Holiday Open House + Print Sale 2014 photos

Better late than never :-)

 Among the first arrivals : Kelly Chadda + Git Gustavsson

Talented surface designer (+ cupcake maker!)  Elizabeth Olwen.

 Adorable visitors

 Journalist Karen Von Hahn with her new Mitford silkscreen print

 More adorable visitors

 My fabulous assistant Khahn 

Lifesaver Hardworker Great sense o' humour too

 Raymond + Robyn

One cupcake standing!

The scene Sunday at 6pm
#tired!

New Work: Illustration for Smithsonian magazine

Here's a new piece just completed for Smithsonian magazine. I loved drawing the higgley piggley stack of books and was very happy to illustrate an article by Clive Thompson - one of my favourite writers on new media and fellow U. of T. Alumna!

Thanks to Art Director Maria Keehan for the gig.

File under Funny people

I went to hear Canadian mom turned Hollywood screenwriter /Twitter sensation Kelly Oxford this week.
Funny and inspirational both in terms of both her writing + style.

My Favourite exchange:

Interviewer: Why do you put in so many specific references in your writing like Orphan Annie's broken locket? Aren't you worried that people won't get the references?

Kelly: I put them in to bring my people closer to me. My people get the references. :-)

It's inspiration for me to always create + write from the truest part of myself - and then have confidence that it will resonate with others.

Uppercase magazine + my friend Scott

The latest issue of Uppercase magazine arrived yesterday. It was filled with all sorts of juicy features as usual but my favourite part was seeing the sweet face of my friend Scott Linder beaming from the contributor's page.

 Scott drew upon his own incredible collection of books to write his thoughtful + funny article.

Readers of this blog will have seen Scott's face several times in the past as he is my constant companion whenever I am in New York. With his saavy sense of the city + a deep knowledge of literature, art, and design - he is truly the ultimate tour guide! 


Scott Linder in his natural habitat: rifling through treasures at the Strand bookstore.

Scott maintains a fantastic tumblr called bookshelftherapy.
It is quirky and wise and wonderful.... just like him.

Way to go Lena Dunham.

David Rakoff 1964 - 2012

Unbearably sad. One of my favourite writers.

Nora Young's new book

My friend Nora's book The Virtual Self came out last week.
Details of the book launch next week are above.
See you there.

Jessica Helfand on Pinterest

Good article by Jessica Helfand in LA Times yesterday.
She asks:
"Is Pinterest a repository for aesthetic pleasure or a pop-up mall?"
ie. is it too focused on selling product rather than sharing inspiration?

These are good questions (and her Harold Pinter puns are great) but I was surprised she didn't raise the other thorny Pinterest issues: those of copyright + pinner's rampant lack of proper crediting of their sources. This is a pet peeve of mine - will write more on it this week!

Photos from Xmas in Chicago

Off we go.
I love Porter Airline's branding which was created by former Wallpaper editor Tyler Brulé and his firm WINKREATIVE. Who knew you could make a raccoon look sophisticated?

The exterior of our hotel: The James. I loved their graphic + interior design as well!
(Ofcourse that's why I picked it!!)
Look at that great sideways sign. :-) Very welcoming.

Gorgeous lobby. :-)

Bedroom.
(my bed at home feels very small now....)

Loved this cozy reading /dining nook + this unique liquor cabinet based on an old steamer trunk.

Chicago skyline!

The famous Marina City also known as the corn cob buildings. :-)
Designed in 1959 by architect Bertrand Goldberg.


First dinner = Chicago Deep dish pizza. Boy was it deep...

The "Chicago Picasso" in Daley plaza.

Chicago is jam packed with incredible public art. This is due to the fact that the city passed a law stipulating that 1.33% of the cost of constructing a building must be devoted to original artwork.
As a result a walk in the Loop area = bumping into incredible pieces by Picasso, Chagall, Miro + Calder. (!!)

The Four Seasons mosaic by Marc Chagall in Chase Tower Plaza.
Dedicated in 1974.



Some close ups.

Christmas eve dinner at mk.

5 stars!
They made the most fabulous cocktails and the decor was to die for.


Here is my cocktail called Holiday Smash .
(My company at the table was smashing too - Groan!)

