Inspiration: cute and childish kitsch ... Here are some still-lifes and photographs I have taken over the past few days ...

Rainy days ... It is gray and drizzly outside ... I had a craft and colouring day planned for Leo and I, but he proved to be too young - I had to take the crayons away from him, he was eating them ...

Just outside my door, this kale plant is hanging on, it's one of our last plants thriving in this dull weather ...

This past summer, D and I got engaged ... we are excited to have a photo shoot with Blair Marie in a few weeks. Once the leaves start changing colour, we're all going on a nature walk so she can snap some engagement photos. I'll post the pictures once we get them!

Today, I photographed some more still-lifes and redid the letters for Leo ... I am happier with these - they turned out more clear... and I framed the 'L' for Leo ...

Inspiration: thrift store finds ... Yesterday I visited a couple thrift shops in Cochrane. I love finding old frames and photographs in thrift and antique shops. I found these old frames to add to my collection. When I get around to it, I'll to do a grouping of these on a wall. ... And I was especially happy to find myself some hand knitted mittens for winter.

Inspiration: prop styling ... I want to involve myself more in prop and craft styling ... I LOVE setting up still-lifes, so I am going to play around with this subject and keep at it until I get some nice compositions. Here are some pictures of my first attempts ...

Inspiration: Little Leo ... My little lad is huge inspiration for me ... I'm about to paint these letters to hang in his room, but thought to photograph them first with some of his toys ... just for fun!

What a whirlwind trip to Toronto!!! It went by so quickly, I guess vacations always do ... I visited lots of little galleries in Toronto, but I really enjoyed the exhibits at the Royal Ontario Museum ... Here are some of my favourite things I spotted at the ROM ...

Miniature room including silverware

Wallpaper from different eras

Displays of vegetation

Stairwell displays leaving the Museum

Art Nouveau flower vase

Nelson Mandela Doll

And what a way to end a vacation - the day before we flew home to Calgary, I received an email from The Daily Undertaker wanting to interview me and feature my artwork (series: Vanitas and Vanitas 2) ... I'll post the link to the article on my blog once it's posted ...

Just sharing some artists and crafters that I have admired over the past little while...

For starters, Yellow Owl Workshop makes these wonderful postcards, found below, among many other things such as cards, ceramics, stamp sets and paintings.



I love French artist Maissa Toulet's work. She makes these cabinets of curiosities inside of glass boxes. All collected and found objects are matched together to tell a different story in each cabinet. Found below are two of her works: Echographie and Les Végétaux. They remind me of old botany displays, catalogues and encyclopedias.





Studio Mela makes the cutest prints. Found below is So Very Happy V3.




Julie Chen is an artist and book maker. Her books are intricately detailed. Her books unfold or span open in a meaningful manner to reveal layer upon layer of changing imagery and text. Her Ode To A Grand Staircase is pictured below.



I love Amy Victoria Wakefield's photography, especially her portraiture made to look like old fashioned photographed postcards, like the one pictured below.



Finally, I love how Paige Smith repurposes tea cups and saucers into jewelry holders, so elegantly. One of her creations is found below.

Here are some pictures of illustrations and ideas I am playing around with ...

Some pictures I took around the house today....








Riu Tenreiro's illustrations for the book The Celebration are amazing! I love the simple colour scheme, his quirky style and the story board look of the book.

I also really like the the simple illustrative style and limited colour use of Brandon A. Dalmer's work.

I think public art should have presence in the space it's occupying, and for me public art is most effective when it changes the way people react to it, for example the way they move around a sculpture and how it impacts their emotions and sense of space. I think the sculptures of Richard Serra are an excellent example of how public sculpture can alter a person's perception of space. This video shows the installation of Serra's sculpture garden at the MOMA. The shear size of his work is incredible. It is amazing how he challenges a person's perception of space with such simple concave and convex bends in shapes.

My favourite public art space is the Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Mayle is my newest favourite fashion. I love the Fall 2007 collection. It is all about layering boxy shapes and legs!

Here is something I drew, dreaming of the west coast....