Its no secret…….

I work my ass off. I have been hiding away, working up to 5 jobs and pretty much everyday since the new year. All for my goal of getting to Italy for the remainder of this month. To see the sights, hear the sounds and eat as much food as I can. I leave in a day and return at the end of May.  I have been hard at word as the Artistic Director on a Blackfoot graphic novel publication. I finally send off the final 80 page indesign master document plus a 2 page cover design to be checked, edited and okayed before being sent off to Rhino Solutions, our printer.

 I am so proud of all the contributors who worked on the publication. 

Randy Bottle, our elder and story teller, you'll be able to hear him tell the story in the traditional blackfoot language on the DVD that comes in the back with the free publication. 

My artist Mitchell Poundmaker has been killing it since Nisoo the first of these publications done by USAY, the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth. 

Chris Boulet, a past AYAP participant, added his creativity before he heads off to BC for a degree in Fashion. I managed as well as did all the layout, text and animation for the project. It will be printed by the End of June.

Extra special thanks to the Staff at USAY who make the whole challenge enjoyable:

   LeeAnne Ireland, Executive Director

  Jessica Hawryluk, Financial Officer

 Levi First Charger, Community Outreach Support Worker

If you are interested in obtaining your free copy in the future contact USAY 403.233.8225. or on their website: www.usay.ca.

unveiled-revealed

The project I have been helping Martinho Corriea with and devoting a lot time to could not be shared until now as it has been formally unveiled at the Art Box where our studio has been for the past months.

Here is Martinho giving a speech before the unveiling. It was a classy event, everyone who attended was dressed up, I didn't get the memo and I wore my Totoro cat bus shirt and painty pants, i guess thats the benefit of being one of the artists, I can get away with a fashion faux pas.

Back when it was still cold and snowy we prepped the panels and started in on the background brick work. I am looking forward to seeing how this unfolds and listening to an excessive amount of podcasts.

The level of complexity and detail in the mural Martinho designed makes this particular project time consuming. I was given the main task of being responsible for the flags the guys are waving.

We have a complex dixie cup mixing system. The paint needed to be applied about 4 layers on the whites and reds to get bold coverage. At this point most stuff is blocked in and now we can move onto finer details and modelling the forms better as well as adding some values changes to the waving flags etc.

Tedium……….. up and down the step stool, a hundred times a day, limited palette in my life, the drone of the fan, the crappy overhead lighting. Aaaargh, hit the wall then come back. At some points this project was torture, The scale alone is daunting at times…….luckily the monotony of the day can be broken up by amazing food selection on International avenue. We had indonesian, Indian, Lebanese, Chinese, Italian and so on and so forth, Lunch may have been my daily highlight:) Skip way ahead, Maestro Martinho does all the finishing work and completes it and applies tons of layers of protective varnish.

This iphone photo does not do the pice justice.I am really proud and amazed at how the final composition turned out. There is spectacular, sense of movement and a lot to look at. I learned a lot from working under Martinho, met his friends, was impressed by his considerable ability to concentrate and focus for long periods and the level of professional perfectionism he seeks to obtain his artwork. Overall a great experience and I'm glad he asked me to help out on his Mural. It will be hung in the future along 17th International Avenue so keep an eye out for it. He also has a few others along the strip, the Portuguese themed one above Chicken on the way has been one of my favourites to look at while driving into forest lawn for years (his too, to my surprise!)