WW156: WHERE COOL CAME FROM, SHE PLAYS HOCKEY and DANIEL ST-AMANT

Hey folks…….you know how this post works….each Wednesday I post an image of FIVE things that I LOVE…….

1.) I LOVE a good success story. As I wait patiently for mine (hee hee) I can't help but be THRILLED for Dave LeBlanc! You may know him from his columns at The Globe and Mail…..but his new project…..I REALLY FREAKING LOVE!!! "Where Cool Came From" is a super great web series that explores the nature of the "cool things" we know and love! Well….maybe not ALL of us….but if you like my work…..you're gonna LOVE:

Seriously…..it is so enjoyable!!!!! Don't believe me???? Check out this:

Where Cool Came From Video Preview from Where Cool Came From on Vimeo.

(or try this link)
Way to go Dave!!!!! I LOVE this web series!!!
You can give "Where Cool Came From" some love on Facebook too!

2.) THANKS CINDY FOR SENDING ME THIS ONE (She gets her knickers in a knot if I forget to thank her!) This is fantastic!!!! Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox and singer Miche Braden bring you the most FANTASTIC remake of classic Guns N’ Roses!

http://www.openculture.com/2014/02/guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine-retooled-as-1920s-new-orleans-jazz.html

3.) She Plays Hockey. Ok…I know what you are thinking……Normally I am NOT a sports person….let alone the hockey……BUT….in the spirit of Woman's empowerment……..I give you THIS:

She Plays Hockey is a website dedicated to providing products to girls and women who play hockey. The female game is growing every year and we have decided to say it loud and clear, whether you are a daughter, mother, sister or grandmother who plays or you’re a doctor, teacher, banker or stay-at-home mom – SHE PLAYS HOCKEY! And remember, you are never too old or inexperienced to start playing the game of hockey
SHE SHOOTS SHE SCORES!!!!! (Am I saying that right??)

4.) I really enjoyed this work at TAP this year! Daniel St-Amant's work at first glance is very attractive wildlife studies…..truthfully that is not normally the kind of work that really gets to me….BUT there are so many great things happening in these paintings!!!

I don't wanna ruin this for you…..but you should GO TO HIS WEBSITE and see how he creates these works. It is super cool……..yes…they are painted very well - but I love the flip of the middle finger to big oil…………(the phone number for an offending company is on each piece!!!!)

Here's his artist statement:

In an era of mass consumption, poverty, pollution and war, it's difficult to avoid being alarmed by the abundance of negativity and hopelessness that surrounds us.
My work explores some of these issues, specifically our destruction and exploitation of the natural environment. As our population grows, so does our consumption as a species with increasing pressure to meet quotas and profits. Humans are driving deeper and deeper into the wilderness. My latest paintings discuss this pressure we are putting on the natural environment and the adaptation that the animal kingdom is forced to undergo.
Using modern surfaces such as major road ways to emphasize our global footprint, I have managed to capture the density within our city life. Laying my canvas on the road I capture physical traces of climate affecting technologies “tire tracks” to which I use as a landscape for my animal compositions.

GREAT JOB DAN!!!!!!!!
You can also follow him on the Twitter…and on the Facebook!

5.) This is for my crazy cat ladies……you're welcome Cindy….see all these cats…….then hit the link and see 19 more……...

http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-wet-cats/

WW155: PAUL MICHAEL DESIGNS, LOOKING and COCKTAILS!!!

Well…..it's load in day for The Artist Project…….
So I decided to make today's #WonderfulWednesday extra short and sweet!

1.) OK GEEKS……you are gonna DIE……look at these rings from Paul Michael Designs

(thanks Cindy)

2.) Ok…this one is for my gays…….and gay adjacent folks……..I have been enjoying "Looking" - a nerd show from HBO (pronounced hobo):

Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Álvarez and Murray Bartlett are enjoyable to watch! It is just like "Sex and the City" meets "Girls"…..except with less lady business…..well……kinda ;-)

Watch this:

I enjoy it a lot!!!!

3.) Ok my creative peeps……..THIS…for you…..(that goes for you Cheepay!)

THE GAP by Ira Glass from frohlocke on Vimeo.

or try this link:

http://vimeo.com/85040589

4.) This one is for my Disneyphile friends……and my alcoholic friends…..and those of you who may be both………and you know who you are……..

This guy's blog is FILLED with cocktails…..http://disneycocktails.tumblr.com

And then https://www.facebook.com/Codys.cocktails/photos_stream has 15 or so Disney inspired cocktails too!!!! For example….....

OH MY GOSH AM I THIRSTY!!!!!

5.) Finally….this is for those of you obsessed with the cold………….as always……I leave you with something ridiculous……

and this: 

LOS ANGELES

Hey guys!
Well…….we are getting closer and closer to the big deadline!!!
Next week at this time……The Artist Project will be open.
(If you have no idea what that is, see THIS POST!)
That means things are coming to an end in my production of work for the big show this year!
As you may have figured out, I am trying to make work that is not COMPLETELY Toronto specific.
Up to now, I have focussed locally…..but THIS is my year for expanding my empire!
First step….paint things out of Toronto!
Like this one…….

You can read all about this one of NYC in THIS POST!! 
….and this is my latest painting……and a bit of the process for it:

Normally with a painting  - one starts with the background - but I was worried that I would  have troubles with the people…..so I started with them!

