Thursday, November 26, 2009

Half in the Bag...

Ever since my trip to New York, I've been noticing a lot of comments on my 'man-bag' or is it 'man-purse'?.......yeaaa, we're gonna call it a man bag. And once we get past the whole "oooh how did you get a bag from Korea??", the question comes up "why is it so heavy, do you really need all that crap in there?". Response: Le Yes!

I saw a post on theessentialman and was inspired to do my own version of it.

Honestly, you never know when you might see something that you might want to record, a thought you might find inspiring. And you never know when you might need to get your hustle on with a postcard or zine. Also, proper dental and nail hygiene are always important. A lot of what you find in my 'man bag' could appear pretty unnecessary...but it's pretty much essential for me on my travels.

Here's the full rundown:
-Kunst & Papier Sketchbook (bought in NYC, for bigger drawings, and nice paper)
-Writersblok Dotted Sketchbook (my favourite and most accessible sketchbook for drawings writing, anything)
-2 Moleskine Journals (in case I finish my Writersblok)
-Black Planner/'Moleskine look-a-like' (this is more for writing, and deadline up keep)
-Chapters Sketchbook (it's almost done, but I still keep it because it reminds me of a time long past)
-On the Road by Jack Kerouac (my current read and thoughtful gift from a friend)
-Purell (shit happens...and it makes for cool drawings effects)
-A zip lock back full of Zines and misc items (interesting things to inspire me, from cool people * * *)
-Hand-stitched bandana (Because my Gucci Bandana is in the wash, and cause it was made by my boy Jermaine)
-Postcards + Jasmine Tea Zine
-Orbit Gum
-Silver Band-aids (yea...believe it!)
-Crayola Twistables
-SKB SB-1000 0.5mm black ballpoint pen
-Papermate Black ballpoint pen
-Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen (yellow and grey)
-Brush Pen (ink and water)
-Bodyshop nail grooming kit (a christmas gift from the oh so thoughtful Ryan Christiani and + blackberry owners will agree, its soo much easier to type with properly maintained nails)
and of course
-iPod

Note: Blackberry, X-acto Knife, Business cards and Nikon D80 were not included in the picture because there were currently in use....and I thought it would be rude to take a photo of my knife.

On another note, I'm driving back to Ottawa today. All packed and ready to roll.
It might take me a few days to get back to full speed, so I apologize if there is a delay with any emails.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who was able to make the time to see me before I left, and sorry to everyone who I wasn't able to see.

Be well. Do good. And see you soon.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Just go for it

...I mean, if you're happy and healthy, why not...cause in the end


Design Monogamy?

Who says you should only have one love at time.......in design and illustration that is *ahem*. I met up with cool guy Ben Weeks the other day to hang out and grab some drinks. We indulged in some over-sized Hoegaarden pints and discussed how we can ball hard like Bruce Mau.
He had mentioned a few months back that he'd been working on his new promo poster, and showed me some of the sketches. I finally got to see the finished version of it the other night, and grab a copy for myself. The poster is beautifully designed and executed! And getting some sweet press.

You should head on over to his site if you want to grab a copy of it for yourself.

Awesome work Ben!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

New Tapestry

'Week 37'
Ink, graphite, ballpoint pen on BFK rives, 11.7" × 16.5"
I've had the good fortune of being asked to partake in a big project headed by Kessels Kramer. The project is basically a recreation of the old Bayeux Tapestry, which depicted the major news events of 1066. The project is being called 'The New Tapestry', and it consists of illustrators from around the world, contributing black and white images depicting the major news events of today.

I chose 'Week 37' of this year to illustrate, which happens to be the week of Sept. 11th. I went with depicting China's current economic downturn, and how their exports have declined from $134.9bn to 103.7bn, since last year, and how Japan's economy has found a way to grow and become the world's second-largest economy.

I'll be posting more about this a little later, so please check back. Also, Juan is currently away from the office as he is battling dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, but you can check out his contribution to the project here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Empire Statements

Wow, talk about big tings!
I've been meaning to post up these images from when I got back last week but I've been really busy with work (which is awesome!) and packing and sending off all my belongings for my move to Ottawa. I'm now down to my bare essentials, and trying to wrap everything up...which is cool i guess, very nomad-ish. Kind of taking this week and a bit to meet up with everyone before I head back home and sort of totally tunnel vision on the solo in February at Show & Tell. Anyways, the trip!

