Had to share this video because I LOVE Sophie Blackall, she has become one of my all time favourite illustrators. Her work is just so filled with exquisite little details. Watching this video is worthwhile for a number of reasons, but in particular for what she says about drawing animals (I feel the same way).

I don’t yet own her Missed Connections book, but I plan to. However, I’ve been waiting for the serendipitous moment when I come across it while out and about. I think, given the subject matter, serendipity is far more appropriate than boring old ordering it online, don’t you think?

What am I up to these days, you ask? Not a whole lot. Still slogging away at my personal projects (I may have some things to show on that front quite soon). January tends to be slow here in Toronto, I think everyone just hibernates until about mid February. This has been an abnormally warm and brown January as well, and that has put me in a dreary state of mind – the one thing I can usually count on is some sparkly, fluffy white snow to pretty things up a little. No such luck this year.

I do turn thirty at the end of the week. Not entirely sure how I feel about that. I may even be looking forward to my thirties – I think it’s quite possible I’ll be able to accomplish a lot more in my life with my twenties out of the way.

I’ve found one of the merits of being an artist is being able to work on what you want, when you want.

It is also one of it’s pitfalls, of course.

I have other things I should be working. There are projects which are farther along, which would be even farther along if I just sat down and committed myself to then, but this week I’ve been working on this different thing. I don’t know if it has any commercial appeal, and I don’t know if it will get me anywhere, but I find myself drawn back to it whenever I do sit down to work.

I don’t really even know what it is yet.

I know I’ve made some really cute sprites and they deserve a world to wander around in. I have some ideas about that world, but I don’t know what all these things converging will look like if I put them into a game.

This almost seems like something my brain is doing, despite itself. This is a combination of frightening and exciting for me – the muses seem to be speaking to me for once, which could take me someplace very interesting, but my rational mind tells me they also might just be leading me down a garden path, away from the other, more reliable things I should be working on.

So the one thing I have so far to show for it is these gifs, which I’m quite proud of. A non-crappy walk animation! From me! I really am getting better at animating!

This alone might actually be proof that the muses are being helpful (and not just naughty ). Even if this character never turns into a game, just the fact that I’m getting better at animating is going to make all the games I make better in the long run.

Perhaps therein lies the moral I should take away from my own story…

It’s been awhile since this blog has gotten a good scrubbing and spring cleaning. I’ve updated a few things here and there, but there’s still a lot hanging around gathering cobwebs.

So, it was more than time for a redesign.

This design is based on a couple of things:

Firstly: Mathew Buchanan’s genius Esquire tumblr theme. I was exploring tumblr (more on that in a minute) and came across his designs, and was more than impressed. He’s managed to explode my notions of what a blog (or tumblr) can look like. His designs are very magazine like, and driven more by classic modern graphic design than web-design – hence the drop caps (although they’re not quite working perfectly yet), and the floating elements.

Secondly: Paris (I’ve been there, you know!) by way of French Children’s books. I was thinking specifically of the colour schemes of something like Babar. Soft, friendly, sophisticated primary colours in particular: coral red, emerald green (sometimes called French green!), and French racing blue.

But more than just a pretty new design, I realized my blogging has been sorely lacking. I know, and I’m sorry. Twitter updates do not constitute a blog.

So I’ve done two things: I’ve moved twitter updates to be once weekly instead of daily (and even that, I might get rid of) so they don’t get in the way as much and I’ve signed up for a tumblr. You can find it under my name (bethmaher) if you have one too, but it’s not necessary as I will be syndicating my efforts here in an attempt to rev up my blogging.

I will always love WordPress because it makes blogging so infinitely customizable, but I will concede that tumblr is way, way easier. So combining the two is ideal: I can post big long rambling posts like this one from the admin of WP every once in a while, and the rest of the time I can be sending little brilliant little tidbits of found images, video and links from my tumblr.

As always with a redesign, I will be tweaking things for the next little while, and if you find anything that’s not working, please do give me a shout in the comments!

I’ve been realizing something: there are only 3 months left to the wedding. So I’ve also been realizing: it’s time to get cracking!