Then I started laying in all the other elements - and colour correcting the things that needed it.
Then…BAM…I was done…..
Ok…maybe it wasn't that easy……but……here is the final product:

"All That Glitters", 36" x 48", acrylic on canvas

This one I really love!!!
It is HUUUUGE…and has a real presence to it!
I also like the wording on it!
What do you think?
Wait till you see it in person at TAP this year!
--It will knock your socks off!
Any comments???

WW154: MATERIAL WORLD!

I AM CRAZY BUSY THIS WEEK…..so I am just posting 4 things that my husband could buy me for Valentines Day (HA HA HA)……and one strange thing…….THESE  are 5 things I love……..

1.) Groovy eyewear! These are FANTASTIC! Made from record albums!

COME ON!!!!!!!!!! Tell me you don't want a pair of these!?!??

They also come with a case made from a record too…...

Check out this video on how they make them:

2.) I need one of these sculptures…...Brett Kern's fabulous ceramic sculptures which I found on ETSY! The sculptures look remarkably like inflatable vinyl toys, but are made of glazed ceramic, complete with blow-up tab glazed in gold or silver and featuring the artist's stamp.

Check out his site:

3.) Ring Clock!  This is the "beautiful marriage of the ring and the watch". 

This is what they say "Why is it so cool? It has simple and clean design, unique clock aspect around the ring’s band, eco-friendly and playful - the time is displayed when you rotate the ring

cutting edge technology (wireless charging, ultrathin battery, energy-saving LEDs)"

Check out the video for this one too:

4.) Stack And Scare™ is a new series of 4 stackable wooden monster block sets designed by Invisible Creature!!! Each of the four sets contains 14-18 pieces in various shapes and sizes. Featuring eyeballs, teeth, horns, arms, rounded shapes for shoulders and eyes, monster heads, hands, feet, legs, torsos, patterns and more.

Mix and match shapes or combine with other Stack And Scare™ sets to unleash endless (and taller) creature combinations!

5.) This last one is just plain CREEPY! Face Swapping………

Thanks to http://mashable.com/2013/10/09/disturbing-face-swaps/

VALUE VILLAGE: Love it or Hate it?

Ok….so you have been requesting this post for a while……
For those of you new to my blog….this is the documentation of my trip to The Value Village…..or as we call it, The VV Boutique. Ok….one little twist today…usually I show you almost exclusively HORRIBLE things…..but I wanted today, to show you some things that I also LOVED…..
Let's make it a game show --- VVB: love or hate?
Let's goooo…..

This fabric……retro…….kinda looks like Professor X's bedsheets?
Love it or hate it?

How about this one?
It is like the urban homeless version my big fat  gypsy wedding.
OMG I LOVE THAT IDEA!!

This wine glass….that can hold A WHOLE BOTTLE OF WINE….
Love that we can legitimize rampant alcoholism?
Or hate it?

Here….the answer…it is the top of the packaging for that glass….
"Please use AFTER baby is born"
HAHAHAHA!!
Drunken new moms everywhere UNITE!

LABEL THIS FOR ME……
1.) Jesus is caught between a rock and a hard place.
2.) Jesus was the first to try out his Shakespeare monologue at the open mic night at The Rock Garden
3.) Dude…….I hope you have an SPF60 on!

All my life I have searched for very collectable and RARE Second Cup sales art…. TEA EDITION!
It is the worst. Or maybe it is just faul-TEA design..
(get it? ITS A PUN!!!)

Overheard on a cellphone…..
"Hey Chuck…….they got those Harley Belts you have been looking for…..
OR there is this kick ass  belt from the house of Steven Tyler (aka Joan Rivers)

Heather and Heidi……would remember their 18th birthday party with all the love in their hearts.
The next day they left their tutus at home and ran away to become strippers.
Cautionary tale or true crime story -- you decide!

Collectables…..just as you would expect to find them??
Lazy dolls.
Then again, I choose my collectable figurines SOLEY based on their shoes!
(ANOTHER PUN - SOLE - oh dear!!)

See…..now this……I LOVE THIS PIECE!
Nothing bad to say about it!

OK…..SO……..Fine Art…..Love it or Hate it…

which one do I love….?

I call this one
"In God we Trust: all others must pay cash"
Acrylic on canvas

"Inside Catherine Zeta Jone's Head"
Pen, ink, blood and feces on board

"Heidi and Hansel's creepy relationship, and Heidi's untimely demise"
Limited edition print 

Did you guess??

#2! Very arty! I liked it!

Assorted electrics.
Key Ring Holder, hair colour and garlic press??
Please email me with the joke here!!!
I am stumped! 

Princess slippers and a keyboard…..
For the lady secretary who has it all?
OR is it the name of my band??? 

I HAD THIS IN MY HANDS.
I really felt like it was meant for ME!
But then I turned it over….

Time for another instalment of it is Cute? or  is it Racist?

"Oh Jenny, I love this scarf with flowers….but it may be too busy…
How about this one with the check pattern? Oh wait…I found the perfect daytime scarf….
it is a feather boa made of synthetic bird bits. SO classy. So everyday Canadian winter!"

Ball monogrammer.
I have a LOT of unseemly ball jokes here.
But as this is the last photo…….I will NOT do it.
You're welcome!

There you have it folks….another trip to the VVB!
I hope you enjoyed this post!
Remember to tune back in later this week for my Wonderful Wednesday…and a Friday post where I will be sharing NEW work with you(s)!!!