Thanks so much to fellow blogger Heather Retke for recommending mk + many other great spots.

A trip to Millennium Park

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate aka the Bean.

Frank Gehry's amazing Pritzker bandshell.

A trip to the Chicago Institute of Art

Love love this piece by Toulouse Latrec - especially that ghostly women' face.


Ofcourse many folk lining up to photograph the Institute' most famous piece: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by George Seurat.

*Curmudgeon Note*: When I witness scenes like this it always makes me think that John Ruskin would be rolling in his grave! The Victorian Art critic despised the camera and feared that the invention of it would lead to people focusing on capturing the moment for the FUTURE rather than LOOKING at what was in front of them in the PRESENT.
I heartily agree.

This was my favourite piece in the Institute's collection:
Green and White my Ellsworth Kelly. Love.


Perfect ending to trip:
Cozy flight home with red wine + latest issue of Canadian House + Home.
Loved this interview with Jenna Lyons of J. Crew (Total mentor!!) written by the lovely Catherine Sweeney. Thanks Kim. xo

Jian + Gary Shteyngart

Jian Ghomeshi + Gary Shteyngart
(Don't you love that unshaved look?) yum.

On Saturday I went to see Gary Shteyngart at The IFOA. He did a hilarious reading of Super Sad True Love story followed by a hilarious interview with Jian Ghomeshi. Really... it was a laugh a minute.
Some favourite lines:
"A bunch of us writers in New York meet every night at Café Sabarsky to bemoan the end of literature. Between 11pm and 2 am is the Crying Hour. We all freak out... and we all have an HBO series in our pocket."
"As Jonathan Franzen says "Welcome to Fiction... the new poetry!"
"Being the child of immigrant parents I work 3 times harder than any of my peers - cuz I don't have a trust fund to fall back on."
Part of the interview will be played on Q tomorrow (Wed Oct 26). Highly recommended!

ps. The time has come for me to declare that I think Jian is a National Treasure.
Yes very corny.

Writer Chris Hedges

A must watch video :
Pulitzer Prize writer Chris Hedges eloquently takes down Right Wing Embarrassment to Canada Kevin O'Leary while discussing the Occupy Wall Street movement.
I found Hedges' intelligence + composure under pressure complete admirable.
He's a new favourite nerd.

Addendum!

Mina from Sending Postcards let me know that the cbc budsman found O' leary's remark to a breach of policy and offered a formal apology to Chris Hedges. yay.

Read the satisfying article here.

Pinterest explained by Alexia Tsotsis

Good article about Pinterest by Alexia Tsotsis on Tech Crunch.
She suggests that the reason the tech press haven't quite caught onto the Pinterest phenomenon is because women users were first on the bandwagon and are still sadly marginalized.
I agree. She also uses Maslow's hierarchy of needs to explain Pinterest's addictive appeal.

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim. No words for how I feel about this guy.

I'm painting a mural this afternoon and when I do I need to listen to intense broadway tunes!
Just found this BBC Sondheim celebration on You tube. I can never ever listen to his lyrics and not cry. Especially from Sunday and the Park with George.
"Look I made a hat... where there never was a hat." Killer.

Tonight

Tonight I went to the launch of my friend Ray's book Why not?: Fifteen Reason to live.

Ray and I met many moons ago as students at U. of T. - where we were both pursuing hopelessly impractical humanities degrees. (Philosophy, art history and comparative religion anyone?!) I have always been pleased to see that he put his to such good use!

The subject matter of the book is very close to my heart so I was inspired to dive in the minute I got home. So far the book is absorbing, insightful and also very funny. + ps. Just nominated for Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction! Way to go Ray.

Fun.

The Toronto Review of Books held their launch party tonight and boy was it fun. Writers Wendy Banks, Jason Mcbride, Alison Rose, Graham F. Scott, Ivor Tossel, Ewan Whyte, Tabatha Southey, Shawn Micallef + many others made for an evening of scintillating conversation + good company. Plus it was so nice to be in Massey College - one the city's hidden gems. Thanks to the Editor of the Review Jessica (Duffin Wolfe) for organizing such a fantastic evening.

File under Wish I wrote that

By UK based writer Sally Beerworth who started the Joy of Ex Foundation after going through a tough divorce. Wonderful.