These past few weeks I’ve been trying to focus on the invitation. As an illustrator and a designer, this is probably one of the most important elements for me… Therefore it is also the most nervewracking! It may just be ephemeral to some, but to me ephemera is so so important!

I’ve been letting ideas steep in my mind, but rather than infuse me with inspiration, they’ve kinda overwhelmed me.

Thankfully, I think I’m finally on to something via Anna Melcon Bond’s lovely Rifle Design.

She. Is. Amazing.

She does some of the most adorable, pretty, illustrative, invites I’ve ever seen, and opened up a whole new world of what an invite can be to me. Check her out! She may just blow your mind too (and her blog is pretty darling as well)

Now I’m excited. This is gonna be good guys. You’re going to like what I’ve come up with!

I’m a sucker for a good mystery. I have been known to watch, well, most of the better “detective” shows on TV at any time. House, Bones, Monk, Psych, Numbers, CSI… Yeah, it’s pretty much an addiction. But I think there is an amazing amount of innovation that can be accomplished, even within the constraints of an hour long mystery – one only need take a look at how many Emmys Dr. House and Mr. Monk have between them to see proof of that.

My latest little addiction is The #1 Ladies detective agency (an HBO/BBC co-production – and folks, it doesn’t get any better than that).

It just contains so many elements that I adore – Jill Scott (yes, the amazing singer), Africa, intrigue, humour, great performances, impeccably colourful production design, delightfully illustrated credits, and large quantities of bush tea drank out of dainty teacups.

It’s definitely worth checking out. Even the kitties liked it.

I bought the May 2006 issue of British Vogue while I was stuck at the airport during a particularly nasty lightning storm, waiting for my mother in law to arrive. I used to read British Vogue all the time, as it’s editorial attitude was much more fun than American Vogues (that changed soon after – now they’re largely the same, unfortunately).

But this issue.

I picked it up particularly for a certain photo-shoot inside:

It drew me in. It captivated me. I loved it. I had to have it (even for rather expensive import magazine price of ten dollars!).

A few days ago a fellow blogger posted a few scans of it online (click through the image to see more) and I was reminded of it’s vibrant beauty – and realized that some percentage of the inspiration for my wedding was sublimated somehow from it – even though I had forgotten about it. That whimsical, faded, colorful, thirties thing? Well that could certainly also describe my wedding.

And it’s made me decide, that I think I’m going to need to have balloons, certainly.

I was worried they’d look a bit like a kids birthday party, but this has proved to me that the can instead look quite, well… couture.

At this point, being the person that I am, I’ve pretty much thought out every detail of the wedding (if not outright planned it all). We could pretty much have the wedding next month, if we wanted to (and we don’t – February is not a particularly pleasant time of year).

LIam, on the other hand, is not as organized (some might say: crazy) about these things, so I decided to get going on a file full of pretty images to inspire his celebratory attire. We both kinda know what we want, but needed a good starting place to get the ball rolling.

The overall look we’re going could best be described as collegiate dandy: Think nineteen-thirties Ivy League or Oxford student attending a summer dance.

It is a nod to our love of period literature and movies (particularly of the inter-war period), as well as Liam’s general enthusiasm for fashions of the dapper, but manly variety. We’re planning on using some vintage pieces, but trying to do it all in a modern way – so as to not look too costumey.

(from left to right)

1. Vintage 30′s haberdashery illustration

   Via: the Fedora lounge. Which is pretty much what it sounds like – a message board for vintage, golden-age, fashion-geeks and fedora-enthusiasts.

   Oh, internet: this is why I heart you.

2. Jeeves and Wooster

   Specifically, one Bertie Wooster as portrayed by one Hugh Laurie.

   Wodehouse is one of our favourite authors, Bertie is one of our favourite characters, and Laurie (along with a certain Mr. S. Fry) is one of our favourite actors. Liam and I have even named our X-Box live accounts after Wodehouse characters (Gus Finknottle, and Bobby Wickham, respectively).

3. Argyle sweater vest

   You would not believe how hard it is to find a good sweater vest in this day and age.

   Of course, when looking for duds of a snazzy variety, Ben Sherman is always a good place to look, they seem to always have a few teddy boy inspired selections. I think something like this will look quite nice under a summer weight jacket, over a vintage tie.

