My First Screen Printing Class

Back in March a couple of friends and I took an 8 week water-based screen printing class at Open Studio in Toronto. My intention in taking the class was to give all of the illustrations and doodles I have been doing some context through printing them on different things (Tshirts, totes etc). This was a beginner/intro class, so we were able to learn about different screen printing techniques (my fave is photo emulsion). This class was so much fun! I have no idea why it took me so long to try screen printing, but man have I been missing out! I have definitely developed a taste for it (borderline addiction) and I know I will need to incorporate screen printing into my life as another creative outlet. I had a pretty kick-ass experience overall, so much so that we have decided to take another four week class :D Here are some prints that I didn't screw up, lol. More to come, stay tuned! 

For the CULTURE! Cricket Team doesn't deserve this...yet, haha

Monster

Yall know it's true

For the Tweeters

If your Mom makes roti, chances are you like hers the best :)

What do Canadians do best?

A Heart Healthy Mother's Day

While most families were out wining and dining their Mama's on Sunday, our family spent a quiet afternoon at home for Mother's Day. Our mom is very health conscious, not to the point where is is depriving herself and cutting calories left right and centre- but she actually enjoys healthy eating (weirdo, I know). In turn the theme for our Mother's Day meal was Heart Healthy. Plenty of raw veggies, salads, whole grains, lean proteins and heavy on flavour of course. In all fairness I didn't miss the 'something junky' portion of the meal and was actually quite satisfied (say whaaat!?). Mom thoroughly enjoyed, which was most important :) 

Pecans candied meringue style (egg white & brown sugar), not traditional (white sugar & butter). 

Sketchbook Project Limited Edition

At this point I think it's safe to say that myself and Art House Co-op are lifers :) This time I participated in Sketchbook Project Limited Edition. This project had a reduce number of spots (5000) and will be the first in a series of collaborative art books where each participant gets a small feature in a printed book! I thought this would be a great opportunity to potentially get something published, however the process of simply letting my mind go and have fun with the theme/sketches was what was important. Sketchbook Project 2012 World Tour has begun, and should your city be one of the tour stops, DO check it out! Until then, here's my stuff from Limited Edition and look out for the book in the fall :)

Theme: The Last Word Ever Spoken

Insanity

Ecojot

Through the brilliance that is Twitter, I stumbled upon a great company here in Toronto called Ecojot. I was immediately drawn to the energetic hand-lettering (duh) which prompted me to find out more. Ecojot is a stationary company run by Mark and Carolyn Gavin and they offer a variety of journals, note books, calendars, note cards and what caught my eye- sketchbooks. As you may have guessed from the name, Ecojot has quite the environmental conscience- all of their stationary is made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and everything is designed and printed in Canada (holla!). In addition they have also created the "GIVE" program: when a jumbo journal is purchased, a workbook is donated to a child in need- totally gives you the warm and fuzzies inside huh? I am in love with Carolyn Gavin's illustrations, her pattern work is so colourful and full of life, I can't help but drool (and feel extremely inspired!). Please check out Ecojot and pick up a piece of stationary or two!

My First Yoga Competition

Sunday (yesterday) was the Eastern Canada Asana Championships here in Toronto where yours truly was a competitor :)

Last year I made a goal to compete in the 2012 competition. Through the encouragement of my incredible yoga community, I made the commitment to follow through and began training in February. Training consisted of getting my ass to as many Bikram classes as I could manage (4-5 per week), practicing postures after class, attending advanced series classes and not letting anxiety get the best of me :P

Competition day was a bit unnerving, however I was sure to remind myself that yoga practice is SO dependent on your day. The best I could do would simply be to show up and perform my postures to the best of my ability, for that day. In all honesty I could not have asked for anything better- I successfully entered, held and exited my seven postures without falling out in under 3 minutes (2 mins and 28 seconds to be exact!) to the best of my ability. The feeling that followed the completion of my routine was unreal, I was able to make a distinction between feeling happy and feeling proud- a really special moment pour moi! (In the pics below my stretching pose is missing- woops!).

Esak Garcia was one of the judges at the competition (pretty cool to see him live and in the flesh!). Before the 'winners' we announced, he noted that there are no 'winners and losers', instead we are all yogis sharing our practice and journey with the audience, and the 'winners' are simply representatives within the yoga community for our region- I loved that! Even though I didn't place (hey, Joseph Encinia never placed the first time he competed!) I am extremely proud of myself for squashing this goal. A huge THANK YOU to all of the instructors, fellow yogis, friends and my family for making this a truly rewarding experience. You're support was overwhelming and I could not have done it without you all!

Esak Garcia

The winning yogis from the Youth, Men's and Women's divisions

Amazing card from my family

Standing Head to Knee pose

Standing Bow pose

Bow pose

Rabbit pose

Spider pose

Crow pose

Got a pic in The Toronto Star online! WOAH!

Threadless purchase at The Gap

A few weeks ago I wandered into the Gap and was immediately drawn to the awesome in-store Threadless display. I was floored and knew I had to pick up a tshirt to support the collaboration and the lucky (and extremely talented) artists who's creations made it to the sales floor. Choosing my purchase was difficult, but Light Bulb House by Steven Rhodes was the winner. You may have noticed from some of my pattern work (and the blog banner) that I do enjoy a good light bulb, love the form and the connection between light bulbs as a symbol and thoughts/ideas. Please check out Steven's work on his site, his illustrations have a lovely retro aesthetic and his tshirt designs are unreal! (the Bloodsucker illustration is kick-ass). I LOVE MY TSHIRT! Thank you Mr. Rhodes :D

 

Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter! Although my family doesn't observe the religious aspect of Easter, traditionally the long weekend meant good eats, hunting for Easter eggs and watching The Ten Commandments with my grandmother. My Dad would tell us stories about how when he was growing up, the beaches in Guyana would be filled with people flying kites during Easter weekend (something I would like to see one day). Having Good Friday off meant I could spend some time in the kitchen. Even though store-bought cross buns find their way into our usual Sunday afternoon tea's at home, I wanted to try making them this year. Naturally Cynthia Nelson's recipe for hot cross buns was my go-to. I have virtually no experience working with yeast so I made sure to meticulously follow her recipe. After all was said and done I was pretty pleased with the result! They are a bit more meatier/denser than the store-bought ones, or maybe I screwed up on something :P Either way they definitely had that cross buns taste and the smell that filled the kitchen was amazing. Thanks for the recipe Cynthia! I definitely have a little more confidence working with yeast now :) Perhaps butterflaps will be next...