The Lime Shop in Toronto this weekend

Diana and I will be in Toronto this Sunday Oct 24th for Canzine (held at The Great Hall). Come by and say hi. We'll have a small run of the Mr. Robot 2.0 grocery shopper (exclusive for events). German Shible, my brother and the artist of this charming robot image will also be there selling his illustrations and small press comic. Be sure to stop by his table.

My linoleum block printed bookmarks for Canzine. Made out of heavy weight cold press paper and acrylic paints.

Current reads and inspiration: Marc Jacobs by Bridget Foley and Rob Ryan's This Is For You.

Hope to see you this weekend.

::: Nathalie

Lady Gaga, Alejandro

Man, isn't Lady Gaga just intriguing?

With A Little Love

I got my Little City order yesterday of Yulanda Yee's Cinnamon Hearts.

I remember instantly falling for the simplicity of this photograph. Yulanda always had a way of capturing inanimate objects and making them absolutely beautiful by breathing life into them.

Anyway, I'd intended on buying this piece when Yulanda was still with us and it broke my heart to purchase them the day after she passed.

The Little City folks okay'ed it with her family first, and once approved, I was notified and told that proceeds would go to the Lymphoma Foundation of Canada.

I bought 2 pieces, one for myself and one for Diana, who had known Yulanda for years from their younger blogger days.

I'm glad to have this piece to always remember her by. Even if, I don't think I could forget her. She was an amazing, talented, good person. I miss our dear friend a lot.

::: Nathalie

Garance Doré does Celine

Little City P.2

Diana and I had plans last week to visit Little City's launch party, an art exhibit in downtown Toronto. Unfortunately our plans fell through and neither one of us were able to make it.

Lucky for us, and all of you, Little City has opened an online shop where you could purchase very reasonably priced prints! There's a couple I have my eye on, including one by fellow blogger and photographer, Yulanda Yee.

I remember in high school I tried my hand at photography and failed miserably. I couldn't understand the concept of good lighting or even how to develop film. As a result I really appreciate great photographs and are slowly working my way to building a good collection through out my home. I think Yulanda's piece (above) would be perfect in my office/ guest room.

::: Nathalie

Little City

If you're downtown Toronto, or surrounding area, come out for the Little City launch party tomorrow night, Aug 13th, at The Starving Artist, 584 Lansdowne Ave.

Diana and I will be there to support super talented photographer and fellow blogger, Yulanda Yee.

Prints will be available which I am very excited about. I'm always looking to add more art work from friends and local artists to my collection.

::: Nathalie

Amongst my Favorites

I've loved art for as long as I could remember. Growing up, my brothers and I always had the support of our parents, not in fancy painting classes or guitar lessons, but by allowing us to express ourselves freely and through encouragement of what we took interest in.  

Unfortunately as I've grown  older, my creativity has been stunted due to the fact I haven't practiced much of anything in years. Both my brothers though, have continued to practice their love of all things art and I'm glad they have - they are some of the most talented people that I know. My brother German in particular, is probably amongst one of my favorite illustrators. His lines are always so fluid and he knows where to bring in depth in order to make his drawings come to life. He's a true talent that has worked on mastering his craft religiously for all of his life. 

Kudos to all of you out there doing what you love, even if the pay isn't always great. And, if you love art, or have some free minutes to spare, check out my brothers site, just for the sheer fun of it. 

::: Nathalie

Shopping Therapy

1Q84

I was thrilled to recieve an email from Diana this morning regarding the latest release from our favorite author, Haruki Murakami.

The book, entitled 1Q84, was just released in Japan. No word on when it will be translated into english as of yet but I'm sure there will be a large fan base anxiously awaiting.

You can read more at cbc.ca.

In the meanwhile, check out Murakami's nonfiction work, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which was released last year. I've never seen it at my local bookstore and had to order it online.

::: Nathalie

House Paint

I first read about House Paint in the latest issue of House & Home. Luckily the exhibit coincided with our recent trip to the ROM this past weekend. The vibrant houses, painted by street artists, are constructed by individual canvases and then put together to build a house. Canvases or entire houses will be will be auctioned off at the end of the exhibit for Toronto's Habitat for Humanity. Art for a good cause.  If you have a chance, I strongly recommend you go and visit.  

::: Nathalie