4. Chuck Bass

   The aforementioned Mr. Bass of Gossip Girl. He dresses well for a young lad, no?

   Beyond being quite stylish, he is a similar height, build, and colouring to Liam, so rather handily, fashions that look good on him will likely look good on Liam…

   Though maybe a little less pink and purple. I think dear Chuck is the only male on the planet who can carry those particular colours.

5. Biltmore Hats

   I’m pretty sure an ensemble like this requires some sort of hat – preferably worn jauntily. Pork pies are a little too nefarious, and proper fedoras are a little too slick. A slouchy fedora is the perfect combination of nonchalance with a touch of rakishness.

   Biltmore makes brand new, vintage style hats, in lots of colours and styles. Best of all? They’re made relatively locally (in Guelph, actually). This is a major score.

6. Titanium ring with gold rose inlay

   Liam’s very worried that, whatever ring he gets, he will either lose it, or ruin it. This makes titanium a good option in either case – titanium rings are virtually indestructible, and relatively inexpensive.

   I like that this ring has a touch of rose gold in it to reference my ring – and of course, it’s an etsy find, which I also like.

7. PF Flyer Grounder Hi

   Shoe option #1: Cute, hi-top, boot-like sneakers are both stylish and practical – they’ll be really comfortable on the big day and once that’s done with Liam can keep wearing them. They’re made by a company that has been around since the thirties, and reissues their old styles so they’ve got that old fashioned look to them – but the idea of sneakers at a wedding is totally fresh and modern.

8. Cuff links

   It’s a wedding: shirts with cuffs that require links are de rigueur.

   These pretty little cuff links are from Etsy (yay!). Even though they’re not rose gold, they’ve got a bronzey, rosey tinge to them that’s very pretty.

9. Remix Vintage men’s Bucks

   Shoe option #2: Vintage style suede shoes. Less practical, less thrifty, but a little more snappy, don’t you think?

Sorry for the unintended holiday siesta round here, but we’ve been pretty busy wedding planning – thankfully we got a whole lot figured out.

So, I think inspiration boards (though relatively twee) are kinda handy. Just to have the visuals conceptualized and considered. So I’ve mocked one up for our big event, both to keep things coherent for me, and to give you guys a little taste of what’s to come, and what we’ve been up to over the past few weeks.

In order (from top right to bottom left ):

1. Coupe Space

   This is our likely venue. It’s pretty, in an urban, industrial kinda way. We really like the people who own it, and they also do the catering, which is going to be AMAZING. Having good food is pretty much priority number one for me, actually.

2. vintage milk glass

   I have a small collection that I inherited from my grandma, so I figure I might as well use them for floral arrangements. They’re such a beautiful bright white, and come in many interesting shapes and sizes – the contrast between them and brightly coloured flowers is quite nice. They’re going to pop in the lounge space, and make a visual reference to the bright white gallery space beyond it.

3. Olivetti Valentine typewriter

   Liam got me one of these babies for our anniversary a few years back, and it is my all time favourite (everything – typewriter, vintage find, gift, objet). I’m going to stick it out with a pretty, handmade “Rolodex” In lieu of a guest book. This is something I’ve seen in a few weddings recently, but still very appropriate for us (writers, typography fans, and mid-century enthusiasts).

4. birch bark vases

   We love birch trees – who doesn’t really, they’re gorgeous! Beyond being pretty though, they are very iconic of Northern Ontario – where Liam’s from. They’re definitely going to be a bit of a theme.

5. Lovely Design address file

   The “Rolodex” I’d like to use instead of a guest book.

6. Ban.do fascinator

   I want a fascinator, probably with a little birdcage veil. This one is pretty, and close to the right colours, but pricey. I’ll likely make my own instead.

7. my wedding ring by Kate Szabone

   You’ve likely seen this already, but it’s definitely one of my inspirations.

8. my wedding dress by JCrew

   I got it in a pale blue called “air” (so pretty) for less than half off – so for a tenth the price of your average wedding dress – which I am pretty excited about. It’s still in the mail, so fingers crossed it fits! I may embellish it a little with some ribbon, tulle and heirloom costume jewelery.

