The Birth of DEAD Shakespeare

My most recent piece was inspired by a list of things. It's been coming together for a several weeks, I guess. Started as a simple sketch for fun, developed into a final piece I'm very excited about. I feel this piece will lead to many more similar ones.

Several Saturdays ago, I lazily sketched out a skull without much thought. I added some wig-like hair. All of a sudden, the sketch became a dead Shakespeare.

One sunny Sunday afternoon, a couple weeks later, I ventured to Chapters with a friend who's asked me to illustrate some children's book she's writing. We went to the graphic novel/comic section looking for ideas. I came across a comic that caught my eye - bright, youthful colours, beautiful type work, unusual layouts - The Death Ray by Daniel Clowes. Published by Mtl's own Drawn and Quarterly and soon to be made into a movie. Clowes also wrote Ghost World! And man, do I love the colours. These jpg's don't do them justice but these are the colours that inspired DEAD Shakespeare.

Last week I was looking through pictures from En Masse and Station 16's recent visit to the Fountain Art Fair in NYC. I came across a photo of the back of a van that they were all painting on. Some beautiful typo work. I found out yesterday, from my buddy EARTH CRUSHER, that the work was done by an Mtl artist named What is Adam.

Here's a pic of that awesome typo!

Check out this great vid by Fred Caron, showcasing En Masse and Station 16 at the Fountain Art Fair:

En Masse @ NYC x Fountain Art Fair from Fred Caron on Vimeo.

I let the thoughts wander a few days and voila - they just melded together to form the base for this new piece.

Love how unexpected the creative process is.

Here's the final result:

Art Deco does Osheaga Part 2

Hi Internet World - writing you from an exhausted, over-worked, and creatively stimulated state.

The poster I showed you all last week (inspired by A.M. Cassandre) focused on the crowd and the sickeningly cool people that go to Osheaga. This poster emphasizes the preforming acts and their grandeur/star appeal as they reign over Mtl during the Osheaga weekend.

Inspired by Herbert Matter, photographer, teacher, designer, and so much more, from the art deco era. Not as proud of this one as I am of the first I posted but I think the duo is great! Very much what I envisioned.

Here's part 2 of my Art Deco inspired Osheaga poster project:



And here's my inspiration by Herbert Matter:

Teachers For Hope!

I'm working on another project for my loving mother. She is always so incredibly supportive of my artistic and graphic endeavours!

This is a poster for a fundraiser called the Teachers For Hope being put on by Bishop's University School of Education.
A great event: delicious meal, live entertainment, silent art auction. Proceeds go to supporting the Bishop's/Champlain Refugee-Student Sponsorship Committee and the Kibena Women's Association of Njombe, Tanzania.

This isn't the final draft (Yes, I'm still living in 2010 apparently...), but you'll get a good idea of what the final version will look like!

If any of you are in Sherbrooke on the weekend of the 26th - treat yourself to a great meal and some beautiful art to support a great cause!

It's a new dawn, it's a new day

It doesn't happen to me every year, but right now, I'm definitely feeling the New Year's Blues. That nostalgia that kicks in around Dec 30th is sweeping through my thoughts, causing me to be lethargic, moody and feel isolated. I know some of it has to do with the fact that I had an incredibly hectic (and definitely enjoyable) month of December, and now I have only to relax until I start school on Jan. 10th. I know it also must have a little something to do with the fact that I didn't speak to one of my best friends during the month of December (we got into a disagreement that we both sat on for longer than usual). But I think at the core, this feeling of New Year's Blues has to do with the fact that 2010 was just the... best year ever, how could I even try to top it?

I felt so positive this past year. Thriving during my last semester of Marketing, moving in with Peter, going to Italy, getting a great position as a teacher's assistant, deciding to study graphic design and subsequently, thriving in my graphic design courses. And now, this year is all over. I fear that I may loose my momentum. I fear that growing older may cause me to become harder, more jaded, less positive.

I'm realizing more and more that life is tough - money, relationships, competition, stress, deadlines... they all get to you. Doesn't that hard exterior and pessimism just come with age?? After all, I am on the verge of 25, shouldn't an "aged" negativity be kicking in permanently at some point soon? (A fear I mull over on at least a weekly basis).

