gallery notes | vinyl lettering

we all have "a thing" right? a thing that gets us excited, makes us loopy with joy and turns us in to total dorks. mine is vinyl lettering. when i worked at a gallery in ontario, i helped out with exhibition installations here and there. mostly, it was my job to take the vinyl lettering down. few else had the patience that it takes to scrape those letters off of the wall. then one day the curatorial assistant asked me if i wanted to put the vinyl lettering up. did i ever! she showed me all of the tricks and techniques and over the years i have enjoyed practicing them. 

i love how putting up this lettering gives the exhibition its finishing touch. there's a sense of finality that the installation is done, but the show is just beginning. there's something so magical about pulling away the wax paper and revealing the words beneath - so shiny and new. in fact, it's downright sexy.

you begin with wax paper, adhered to a sticker like paper - with the vinyl lettering in between. generally the text will come in the shape you ordered it in, but if it is too long horizontally, or vertically, it has to be cut into smaller chunks.

you then lay each section on the wall, taped along the top of each sheet (horizontally taped is better as it makes for a smoother pull later - it doesn't get stuck on the vertical strips of tape.) using a level, adjust the sections until the text is perfectly straight (depending on the font, you can place the level at the bottoms of n's or the top or middle of t's. personally, if the text isn't in italics, i love using e's to level the piece because there are lots of them and they have a nice long straight line in the center.) don't assume that the top or bottom of the paper is straight - it's not (especially if you've cut it!)

when the sheets of paper are perfectly leveled, lift up the first section (since it's only taped horizontally on the top) and peel off the underside of wax paper. hold the sticky side right in the middle against the wall. since your other hand is peeling off the paper, you only have one hand and you don't want it to fall back down against the wall just yet. after the wax paper has dropped off completely, use two hands to steady the sticky strip and then let it fall very gently. take your plastic scraper and brush the sticky sheet down in the absolute center. brush out out from there, moving evenly left and right until all of the paper is sticking to the wall.

use the scraper to brush harder now, so that the vinyl letters underneath adhere to the wall. you can pretty much scrape the paper as hard as you want. don't forget to brush the dots over the i's!

when it's all scraped, begin pulling from one corner - very slowly to check if the letters are staying on the wall. this is very similar to doing iron on t-shirt transfers (but not nearly as cool).

repeat these steps for each chunk of text until you are done. re-check the straightness with your level in between just to be sure. don't forget to check the straightness vertically too, especially where the text begins on the left.

and voila! super chic, super sexy vinyl lettering. gosh, its beauty just gets me every time!*


*this lettering depicts a quote by renowned canadian poet, robert service. the artist i work for illustrated the book that this quote came from - "the cremation of sam mcgee."

feature art friday | samantha hahn

it's a beautiful sunny day in victoria bc, i'll be at an exhibition opening tonight (one which i have worked very hard on) and so what better art to feature than some beautiful, light and fresh watercolours. in accordance with my new obsession with female contemporary watercolourists (here and here), i present to you: samantha* hahn! her ethereal portraits of women make me ache equally for a time that is past, and for a single moment to lay down and daydream. i am wood by these blushing cheeks and the fact that some works appear to have been painted on the backs of receipts and other miscellany.

samantha hahn

* how fortuitous as well that i spoke of a samantha yesterday.

fifty-two projects | project one

this is project one of fifty-two projects, for more completed projects, click here.

project one | gather up all of the letters one of your oldest friends has sent to you over the years. photocopy the letters. put the photocopies in an envelope, and then mail off the envelope to your friend.

alterations | none! i love this project!!

this one has been in the works since i first began the fifty-two projects. i had to get my mom, who lives in a different province, to search for these letters. then a couple months later when her and my dad came to visit, they brought boxes full of them to me!

her name is samantha. we met in kindergarden, and she moved away in grade three. we've kept in touch through all these years despite living provinces apart. i don't have too many letters from our younger years because we didn't send letters...we sent tapes!! we used to record ourselves talking and then we would mail that instead!

it's been a total blast going through these letters - and i've only had time to skim them. i can't wait to sit down and read them all. i think for the holidays i'm going to photocopy tons of them, bind it in some way and then send them off as part of her christmas gift. she's going to love it! i know i would love to see all of the ones i sent her :)

below are some of the letters.

