ARTIST PROJECT TORONTO

My first model, Jasenya, was a high school student in Toronto who is interested in art and fashion.

Lorna is a UPS delivery associate who enjoys modeling on the side.

This piece, modeled by Lorna, was the last one I painted.  I felt like I could have kept going!

Our Art Collectif x Mike Smalley x Artfully Awear booth!

Ann is the mother of my first model, Jasenya.  She said they like to do creative things together, and have even appeared in music videos!

Jessica is a performance artist who uses her body as her medium.

Here I am with my model, Ann, and Art Collectif founder Erika.

Last weekend, I exhibited my work at an art fair for the first time ever!  In collaboration with Art Collectif and Mike Smalley, I created four one-of-a-kind Artfully Awear garments on live models with a live audience at Artist Project Toronto.  It was truly a test of my abilities.  I've learned that it's one thing to spend time at home making my pieces, and another challenge completely to do it with people watching (and wearing the garments!) at the same time.

I have to admit that I've had a difficult start to 2018, creatively.  Around the beginning of the year, I entered a weird creative depression - I didn't want to make anything or feel inspired to try anything new with my work.  I've gone through creative ups and downs before, but this one seemed more significant; I wondered if I'd reached the end of Artfully Awear.

My friend Erika Floysvik, founder of Art Collectif and Toronto native, had spoken to me about partnering with her company Art Collectif to highlight one of their artists through an Artfully Awear demonstration during Artist Project Toronto.  I'd agreed to do it, but in all honesty, I was really worried about it when the time came.  Since I hadn't created anything in a while, I didn't feel like I'd be able to deliver my best work on the project.  However, I'd agreed to do it, so I prepped the garments and flew to Toronto, nervous about the way they would turn out.

Everyone in Toronto and at the fair was so kind and welcoming!  I immediately let go of some of my nerves when I realized that I was among friends.  I almost immediately got to work meeting my first model, Jasenya, and painting my first garment.  With each successive work, I felt more confident and thought the result was better.  By the fourth piece, I felt like I could go on forever!

My favorite part of the whole experience was meeting the models that Sharalee, Erika's assistant, had sourced for me.  I'd requested that each one be diverse - whether in physical characteristics or background, and she found some very special women!  I loved being able to highlight them on my Instagram, and especially enjoyed working with Jasenya and Ann, a mother daughter pair.

That aspect of the project opened a whole new form of what I do - using wearable art to empower women.  I've already experienced what this project has done for my own creativity and confidence, and now it's time for me to share that feeling with others.

Thank you to Mike Smalley, the lovely artist whose work inspired all of these new pieces, and to Art Collectif for being a wonderful partner on this project!

I'm looking forward to my next visit to Toronto, and to discovering new ways to bring the empowering message of Artfully Awear to others.

GENERAL IDEA @ MUSEO JUMEX

This is the final post from my Mexican travels earlier this month.  It was an epic journey that ended in Mexico City, where there are more museums than I could possibly see in one visit - or in a whole month!

One of the museums that made the cut for my stay was Museo Jumex, which is focused on contemporary art.  On view currently is a retrospective of the work of the artist collective General Idea, called "Broken Time".  The exhibition showcases work from the three collaborating artists in a diverse array of mediums, from painting to photography to film.

General Idea was made up of three collaborators: AA Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal.  The artists used their collective work to explore many different themes throughout their activity, including the exploration of advertising and mass media, ideals of beauty, and the global and local effect of AIDS.  The collective's work was cut short when Partz and Zontal passed away due to AIDS-related complications in 1994.

Some of my favorite works in the exhibition were actually created before the artists officially established their collective.  The ziggurat paintings shown here were completed by Felix Partz in 1968, after he traveled in Tangier and was besought by the Islamic architecture and imagery he saw there.  For General Idea, ziggurats were a symbol of power, and they used this motif over and over in their work.

Of course I couldn't resist the chance to do my own power poses with the paintings!

General Idea: Broken Time is on view at Museo Jumex in Mexico City until February 12, 2017.

ART OF FASHION 2013: Past Behavior.

"There is no such thing as design, just re-design."

Left: Bronzino, Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and Her Son, ca. 1545; Right: Frank Sorbier Collection, Fall 2013 Couture

This statement is true across media of art and design -- as it is said, there is nothing new under the sun.  Artists and designers alike look to the past for inspiration and ways to re-make, re-model, re-imagine styles and ideals that came before.  Art of Fashion, an award-winning not-for-profit organization, is committed to fostering the careers of emerging Canadian apparel and accessory designers by creating platforms for exposure.  Each year, Art of Fashion hosts a call for entries for emerging designers to create looks based on a chosen theme.  This year, the theme for the Project Runway-like competition is Past Behavior.

Left: Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, Portrait of a Woman, 1628; Right: Georges Hobeika Collection, Fall 2013 Couture

Designers entering the competition are encouraged to "take from the past and apply to the present", resulting in modern takes on traditional designs.  Fashion, like art, is cyclical, and the canon of Art History provides a wealth of inspiration for today's established fashion designers.  As with the inspirational images in this post, it is obvious that the theme Past Behavior is relevant within the latest collections of some of the most distinguished fashion designers.

Left: Torii Kiyonaga, Geisha of the Tachibana Street, 1742; Right: Didit Hediprasetyo Collection, Spring 2013 Couture

Art of Fashion's Past Behavior call for entries closes on August 9th, and the ten most promising entrants will showcase their collections in Toronto on September 27th.  I can't wait to see how these emerging designers will utilize the theme, and look forward to seeing work that reinvents the past in ways that are uniquely Canadian.

You can follow Art of Fashion on Facebook and Twitter, and stay tuned for my recap of the winning designs!

[Artwork images via metmuseum.org, worldofshakespeare.com, and www.elizabethan-portraits.com; Runway images from nymag.com.]