Wednesday, November 5, 2008

hope is a powerful thing

i don't know whether it was the skeptic in me or the fact that i had given up on american politics altogether, or the fact that i just didn't believe it could happen that made obama's win so riveting for me. anything is possible. this is something i believe, i even tell people this; i've read the books, memorized the quotes, but this was happening in reality. not just something inspirational said by some dead philosopher. i felt a huge relief for all the american's i know and love, or may not even know yet. i feel better knowing you can choose wisely with your hearts. you are safe now. today i felt and saw the impossible possible. 

i never thought i would thank the states for anything besides ben and jerry's creme brulee ice cream and thanksgiving day sales, but thank you america, thank you for the hope.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

holiday craft fairs announcement!

after halloween rolls by, the holiday stuff is up. it is shockingly fast. i can't believe the clocks have been set back, november is here, the holidays are just around the corner! xlmammals will be participating in the gotcraft! holiday market december 7th at the cambrian hall on commercial drive, looking forward to our first ever  gotcraft event! stay tuned to see if we will be at the blim winter market on december 20th. must get busy! AHHHHH! 

for more information on gotcraft check out www.gotcraft.ca



anna maclellan






i had the pleasure of meeting this super talented local artist a few weeks ago and can't wait to show you her work. anna's mixed media art has a beautiful nostalgic quality, given that she has amazing hook ups with vintage paraphernalia throughout the city, and has this twisted appeal of the stepford wife meets cute furry animal. anna uses vintage paper dolls and mixed media to create her collage series. i especially love the fact that she's names all of her pieces in this series. her prints are great and i am looking forward to acquiring a few myself! she has some really beautiful one of a kind pieces built with found and saved treasures that resurrect these found pieces into solid art works.



where the colour is in toronto







ryan mcginness




while i was in toronto a couple weeks ago, i missed out on takashii iwasaki but i literally walked into this ryan mcginness show in the distillery district in toronto. i've been an admirer of his work since i began my career in design. i have always loved how intricate and smooth, simple and ornate his art is. i had only seen his work in books and to have been able to see them up close was such an awesome surprise. the show was called aesthetic comfort, lots of neon in his work and lots of large scale canvases. he also created these amazing scultpures, with his art applied somehow to each individual piece.