Only in fields

getaway...

2011-11-26T14:08:00.003-05:00

These special getaways are beautiful. I wish they could be the everyday instead.

I will try this one soon.

Pic-a-day over...bittersweet

2011-09-12T11:14:00.005-04:00

Its over...finally, one year of taking one photo a day ended on my birthday; September 8th. I hope to get my act together and put it into a book. It has only been three days and i feel a bit like i'm missing something. Here are a few shots from last month.

Castelvetere Sul Calore, Italy, August 9th, 2011

Fireworks, Italy, August 21st, 2011

Eggman in the paese, Italy. August 22, 2011

Statues statues

2011-08-27T12:43:00.004-04:00

Statues are just awesome. Why don't we do these anymore. Our would probably resemble less heroic looking characters but i think any ordinary building could use a nice statue. And of course, they are everywhere in Rome.

Space Invader at the Vatican!

2011-08-12T07:24:00.008-04:00

Its been way too long but things are in the works. I am currently in Italy and i was very excited to have spotted a space invader tag waiting in line for the Sistine Chapel...well i assume it is anyway. Ofcourse i saw a lot of other beautiful architecture and art but for some reason the old and new coming together when i was least expecting it was a thrill. check it out!

A lot of Central America in a little bit of time

2011-05-02T21:28:00.007-04:00

The past month has been a confusing mix of so many places. 4 countries in 19 days is enough to confuse anyone. I had a difficult time taking pictures on this trip. I felt like such a tourist. Every time i took out my camera i felt like i was missing out on the experience. Now I'm regretting not being the annoying tourist that i know i am. I hope to reference some photographs for upcoming sketches.
Here are some of the beautiful things i saw.

Morning in Copan Ruinas, Honduras.

Sunset in Copan, Honduras

One of my favorite hand painted signs in Caye Caulker, Belize.

Fish in the market in Puerto Cortes Honduras.

Madonna in Mexico City

Lineup for shade, Mexico City.

Redpath museum

2011-03-22T20:05:00.008-04:00

I had an unexpected day off last week and checked out the Redpath museum. I normally like to visit the R.O.M. in Toronto because i find it difficult to come into contact with a rhinosaurus in the city. Especially one that will stay still long enough to be drawn.
The Redpath museum is on the McGill campus here in Montreal (Rue Sherbrooke). Dinosaur skeletons, a mummy, a stuffed seagull and crystals are some of the amazing treasures to be found, all housed in a beautiful building. It might be faily nerdy of me to say but the sea shell collection is amazing. Here are some picutres from my visit. I definately recommend checking it out. Oh and its free!

Redpath museum building (with pink banners in center)

whoa the triceratops

main gallery

seashells and seashells

Redpath museum doorway.

Letterpress

2011-03-22T18:24:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures from my first letterpress image. I hope this is the first of many.
Each colour is printed separately and each paper fed through the press by hand. I printed these images on a 12"x18" Chandler and Price press from the 1920's.
The image was inspired by the never ending winter here in Montreal and Scandinavian pattern design.

Each colour seperated. My sketch scanned and then other colour shapes created.

I originally intended to print one colour for the jacket pattern but made a mistake in registration and liked it even more.

Montreal

2011-02-15T17:30:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos from the past few weeks in Montreal, Quebec. It has been fairly snowy and cold lately but it IS February and it IS Montreal. I chose the coldest three months to spend in this beautiful city and I'm trying to get out and see as many things as i can before my legs go numb. It isn't too difficult when around every corner is an amazing church or a small little house with so much character in its dilapidated balcony or stairway. Even the alleyways here are beautiful....oh and the food is tasty too. I will have to continue to walk the city in order to walk off all the poutine that i plan to eat in the coming weeks.

My first Poutine in Montreal

Notre Dame in the distance

Igloofest at Old Port. Montrealers know how to party in the cold.

Stone sculptures in churches.

St.Henri District

House in St.Henri

One of those churches i was talking about

Me in the window in old Montreal

Boxcars coming in to the city.

MAsked

2011-02-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

I've been a busy girl lately. I am interning in Montreal at a beautiful letterpress shop which has inspired some new drawings. While looking for reference photos online, i came across these photographs. There is something about children in masks that makes me laugh. They just stand there and look even more like mini adults. I hope you enjoy them as much as i do.

ohhhh slacker

2011-01-04T12:18:00.001-05:00

Hello.
Yes, I take full responsibility for being a blog slacker. The news is I'm moving to Montreal for a few months to intern at a beautiful Letter Press studio. So please look forward to pictures and ramblings of my experience in the city. In the meantime i will leave you with some of the pictures I have taken as part of my 'picture a day for a year' project. I have also slacked on this a few times and missed a day or two here and there. I will not stop the project. Instead i will let myslef be a slacker.

