(adapted from a project entitled “Use this Poster”)

a recent wallet design for poketo, (available soon).

It’s a toy,
it’s a gift,
it’s an artpiece!
(click the banner to play)
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I had fun making this, in an attempt to get me into the holiday spirit. Being in a completely different climate everything feels a bit disjointed. None of my regular x-mas cues are here, (snow, hauling firewood, mennonites). And so I am doing what I can to feel festive. Today I am going to the co-op to get some cider.
also for fun…for those of you who find yourself in a mild climate this holiday…
instant snow

round stickers, a pencil with an eraser, some black ink, and a camera.
see more here.
and, my new favourite film.

I really enjoyed making these mini collages out of the tiny offcuts, and wearing them as necklaces (with a black suede lace), changing the colors with my moods. These ones are pieced onto a thick cardboard and laquered many times for durability, and I’ve found them to be suprisingly sturdy thus far. I am considering selling some on the site, (after a little more tweaking and if there is interest). They are approximately 1 1/2″ in height. More details to follow.
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the idiosyncracy tag (which I’ve taken a while to do)
1. Footprints – I like to see my own in the snow and I always turn around after I walk through a puddle. (my husband does this too and it may appear strange to onlookers.) The goal is to get shoes with a great pattern on the sole.
2. Pickles – any kind (except garlic), I could live on them. Favourites include pepperocini’s, yum yums, artichokes, beets, eggplant, sauerkraut. This may be a newfie thing.
3. Found Faces – I see them everywhere, in bathroom hardware (apparently other’s have this too), sidewalk cracks, doodles, food, shadows, plumbing fixtures, stones.
4. I have a strong aversion to yellow foam. no idea why.
5. Jumping – I like to bounce up and down as high as I can when i am in a good mood, seeing if I can reach the ceiling.
…there are MANY more.
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this is the most brilliant guerilla art ever…rubbish drawings. (link via Camilla)

Make a small book. Start with the cover, taking a drawing or painting or photograph for your visual material. For the words on the first page, use a grocery list fron the last time you went to the market. Let that book grow–one thing leading to another–until the last page, which will contain a few lines of poetic insight (from an anthology of poetry, or song lyrics). See how the cover photo (or other graphics evolved to the final words. Just let it happen.
As you make the book, keep a list of the relationships and connections that happen. Things will come together that you never planned. There will be connections between paper and thread, glue and poetry. Keep lists of things that strike you as funny, improbable, or downright silly. Respect details. Make and move on. Don’t wait for inspiration. Just do it.
from Learning by Heart, by Corita Kent
(click cover to see rest of book)

A while back I came up with a guerilla art exercise that I wanted to share with you. On a piece of paper write or type in bold the word NOTICE, followed by a visual item, a color, a sensation, a sound, something you find in your neighborhood. The idea here is to tune people into things they might be missing, or to just give them a little respite in their hectic day. Post the note. Here are some of my examples,

Finding it incredibly hard to get started today. The drawings and ideas are stuck in my body somewhere and do not want to come out. I should be used to this feeling by now, of not knowing where to begin, of having too many ideas, of feeling like my drawings are mediocre. I fight it for a few days, and it passes. Like the winter I feel long and drawn out. I need some warm weather to get me excited about things again. I wore my straw hat to work today (around the studio), hoping to feel springlike. It made my head itch as I sat watching the snow fall outside the window. I think I am going to post some of these notes around my neighborhood in an effort to shake some things up a bit, (and as chalking is still out of the question). I smile reading Claire talk about being in the midst of a heatwave and longing for cooler weather.
Contrast is what makes life so very interesting. Without it we would not value things nearly as much.

Try the creativity generator (pdf format 364kb)
(I made this a while back for a large project and it never got used. Feel free to print it out and give it a whirl. Maybe it will help with some of the winter blahs.)

Every once in a while I look up at the bulletin board that hangs above my work desk and smile. On it there is this photo of Henry Miller. A little trick I learned from my friend Kristan. I thought I would pass this on because sometimes things that feel a little silly can really help you out when you least expect it.
Instructions:
1. Find a photo of a person whom you really admire. It could be your parents, the Dali Lama, Buddha, Albert Einstein, or even yourself if you like.
2. On a piece of paper draw a thought bubble. Write an affirmation or some words of encouragement in the bubble.
3. Cut out the bubble and glue or tape it to the photo. Hang it in a prominent place. Feel good knowing that you are supported no matter what happens.
Happy Holidays!!!
(excerpted from “Living Out Loud”)