cross-post to my postcard project

yummy dress that i got for my birthday can be seen over here:

http://oldpostcardproject.blogspot.com/2011/03/swingin-in-technicolour.html

last night of guelph life-drawing for me

I didn't have any newsprint and didn't feel like buying any for one night of drawing so I just doodled in my sketchbook on this, my last evening of life drawing in Guelph.

The original model for the night didn't show up but I was able to contact the director of the school and she was able to contact a model who lives nearby and that model came to our rescue - thankfully!

It so happens that the replacement was one of my favourite models so that turned out great.

Also fun was a bunch of the drawers taking turns posing while we killed time waiting for our replacement model.

It was the most fun night of drawing so far.

Up to this point I've been mainly excited about our impending move but the sadness of leaving is now starting to kick in. Guelph is a great town and I will miss it. And I will miss being the facilitator of life-drawing night at GSA. Sighs...

Here are some of the night's drawing (all 15 minutes except the last one which was about 35 minutes):

I liked how the sun was falling on the drawing here:

lady lucks trades again

Ok, I know I should probably be too upset about the earthquake in Japan to care about doing another totally self-indulgent blog post but I'm not. I mean, it's upsetting - along with a bunch of other upsetting stuff in the world - but that stuff is in a whole different brain-compartment than this.

Personally, I've had another interesting and fun day and I feel like playing Show N' Tell.

Sorry if that offends any sensitive types. I'll donate some money so stay off my back.

Oddly, many of the things I'm about to show here are from Japan. Japan is pretty much my "favourite place I've never been to" and I do hope to go there one day (and I'm not really into travel so that's saying a lot).

Anyway, crazy thing happened on my way to get something from my storage locker. I ran into Super again. I told him to wait right where he was because I wanted to show him something. I happened to own some Japanese Miss Cutie Pie ceramics that match a cookie jar he had in his room.

I've had them wrapped up in storage for years because I don't use them anymore but they were to cool to give away.

Once upon a time, when I was part of a group art show with a Day of the Dead theme, I even decorated a plastic skull to look like the dead version of Miss Cutie Pie. You can see that skull in the picture below.

Super was really into the ceramics and immediately offered to buy them but I had't been planning to sell them actually...

However, I DID have my eye on few cool things in that room...

(I knew having an antique store in the basement was going to be a weakness... I'm MOVING! Im supposed to be getting rid of stuff!! (In fairness to myself, I have brought a lot of things to various thrift stores the last few weeks.))

Then Super made me an offer I couldn't refuse, $30 plus a trade for the things I had my eyes on. Suddenly I wasn't really too attached to the Cutie Pies anymore! So off they went to join their kin and off I went with what I consider a major score. (I kept Dead Cutie.)

(I know these ceramics can sell for a bit on ebay but frankly, I'm way too lazy to consider doing that!)

Anyway, here is the whole Cutie Pie family together:

And here's what I got:

A neat old button with a cock on it

That lead Native American toy from yesterday's post (and a cowboy!), ironically both from England

A nice, slightly-broken-but-easily-fixable, Bass purse

And the MAIN event, a linked chain all whittled out of a single piece of wood - made by one of Super's friends whilst in the clink. My question is, how did a guy in jail have a knife for whittling? I'll have to ask Super that and see if the story holds up!! Anyway, it would be really neat even if it wasn't made by a jailbird - but that does make it a little more romantic doesn't it?!

It goes well with my "hobo art" star


Not a single link is broken. I checked them all. Patience of a saint he had!

But that's not even the end of my excitement!

As Super and I continue to bull-shit each other, he's showing me some piece of furniture he pulled out of the dumpster (a really nice chaise lounge but it needs a lot of work), he mentions this old industrial sewing machine that he never uses... and I basically freak out immediately.

He's had it for 4 years and never plugged it in. When he gets it pulled out from behind some cabinets and turns it on, it runs like a dream. It needs a presser foot but other than that I think it is going to work!

I have said to myself many times (while sewing through fabric far too thick for my household machine), "damn I wish I had an industrial machine!"

I won't say for how much I got it because honestly, I almost feel like I stole it...

Oh. And it's a "Juki". Made in Japan.

By the way, here is an article with a few ideas about how to donate to Japan:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Japan+earthquake+donate/4425476/story.html

life-drawing (two weeks, one post)

Between work and apartment-hunting (and generally obsessing about moving) I've been a bit too distracted to post my life-drawings (or anything else) for the last two weeks... but I'm in a calm-before-the-storm moment now so here's a catch-up...

***

I'm glad I've been taking pictures of the drawings and posting them here because having this archive has allowed me to feel totally OK with getting rid of the piles and piles of drawings before I move. I can still track my progress without keeping the physical papers.

