COC 2012!

I am at 1093 Queen Street West, table 40, be sure to come say hello! 

Below: Latest item, The Playground Owl Brooch

Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project

(Cover Illustration by Somya Singh)

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project Comic Book Launch at the Art Gallery of Ontario this Tuesday, December 4th. The book is written by South Asian young women in Toronto about resiliency in the face of family violence. 

There will be a showcase of visual arts, dance, theatre, and poetry which include: 

~ The IZZAT Collective “A Open Letter” (theatre)
~ Kumari (dance)
~ Aisha & Fatima (spoken word)
~ N. Gitanjali Lena (poetry)
~ Rosina Kazi http://lalforest.bandcamp.com/ (music)
~ Somya Sigh visual art www.somyasingh.ca (visual art)
~ Subtle Vigilance Collective - The Besetting of Reena Virk, a theatrical exploration of the murder of 14 year-old Reena Virk and this crime’s haunting implications about life in our peaceable land.https://www.facebook.com/SubtleVigilance (theatre)
and more!

I am incredibly honoured to have been involved in The IZZAT Project. My illustrations will be published alongside six incredible stories created by seven young South Asian women as will as the many beautiful illustrations by artist Somya Singh. 

Thus on December 4th, we will begin the afternoon with a hands on illustration workshop which I will be a part of (4:00PM to 5:30PM), immediately followed by the exciting book launch and many anticipated performances (5:30PM to 7:00PM). 

"The IZZAT Project: Young South Asian women’s bodies and hearts are often the battleground of patriarchs, media and governments. Tired of our voices being left out of the dialogue about violence in our lives, we formed the IZZAT project. The project uses the word “izzat”, which refers to the honor or reputation of a person, family or institution. We want to challenge the way in which “honor” has been used against women to rationalize control, abuse, violence against us and instead focus on ways we can honour our right to safety. Throughout 2012, we collectively wrote six stories which were illustrated by artist Somya Singh and Selena Wong into a graphic novella, Heartbeats: the IZZAT project."

For more information or to order a copy of the book, email pomegranatetreegroup@gmail.com

Month of many events

First and foremost, I want to thank all of our friends and families who came out to Black Math's opening night. I cherish the support and love from each and everyone of you, thank you so much! For those who didn't make it out to the opening, the last day of the exhibition will be the 26th of October, which means you still have a week to check out our artwork, go, go now! 

Above: progressive shots of my painting in the show.

The next event I must share with you is the tenth year anniversary of SCARYGIRL presented by Nathan Jurevicius. Over 100 artists have been invited to interpret the seven main characters in Natha's creation: Scarygirl. Below is a close-up of my version for the show; I have chosen Bunniguru, of course. Scarygirl opens excitingly on Halloween night at Toytokyo/Underground Gallery in New York City. I will soon reveal the full drawing to you! 

Lastly, are you all ready for Canzine 2012? I certainly am! Some finalized table display images below. Canzine happens tomorrow Sunday, October 21 at 918 Bathurst Centre from 1PM to 7PM. See you there! 

Black Math

Next Wednesday evening is the opening of Black Math, a group exhibition with fellow artists: Vicki Nerino, Britt Wilson, Hyein Lee, Ty Dunitz, Ilichna Morasky, Alexei Vella, Roben Nieuwland, Ale Diaz, and I. We are so thrilled to have this opportunity to present to you our latest masterpieces at the Steam Whistle Brewery Gallery. We will be there from 7 PM to 11 PM, I hope you can join us. If for any reason you can't make the opening, the show will be up for the entire month of October! 

Below: our beautiful event poster by Alexei Vella! 

To recap, I had the best time at Bunfest this past Sunday, I met so many lovely bunny owners. Thank you for everyone who dropped by my table! Below is a photo of me holding Dizzy, whom I spent some quality time with at the event. She's La La's doppelgänger and much more willing to snuggle. 

BUNFEST!

I have been so eager to introduce Bunfest to you, a day specifically created for pet rabbits and their owners by Rabbit Rescue Inc., but of course everyone is welcome! I will be a special guest at the event equipped with everything to celebrate my La La, the unpredictable Netherland Dwarf rabbit. You can find everything you need to know about bunfest on the poster above as well as on their webpage, bunfest.ca.    

To conclude this exciting post, I leave you with a chinese newspaper clipping of La La from last week. The topic reads, "Sitting Still". The writers at Ming Pao Newspaper have also written a caption for him, to describe that he is "looking from afar".  

New Print!

Shop here! 

Unworldly Reunited

Many thanks to Harvey for an artful and friends-filled night. 