new years socks Dec.31

Christmas tree hunting. Dec.12

love pancake Sept.26

Lost dino Sept.16

Island October 10

Gladstone Speakeasy October 7, 2010. 7-11

2010-09-22T23:01:00.000-04:00

Hello.
A quick note to tell you about a great event that happens the first Thursday of every month called Speakeasy! Thursday October 7th will be dedicated to the wonderful world of illustration and held at the one and only Gladstone Hotel. Come check out some new things I've been working on. For more information and a list of illustrators who will be showing copy and paste this link:
http://www.blttogo.com/

In the meantime here is a sneak peak at a piece i put the finishing touches on today.

Fluevog opening in SF

2010-09-09T20:41:00.000-04:00

Wish I could make it! The Fluevog Store is finally opening in San Fransisco next week. My work will be displayed in the store along with other Fluevog creatives. If you are in the area or plan to travel to SF stop in and check it out! The store is supposed to be one of the coolest yet!

"HAPPY birthday to me" is an understatement!

2010-09-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

Being the lucky girl that I am I received a vespa for my 26th birthday! Today i went to write the written test to get my permit, which will allow me to cruise around town (not just my alley way).
On this day ten years ago i wrote my drivers license permit! crazy!

I will hopefully be crusin' before long. In the meantime i will sit on the vespa in the garage and drive up and down my alleyway while passing the real motorcyclists (the guy with the sweet sectional pony-tailed beard) that just kind of waves.

I have also decided to start a sort of photo journal to celebrate my 26th year. I will attempt (and succeed!!!!!) to take at least one picture a day and on my 27th brithday i will have a year of pictures! WISH ME LUCK!

For now, please enjoy this drawing and pictures of my inspiration as a stylin' vespa cruiser. After all, the accessories and vespa memorabilia is half the fun of the vespa.

My first picture being 26 (well the one at the license place was i think!)
....my first picture being 26 with my new toy! whoa, slow down...i know.

Thanks for the sticker too dad. ("does this bike make my ass look fat")

My vespa style. Somewhere between these two!

1940's

2010-06-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

After screen printing attempt number 2, 3, 4...i lost count.... I have decided i will change a few variables and hope for better luck next time! I am definitely getting really good at coating the screen! I figure I'll change up the actual image and see if that is the problem.
In the meantime, I've been cleaning up my digital files while looking for new ideas and came across a few pictures that i had scanned of my grandmother and some of her friends from the 1940's. Like some of the other vintage photos I've posted, these bring me great inspiration. I love the classic clothing and the woman who look like they're having a great time and maybe getting into a bit of trouble. Something about them looks so mischievous.

Pin up

2010-05-27T21:46:00.000-04:00

I have come to terms with screen printing being very much a trial and ERROR process. I suppose this is fine! In the meantime i am going to sit back and relax at this event that i have a pin design in.
The pin had to follow the theme of something 'worn' therefore i went to an old pin of my grandmother's for inspiration. This pin was made of glass and metal and seemed so precious to me when i was young. As i got older i put it on a leather purse, danced my heart out and lost it at a MOBY concert.... the value of the pin never left me and i was fortunate enough to have drawn it before i lost it!
Here is the pin and the poster for the party celebrating the 11th issue of WORN fashion journal.

Back soon with more trials of the never ending screen printing saga!

its about time.

2010-05-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

Wow. Its been a while but i have been working hard, i promise.
Today i thought would be a great day to post since i've exposed my first screen at home in my dodgy set up. Well i should say that i OVEREXPOSED my first screen.
The set up went well and i learned a lot. Including that if you are exposing in your garage make sure to unplug the automatic garage door opener so that someone doesn't open it from the other side! I saved the screen in time and brought it inside to dry however after labouring and caring for the poor thing i did end up overexposing it. I underestimated the power of my sweet light set up!
I even figured out my new power washer; which was a very good time. Flashes of summer water fights came to mind and i thought i would definitely be the one everyone would run from!...back to the screen printing.....
I did however reclaim the screen and although i have run out of time today i will hopefully try it again tomorrow night (or maybe even tonight!).
I can't stop thinking of all the amazing imagery i will be able to plaster everywhere...oh and the gifts of t-shirt, aprons, bags...oh my!
These thoughts are keeping me going, not to mention that the first thing i shot onto the screen was the text 'Don't give up'. I would recommend this to anyone who is screen printing at home for the first time. It takes the edge off.
Wish me luck on attempt number 2~

*****Check this book out if you are printing for the first time or starting to print again after a while. It has been a huge help to me:
Print Liberation; the screen printing primer by Nick PAparone and Jamie Dillon with Luren Jenison

Murals at Hostal Babylon

2010-03-22T17:02:00.001-04:00

Hello, we have since returned from Mexico however i had been meaning to post images of these murals.
In San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico I stayed at a great hostal (Hostal Babylon) that i would definitely recommend to anyone travelling to this area that needs a budget friendly place to stay. Everyone is very friendly and the hostal itself is beautifully painted with colourful murals that further embrace the creativity of life in Mexico. I especially love the idea of personalizing your own space with colours and images that tell a story that is important to you and that is part of your own culture and life.

