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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

WW:37 - MUPPETS, MURALS AND JOSEPHINE CLEO

Hey all.......I am CRAZY busy right now finishing some work for Maple Leaf Gardens, and starting a new mural in a baby nursery..........so I have to keep this one short and sweet.
I didn't want to disappoint YOU loyal reader....so here is a quick Wonderful Wednesday post!!!!
ENJOY!!!

1.) josephine cleo's Holiday Snidings. 


Ok, maybe I am biased, but last year Ms. Cleo had a FANTASTIC show in London........it was a night of laughs and tears. More importantly, it was a night full of fantastic music sung by a talented lady! Josephine Cleo returns to the Wolf Performance Hall on December 10th, bringing her powerhouse vocals and signature wit to present “Holiday Snidings”, a night of celebrating the things we all love-to-hate about the holidays! Holiday horror stories (the funny kind), mixed with classic carols, Josephine’s original songs, some great cover tunes and giveaways worth over $500, this is a night of fun you don’t want to miss! 

Featuring the immensely talented Zach Havens on the piano, and the amazing creative stylings of guitarist Michael Wismer, this refreshing show will keep you entertained from start to finish! Buy your tickets now to ensure your spot--misery loves company!

So if you live in the London area - or anywhere within a car drive you MUST BUY A TICKET - Heck, buy 10! You wont be disappointed - I promise you!

Here is the hard sell:


2.) The record was beaten yesterday, on the World Guinness Record Day, as the 1,160.4 metres square and 106.5m long painting was unveiled showing a breathtaking waterfall and rocky outcrops in a deep canyon image.  


These guys.....3d Joe and Max do really super work....make sure to check out their website!!!!
Here is a little movie about the making of it:




Here are a couple of others 3-d murals that they have done:



3.) I like this dish ware!! For those of you who cannot make up your mind on a china pattern! The Hybrid Collection from the Italian company Seletti is a series of plates, bowls, mugs and cups and saucers designed by CTRLZAK that show the juxtaposition of Eastern and Western porcelain in one piece. Each piece features two styles with a colored dividing line down the center. The collection is quirky and colorful and will definitely be a conversation piece at the table. Read more at Design Milk: 








4.) The Muppet Movie. I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THIS MOVIE. I loved it. Super cute!
    I am not gonna give anything away...except this:





If you can't love the muppets......well.....I just feel bad for you!!! ;-)

5.)  Last item this week....SEQUINS!!!!!!!!! Or rather amazing pixelated depictions of nature in urban settings by Theresa Himmer created out of thousands of sequins. I think these are fantastic.....and I want one on my house. Or is it too much!!!???? Thanks to 




Ok...that's all folks! 
Hope you enjoyed this weeks rushed....but still interesting post!!!!

Friday, November 25, 2011

CREEP OF THE WEEK 3: ESSEX MOUNTAIN SANATORIUM


Hello...hello....hello.....
This week I wanted to share another creepy place........
This one is especially creepy!!!
The Essex Mountain Sanatorium opened in 1902 as the Newark City Home for Girls. With tuberculosis spreading through Newark, the site was converted into a sanatorium in 1907, against the wishes of local residents. Its location at the highest point in Essex County was believed to be beneficial and the facility was known for its high recovery rate before it closed in 1977. 


MORE HORRIBLE STORIES ABOUT IT HERE!!


It has been left to rot....here are some photos:




















and here are two creeeeeepy videos:




or this link to actual footage of the interior of the building do NOT watch it alone...at night....:






There you go......are you creeped out yet?????



What do you think of the creep of the week post? LIKE IT? HATE IT?

I wanna know!!!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

WW36: TWO REPEATS, A GREEN BUILDING AND THE ETIQUETTE NINJAS

ok....I am busy working for the man this week.....so I am gonna let the pictures speak for themselves....with some commentary from me.........here we go:

1.) I hate repeating myself......but a week ago I went to see The Civil Wars in concert with Cindy and Dale. THEY WERE F^%&*ING AWESOME. I loved that they sounded PERFECT live. I loved that they were so funny in beween songs. And I loved that they seemed legitimately happy to have us there watching them. I featured them in this post...(go back and read it)


They are an indie/folky/singer songwriter kinda vibe. The duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul. They are not married...but they have great chemistry and a good backstory. They were solo artists from the same record company - and didn't know each other when the label put them together to write music. The rest is history. They are so GREAT together!!!! I love their album BARTON HOLLOW



Such great onstage energy......dontcha think??


