SABRINABLOG
HOORAY OCAD ORIENTATION! JAPANESE STAB BINDING WORKSHOP & DISCOUNT ON GRACEFUL PLACE HANDMADE BOOKS02.09.10
Woah please ignore the creepy webcam picture! Its 2.30 in the morning and I am super tired, but check it out – some sample Japanese stab bound books I made to hand out to my students tomorrow morning, and to brush up on my Japanese stab binding skills! I think they look super adorable, I even made a few tiny ones! I couldn’t be more excited to teach at OCAD (University)’s 2010 orientation to welcome all first years! There will be some other workshops, as well as a goodies faire! I’ll be teaching from 11.30 am until 1.30 pm, and I will be selling Graceful Place Handmade Books at a fancy booth for a discounted price! 20% off of regular price, and an even further discount will be made for those who purchase two books at one time. Craziness! Come by to say hi! OCADU is located 100 McCaul Street, downtown Toronto – we will probably be in that adorable park just south of the main building, underneath that giant cow box thing. Hooray!
I’M TEACHING AT OCAD’S ORIENTATION! COME SAY HELLO!01.09.10
Hi everyone! So OCAD’s orientation is tomorrow from 11.30am-4pm, and I’ll be there the whole time! From 11.30am-1.30pm, I’ll be teaching a free class for students on how to make books in the Japanese stab-binding style. From 1.30pm-4.00pm I’m going to be selling Graceful Place Handmade Books for a discount – 20% off, as an awesome welcome back and welcome on board for OCAD students. You’re more than welcome to pop by and take advantage of the discount even if you aren’t a student, but the workshop is for students only. Come say hello!
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS A FRIEND OF A FRIEND: AWESOME STORYTELLING ART OPENING AT PROJECT 16529.08.10
Sorry for the blurry pictures! I am clearly not a photographer. Anyhow, the opening at Project 165 last Thursday was AMAZING! There were some professional storytellers with amazing stories, local artists with amazing stories, and myself and some of the other artists in the show took the open mic to talk a bit about our pieces and the place of folklore in modern society today. All I can say is that I’m thankful to show the Double Rainbow video to more people, haha. It was great to participate in a more interactive art opening, where people share and listen and participate rather than stand around with cocktails looking smart. Many thanks to curator Ryan Ringer for having me on board! The show is up until the 31st of August, please check it out if you’re in Toronto!
URBAND LEGEND OF THE NOW: DOUBLE RAINBOW ( A DIPTYCH)25.08.10
So I don’t usually rip my paintings in half and sew them to each other, but I thought that method of working was appropriate for this subject matter. This is a diptych I made for a group show I’m a part of at Project 165 in Toronto (165 Augusta Ave). The reception of the exhibition is this Thursday (TOMORROW!), August 26. The event lasts from 7-10pm, and the live storytelling will begin at 8.30pm. Please come by and say hello! If you do not know what this piece is about please click here!
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS A FRIEND OF A FRIEND: GROUP SHOW18.08.10
I’m currently in a group exhibition organized by Methinks and Project 165. Curated by Ryan Ringer, When a Stranger Calls a Friend of a Friend examines contemporary legends and the performance, transmission, form and function of modern folklore in daily life. The exhibition features the work of 30 local and international artists, and runs August 17 – 31, and the storytelling reception is on August 26, from 7 – 10pm, at 165 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market. I have two pieces up and will definitely be at the reception! Please come say hi! (Poster illustration by Robb Mirsky.)
ROCK N ROLL ART SHOW OPENING FUN TIMES PICTURES OF PEOPLE HAVING FUN13.08.10
Photos by Lavinia.
BLACK LIPS POSTER09.08.10
The opening for the Rock n’ Roll Art Show last night was awesome! Thank you so much to everyone who came out! I am honoured to have my work displayed alongside such talented people. If you’re ever in the west end for the rest of August and feel like checking it out, the show is at My Place (2448 Bloor St West -click for the Star’s review). Here is my second piece for the show, a poster for the Black Lips.
ROCK N ROLL ART SHOW + DAKOTA07.08.10
So this Sunday (August 8th) I have a group show opening! It is called the Rock n’ Roll Art Show, organized by the lovely Sarah Elminshawi, and will transpire at My Place (2448 Bloor St West – click for the Star’s review), and the festivities begin at 7pm and continue until late. There will be live music, and the event is generously sponsored by Alexander Keith’s, which will be available on tap. The exhibit is up for a month or so, so please come say hi! The theme of the show is music posters, and I made two – one for the Black Lips, and one for my BFF and super talented musician Dakota. Click to listen: Dakota – Babe
TAKING A MOMENT TO BREATHE31.07.10
In one of her blog posts (which I read a while back but can’t seem to locate at the moment), Yuko Shimizu wrote about how when she’s not working on various projects, she allows herself to take a break from drawing rather than overburdening herself with personal work. I think that’s a valuable lesson, and over the past few weeks that idea has really resonated with me, and I’ve been trying to not draw and just let my brain relax and reboot.
I love being busy and it’s only recently I’ve accepted the importance of taking a moment to breathe, and the positive impact chilling out has on creativity. I’m entering thesis in the fall, and I have 5 group shows (that I’m aware of) looming around the corner. I have four pieces to complete by next week that I haven’t given any thought to, and that in itself feels like taking a nice relaxing walk on the beach.
What do you do to cool down between bursts of creativity?
CRAIGSLIST ZINE SNEAK PEEK + THE NEW BLOOR STREET FESTIVAL22.07.10
So! Another page from my zine. Brap brap. Also, I am planning on selling my lovely Graceful Place handmade journals (as well as awesome $1 buttons) with the lovely Monica Laflamme at The New Bloor Festival this Saturday, July 24! Bloor Street will be shut off from cars, Lansdowne to Dufferin (Toronto). Come say hello between 1-9PM! We’ll be between Marguretta and Brock streets.