Above is our collaboration! The blue bunny line traveling portal-style via the red tracks Harvey strategically laid down. 

Unworldly Reunion

Unworldly Reunion opens this evening and it is going to be a fantastic show! This is a very special exhibition between Harvey Chan and his artistic friends. I feel so honoured to get the opportunity to collaborate with Harvey, my former instructor at OCAD. 

Location: 

DanZon Art & Dance Centre

2480 Dundas Street West, Unit 104

Date & Time:

August 9  7PM - 12AM

You will be able to view the list of participating artists and more information about the show on the event page. I will share some close up shots of the piece with you for now! 

       

Already August

The Reading Nook opens tomorrow evening at Narwhal Art Projects. You will find my latest 'Rabbit Studies' zine among the many treasures created by a wide and great selection of artists. Below is the promotional poster designed by Steph Davidson. 

Boujour Paris!

Above: Package filled with zines for Papier Gaché. They will be exhibited along other fanzines and self-published books from around the world at Fanzines! Festival in the Marguerite Duras Public Library in Paris from October 17th to November 4th. After the exhibition, the zines will become apart of the Public Library's Collection.

Thank you to Emily Taylor for bringing my attention to this festival! 

Super Birthday

Photo by Jeff Hayward, Design Edge

I am so happy to share with you that I won my first National Magazine Awards this past Friday. I am so honoured to receive a gold for illustration in The Walrus: Meet You at the Door. 

A special charming fellow extended my birthday celebration to an outdoor adventure weekend. This really was the best birthday ever, 

thank you. ♥

When Scopes Collide

The other day I read a great dialogue among three amazing ladies (one of them is Sonja!) on Rookie. I learned a valuable lesson - to be wise is to perpetually evolve. Tomorrow, I will be turning another year older and I am determined to be a little wiser. 


Last week, Hyein and I went to visit Shen and her new bunny. The bunny's name is Poe, as in Edgar Allan Poe. Hyein took a picture of us while I hypnotized him.

Happy Accident

Spilled water on the work surface always causes such a panic. Luckily there wasn't much damage. I particularly enjoyed the effects of the spillage on these Enchanted Collection printed cards.  

Below: fox girl continues  

Summer Goal

An illustrated break-down analysis of Percy's bicycle - 7" by 11", gouache on watercolour paper. I have promised him that I will learn to ride one this summer.  

May Days

As I await patiently for the spectacular summer thunder storms, I would like to inform you about a very busy weekend that is to be expected. Firstly, I hope you can come visit me at TCAF this Saturday and Sunday at the Toronto Reference Library as I will be introducing a new hand-bound book I have named "Rabbit Studies". Also freshly off the printer are three limited edition prints as well as a new set of magnets. You will be able to find me on the first floor as a part of WOWEE ZONK Small Press Showcase. Thank you, WOWEE ZONK!

Another event taking place on Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm is my choir Univox's 2nd annual fundraising yard sale! It will be held at 55 Huron Street (main intersection of Spadina and Dundas) and it shall not to be missed! 

Lastly, tonight is the opening of the 97th Annual OCAD University Graduate Exhibition, which I am very excited to see for myself! I am anticipating many stunning works. The exhibition will run from Thursday May 3, 2012 to Sunday May 6, 2012. 

Happy Weekend! 

Favourite Time of Year

I recently finished a commission for Britt's mum in which I had complete freedom on the project and I consulted my friend on her mum's favourite things. This is an ink piece of Merlin, the fluffy cat peeking through a shrub composed of irises and clematises. 


Below is a photo taken of 'Criss Cross' in the November/December Issue of This Magazine. The comic was published as the winning entry for the 2011 Great Canadian Literary Hunt Graphic Narrative Category.     

Lastly, the bunny and I would like to send everyone warm Easter wishes. Here, Lala enjoys a piece of Kraft paper in his newly constructed fort. 

Sweetness

Above are a shot of juice-like brush washing liquid as well as a process shot of a piece for an avid bicycle lover. 

The ever so lovely Sara Titanic is heading to the Chicago Zine Fest today and has brought along some of my zines and other small products with her. If you are in Chicago, please visit her! This is a two-day event happening on Friday, March 9th and Saturday, March 10th. As my tiny token of appreciation, I baked her some miffy-shaped vanilla sugar cookies. Thank you so much, Sara!! 

    

Happy February Fourteenth

Today, I came across a blog by Anna The Red, a bento & plush designer, and wanted to try out her heart shaped egg tutorial. Thank you, Anna! Heart shaped hard boiled eggs are especially sweet on Valentine's day.