Since I was a young girl, I always told myself (and honestly believed), that I could do anything and that I could live a happy and fulfilled life. This is a sentiment that I've brought with me into my 20's. As I come into contact with more and more unhappy and jaded people, I realize that my hopes of being fulfilled with my career choices and happy in my relationships, will be much harder to achieve than the 10 year old me, and even 23 year old me would believe. I've realized in the last couple of years that some people just end up on the wrong path, and they don't even notice it until they're middle-aged and completely down on themselves. This is possibly my biggest fear.

It's easy to fall into a rut. It's easy to fall into routines and not push boundaries. It's easy to believe that the worst will happen and not put yourself out there. It's easy to fear rejection and criticism. And as I've learnt more recently, It's easy to fall into line and travel down a predetermined life path - make career choices based on upper management or societal pressures, make life choices based on pleasing the people around you rather than yourself, mold yourself into who others want or need you to be.

As I enter into this deciding year, a year during which I will complete my design diploma, start my career in graphic design, move into my second and larger home with my boyfriend, I find it essential to be in tune with my emotions and remind myself that I am not mediocre - in my choices or my creations. I will not take the easy path. I want to go into this year with as much enthusiasm and grit as the hard-headed, 10 year old me would have devoted to it.

Yes, it is normal to lament on all the great things past, so I will absorb the feeling of loss for today. Then, I will move on. This post is to remind me to look forward, and remind me to keep my mind, energy & positivity in the NOW. It will be difficult to keep up my momentum, and it will be easier to succumb to pressures and become what others need me to be. I need to remind myself that I'm on a mission here - to be happy. Just because I'm getting older, doesn't mean I need to get negative and jaded. This is a mantra I know I'll have to repeat on countless occasions throughout my life. It's not easy to stay true to yourself, keep your positive energy up, thrive from the stress rather than become defeated. Yes, those negative habits can take over and you wake up one day feeling as though your life is not where you want it to be. But I want to believe that if you put the effort into envisioning your life as you want it, and work at it with a positive outlook, things will work out in your favour. Outcomes have less to do with their impact on you and more to do with your impact on them. I have control over my emotions and my emotions shape my life.

2011 is mine for the taking!

First Impressions

So, if you didn't know, faithful readers (Hello? Are you out there somewhere?), I started school up again! Yay!!! Graphic Design at InterDec College. Hence the lack of blog posts and my inability to watch the last 3 episodes of Big Brother. Team Lane!

I won't lie, my first impressions of the institution where I'm presently undertaking my diploma were.... well, pretty harsh. They definitely made me question the decision to take out two loans in order to finance this endeavour.

Out of the 5-6 people who I've dealt with within the Administration, half of them have mislead me, half of them seemed confused, and the majority have prominent lisps. Not to mention that they file documents (I'm talking serious documents here) in paper file folders which get passed around between seemingly incompetent individuals. Obviously I'm prejudice since I am of the generation of constant computer usage and a non-stop, hook up to some form of technology; nonetheless, having my precious documents just floating around in file folders, makes me rather nervous. Electronic signatures anyone? I'm also rather worried about them loosing my documents since a close friend who attended Lasalle warned me that the administration has a reputation of "misplacing" important forms...
I dealt with a man at financial aid who was pushy, condescending and who appeared full-on bothered to be answering my simple questions. According to him, the answers were very apparent and I was the one who should figure it out. I spent a couple of weeks tormented trying to figure out my loan situation, calling the government's (incredibly crappy) financial aid office and leaving phone messages for the jerk who help me (that were never answered).
All in all, I was a little worried right off the bat, my sense of cognitive dissonance was strong due to the cost of the schooling and I wanted to feel secure in my decision and have faith in the people who were tending this next step in my educational career.

I jumped the gun a little with the negativity, I hadn't yet started school after all!

Day one:
Ok, so Interdec College is connected to Lasalle College, which means fashion departments, marketing/administration departments, esthetics departments, food/service departments, and finally, the design departments. All in all, some serious cliques and some serious styles. Literally 40% of the school is rocking the highly trendy and disturbing "half shaved head". Judgmental looks all around. Double kisses going off left and right. Leggings, leggings, leggings, oversized salvation army sweaters, glasses without lenses, fake combat boots and many, many, many, gay boys. I was a little intimidated.

