This month I’m taking part in the 2015 Filler Up Sketchbook Challenge. I’ve started to fill my book up with a bunch of daily sketches. A lot of them aren’t very good but I thought I’d share a few of my favourites.
Pages From My Sketchbook
Art
The Easter Tree
I updated my Occasion Tree since Valentine’s Day is over. Since Easter is the next big holiday, I thought this egg decoration would be appropriate. I also hid little chocolate eggs inside!
2015 Filler Up Sketchbook Challenge
As you know, I really wanted to find time to “do more art” this year. I even bought new sketchbooks. However, this still hasn’t resulted in much drawing as of yet. “Busy” seems to always be the excuse. But I’ve been a good kind of busy.
Anyways, today I saw my friend post this Sketchbook Challenge by the Earl Selkirk Gallery in Toronto. The challenge is to encourage people to draw for the month of March and have their sketchbooks on display in April. The registration fee was only $5 so I jumped on the chance.
I think this will be a nice push towards the goal. It’s interesting how something offline could be a bigger motivator than proving I can do this to my online audience. I will try very hard to provide at least 31 sketches by the time March is over and see the effect drawing has on my life!
Found Treasure: My World Map Desk
When I moved out on my own to downtown Toronto in October, I literally had no furniture of my own. Most of my apartment was furnished by IKEA and Walmart. My favourite piece of furniture however, was found. It was a wooden desk with a world map as its table top.
Dad found it the week I was about to move out. The neighbours across the street had chucked it to the curb. He knew he had to sweep it up right away. The desk was in perfect condition with hardly any scuffs. It was also very clean. However, a closer glance at the tabletop would prove that it may be retro considering the divides in Europe reflect that of the 50s.
I love it though. It serves as a great place for inspirational thoughts and artistic creations.
The Red Carpet @ The Juno Nominations
I’ve never applied to go to an award show before but Ride the Tempo was on the red carpet of the Juno Nominations!
The actual announcement of the nominations went by very quickly. There was no way that you could type fast enough on a phone to live tweet everything. Names scrolled past on a screen in an instant. Before I knew it, it was all announced. Luckily, we were handed red pamphlets with all the information
Afterward, we gathered by the red carpet and stood behind the signs of our respective media outlets. It was cool having my own spot and helping out SOCAN at the same time. I learned that connections I made while blogging translated into my job, and I was an excellent wrangler at getting artist interviews and photos.
I’ll be back for the real Juno Awards ceremony in Hamilton in March but for now you can view the portraits I shot during the nominations here.
The Occasion Tree
My sister had surprised me with the mini Christmas tree during the holidays. It was perfect for my tiny apartment. Now that Christmas is over, I didn’t want throw it out. Nor do I have much room in the closet to store it.
Instead, I decided to deem it “The Occasion Tree”. It will now reflect various holidays, or just silly themes that I come up with. Since Valentine’s Day is approaching, I decorated it with hearts.
I can’t wait for future theme ideas. Living close to the dollar store gives me unlimited possibilities!
My First Photo Show
Last night was the opening of the Wavelength Pop Up Gallery where 3 of my concertphotos are currently being displayed alongside some by my friend Aviva Cohen and Sam Kadosh.
Here are 3 photos being displayed:
The night was well attended and all the photos, posters and artwork were well received. It was exciting (and a little bit nerve racking) to see my work so publicly displayed. They will be available for viewing until February 15th at the Hunt Club in Toronto.
Hesitance and the Idea of Perfectionism
I’ve always wanted to be a creative person. I always thought that it was a goal to work towards. I love buying countless notebooks, pens and art supplies to encourage myself to explore different creative avenues.
Many of those things remained untouched.
And it’s not because I am lazy, or that I didn’t have time. The reason for this artist-block (for lack of a better term) was that I was hesitant. I was waiting for the perfect idea to draw, paint or write down. I thought it would be wasteful if I used any of those supplies on an idea that wouldn’t be good enough (to show someone and/or blog about) or that I would mess up.
Now I’m realizing, it’s more wasteful that these things sit in my drawers. I won’t get better at drawing, painting, writing if I just sat staring at the things in my desk in perfect condition. I should stop fearing that I’ll “waste” these supplies, as they can always be replenished. What can’t be replaced is the time I spent thinking this way.
Just as I am challenging myself to hit “Publish” more on this blog, I will get over the same hesitance when putting a pen (paint, crayon, whatever) to paper.
New Year New Sketchbooks
I want to encourage myself to do more fine art this year. I used to when I was younger and as I grew up my main excuse was that I had no time. I’m starting to realize that, that’s not a reasonable excuse. There’s always time to pursue the things you love, you just have to decide to actually do them.
I decided the best way to start drawing and painting more again was to buy myself some blank canvases, or new sketchbooks! That way I wouldn’t be self-consciously comparing myself to things I used to be able to do. I headed to Michael’s and bought myself two different ones: one for dry media, and one for mixed.
For mixed media, I purchased the Strathmore Mixed Media Art Journal. The 64 page softcover journal has acid free paper that is 100% cotton. It’s perfect for all sorts of media including watercolours. The cover also has this sleek smooth texture which I am in love with.
I also wanted a sketchbook for general doodling and dry materials. I chose the Artist’s Loft Fashion Journal in orange. At $20, it was well worth it for 110 pages. I also liked that it was a bright orange colour to separate it from the other book and give it a pop of colour when travelling with it. Since I moved to the city, I plan to take it around and find inspiration outside my house.
I love both these books and I hope to fill them with things this year and share them with all of you.
Wavelength Pop-Up Gallery
I’m really excited to announce that some of my concert photos will be featured in Wavelength Music’s upcoming Pop-Up Gallery!
The gallery features posters, installations, talks, intimate concerts as well as photos. My shots will be featured in the photo show deemed “PRESENT” featuring images from 2013-14 Wavelength events.
Date: January 22nd – February 15th
Place: Huntclub Studios (709. College Street)
There’s a free opening party on January, 22nd at 8pm! See you there :)
Tiana Feng 