I also love this little cover tune of the Jackson 5 tune...I think I like it better than the original:







2.) This SUPER building that is going up in Milan. I LOVE green buildings...and the idea of vertical environments...but this one is especially amazing:

AMAZING, huh?
"'Bosco verticale', two residential towers by italian architect stefano boeri of milan-based studio stefano boeri architetti within the metropolitan center of milan, italy. the concept of reforestation within the city context intends to minimize the expansion of established urban fabric for additional green spaces while still increasing biodiversity which has been lost during development. the implementation of this project serves as a model for contemporary european cities for linking a building with nature within city limits. "



Those Italians.......insert inappropriate "wood" joke here.
"reaching 110 and 76 meters in height, the four sides of each structure will place over 900 mature trees on display to nearby 
residents and onlookers. the facades are lined with staggered concrete balconies which will become the planting boxes for 
the various shrubs, plants and trees. ranging from 3, 6 and 9 meters tall, the species of the selected vegetation have been carefully 
chosen to withstand the increasing wind forces at successive levels. to place the green spaces on flat land, the necessary amount 
of land would occupy 10,000 square meters in a natural forest and 50,000 square meters in a residential setting. "
What it looks like right now!

Thanks again to DESIGNBOOM for this one......read the article and see more pictures HERE!!!


3.) Etiquette Ninjas. This is amusing to me. Check out their site HERE. Here are 2 of my favourites............They BOTH remind me of someone I know......but I don't wanna name names (no they are not the same person):







4.) This table I found really charming. ok.....so many of you are gonna hate on it.....but give it a chance.....it just wants to be loved........like a tender youngster who has lost his parents in the forrest.....
Ok. I give you "the Bambi Table" Go on....I dare you to hate it!! it is designed by Caroline Olsson...oh those crazy Norwegians!!


Sit

up......

......stand!
NO WATCH OUT FOR THAT HUNTER!!!!!!!
Well? Can you 'stand' it? (Get it???) Check out the other cool stuff on her site or check out Emily Forgot's blog for other goodness!!


5.) I am gonna end in a repeat too....I KNOW I SUCK....but here is why I repeat.....why I repeat.....I mentioned this guy early on with his "how to steal like an artist" column......read it HERE.
But this week I wanna feature him for his ongoing project "De-Signs". Writer and artist Austin Kleon created a series of iPhone snapshots of signs redacted into clever one-liners. Austin explains, "I really think of myself as a cartoonist: a writer who draws. Words and images aren't separate for me. I actually think we're all wired to see pictures and words together." It is super clever!!!!!!!!! Check out these:










See more of them on his blog HERE - some of them are just fantastic!!!!!
Thanks to Junk Culture for leading me to this guy!
So that is it.
Hope you enjoyed yourself!
Later gaters!



Monday, November 21, 2011

DAY JOB

Hello all....
I wanted to share some photos of the work that I am doing during the days right now.
Normally I am very blessed and do not have to work on other work that isn't my art...........
but this opportunity was irresistible.

I am helping to ready the Maple Leaf Garden Loblaws......for those of you who know nothing about this project - read this article from The Sun for the details of the build.


Currently I am helping a friend finish the "wall murals" in the parking garage.
I know - GLAMOUROUS!!!!
It is long C-O-L-D hours of manual labour - but the good news?
CARDIO!!!
I am super grateful to be a part of turning the Gardens into an overpriced grocery store!
Here I am ready to paint!



Here is one of the walls before.....


I cannot show you the after until the store opens.......or I would have to kill you........
Here are some arty shots (thanks to Cindy for letting me show these!!!)





and here is a shot of one of the  hallways......OOOOH GLAMOUROUS:



Ok.....that's it!!
Oh except this picture of me....in a harness holding the WORLD'S LARGEST BALL OF TAPE!!!!!!!!


You can see the fruits of my labour in December of this year!!
Come for the murals......stay for the frozen foods!!




Friday, November 18, 2011

SUBWAY ENCHANTMENT

OK!!!!!
Another new painting.
It is similar to the last 2....read about those awesome paintings HERE and HERE
Here you go.......


This time, I decided to take my inspiration from the TTC subway system.
The poster part is inspired by this photo of the The Bloor Viaduct  in Toronto, ON.
(officially it is called the Prince Edward Viaduct) here is the wiki-description:


The viaduct connects Bloor Street East to Danforth Avenue on the east and spans the Don River Valley, crossing over (from west to east) the Bayview Avenue Extension, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway
The roadway has five lanes (three eastbound and two westbound) with a bike lane in each direction. The subway level connects Broadview Station in the east with Castle Frank Station to the west. 


NOT SO Fun fact about the viaduct.......


With nearly 500 suicides by 2003, the Viaduct ranked as the second most fatal standing structure in the world, after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. At its peak in 1997, the suicide rate averaged one person every 22 days. This prompted the construction of a suicide barrier in 2003 called the Luminous Veil.


The poster kinda pokes fun at the fact that "the views" that can "only be seen by Subway".....as you may know - this is one of the few places that has ANY view from the underground subway system. And it is kinda terrible that the sight you see is also a 'suicide bridge'. 


YOU MUST read this VERY COOL article about the building of bridge. 
(Don't worry - there are lots of pictures with it!!)
http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/09/the_birth_of_the_bloor_viaduct/
Ok...back to my painting......again, I tried to make it look like an old travel poster.
The background this time is tile from Castle Frank Station:


The quote "Distance lends enchantment to the view." is from Mark Twain.
I think it works well on this piece!!
So there ya go!!
Another piece ready for The Artist Project 2012!