***

I haven't been very impressed with my drawings the last two weeks. (Not that that is the goal - it's just about the practice right? Yes. Right... but I'm not gonna lie about it feeling awesome when I knock it outta the park!)

I didn't really connect with the last two models. Not that they weren't good... just something about the chemistry wasn't right...

I mention this because I've been noticing that certain models on certain nights really "click" and some don't. Actually, even the SAME model on different night might click or not click.

It's such an interesting relationship really... the "clicking" is dependent on the focus and energy of BOTH parties!

Normally I would just assume that I alone was having an off night but I'm starting to realize that the models have off nights too and that can really affect the drawing. It's not like they are inert objects in a still-life.

In fact the mood of the other drawers in the room can affect things too... (perhaps I pick up too easily on other peoples' energy?)

None of this is to say that the mood has to be happy/light/comfortable to have a good drawing night. Often struggling against weird conditions gets great drawings too.

But some nights are just kind of flat.

***

For instance, the model dude from two weeks ago I must have drawn at least 3 times now and other nights I got really good drawings. But this week he was pretty tired and shaky and I was actually kind of worried I might have to do some kind of first-aid on him. This made focusing on the drawing a lot harder.

The extreme angle I took probably didn't help...

I was liking this one but wish I had gotten further along...

Same with this one... would have been nice to get more black on the right-hand side there.

This was a total experiment with coloured pastel (because I saw another person in the room drawing this way)

When we zoom out, you can see how I felt about it...

***

This week I had good, positive feelings going into the studio but then the model was quite young and new to modeling and her poses lacked creativity. In retrospect, I wish I had coached her a little bit in her poses but I had never run into this situation before and I didn't know how to do it without sounding harsh. She was very beautiful and had a dancer's frame - but sometimes that is harder for me to engage with visually... not very many nooks and crannies to dig in to.

Anyway, other people seemed to like her a lot... so it was just me that it didn't click for I guess...

I've run out of newsprint and don't want to buy more before moving so I brought in some alternative surfaces:

By the end I just gave up and sort of made the last pose into some kind of landscape...

secret treasure part 3

I didn't forget those tables. I'll get back to them.

But first, I DID make a purchase in the secret-basement-antique-store! And so did my niece who came to visit the next day!

She got this terrific, chrome, kitchen-staples container. I've never really seen something like this and was a little jealous that she noticed it. I kept walking past it thinking it was a just breadbox (it was on it's side, facing a wall).

For my part, remember that Harmonium (small pump organ) Super was playing? I picked that up for ten bucks! Super had gotten for $7 he said, from a garage sale.

I love that it's from the whore house... I mean, Lahore House... of music...

It's really pretty and all the keys work!

And when you're done jamming, it all packs into a tidy little box!

It fits in well with the other miniature instruments we have: ukuleles, kazoos, and a toy glockenspiel. We've got a pretty awesome mini-orchestra for two non-musicians!

Super also threw this freebie in. A small folk art box with a couple on it. When you open the lid of the box the couple french-kisses. Dirty birds!

And lastly, in the course of all this action, I got those two tables painted up and looking good enough to take along when we move.

(They were both going to be blue originally but after priming I realized that I wouldn't have enough blue paint... luckily I happened to have a bunch of yellow in my back pocket. They will look nice and cheery out in the balcony garden I think!)

Super kind of feels like the Grandpa I never knew. Such a fun dude to hang out with and it was really nice of him to let me invade his workshop. I'm pretty sure there is not a cooler super out there.

I gave him a bunch of naked-lady-drawings* for the trouble...

(*I've been finding homes for some of my nicer life-drawings. I don't want to move them all. The rest will get chucked.)

* * * * * *

Just in case you didn't read Part 1 of this story, this is what the tables used to look like:

The END

...

secret treasure part 2

So we're still in the train room and Super says to me he says, "Have you ever seen my Collectibles Room?"

And I'm all like, "Whaaaa? Nooooo..."

So he walks me down the hall he does to a door that has always confounded me because it has a different lock and a board across the bottom of the doorway. (Which I later learn keeps out water in case of a flood. Smart.)

He opens the door and I basically jizzed in my panties. (Yes, you can click that. No, it is NOT me jizzing in my panties.)

He tells me most of it is for sale, just make an honest offer.

So... There is basically an antique store IN the basement of MY BUILDING and I never knew until 2 weeks before I'm gonna move out!! (probably for the best actually...)

And it's all cozy too with a nice lounge chair and a good record player. Sometimes, on a Sunday afternoon, Super says he hangs out smoking and drinking and playing tunes.

I went 'round and 'round that room and kept on seeing new things every time... like going to a museum without all the boring reading.