“AN EYE FOR AN EYE MAKES THE WHOLE WORLD BLIND” – MAHATMA GHANDI18.07.10
My contribution to the upcoming issue of Cadmium magazine – many thanks to the lovely editor Jordan Charles Bowden. It’s his last issue – we’ll miss you Jordan! The theme of the issue is ‘Social Change.’ I’ll leave you to decipher this piece, as I am absolutely sick of arguing with people about my thoughts on the G20. Suffice it to say I do not condone any variety of violence, and leave it at that.
I WON BEST OF MIXED MEDIA (IN THE STUDENT CATEGORY) AT THE TORONTO OUTDOOR ART EXHIBITION THIS WEEKEND! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE WHO CAME BY!12.07.10
Woo! What an epic weekend! My last three days exhibiting at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition have been absolutely fantastic, and you’d think after three days of being out in the sun for roughly 12 hours (when you consider set-up, etc), I’d be really exhausted, but I feel super energized! What an excellent experience, I met so many lovely people, both artists and visitors! I sold some paintings, pins, and my handmade books (check out Graceful Place Handmade Books for those!), and gave out free issues of my magazine, Hot Mess, and to make matters even more awesome I managed to win the best of mixed media in the student category! A huge thank you to the judges and donors! You are the best! Huge hugs to everyone, seriously. I have been living on a cloud the past three days, just talking to everyone at the festival has been so inspiring. A huge thank you to everyone who was so kind to me, you made my day! I also want to send a shout-out to fellow winners (and basically the most friendly, nicest, talented people you will ever meet) Mark Stebbins, Amanda Burk, Peter Schacht, and Christopher Reid Flock. Also want to holla at Blair, who should have won an award! These people are amazingly skilled, please check out their work and say hello to them!
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition THIS WEEKEND! Come say hi!09.07.10
So the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is this weekend, which I’m very happy and honoured to be a part of! I will be in the purple section, booth 729, along Bay street, between Dundas and Queen – please come say hello! A lot of works will be exhibited, including pieces from the HUMAN, ROBOT exhibition as well as a few from another show. I will also have pins and Graceful Place journals for sale, in addition to the framed artwork. TOAE runs 10.30am-7.30pm on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday until 6.30pm. If you’ve just found my work through TOAE, thank you for visiting! Please check out my Facebook group, and say hi on Twitter!
GRACEFUL PLACE JOURNALS LAUNCH LAST WEEKEND, HOORAY!01.07.10
Books! Journals! Hooray! So, my new journal line is called Graceful Place. Check out the super under construction website (at least it has pretty pictures) at http://gracefulplace.com – I’m planning on adding sections about each colour available, options regarding custom journals, and information about workshops I’m planning on holding towards the end of the summer. Each journal is roughly 5.5″x8″ and retails for $25.
MY NEW JOURNAL LINE LAUNCHES TOMORROW AT WYCHCRAFT MARKET!25.06.10
My new line of journals (the name of which I’m keeping mum until midnight!) will be launched tomorrow at Wychcraft Market! I couldn’t be more excited, and I’m really happy with how they turned out. The journals are made with archival paper, and the covers are handmade, organic, and made from recycled materials. I’ll be launching tomorrow at Wychcraft Market, 611 St Clair St West. The market is up from 11AM-4.30PM, so come say hello and pick up a journal or two!
HANDMADE JOURNAL PREVIEW PICTURES! HOORAY!21.06.10
So here they are, a sneak preview of the journals I’ve been slaving over for the past few weeks! I absolutely love them, they feel so nice to hold! Some of the journals will come with a pin on the front, with an illustration of mine on it. I’m officially launching on Saturday June 26th at Wychcraft Market at Bathurst and St Clair. The covers are handmade paper, made out of cotton t-shirts and old blue jeans. The interior papers are available in manila, bond, and kraft, as pictured! Stoked! Excuse the huge lag in posting, I’ve been sick for like 3 weeks now and it’s starting to wear me down. Here’s to hoping a day of drinking orange juice helps!
TEENY TINY PAPER PREVIEW! HANDMADE JOURNALS HERE I COME15.06.10
Here’s a little bit of a taste of what I’ve been up to lately – organizing and paper buying, and paper cutting! I can’t wait to launch my handmade journal company, the official launch date is June 26. Keep your eyes peeled! Here’s a small taste of the cover papers I’ll be using (all handmade, recycled from cotton t-shirts and old jeans) and the interior paper, available in bond, manila, and kraft. Snip snip snip!
CRAIGSLIST ZINE FEATURE + JOURNALS + @SABRINADRAWS ON TWITTER11.06.10
Apologies for being a bit MIA, I’ve been on-and-off sick for the past two weeks. Bummer! Anyhow, I’ve mostly been working on folding a ton of paper a handmade journal business I’m launching on June 26 (ideally). It’s all under wraps at the moment, but expect some pictures of paper within the next few days! For those of you who read this, what’s your ideal journal size? What do you look for in a journal? Just curious! Anywho, add me on Twitter, because you love me and I love you. <3 @sabrinadraws
HALF-LIDDED EYES + BIG EARS + BOOBS + WYCHCRAFT MARKET04.06.10
So ballpoint pen is pretty sweet. How’s your summer going? Here is a drawing I did. Pretty exciting, I know. In other news I’m going to have a table at the super-fun Wychcraft Market in Toronto for eight Saturdays of this summer. Awesome! I will have some handmade books, prints, buttons, zines, and greeting cards available for sale. I will be there June 26, July 3, July 17, July 24, August 14, September 11, September 18, and September 25. I hope to see you there!
ACTS OF VIOLENCE03.06.10