NY was amazing! It seemed to go by way to quickly... it was so great hanging out with all the west coast homies again, they really came correct, ties and everything. I feel sooo incredibly fortunate that I was able to venture through the big city with Amanda and Tessar...and an especially big thanks to Amanda for making the impossible possible. Here are a few photos from the trip
11 hour bus + David Bowie= no thang at all
I feel like a big douche when I do this, but I was able to snag a sketch from Joao, before we powered down on our lychee martinis
Joao, Tess, Roman, and Amanda in all their soft focus gloryI love of direct New Yorkers are.
A few of the sights from the MET. I wish I could have taken some photos at the Kandinsky exhibit, that was absolutely ridiculous! One thing I love about taking trips down to the States, is how cheap the art supplies are! I think I bought about 7 sketchbooks for the same price as one moleskine here in Canada...is this the price we must pay for free health care?!
Some sketchbooking with T lo.

You can see more of the photos I took from the trip on my flickr account...be gentle, it's still new.

Also you can check out some of Tessar's photos from the trip, plus some works from the 'Zachary Quinto trio'

This was easily one of the best trips I've ever taken...it was incredibly nourishing, and sooo many laughs. I think the best way to describe the trip would be a mash up of
Jay-Z and Street Fighter....and maybe a little Miley Cyrus -Party in the USA.

It was awesome meeting all the new friends and thanks again to everyone who made the trip as great as it was. :)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Wonderous world

"A Fly on the Wall" Jeremy Asher Lynch from Modus Films on Vimeo.

The awesomely talented Mr. Lynch will be having a three-person show + project room show with James Roper, Eric Davidson, and Kevin Taylor tonight at LeBasse Projects in culver city. From the shots I've seen it looks like he's done some really fantastic work. The show is titled 'Natural Wonders', if your in the LA area you should definitely check it out!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Journey to the East

I'm heading out tomorrow morning with Mr. Lo to check out the LeBasse Projects Pop up show 'Go East' in New York. I'm really excited to go visit NYC, it's been many a moon since my last visit.

'Go East' LeBasse Projects Video Preview from Modus Films on Vimeo.

My last trip to New York was amazing, got to see sooo much and took rolls and rolls of photos...sadly 6 of the 8 rolls were exposed. This time I'm armed with the ol' DSLR, so we won't be havin any of that!

Anyways I'm gonna go finish packing and listen to a bunch of WNYC Radio Lab podcasts, and maybe format some Annie Hall or Eternal Sunshine for my iPod.

Take care!

Monday, November 02, 2009

Can - U - Zine??

Canzine....kind of amazing!!

Yesterday I took part in CANZINE, Canada's Largest Zine Fair and Festival of Alternative Culture at the Gladstone hotel. There was sooo much awesome stuff to see there! (posters, cards, books, hipsters, and of course zines). I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Tessar Lo and Martha Chan...things got pretty ziiiiinee-y; we spent most of the day discussing the finer aspects of pastries, unicorns, and of course auto-tune.

Thank you soo much to everyone who stopped by to say hi and picked up a zine! Here are some photos from the day and my new zine that was on sale.

jasmine tea, 24 - 4.25 x 5.5" pages filled with love and passioné!...realistically it's a collections of new drawings, paintings and musings on the finer points of life. It also happens to include the secret ingredient to make great Jasmine tea inside!
Somehow, it turned into Hallow-zine fair...Check out my sweet score!
Paparazzi was everywhere...SHAAAWWTAAYEEEE!!!
Obligatory crowd shot + the birth of 'Uni-boy' + some crazy zine-ster who wouldn't stop singing Ludacris
A remix of folding futures + a visit
Check out some of the coverage :

blogTO


the torontoist

And this crazy canzine sighting

Thanks for all the inspiration and awesome canzine! See you folks next year!

PS. Check out some of Tess' photos from the day...and the world!