Hand painted signs in Oaxaca, Mexico.

2010-02-13T15:57:00.000-05:00

Walking around south central Mexico in the state of Oaxaca i found these painted advertisements and signs beautiful. Instead of using digital mediums that i am used to seeing in Toronto, these signs are hand painted often using stencils. The colours and composition often seem accindental which makes them all the more interresting. For me, this is graphic design and typography at its finest.

Its been a while!

2010-02-12T21:23:00.000-05:00

hello from Mexico.
I have not updates in sometime since i am in Mexico however i am overflowing with inspiration here. I will post pictures for you all to see the beauty that surrounds me the next time i have a decent connection.
The textiles and architecture here are hard to pass by without taking a picture. I look forward to sharing them soon.

Fluevog

2010-01-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

Woohoo..check me out...i AM a winner:

http://www.fluevog.com/FluevogCreative/winners.html

in the beginning........and then..............

...I will be purchasing some sweet shoes upon my return from MExico. Check back here often; i'm going to try to post some inspiration for possible t-shirt graphics while i'm away.

Ladies with guns.

2010-01-24T00:52:00.001-05:00

The real Bonnie Parker

Don't mess with this one.

me!

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker

1950's police woman training.

Annie Oakley

Guns and Ladies. Everyone loves a good juxtaposition. Better yet, throw in a few stories and classic heroes. I can't get enough of these ladies. (I squeezed myself in there too. #2) ha!

Very Loveable actually!

2010-01-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

Ester Pearl Watson. soooo loveable and inspires a zine making frenzy!

Schiele inspires/ Classic

2010-01-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

I've become very happy with black and white images lately. After scrolling down the past couple posts i realized its becoming too apparent. I guess i like the detail and the fact that the the artist doesn't rely on colour to make an attractive image. And then... i came across a book on the sale table at my local book store and realized that as soon as i had a new thing going THIS slapped me in the face. I've always loved Schiele; twisted, tormented but innocent...or maybe honest?

Inspiration in all that is old...and a little bit rediculous.

2010-01-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Finally the holidays are over and I can once again concentrate on my own work. The holidays however, are not without inspiration. I found this catalogue at my parents home and was incredibly inspired by the ornamentation on all of its contents. It is a Marshall Field & Co. catalogue from 1896 which holds illustrations of their jewelry and fashions available in this year. Walnut wood clocks, silver carving sets, tea sets, glass perfume bottles, and 14K. gold pocket watch movements are only a small selection of items beautifully illustrated in the catalogue. This is ofcourse a re-printed edition (1970) in nice shape although it is nevertheless a great resource for intricate detail in illustration. Every object has a use; one of my favorite being the satin gold lined orange holder (below).

Number2

2009-12-01T00:26:00.000-05:00

The screen printing supplies are just about together and ready to go. I am looking forward to putting drawings onto textiles very soon. In the meantime I've been trying to figure out what images i will use first. I've been drawing a lot to ensure that i have a lot to choose from (and also because I'm anxious to get printing and this seems to be a useful thing to do at the moment!).

I thought i would share one of my latest obsessions that i found on my way home from work at a great bookstore nearby (Balfour Books on College St. in Toronto). Since I tend to be drawn to all things vintage, this collection of old photographs i was immediately interesting. The book is titled MUG SHOTS an archive of the famous, infamous and most wanted by Raynal Pellicer. It begins with the history of the mug shot as well as many examples of the use of the mug shot. I was inspired by the casual disposition as well as ensemble of the models and felt the need to capture their expressions once again, only this time in a drawing. There is something about the moment in time that is caught on film as well as the story behind each criminal that i find to be most inspiring (the mustaches and trench coats are also great).

I'm sure you'll see traces of these mugshots throughout some of my work to come.

All in.

2009-11-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Only in Fields blog.
This blog is an assemblage of inspiration and ideas that drive my design and work. For now, it will also act as the Only in fields website until everything comes together nicely and finds a home. It will take some time to get things flowing smoothly of course so check back often and look out for onlyinfields.com (coming soon!).
Please feel free to leave me comments, ideas or any questions you might have.
In the meantime, enjoy these pictures I've taken in the past few months that have inspired the Only in Fields name.