2000, 2002

 2003, 2004

2005, 2009

 2010, 2011

some of my favourite finds:

this amazing cartoon sam drew for me!!

 a letter where she tells me she has decided to start dating a certain guy - and i was the only one who encouraged it apparently! she is now married to this man.

 pictures of her ultrasound last year

wow, how time flies...

what i made | butterflies

for my birthday in november, j said he would treat me to fifteen dollars at every stamp store in our city. this is one of my fifteen dollar stamps - isn't she a beaut?

dear santa | christmas wish list

i'm a real material girl. sad to say but it's true. my penchant for art, dresses, craft supplies, jewelry and more art far outweighs any semblance of my "it's the thought that counts" nature. don't get me wrong - i love giving presents. i love being creative, and finding that perfect item for someone. something serious, silly or something they really need. but i also find joy in receiving, because when someone gives you something, you don't feel that guilt that you would have if you'd gotten it for yourself.

and so, in that vain....

one | a trip to italy please! two | 'big love' season five. three | an adorable little painting entitled 'mining for gold' by alexandra hunter from the gallery i work at. four | a kobo reader with wifi five | please pay off my credit card. six | the new 'florence and the machine' cd 'ceremonials.' seven | a beautiful silk scarf eight | a b6 or p11 gocco printer with inks, screens and bulbs. nine | a herstyler curling wand. ten | outdoor mocassins. ok, indoor mocassins too.

mail art monday | vintage stamps and venice

best. mail. week. ever. 

among holiday gifts for j, and other things, this week in the mail i got two fantastic deliveries. the first, were the vintage canadian stamps i ordered from jaime at send more mail. each grouping consists of fifty-nine cents worth of stamps, enough for a letter sized envelope. they are so special! they are unused, in perfect condition and i can't wait to send some letters! my favourite are the large one of the queen in her hottie mctottie years,* and the really colorful seven cent stamp in the upper right corner.

my second delivery was such a surprise! it was friday night and we had just got home from a party. i usually check the mail every morning before work, but that morning i'd been in a rush. even though it was eleven pm, i told j i was going to check the mail. he told me i was crazy.**

well by golly i'm glad i did anyways! i received this beautiful envelope below from theresa in venice, italy. she originally came across me on pinterest, and stumbled into my etsy shop and blog. she sent me a wonderful array of stickers (my absolute favourite one in the last image), and offered to send me anything else i would like from italy. god, it just feels so magical to get such beautiful things (so randomly) from one of the places in the world that i revere most.*** thanks theresa, i hope to respond to you soon (how strange is it in this day and age to only have someone's snail mail address and not their email as well?)

* is that like, monarchy blasphemy or does that concept only apply to religious matters?
** i can't say i blame him, it's a pretty serious obsession of mine.
*** as an art historian, my first love was always italian art. it's been a dream of mine to travel there some day.

a free desktop wallpaper for you!

i can't believe what an incredibly busy month november has been. it's been absolutely non-stop with the holiday orders, the craft shows and the extra gallery shifts. so needless to say i've been feeling really disorganized. my house is a total mess, and so was my desktop. as i looked around at my apartment, it seemed like a whole day project - but the desktop? that i can manage.

i have a tendency to place my files in little bunches until i'm ready to do something with them. some files need to be listed on etsy, others are collaborations i'm working on, some are to be emailed to my mother, and others, well they just live on my desktop all the time. so i thought, why not make an actual placemat style organizer for my desktop? so i did, and now i'll share it with you.

i've never done this before, but i made it as big as i could to upload it to blogger - 1920x1200. click the image to get the full size and right click to set it to your desktop. you may have to play with your wallpaper settings. (i found that 'fit to screen' worked best for my 13" mac pro).

enjoy!

art | buying it for yourself and others

let's buy some art! it seems to me that when it comes to buying gifts for others, art is almost never considered as an option. yes, i'm very aware that art is personal, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz - but to me buying art for someone else is really no different than taking the time to painstakingly choose say, a pair of pretty earrings. in both situations you have to consider the person's personal style and preferences. you can also buy art for yourself. either way, it doesn't have to be scary. in fact, with the development of the websites below, i'd say it's getting easier and easier!