Lots of old tin toys.

Cool old radios and creepy gnomish characters.


A superman that turns out to be a hair brush from AVON - complete with hair...

A cool BB-gun called "Daisy" (not for sale though).

This wagon was kind of neat. It was a delivery cart for a store in Toronto back in the day (owned by A. Elliot). The address is still there but it is a newer house now. I wonder if the people that live there like antiques...

I liked this little guy but didn't buy it... don't need more little trinkets...

But I couldn't help taking this old package when Super gave it to me. "Nerve Food" for "sleeplessness and general weakness". Yeah, I could use some of that. Oh wait... it contains Arsenic and Strychnine... nevermind... I'll wait until I'm actually battling heart disease to willingly ingest those thanks...

And here he is... the man of the hour, Super McBlurryhead, demonstrating a cool Indian Harmonium.

I am coveting that Black Cat Cigarette sign behind but it's worth a pretty penny so I shall refrain...

Turns out there are a few other rooms down there full of other stuff but not neatly organized like this... more furniture, lots of records, a bunch of bikes (if only I'd known THAT a year ago!!).

I learned the Super is a first-generation Canadian from Dutch parents (Frisian even!!) like me. I wonder if this explains some of our scavenging/collecting similarities? hahaha!

There's a 3rd and final part to this saga. Read on!

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secret treasure part 1

Moving is great for sorting out the clutter. It is so much easier to edit out objects that don't fit in anymore.

But some items ride a fine line and I recently came to decision-time for two old tables. I decided that if I had time to spruce them up before moving, they could come along. Otherwise they would get the boot. As luck would have it, after a busy week of work and an even busier weekend, my Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty wide open and I decided to paint the tables.

Little did I know what great discoveries lay ahead when I set forth on this project!

My table renovation story is intertwined with getting to know my building superintendent much better and discovering several treasure troves in my basement's building. I already knew this place was special but now I'm pretty sure I'll never live in an apartment building quite as unique as this one.

So here is the tale in photos... I'll tell it through the captions beneath each photo:

These are the two table in question, BEFORE. On the left is one I pulled out of the dumpster downstairs - it was out in the garden all summer and I have plans to use it as a stand for a big Boston Fern I got recently (that's a whole OTHER post to follow). On the right is one I picked up at Value Village for $5. I love the wheels and the drop leaves but hate the colour.


The reason this was in the dumpster, bottom shelf was cracked. This was my "I-have-only rudimentary-tools-and-skills" fix.

Protective plastic booties for the wheels.

My super Super said it was OK to do my project down in his workshop. I've admired this workshop for a long time so it was fun to hangout in there. Super has a rubber ducky on his toolbox, a good sign of a fun personality.

This is not a tiny workshop. It's huge and well-stocked!

Super is a man after my own heart. He pulled this chair out of the same dumpster as I pulled the table from. He fixed it up real nice.

(There was already a lot of spray paint in the air when I took this picture.)

He is fixing up this nice little shelf for his son. COVET!

He also supplied me with gloves and a face mask! I told you he was SUPER, all looking out for my health and stuff.

Further evidence of Super's fun-ness. Jokes about seniors taped to wall (he is a senior).

The car he is restoring is a DODGE SHADOW!


He has a bucket of nipples.

OK, getting back to the tables... here they are after being coated in primer. I spray bombed these and one can just barely covered them both.

Also - graffiti artists must have huge forearm muscles!! Mine are still sore two days later!

Now, I already knew that there was a large room in the basement of this building that was completely dedicated to a massive model train set. It was a charming discovery when we first moved in and I bragged about it to everyone. In the course of talking with Super I discovered he had taken it all apart and is selling it off (the stuff originally belonged to a previous, elderly super and the current Super was tired of maintaining it... so if you know anyone who is into model trains...)

He let me in the room to take a last look around.

I was lucky to see it running when we first came here - even for someone not "into" trains it was a magical sight! It is a big room (at least 12ft x 20ft, maybe bigger) and the whole thing was one huge scene with several tracks running around through it. The walls are all blue with clouds painted on them. The sense of one person's pride/love/dedication/madness for it all was palpable.

Now it looks like this. Kinda sad. (It reminded me of Seth's Dominion models.)

The topmost engine had a pricetag left on the box. $300!!! Which made me realize there is a lot of money in this room if the right buyer ever comes along!

Maybe a museum or a hospital? The IWK in Halifax has a train set in it for kids' enjoyment. (It pales in comparison to this set actually...)

This Bedford tower reminded me of Nova Scotia. Hard not to feel nostalgic in a room full of old, unused toys I guess...

Please see Parts 2 and 3 for the conclusion of the table project and other good stuff!!!

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