Classes throughout the first week were slow to start off. Alot of explaining, reading of outlines, discussing needed materials, going over cellphone usage rules. There are so many rules at this school! Almost felt like I was back in highschool,... well, a much more stylish highschool. You'd think that students who are paying such a high fee to attend the classes would actually act as if they want to be there. I quickly learned that there are several of my colleagues who just don't give a f____. Texting away, facebooking, not listening to explanations, not understanding simple directions, not knowing how to use a ruler (???? seriously people?!). And after all that, turning to me to find out the specifics of what needs to be done - ummm helllll no! Needless to say, I definitely stand out and I know, with confidence, that this is an opportunity for me to shine. There will be no timidity from me, thank you very much! I'm not going to hold back from answering every single question asked by the professor.

And so week one began, me sitting at the front of every class, chatting up the professors on breaks, answering all the questions directed to the class and basking in the positive after effects of my marketing degree: the knowledge, the marketing mindset, the terminology, the ability to multi-task, the ability to study/complete homework on time/still have time to relax, the ability to follow directions and read assignments before asking questions, all of which aided in my "star" status in classes. All in all, not to gloat (although, why not gloat? I have worked rather hard to get here), but I feel as though I am far ahead of a few of the other students.

Now on to the positives of InterDec, because I do feel rather thrilled about how these past two weeks have gone!

Firstly, the teachers:
Approachable, positive, happy to be teaching, professionals in their field, eager to give advice, encouraging of creativity/thinking outside the box/controversial artwork, eager for participators, welcoming of conversation with students. I truly feel as though I have a lot of learn from these people and hopefully, some valuable contacts to be made as well.

Secondly, the classes:
Creativity, Colour Theory, Design Rules, Page Layout 1, Maquettes and Mock-ups, Image Processing!
Although I may be a little ahead in the theory of some of these courses, I'm enjoying every step of the learning process. I don't want to miss a thing! Gotta get back to the basics. Feels incredible to sit down and draw for 4 hours and have that be my class. Pretty much my heaven.
A homework assignment I've been working on this week for my creativity class - Draw a Volkswagen Beetle with these 5 following personalities: Irreverence, Pain, Confused, Athletic, Bored, Pain.

Also exciting about the classes, throughout the 1st semester, the majority of our work is done on drafts tables. The Profs want us to feel inspired by our own creativity and brainstorming rather than by google search or the computer design programs. It's enlightening. It's made me realize just how much I turn to the internet for inspiration with projects.

All in all, it's starting to pick up and it's really starting to be fun, super fun in fact. I'm enjoying all aspects, even the most mundane (measuring, aligning, drawing boxes). And I can already feel my creativity flowing beyond my school projects, I've been taking pictures, drawing, coming up with ideas for art, coming up with ideas for my T.A.-ing.

I feel great!

The Calm Before the Storm

School begins in exactly 3 weeks! So this is pretty much the lull before the big bang. And this also feels like pretty much, the end of my prehistory. The end of my prologue. After this, who knows. This next year will change everything! The next year will start my new chapter.

I cannot wait to be submersed in an intensive graphic design program with passionate artists surrounding my everyday! I feel so happy and assured. Definitely not the feelings I had when I initially made the decision to go back to school. A few weeks ago, the fear of being beyond broke (with a massive loan over my shoulders) greatly overshadowed the excitement. The truth is that this is an investment in my future, albeit, a very large one. But forget the money, this is the necessary step. This is what I gotta do to get where I wanna be! The professor I'm assisting's words are ringing in my head: "Go for the jugular, don't be passive, don't think about the money - just focus on putting yourself where you need to be, who do you want to be in 20 years?". She gives me lots to contemplate. And she's right, if you want to be somewhere, you have to envision it and just go for it.

So before I get into the craziness that is September, I've been taking advantage of working from home, streaming Big Brother, making trips to Atwater Market, hanging out with girlfriends and making delicious meals with my lova. Last night we had a dinner of gourmet cheese (Camenbert from Quebec and France, Brie, spicy Gouda, Quebec Goat, aged Cheddar - accompanied by blueberries, olives and grapes), fresh bread, yummy salad and some lemon dark chocolate to top it all off. DELECTABLE and mouth watering as I think of it now.

September will mean my second trip to the Gaspe (to celebrate my Dad's 58th and his retirement), the filming and editing of promotional videos for JMSB undergraduate courses with yours truly as the Art Director :), the start of my graphic design studies, some fall camping and a weekend of PodCamp.



I feel so satisfied and positive about my choice! Cheers to the beginning of the rest of my life...