9. Dara bronze wedges by Re-Mix Vintage Shoes

   I also have some metallic flats in mind (because, well… Liam’s short), but I like these a lot, and think I would wear them again and again once the wedding was over.

10. my colours:

    My mom and sister think I have to many. I don’t really care. I’m gonna make it work.

11. A little illustration by me (note the birch tree and use of colour scheme.)

I don’t usually post videos, but I keep running across this same artist’s stuff, and I am totally in love with her:

Her name is Robyn, she’s Swedish, and she used be a teeny-bopper pop-star in the mid nineties (remember “Show Me Love”? It was pretty ubiquitous at one point. Still hear it from time to time on adult-contempo radio). During the nineties her producer/song writer/Svengali was fellow swede Max Martin – Yes, that Max Martin, of later Britney infamy.

Eventually Robyn, not surprisingly, grew a little tired of being marketed as a pop-tartlet by her record company. But rather than put out a whiny new single about being misunderstood, or how hard being rich and famous is, she dumped her label and started her own.

Then she gave herself a asymmetrical bleach blond haircut; started wearing crazy outfits usually seen on more avant-garde artists (like a dress made to look like a Wurlitzer juke box); and started writing all her own material, collaborating with all the hip, young, up-and-coming producers and DJs Europe has to offer. Pretty awesome right? Now as a result, she’s the hottest thing in the British press, which means her total world dominance should be forthcoming shortly.

She’s pretty much Bjork and Gwen’s long lost Swedish love-child as raised by Missy. In other words: what’s not to love? She’s totally adorable in a wacky, Scandinavian sort of way and she’s got the chops to back it up.

Best of all, her music is danceable and her videos are fresh and arty, even Michel Gondry-esque. I made a playlist of the best on YouTube, so go check em’ out.

While I’ve been out of commission, I’ve been working on a little website for my friend Vivian (she’s a talented girl, who is a fledgling DJ – among other things). I’m doing it just for fun and I’m totally digging it so far.

Granted, Vivian hasn’t seen this yet, so it might look entirely different by the time it ends up online, but at the moment, I’m pretty happy with it.

Vivian was using a little snail with a record for a shell as her little logo, so I decided to take the motif a step further and go for a whole story-book, woodland DJ motif. She also has a love of Alice in Wonderland, so I integrated a bit of that too. Vivian’s own personal aesthetic tends to lean towards rocker-mod, with lot’s of black and white and red so there’s a bit of a subtle retro, rockin’ influence (most notably in the use of cooper black for the header – and who doesn’t *heart* cooper black!). I, of course, added in a good dose of my own Mary Blair obsession into the mix as well.

I have been feeling unmotivated (as I occasionally do). Without the spark of life that leads to ideas and work. Granted, things are pretty understandably out of sorts right now – all the things I normally run to in situations like this are getting packed into boxes, and I’m trying to avoid buying or finding any new things, because it’s just more to lug to the other side of town (as it is, I’m trying to eat my way through my pantry just so that I don’t have to bring that with me).

But it made me think about the things that get me going, get me working, get me coming up with new ideas and exploring them.

And so I started writing a list of those things, in lieu of actually being able to have them… And then expanding and expounding on that list… And then the list took on a life of it’s own and became:

creative sparks

Go, check it out. It will probably grow as time goes on (I left out some things – plays and fiction and tv and music – they will find their way on there eventually, but the thing is massive as it is).

I tried to include things that were instrumental in how I approach life, art, the universe and everything – as well as some things I am constantly hearing have helped fellow artists and friends get those friendly lightning bolts of imagination.

I hope it’s helpful to more than just me.

Go see it.

Seriously.

It’s beautiful.

If you like Wes Anderson you will love it. If you consider yourself to be a student of cinema and literature you will love it’s depth and elegance (although if Hollywood movies and best-selling books are more your thing you might not). If you’re looking for a bit of a visual boost, some eye candy to jangle your creativity, it’s perfect too. If you’re looking for inspiration for decorating your home, then this is the movie to see this season.

