Last Legs

Papergirl Vancouver - Accepting Submissions

Photo: Just

"Papergirl is an art project from Berlin. In the style of American paper-boys, rolled art pieces will be distributed by bicycle in the streets of Vancouver to random passers-by.

Art should be accessible to everyone. That is the spirit behind Papergirl, the pedal-powered and volunteer ridden project that combines art, philanthropy, and bikes!

A redefinition of street art, Papergirls volunteer cyclists criss cross the city delivering art directly into the hands of perfect strangers. From August 22 to 27 the Roundhouse Community Center will display an assortment of donated artworks before the art is bundled up and given away on the street. It’s the art of giving away art."

 

Papergirl Vancouver is currently accepting original 2D artwork for submission. Art must be flexible (it will be rolled), and the shortest side must be smaller then 1m. Art will never be sold, you may enter as many pieces as you like.

There are two ways to enter:

Drop off your art in person at Roundhouse front desk by August 15th or mail your entries to:
Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
c/o Brenda Racanelli / Alix Büngener
181 Roundhouse Mews
Vancouver, BC
V6Z 2W3

You must fill out a submission form, which you can download here.

I am SO excited about this project and strongly encourage anyone who makes are to submit.

Ugly Mugs

Here are some of the ugly mugs I have been making at the studio. They actually look way better in the photos than they do in person.

I will continue to photograph and post my progress.

Meet Soiling Myself

(Photo by Jordan Willox)

I wanted to introduce you to a blog worth following. One of my best friends, Jordan, who I have known for 10 years, has packed up his life in the city and exchanged it for a year on Gabriola Island. He is documenting his adventures on his blog Soiling Myself. It is funny, touching, inspiring, and honest.

Swap-O-Rama Rama 2011

I'm organizing Swap-O-Rama-Rama this year! Last year it was a huge success and I'm really excited to be part of the event again this year.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap in which a community explores reuse and creativity through the recycling of used clothing.

The core of the swap is the gigantic pile of free clothing sorted into categories such as pants, skirts, shirts, shoes etc. These piles are the collective total of each guest’s contribution of any size bag of unwanted clothes, so start cleaning your closets! Take as little or as much as you like! All remainders will go to local charities.

A series of DIY stations will be on-hand to unleash your creativity through the recycling of used clothing including screen printing by Blim and sewing stations by Spool of Thread.

Join in the communal process of reuse and celebrate our collective creativity!

What to bring to Swap-O-Rama-Rama?
Clean, gently-used clothes and accessories: jackets, pants, shirts, skirts, shoes, gloves, belts, accessories, jewelry, sunglasses, bags, wallets and hats. Children and men’s clothing are welcome.

What not to bring to Swap-O-Rama-Rama
Books, make up, home décor, furniture, lingerie / underwear, dirty clothing or anything that you cannot wear. Also, this year we are NOT accepting craft supplies.

Saturday June 18, 2011
Museum of Vancouver
1100 Chestnut Street

$6.00 at the door plus a bag of clean clothes to swap - leave with all the clothes that you can carry!

Facebook Event

WIN TICKETS!
Leave a comment telling us what item of clothing you are hoping to find at Swap this year for your chance to win 2 tickets. Winner will be drawn June 17th, 2011 at 8pm.

Granville Online Magazine

Image by Socks Appeal

I have been writing regularly for a magazine, Granville Online, that specializes in the happenings of the city of Vancouver. You can find my posts for them under their DIY Vancouver section.

From seed swaps to upcoming workshops, craft fairs, tutorials, and more!

Doula

(Me holding my day old brother.) 

One of my life's aspirations is to be a doula. This weekend I started that journey with a 2 day workshop. What is a doula, you ask? Well, a doula is someone who supports a mother and her partner through childbirth. Typically a doula will visit an expecting mother and her partner a couple times before the birth, attend the birth, and visit once or twice afterwards.

During the prenatal visits the doula will discuss with the mother and partner their wishes for the birth.  Some things that might be discussed include the location of the birth, the comfort measures that the mother would like to use, the mother's wish to use medical intervention or not, who will be attending the birth etc. It is the role of the doula to help the mother stick to her birth plan, and give physical and emotional support. Doulas are there to suggest prenatal techniques such as massage, and give resources for things such as aromatherapy, water birth, photography, and lamaze.

During the birth the doula is there to emotionally support the mother and her partner. Unlike a midwife, the doula does NOT have any medical role in the process. A doula will hold the mother's hand, look her in the eyes, give her a massage, keep her partner focused and calm, and be there to make sure any of her concerns get addressed.

After the birth a doula helps with breastfeeding, emotional support, and more.

Having a doula present during labor and birth has been proven to decrease: length of labor by 25%; epidural use by 60%; Cesarean birth by 50%; Pitocin use by 40%; narcotics use by 30%; forceps use by 30%.

A doula is anyone who the mother asks to emotionally support her during her birth. Sister, daughter, friend, etc. Anyone can act as a doula at a birth. To become a certified doula there are several steps to take, starting with the workshop that I attended, and going on to take courses in lamaze and breastfeeding, and attending births.

I have completed the first step (the DONA training) and am now ready (and very excited) to attend births. I will also be taking the other training workshops towards getting certified.

Spool of Thread

So we have been really lucky that the weather in Vancouver has been super awesome. But as we get deeper into fall, and winter rears its head, the weather will start to get soggier and we will need to find things to do inside. Which brings me to Spool of Thread, a new fabric store and sewing lounge owned by my friends Henry and Lili. I had the opportunity to take one of their classes and it was so much fun.

 

They have patterns and fabric to purchase.

Those are the two fabrics I chose for my bag.

 

And that is the finished bag!!

I'm in this CBC video!

Have a look at the Spool of Thread website for their class schedule. This month they have classes teaching you to make pillows, aprons, pajamas and more. You can also go in and use their sewing machines by the hour to work on whatever project you bring in. Go be crafty!

Commit to a spot and dig.

  

I want to talk about Pecha Kucha. On Thursday I went to Vancouver's Volume 13. In essence, Pecha Kucha is a night of inspiration. A random selection of people are chosen to do presentations on their work. They are asked to share 20 images, 20 seconds spent on each.

Thursday's presenters included artists, curators, architects, musicians, activists, business owners, and more. It was spectacular. I left feeling overwhelmed, emotional, excited, and inspired.

I'm in the crux of a shit storm right now with deciding (for sure) what direction to take my "career", and Thursday evening inspired me to continue to take the reins on what I really want to do with my life and follow that dream. However, it also spun me like a top into the endless possibilities of what is out there. What does one do when everything interests them?

Spicy Beans Canning Tutorial

 

A couple weeks ago I made my second batch of spicy beans. If you would like to try making these have a look at the tutorial I did for Granville Magazine.  

22 Chinese Proverbs Art Show at Libby's Kitchen

 

My 22 Chinese Proverbs show will be up at Libby's Kitchen until October 1st at 3pm. The cafe is located at 3429 Porter Street (at Victoria Drive, accross the street from the Trout Lake Community Center). Please go have a look!

 

I snapped a picture of the work when it had all just been completed and was all lined up on my couch before I packed it up to bring it to the cafe.  

 

The images are all 5x7 inches with a white 8x10 matte and framed in vintage frames. They are $75 each.