are encouraged to use their imaginations in order to develop a narrative explaining the scene.

The use of small, doll-sized scenes, not only draws people in physically, but also makes the darker imagery less threatening, permitting the viewer to assign a wide range of moods to the work depending on their personal interpretation."

 this installation was produced for 

the Gladstone Hotel's 2011 'Come Up To My Room'

 Hepburn studied fine-arts at mcmaster university in hamilton

she works full-time in toronto as a visual artist

although i have never seen any of this work in real time

i was truly enamored with all pieces i viewed on her website

it was really tough to narrow down what to include...make sure you check it out

guest post: MELSE'S HAWT CHICAGO TRAVEL TIPS

1. Take the green-line to Oak Park, not only for the Frank Lloyd Wrights, but to have a glimpse of the urban blight and brownfields that form a ring around the city proper.  Chicago is a city of skyscrapers, but everything drops off dramatically past the city core, which makes for both a visible inequity of wealth and a densely festooned downtown. Some much needed perspective. 

2. You CANNOT see the Art Institute in less than a whole day.  You just cant, unless 4.55pm appeals to you.  You come for the Seurat (huge! unexpected border!) and the Toulouse-Lautrec (creamy-bright!) and that's all fine and well, but they have a section on midcentury black American photographers and a room devoted to miniature rooms. MINIATURE ROOMS. Those two alone will set you back like three hours...

3. North Dearborn is the swishy Italian resturant mecca. Be prepared to drop your rent money and grin like an idiot the whole time.  I have never tasted such food. (or unoaked riesling)

 

4. Take the architecture boat tour. Take the architecture boat tour.  

Take the architecture boat tour. I would LIVE on that boat if they let me. 

5. You can walk three abreast on the street without bothering anyone.  It's okay.  After the fire they made the side-walk extra wide, presumably for people like you.

6. Try to sneak into as many building lobbies as you can. They're usually totally beautiful inner sanctums of Chicago School-era peace and tranquility.  Gold art deco elevators abound. 

7. What the hell is it with these people and oatmeal?  It's on practically every menu. 

I bet the italian restaurant would carry it if it could.  Oatmeal is disgusting. 

8. Sit in Frank Lloyd Wright's studio.  Eat sun chips. 

all photos sourced from the Chicago Postcard Museum

Melse is a genius / old friend / walking thesaurus

who should have her own blog--- she is a great (hilarious) writer, a gifted web-surfer, and one with many quaint affections. 

poilu

 

perfect product packaging 

 

by freelance designer simon laliberté of montréal

 

 

via more design please

samantha hahn

while hunting for hair style ideas on 'she lets her hair down'

i really loved the dreamy accompanying how-to illustrations

by samantha hahn

 

she lets her hair down video tutorials: 

osez le chignon décalé

la vague glam années 40

l'art du chignon express

♥  ♥  ♥

people vs. places

 

a photographic collaboration by timothy burkhart + stephanie bassos

"Stephanie exposes a full roll of 35mm film of only "people," 

...Timothy reloads the film again into the same camera, 

to imprint only "places" and locations to the same roll. 

 These images are all the end result of our ongoing series 

and are unedited negatives straight from the camera."

 

 

 

see more here

l'halloween

october is here! 

did you think about what you'd like to be for halloween???

(maybe you should be a tube of toothpaste)

i'm always delighted when i find a friend 

who knows what they want to be this far in advance

it means they've probably been thinking about it since last year

 an 80's bride would be fun

an elderly person is an easy last minute costume

this year i will go as frida kahlo

i'd really like to go as this girl from the fever ray video 'when i grow up'

...but no one would know who i was

jan ollner

I came across the solo show of Jan Ollner at OZ Studio

just in time to try to recruit you to go see it

it's 100% wonderful

The paintings are derived from a large sequence of photographs taken by the artist

while engaging in conversation with his subjects

"The result is a body of work that's as much about photography as it is about painting"

End of Discovery is Ollner's first solo show

 The show ends September 30th, 2012

but luckily it coincides with Nuit Blanche which is occurring tonight!

OZ Studio is located at 134 Ossington Ave.

(it will be open until around 1am September 29th, 2012)

  Jan Ollner has BFA in Studio Art from Concordia

and lives in Toronto, Canada 

toronto hyperbolic crochet reef

toronto hyperbolic crochet reef

is a collective project of endless crochet for the city of Toronto:

inspired by dr. daina taimina's work in hyperbolic crochet

& the projects of the institute for figuring in LA

the toronto reef is one in a great confluence of reefs worldwide

the reef is run and mostly built by

angelune des lauriers, shannon gerard, kalpna patel, and becky johnson, 

but remains open to coral contributions from anyone in the city

 

the reef is not currently exhibiting