in my e-course, i talk a lot about buying art, the many different kinds (originals, paintings, prints, limited edition prints, posters, photography, canvas transfers, sculpture, imports etc), and general price ranges. if you want more details, you can sign up for the course at any time, here.

buying art doesn't have to be an expensive process. nowadays there are so many websites geared towards accessible art (i.e. reproductions as opposed to originals). and now that the canvas transfer obsession has entered the reproduction art world, we can all feel like art connoisseurs in our own home! below are some notable sites to purchase art from:

one | there's lots of sites that sell every image under the sun - an example is all posters. they sell these images in every format possible (except of course, the original!). they'll even frame it for you.* the upside is that you can likely find what you want, especially when looking for posters or images by famous artists of history. but the downside is just that, there's no focus or theme or brand. 

***

two | 20x200. i love this site. created by jen bekman, who also owns a gallery in new york,** 20x200 sells prints based on the idea that every image can be purchased in an edition of 200 for 20 dollars. at the other end, you can spend 200 dollars for a larger print in an edition of 20 (a lower edition number heightens the value of the print). they have tons of selection, lots of colour, and their email newsletter often offers coupons or notifies about sales (though it's delivered practically daily, which is a bit much!)

update: as of january 2012, 20x200 have changed their prices - still well worth the money however!

three | society 6. this is one of my favourite new sites. it feels very modern, is set up well, and is incredibly easy to use. society 6 cleverly targets both the art market and technology market. they sell art prints, canvas transfers, iphone, i pad and laptop skins, and a bit of apparel. they represent up and coming artists, designers, photographers and illustrators. they also tap into specific trend markets by presenting collections curated by the editors of design milk, cool hunting, threadless and more.

four | artstar. this site is newer but is simple and i suspect it will make an impression quickly, once they add more artwork. dealing mostly in prints, art star also offers a few original artists and gently coach visitors to consider this option when they are ready to expand their collection in that direction. as the site is for "collecting," the sizes generally begin at 11x14.

five | buy some damn art. although this little blog style website is very new, i'm including it here because i really love the premise. each week, the editor lists about six works of original art between 200-500 dollars and you can snap them up before they're gone! it's a very exciting opportunity, and you have the chance to get in on the ground floor of a great artist's career!

six | etsy, big cartel, etc. if you want to buy art straight from the source, these are the places to go. there's a real sense of excitement in purchasing any form of art directly from the artist. you may be able to get a deeper sense of the meaning behind the work, and even have discussions about it with the artist. read the product descriptions carefully however, as the works have not been scouted for a certain quality - something that can be important when you want your art to last for decades or more.

*which makes no sense to me because no one except qualified art movers should ever be shipping glass under any circumstances.

** dream of all dreams!!

*** i have to tell you this crazy thing - i came across jane mounts "ideal bookshelf" website the other night at work. i usually email myself cool links like this but i had to leave and had already closed out my email so i just closed the tab. then the very next morning i got my 20x200 email and jane mount was the featured artist!! how crazy is that?

feature art friday | kris atomic

i've had a bit of a girl crush on kris atomic since the first time i stumbled upon her blog. you know how sometimes you look at yourself and feel like you aren't skilled enough or creative enough? well, when you discover women like kristina, you're bound to think "ohhh, that's where all the talent went!" kristina is a photographer and illustrator who lives in brighton. her blog is simple, tasteful and full of exciting pops of colour. this series below, from her portfolio, is indicative of her whimsical illustrative style (and i love the journal-like presentation!):

fifty-two projects | project six

this is project six of fifty-two projects. for more completed projects click here.

project six | you never know when it all might end. that thing about just walking across the street and getting hit by a bus - it really could happen. write a letter to be given to the most important person in your life in the event of your death.

alterations | none, but i'm not going to share it here.

you know, i've been pretty open when it comes to the fifty-two projects. but this one, well, it's pretty gruesome and i don't think i could post something like that here. i'll write this letter to my husband. i guess once you get past the morbid nature of this task, it's actually rooted in a nice idea. goodness knows if anything were ever to happen to the love of my life well...i'd want something. something that would tell me we shared an awareness of this possibility, and how dreadful it would be.

i'll hide it in my underwear drawer.