Victoire Love Birds and the Secret Language of Flowers

When Regine and Katie of Victoire Boutique reached out to me to design a window display for their Ottawa flagship shop, I was over the moon honoured and psyched for the project!  The timing worked out for a February window, so the boutique-boss ladies were thinking love for the theme.  Wanting to be inclusive of different forms of love - sapphic love, monogamous love, self-love, lost love, courage my love - I chose to anthropomorphize birds and throw in some secret messages from a language of flowers dictionary.  You'll have to head down to the window at 1282 Wellington St W to see these pretty things in full, but for now, here are the meanings behind the Victoire's love birds window:

1. Bell Flower - Gratitude  2. Cosmos - Joyful love  3. Calla Lily - Beauty & modesty
4. Geraniums - True BFFs  5. Cockscomb - Affection  6. Jonquil - Desire  7. Protea - Courage  8. Anemone - Forsaken  9. Bougainvillea - Passion  10. Narcissus - Self love  11. Camella - Flame to my heart  12. Gladiolus - Pierce my heart  13. Ranunculus - Radiant charms  14. Cactus flower - Ardent love  15. Pineapple flower - Perfection  16. Lilac - New love  17. Poppy - Pleasure 18.Tulip - Declaration  19. Violets - Queer femme love  20. Zinnia - Missing you 21. Fern - Sincerity

It's up!

Big'n'Smalls.  Big and Small.  Biggie Smalls. Begin Small.  I am so happy with how the show turned out, and even more so, surprised at where collage has taken me.  A year ago I was just beginning my #100daysofcutandpaste challenge, exploring the medium, trying out different approaches, and creating little 5x7 pieces in my sketchbook.  And now - makin' moves like my heart's in it, as Biggie rapped - now there is a commercial gallery on Dundas St W in Toronto featuring my little collages with their big larger than life blow ups.  It all feels really good, and I'm so, so thankful for all the encouragement and support I've received along the way.

Big'n'Smalls continues until Sunday December 4th at Hashtag Gallery - 830 Dundas St W, Toronto.  Gallery hours are 4-10pm Tuesday to Friday, and 2-8pm on weekends.  I'll be hanging out in the gallery this Saturday, before and after my collage workshop (which runs from 3:00-5:30pm).  There are still spaces left to sign up if you want to join in the cut and paste fun.

Cornucopia

It's been a fruitful summer of consistent, thoughtful making.  Here's where you can catch me or my work this fall: 

• Teaching a workshop at Possible Worlds on Thursday October 20th.
  Breaking news from shop/art space co-owner Melanie Yugo: the workshop has entirely sold out (nearly within 24 hours of being announced)!!  I'm so grateful to everyone who signed up.  If all goes well, another workshop around Christmas or New Year's is a possibility.  I'll do my best to make sure this is a hit so we can have another.  'Till then, make sure to follow Possible Worlds on facebook to be the first to hear about cool workshops (collage and otherwise) and brilliant art shows.
   
• In the company of six other fantastic local collage artists in my curated show as part of Chinatown Remixed until October 29th
  Curating Improbable Treasures is something I'm incredibly proud of. Seven artists, a spectrum of approaches to collage, a cheeky theme pulled from Patti Smith's M-Train, and a carefully chosen venue in the heart of Chinatown.  The opening was last weekend, but you have until the 29th to catch the show inside Little Latin America (764 Somerset St W). Store hours are 10-6 Monday to Saturday; closed Sundays.
   
• On the walls of one of the best places in Ottawa: The Manx! 
  A week before hanging the group show for Remixed, I hung Small Worlds at the Manx.  It's a solo show of collage explorations created over the summer, most of which dig into my architecture school roots.  It's on until October 16th, and I do hope you'll come join me for a drink that night for the show's closing (there was just too much happening in September to have an opening!). I'll update with a proper event page in the coming days.
  
  I'm going into October feeling pretty accomplished and really proud in the work I put out.  I hope you get a chance to check out these three very different venues and enjoy the exhibits (I'd love to hear what you think!). Now that all this work is out in the world, it's back to cutting and pasting and dreaming up projects for the new year.

Featured!

Rob Haggart's @aphotoeditor instagram account shows off promo material from professional photographers and has been a source of inspiration for a while now.  When I was finally ready so print my own promo of my faisons-ici photos, Rob was at the top of the mailing list.  Weeks after I sent my package on its way, I was so stoked to see my work on his feed:

Beyond the psych of having my work featured along with some very very talented people, it was really, really interesting to see which pages of my book caught Rob's eye.  I wish I could pick his brain about what made these images stand out a little more, but he's a busy guy who gets lots of mail.  I'll have to dig for clues in his very helpful blog instead.

If you're curious, head over to Blurb to flip through my photobook online! I loved designing and laying out the book as much as I enjoyed taking the photos, and I'd love to create more books! Get in touch if you'd like your photos printed in book form.