The India depicted is (like in most Anderson movies) not so much of the present, or even of the past, but one of dreams captured cinematically. The set pieces and locales are astonishing – everything is drenched in a vibrant, fairy-tale exoticism. However, it’s not quite as much of a fashion flick as other Wes Anderson movies have been – despite the help of Mark Jacobs and a large set of absolutely divine Louis Vuiton luggage.

I found this poster for it, and it’s a bit of a odd find as it depicts only Natalie Portman and a tiger. While both are certainly in the movie, they do not appear as more than spoken-of-mirages, and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos. But I do absolutely love it’s retro illustrative style, reminiscent of mid-sixties movie posters. It certainly hints to the mystery and style of the movie.

Script-wise, Anderson is back to form – recalling his first (and most critically acclaimed) film: Bottle Rocket.

Anderson’s trio of brothers are, though a return to a familiar subject of disaffected families, one of his most emotionally interesting depictions. Although he does receive a lot of help from his always impeccable casting.

Brody? Schwartzman? Wilson? You can’t go wrong

I’m really hoping that he never collaborates with that Noah Baumbach ever again. I actually quite like Roman Coppola (his CQ was entirely underrated) so I think he was a much better choice as a collaborator than that other guy. They certainly share a certain retro, new-wave, colour-drenched sensibility. I could tell he added a lot of sparkle and elegance to the cinematography and script – but then again, it’s well established that I have a thing for the Coppola family.

Speaking of which, Jason Schwartzman is also quite effective here – I think it’s his sense of humour which most comes out in both his performance and the script (which he also co-wrote), bringing levity to Wes Andersons darker inclinations. .

Here’s also hoping Owen Wilson never succeeds in his recently publicized attempts, because he is a woefully wonderful actor who adds so much undertones and depth to a performance – but damned if doesn’t ever get to show it except for in Wes Anderson movies.

I found this image when surfing around, I believe it is an entry at last years Canada Blooms. I am totally taking it as my inspiration for my garden to be (and am I the only one who is very much reminded of Fred Penner’s Place and his awesome forest garden shed? Am I the only one who remembers Fred Penner?).

I love the juxtaposition of very vibrant saturated colours (the purple birdhouses, the yellow wellies, the electric blue stakes) popped against a rough, rustic, natural background with splashes of verdant and chartreuse gardens.

Although I’m gonna probably rock saturated oranges and pinks, rather than purples and blues because I have a couple big orange berried rowan trees (also known as Mountain ash) to work with. Totally using the “bright lights” swiss chard I want to grow as a colour inspiration.

I have also bought You Grow Girl, and am reading my way through – it’s pretty awesome. It’s got neat crafts, simple instructions, beautiful photography and a youthful/urban/girly attitude that is super easy for a youthful/urban/girl to relate to. The author actually lives down the street somewhere here in Parkdale, so I know all her advice is workable for me here in Toronto’s micro-climate. Perfect!

Just because I am, like, the best girlfriend ever, I just re-designed Liam’s website for him. Check it out, it’s extra pretty.

Yeah, you wish I were your girlfriend right now.

Here are my inspirations this time around:

1. the colour of a manilla envelope
2. vintage office supplies
3. Paul Smith‘s stripes
4. Get Smart
5. the Game of Life‘s logo

Just ’cause I’m not in school, doesn’t mean I want to stop learning. Never. I want to be self-taught. Here’s how I’m going to do it.

I’m gonna do my best to:

1. be serious and professional when learning, creating and pursuing
2. be open-minded and light-hearted when learning, creating and pursuing
3. go ahead and aquire (and read) as many good art, illustration and design books as I can, whenever I can
   (right now: rummaging thrift stores for vintage children’s books counts)
4. go ahead and buy tools that will make it easier and more fun for me to create whenever I can
   (right now: one of those little wooden bendy model guys and an adjustable stool for my drafting table)
5. take workshops somewhere in something technical but creative whenever I can
   (right now: print making, or jewellery smithing, or comic creation really interest me)
6. go to LOTS of life drawing
7. read more (everyday)
8. write/blog more (everyday)
9. draw more (everyday)
10. create, for no reason other than to create (everyday)

So long as I make some kind of change to myself or my environment, made something happen, learned/made/created/adapted/altered something in the world somehow (flapped my butterfly wings, hoping for a hurricane in Guatemala, so to speak) it’ll be a good day.

