Archive for 2010

I designed this clock last year and thought it fit well for this week’s Illustration Friday theme of ‘phenomenon’. Although it isn’t regarded as much of a phenomenon anymore, the idea of humans being able to travel in the air, all around the world, is pretty phenomenal!

Looking at this illustration now, the little boy reminds me so much of Isaac. He’s going through a phase where he loves to take his stuffed toys everywhere and have them take part in all his activities. Today we baked some muffins and his little penguin wanted to help too… ‘mama, penguin needs apron!’. Even with the apron (napkin tied around his neck), penguin needed a serious wash afterwards! 2 year olds are too cute :)

For the final Wonderbra Women of Wonder mission we’ve been given a bit of free reign – yay! They’ve asked us to do something that makes us shine! Well a large part of who I am and what makes me happy is working on my art. I guess you could say that’s what makes me shine! Of course I create art all the time, so how is that really a mission? Well I decided to take a break from client work and do something I’ve always wanted to do – an alphabet piece. I love drawing animals and have had this idea in the back of my mind for the better part of this year! This was the perfect chance to set aside everything else and focus on an idea I’ve wanted to see come to life for too long!

I’ve spent the better part of the last couple days immersing myself in this piece. I’m so happy with the final result – I’d love to hear your feedback! I think the most ideal production for it would be on canvas, but for now, if you’re interested, I’m selling 12×12″ prints in my Etsy store.
Seeing as this is my final mission for Wonderbra, I just wanted to end with a little note of thanks for all the great opportunities they’ve provided for me. It’s been a fun ride and I’ve been able to explore a lot about myself and my community! Thanks Wonderbra :)

I illustrated this birthday card for Bug Art greeting cards. We did a collection of 16 birthday cards but this was one of my favorite. I should really illustrate more dinosaurs – they’re so much fun to do… and with another little boy on the way, I need to expand my collection of boy images :) This card design fits perfectly with this week’s Illustration Friday theme of ‘prehistoric’.

On another note, our Christmas tree is up, the stockings are hung (ok, I know it’s early but I like to cherish the season), advent has begun, and there was a light layer of snow on the ground this morning. I love this time of year! Although Isaac and I have just gotten over some nasty colds, we are feeling very festive and cozy in our Christmasy home :)

A friend of mine was browsing the Sevi Christmas catalog when she came across this adorable nativity set. She immediately thought of me and emailed me the link. I fell in love! I’ve seen Sevi toys around and they are so well made and beautifully designed but I hadn’t come across this set. I’m a sucker for good design and this is the perfect way to teach Isaac about Christmas! I searched the internet to find this for Isaac. Thankfully after being disappointed with most stores being sold out, a local kid’s consignment store came to my rescue!

My plan is to incorporate this nativity into our advent activity. We have advent boxes hanging on the window in the playroom. I wanted to avoid the chocolate advent calendars as Isaac is only 2 years old, but more importantly, has a dairy sensitivity and can’t consume too much chocolate. I wanted to place something significant but fun in each box. I’ve decided to place each character from the nativity in each individual box so that slowly over the month, we will assemble the entire nativity. With each item we add to the scene, I will give him a brief story… keeping it fun and simple. Baby Jesus will be saved for the 25th box. The actual nativity doesn’t have 25 pieces so a few of the days will have a surprise candy to make up for it :)

My Wonderbra Women of Wonder mission this week is to ‘Rediscover my Balance’. I must create balance between my two worlds (work and home life) by learning the art of Feng Shui.

Definition of Feng Shui: Rules in Chinese philosophy that govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of yin and yang and the flow of energy (qi); the favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into consideration in designing and siting buildings and graves and furniture. wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I’ve studied Feng Shui a bit in the past so this isn’t a completely new concept to me. I defintiely believe in the arrangement of spaces having an effect on our well being. I think there are valid points in the philosophy and those are the points I’m going to try to take advantage of for this mission.

So how do I balance work and home life? Well, I guess I should look at my office setup. My husband works from home and we’ve set up a mini office in our basement. One side of the basement is office space and the other side is a playroom where we house Isaac’s bigger toys (play kitchen, ride-ons, etc). We custom designed the basement to fit the office desks so there isn’t much option in moving furniture around. I can, however, take a look at some of the smaller elements to make our space more ‘Feng Shui’. After doing some research online and looking through a few books, I’ve found a few areas that could use some improvement.

Our Office BEFORE:

The issue: Clutter: In Feng Shui philosophy it’s very important to clear any clutter in a workspace. Clutter can be distracting and burdening. Drawers should be organised and papers sorted. There should also be a system of organising books, office stationary, supplies, etc.
Solution: New Storage from Ikea to organise books and files.

The issue: Facing Walls: Feng Shui advises against facing a wall while working. Unfortunately, my husband and I both face a wall in our basement. If there is no option to NOT face the wall, they suggest ‘removing the wall blockage’ by adding inspiring art, photographs, certificates, etc.
Solution: New artwork on the walls to remove the blockage. We’ve ordered our prints on Etsy but will have to wait several weeks for them to arrive!

The issue: Light: We’re in a basement so light is not optimal. We’ve painted the space in a blue/green which is actually praised by Feng Shui as being a good colour for promoting relaxation and creativity – yay! The blue isn’t super bright or light though so natural light is a bit of a concern.
Solution: New desk lamps to add more brightness to our spaces

The issue: Oxygen: By being mostly underground and not having a ton of natural light, having plants in our office is a bit tricky. Feng Shui principles believe that it is very important to have a lot of flowing oxygen in your workspace in order to promote a healthy and productive environment.
Solution: New resilient plants that will survive in low light

Our Office AFTER: