isn't this necklace the best? (mary-jane shoe on one side, "sensible shoes" on the reverse) i've had my eye on it since last december when frederica (friend and maker of the necklace) and i had our booths next to each other at the ooak show. when i told her the name of my blog she couldn't believe the coincidence. i finally broke down and bought it for myself at her studio sale last weekend and have been wearing it ever since.

it also helped to remind me that this blog has been sitting woefully neglected for far too long.

i'm on summer vacation now (as of last thursday at noon). the last couple months at work were a bit stressful to say the least. i found out i was declared "surplus" which means there wouldn't be a teaching job for me at my current school come september. after two rounds of job searches, three positions turned down after cold feet about teaching kindergarten, and a week or so of being on pins & needles waiting to find out where i'd be placed, it turns out that i got a fantasic placement at a great school teaching (almost) exactly what i wanted! (yay!!!)

it was really sad leaving my old school though. i'd been there for 4 years so lots of tears!!!

before i left i had a little party for my knitting club girls. i baked cupcakes and brought in icing & a variety of candies for them to decorate with. they were a huge hit! i also made each one a little knitting necklace as a souvenir and hopefully will inspire them to keep up with their knitting.


on the last day of school i almost forgot to take a picture of my most favourite part of the building. this sign put a smile on my face everytime i saw it. the fact that it is hung in a school is, to me, pure irony!


ah, grammatically incorrect signage.....i'll miss you so.

"year of the rat" opening

last thursday night was the opening of the year of the rat exhibit at PROOF gallery. it was a fun night! lots of really great prints by 100 or so artists from around the world. lots of very interesting interpretations of the whole "rat" concept too.

i really liked this little handmade book by carolyn eady. she said she was thinking about the michelangelo painting in the sistine chapel when she made it.


and it was nice to run into akemi who paul and i haven't seen in ages. i loved her print but unfortunately my camera didn't do it justice.


here's a wee peek at a couple of the brooches i made for the show.

ratgirl at PROOF gallery!

something incredibly exciting has happened.

while i was at the one of a kind show in november, a lovely woman named sheila approached me about taking part in the "year of the rat" exhibition at her gallery at the distillery. i was so flattered but a tiny bit nervous...i've never done anything for a gallery before!

well, this thursday evening is the opening of the "year of the rat" show at PROOF gallery! i'm soooooo excited! i've made many rat-themed pieces of jewellery especially for this show.

here's the invite

and the info
Year of the Rat
Opening: Thursday, Feb. 7th
5:00 - 9:00pm
Proof Gallery, Distillery District
Toronto
www.proofstudiogallery.com for map of the Distillery

come take a peek if you get a chance!

right now

i'm loving:

the amazing style of these 3 ladies over on wardrobe_remix:
bonboniaa

nemrespobjecodnedjelje

piksi_


speak to me bones and magnetic hill by land of talk, although the whole album is AMAZING!!!

pashupatina's beautiful sculptural necklaces



pretty much every painting by the black apple

this brilliant method of displaying a pez collection by one good bumblebee

and the shopping tunic from twinkle's big city knits
*****
happy thanksgiving, fellow canadians!
enjoy your long weekend...

on the mend with a very picture-heavy post

i've been mostly absent from blogland this week because i've been home sick with the flu which annoyingly morphed into a chest infection. (cue parental concern and phonecalls to make sure i'm ok.) but i've got me some good monster-sized antibiotics to munch on and i'm officially on the mend. (so no need to panic, ok mom & dad?).

this is kind of old news now but i still want to share. paul & i were two of the thousands who attended nuit blanche last saturday eve. nuit blanche is an incredible (free!) event showcasing hundreds of installations of contemporary art around the downtown core of toronto. the most exciting part is that it is an all-night show...it starts at 7:00 saturday night and lasts until 7:00 sunday morning! it has without a doubt become my most favourite event in this city. days before paul & i print out the maps of the 3 zones and meticulously plan out all of the installations that are "must-sees". then we look forward to walking around and being surprised by what other ones we stumble upon. here are some photos from last saturday:

a giant inflatable locust


this building appeared to be filling up with water! with giant lobsters and fish inhabiting inside!


the crafty gal in me fell in love with this building covered in pink quilted fabric, crocheted doilies and 3 massive buttons sewn on the top!

people are about to be horrified when they watch the person in the video scoop water from the canal and mix it into the martini.


the knit cafe was having a fun pom-pom making party and exchange.


this woman bravely agreed to have the contents of her home moved onto the sidewalk for public display. i was incredibly concerned someone was going to walk off with some of her knitting needles or real simple magazines.


re-creation of the last supper complete with audience participation, beans & bread, serene-looking sky digitally displayed behind the table, and an audio track of chirping birds!


slow-dancing with a teacher (random people were asked to "slow dance" with a teacher behind velvet ropes)

i even spotted jian ghomeshi dancing with a teacher!

oh my...a massive disaster in the middle of the university of toronto campus!


and a funny japanese video installation about falling in love.


whew...we saw a lot considering we were only out from 8:00pm until 2:00am. and the crazy thing is that we saw even more than what i've shown you...

needless to say, sunday was filled with naps!

happy accidents

last night paul & i finally decided to take a trip over to ed's real scoop because ed's is supposed to be one of the best ice-cream spots in the city, as everything is hand-made at their shop. after reading online that they had a "creme brulee" flavour i had to get some. as we got closer to the neighbourhood, we realized it was the jazz festival and there was no way we were even going to get close to ed's among that chaos. change of plans and we headed over to the film buff for some of their ice-cream instead. it was still good and satisfied the craving.

after running a couple of errands we happened upon an art opening at a tiny new gallery. we couldn't help but go check it out because it looked totally intriguing from the street. we could see little colourful objects all over the walls instead of the typical paintings or photographs.

this show was just too amazing and we were so excited that we stumbled upon it! the artist is named lauri lynnxe murphy and she's from denver. she's also incredibly sweet and we had a great time chatting with her. the current exhibit features her beautiful mini-collages encased in resin. they are so lovely! lots of vibrant colours. some of her other resin pieces were opaque and had been painted and some were decoupaged. really wonderful work with a crafty feel. take a look:

kitchenette



egg



stir


15 minutes


toronto peeps, you should definitely get out to see this...

brayham contemporary art
1270 queen st. east
runs until september 2nd