Some interesting reading on being self-taught:
autodidacticism
amateurs are the devil

Back when I actually had the time to be bored this summer, I went on a hunt for new blogs to read.
I love my new finds so much, I sharing them, because they are becoming a major source of inspiration for me (when I can find the time to actually be on my computer doing something other than schoolwork).

These blogs are pure escapism. I could never hope to live the halcyon life these girls manage to create around them. I am astounded by the depth of thought that goes into the aesthetic beauty of every little domestic moment captured in images. These blogs have become my muses, inspiring me to create art from the life I live, by seeing EVERYTHING I create (from the way I make a bed – or don’t – to how I make dinner) as creative in nature.

little birds
Domestic bliss in Portland (my dream town) in saturated colours, glimpses of nature and carefully chosen vintage prints.

a bird in the hand
The literal sister site to little birds (no really, it’s her sister). Just as much about vintage finds, but more about pastel colours and collaged art pieces, and life in San Francisco (a very nice city indeed).

oh joy
How this blogger finds all these beautiful things everyday, I’ll never know. But there’s a wealth of links here to all things design and feminine (especially cute jewellery, fashion, home decor, stationary, party planning and weddings). And it’s all sooooo delightfully girly.

everybody likes sandwiches
I love cooking, and I love food, but I’ve had a hard time finding a food blog that actually offers me something new, and captures my attention.
This one does.
The food is simple, but beautifully captured, and imaginative – and the blog is well written to boot. It’s like an elegant cookbook in blog form! I especially like the focus on fresh in season ingrediants, and things that are relatively healthy.

Whenever I get depressed I watch Andrea Dorfman’s little film called: Love That Boy and it makes me happy pretty soon after.
It’s brightly coloured, quirky and satisfying eye candy that might even be called… dare I say it? Heart-warming. Yes, I think it just might be.
While filmed on the east coast somewhere, it always reminds me of cool Toronto kids. The characters knit, sew, bake, wear Fluevogs and Damzels in this Dress dresses and live in perfectly manicured, thrift/scavenged, retro environs (not to mention, have an awesome indie rock soundtrack – but that pretty much goes without saying at this point).
It is one of my favourite movies of all time.
Liam has just been turned down for yet more jobs, so yesterday afternoon I curled up in the bedroom with my laptop and a copy on DVD and emerged cheerful.
I then decided to look up Ms. Dorfman to see if she was up to anything new (Love That Boy was distributed a long 3 years ago). I found a biography somewhere that said she was working on a new script and, more importantly, owned a little shop called the Knit Cafe here in Toronto. A little shop that just so happens to serve coffee, tea, and yarn. A little shop I’ve passed by many times, because it happens to be only about two blocks away.
I think I’m going to have to investigate this.
And possibly learn how to knit.
And if there’s one thing I suck at, it’s knitting.

Drawn! has had a forum for all of a very few hours, and already I’m hooked. I’m so sucked in, it’s not even funny.
Also, there’s this. What did I say about my friend Aaron getting famous someday?
Yeah.
I think when I said someday, I should have said, like, in a couple of weeks.

Turns out I’m not the only Toronto based (or soon to be), OCAD attending (fingers crossed), name dropping, sketch-booking, self-portrait painting, female in my family.
Genetics are weird.
And this is really cool. But image heavy. So you’re forewarned and stuff.

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(originally published in the January 17, 2006 issue of the Brock Press )

Today I was contacted about filling some space with a column. My job around here used to be to take pictures of people in cute outfits, dispense fashion advice and colour in pictures in Photoshop. It was a pretty sweet gig, but I’ve moved on, and fresh young people have taken my place.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything left to say to the students of this university.
I am here to talk to you about the merits of a little place called Portland, Oregon, and why we should be so lucky as to live there someday.
At first glance Portland doesn’t seem like it has a lot to offer.
But that’s like saying Alice’s rabbit hole looks like just a hole in the ground.
Then you fall into it.
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