Lainey and her Big Gulp.
#RealityBites, #TheNineties, #WinonaForever
I don’t want to be good
May 19, 2021
I don’t want to be good (yawn), I want to do good (BOOM!) That means working with doers.
One of my latest partnerships is with Lakeshore Arts, a not-for-profit arts organization just down the street from me in Etobicoke.
From Monday to Friday, the LSA team is working hard producing an array of arts programming designed to knit together this vibrant community in healthy, inclusive, and sustainable ways.
Take a look at their Instagram feed, @LakeShoreArts, and you’ll see what I mean.
I designed these 3 “Care Cards” for their Spring Fundraiser. By buying a single card ($9) or the set of 3 ($25), your purchase will help LSA continue to offer FREE arts programming.
Consider donating an extra $5, $10 or $50 to your card purchase.
To help the cause, I just bought back some of my own card designs. I’ve been on a card and letter writing tear during Covid (so Jane Austen). I needed a lift and I figured so did my friends, so out came the fountain pen.
To purchase your cards/ donate, copy and paste this link: lakeshorearts.ca/donate/
Thank you for doing good.
You’re awesome.
Alison xo
Jane’s Walk Toronto
April 11, 2021
Jane’s Walk is a grassroots movement focused on city building. It’s named after the urban activist and badass Torontonian Jane Jacobs.
Every Spring, to honour Jane’s birthday and her spirit of inquiry, cities around the world host volunteer-led walking tours that make spaces for people to observe, reflect, share, question, and re-imagine the places in which they live, work and play.*
Each event gives agency to and champions the voices of everyday people.
Jane’s Walk Toronto (Jane’s Walk Toronto) is happening virtually this year from May 7-9.
You can now sign up to lead a virtual walk.
The 3 virtual walk formats are:
• Live-Streamed Walks
• 3D Walks
• Self-Guided Walks
The Toronto organizers, Erika and Juan, have made the process super easy:
Go to JanesWalkFestivalTo.com and fill out a Walk Leader form, and they will promptly get back to you.
Walk submission deadline: April 30th, 2021.
*In between walks, if you’re in the mood to colour a picture of a Toronto neighbourhood, go to the resources page of JanesWalkFestivalTo.com and download my colouring page, complete with little kids jumping on backyard trampolines. I had to think fast and come up with a logo for my artsy adventures. I’m proud to be part of an event that gets our minds and bodies moving.
Coco and Diana
March 31, 2021
Reading is my greatest joy.
This exchange appeared in Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s biography on Diana Vreeland called Empress of Fashion.
Diana described the conversation in greater detail:
“Coco [Chanel] was a nut on armholes. She never, ever got an armhole quite, quite perfect, the way she wanted it. She was always snipping and taking out sleeves, driving the tailors absolutely crazy. She’d put pins in me so I’d be contorted, and she’d be talking and giving me all sorts of philosophical observations, such as ‘Live life with rigor and vigor’ or ‘Grow old like a man.’ And I’d say, ‘I think most men grow old like women, myself,’ and she’d say, ‘No, you’re wrong, they’ got logic, they’ve got a reality to them.’ — with my arm up in the air the whole time! Then, if she really wanted to talk, she’d [pin me] under both arms so I simply couldn’t move, much less get a word in.”
Use the Libby app for signing out books, everyone! It’s WONDA-FULLL as Diana (Dee-Ahna) would say.
Bisous! 💋
Alison
Why my Shopify store is still closed
March 17, 2021
While my Shopify store @PenJarProductions is closed I’m watching how technology is changing fashion and décor. Here’s what it would take for me to start selling my custom-designed pillows and totes again.
Sources:
• Unmade
• Looop Recycling
• Akqa
Teaching Art
February 22, 2021
The internet is a wondrous tool for learning new skills.
When I decided to set up an online classroom to teach my way of making art, Google presented me with the perfect teacher: @ClaraLieu. Clara is a visual artist and former prof at the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Founder of @Art.Prof, a free website for learning visual arts.
I found @ArtProf at a point when I was stuck. Hovering my iPhone over my desk wasn’t working. I needed some serious videography equipment. Clara generously shared her set-up and now I have a Softbox light, a streaming webcam, a Snowball mic and an extra tall light stand to hold my webcam (Clara’s hack: affix the webcam with a thick elastic).
I used my new set-up earlier this month to lead an art class with some alumni from @RotmanCommerce. When you have a class of 20+ it’s actually easier to demonstrate techniques online because each student has an intimate view of my drawing board and hand movements.
Now the possibilities are endless!
Thank you, Clara!
Alison
Pigeons & Elevator Buttons
January 11, 2021
My latest book is for kids, big and small. ~ Love, Alison
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That was fun. Now, page by page:
Happy Holidays
December 25, 2020
Environment Canada is calling for a macroburst of sparkle and fairer winds in 2021. (Abstract illustration by Alison Garwood-Jones)
Life Drawing during Covid
December 9, 2020
- Dude throwing javelin
- Woman in fetal position
- Grizzled man hunched in deep thought
I’ve pointed my drawing horse at all of these classic life drawing poses (back when it was possible to attend pay-as-you-go art classes).
During Covid, to prevent rust buildup, I’ve sought out figure poses in Google image searches and YouTube channels, including “Draw This.” But none of these classic stances have inspired me to get better at depicting human proportions. And I want to get better. I can’t draw faces forever.
Then I discovered that drawing models in yoga gear from clothing websites — featuring real women, not human chop sticks — felt more relatable than said gnarly dude throwing the javelin. The thought, “He’s getting paid $15/hour to show us this,” always distracted me from the drawing challenge at hand.
It’s the small changes that can point you to open fields of discovery.
Thanks internet,
Alison
