Playing catch-up: Shows, SciArtist at home, Gallery & Astronaut recruitment

Life has been extremely busy of late and I haven't had any time to update my blog, so I'm planning to make a big post about everything. You've been warned. I've opted for chronological, rather than any other sort of ranking, since I know how to do that.

Find my #naturalhistory #SciArt #mapart of #Canada #linocuts and block printed animals in minouette 's booth F🐸13 at #ooakx16

A photo posted by Ele Willoughby (@the.minouette) on Nov 24, 2016 at 8:32am PST

I did the full One of a Kind show this year. It was a busy, exhausting time! Thank you very much to everyone who stopped by to see me, purchased art and my fabulous friends and colleagues for all your great company and support! I have the greatest customers. I love that I sold art to the parents of burgeoning scientists, neuroscientists, geologists, paleontologists, historians, and all sorts of other fascinating people. And an extra special thank you to those who allowed it to happen; my husband and Dad the booth builder and installation team, my mom the chief babysitter, my trusty assistants Becca and Karla, volunteer sales help and excellent company Peggy and Carrie, carpooling friends Leslie and Queenie, entertainment and bingo queen Emma.

We had a nice Christmas here in Toronto with family.

Big @torontoetsystreet announcement this New Year's Day! We're launching a year long Pop Up gallery in the Queen West @gravenfeather complete with art shows, pop up markets, workshops, our #Etsy Newbie Bootcamp in real life and more! We've got the keys and are getting ready for our launch party opening January 28! #printmaking cc: @etsyca #Toronto #artshow #craftshow #popupshop #workshops See our team blog for more.

A photo posted by Ele Willoughby (@the.minouette) on Jan 1, 2017 at 2:32pm PST

First big announcement of 2017: the Toronto Etsy Street Team has a brick and mortar incarnation for the year. While our team mate, printmaker and friend Pam of Graven Feather gallery takes mat leave, we will be subleasing her gallery for the year! We'll be hosting art shows, pop-up markets, trunk shows, workshops and more all year long. We started with a launch paerty and mini show from team leaders on January 28th. You can still find my art at our 906 Queen St W location and stay tuned for more of our exciting plans (including my plans to curate a SciArt show this spring)! My friend Emma is taking the lead on this project and I'm glad that she has the gumption to convince me that we should do it!

That's me in my #studio in the #Toronto Star, Homes section talking about my #art, #science, #sciart and working from home. I'm holding my #honeybee #linocut #printmaking

A photo posted by Ele Willoughby (@the.minouette) on Jan 14, 2017 at 10:15am PST

My home, studio and peculiar combination of jobs and interests were the subject of this Toronto Star article. It's part of their series on people who work from home. It was pleasure speaking with them about my blend of art and science. Roger's rocking horse and hand built furniture for Gabriel were also a hit. (Geoscientists will recognize that 'general physics' should read geophysics, but it's a nice little article).

Reflections by Ele Willoughby. Linoleum block print with chine collé / 2017 / 8 x 15 in. / $180 (SOLD). On view in our LUNAR exhibit for @Printaustin through February 18th. This print stems from my experience of working at sea, where in the absence of light pollution, celestial bodies like our moon and even planets, cast bright reflections as far as the eye can see. Moonlight in turn, consists of reflections of sunlight (with some starlight and some earthlight reflected back at us). So the light on the ocean is reflections upon reflections. #art #science #sciart #exhibition #gallery #instadaily #science #artoftheday #graphic #fineart #instaart #atx #texas #art #artwork #moon #artistic #design #artnews #artshow #blockprint #instagood #illustrator #artist #creative #astronomy #visual #austin #printmaking #printaustin

A photo posted by Art.Science.Gallery. (@artsciencegallery) on Feb 2, 2017 at 11:09am PST

I am very happy to have a print in Art.Science.Gallery's show LUNAR, their official entry in PRINT Austin for 2017. If you're in Austin, you can still catch the show until February 18th. I'm also very happy to learn that their crowdfunding efforts were successful and the gallery will remain open for 2017.

Last, but definitely not least, a few of you will know, but last summer I applied to be an astronaut! Selecting Canada's next two astronauts is a year long process. I'm very proud to say that I am one of 72 people still in the running from 3772 initial applicants! There's a lot of testing still to go before they make their selections by August but it's very cool to be part of this amazing group of people. From this incredible talent pool they will have to narrow it down to two new astronauts.

If you want to find out what I'm up to in closer to real-time, I recommend following me on twitter and instagram.

Local TESTy Valentines

Lovely, funny and yummy food puns by Gotamago

One of the lovely and talented local artists I know, Lichia of Gotamago, tagged things from secret minouette places to point out I'd gotten some press. It's one of the great things about being part of TEST or the One of a Kind, is that you get to know your fellow makers. So when BlogTO does a round-up of fun Valentines by local artists to let you "bypass Hallmark cheese [...] by making dorky puns, poking fun at the awkward side of relationships, or making artwork so beautiful and intricate it'll melt even the coldest, Grinchiest heart," there are several great picks from teammates. They included my thermochromic Valentine amongst their 10 favorites. Half of them are TESTy people, of course, cause our team is so awesome. ;)

minouette's thermochromic Valentine for the nerd in your heart

simple and sweet I Heart You by HeyRube

Gorgeous, customizable, hand-cut Valentines by Light&Paper

For true love, even first thing from Sea&Lake

Hilarious puns like "I love you a waffle lot" from new TEST member Queeniescards

(more or less x-posted to the TEST blog)

Wedding!

I've been busy lately, and haven't posted much, but I have a good excuse. We got married June 8th! Beforehand, there was a lot of preparations to be made. Afterwards, we took a little mini Honeymoon staycation. I made almost all of the decorations (hundreds of paper flowers, faux Mercury glass vases, a giant blue paper rose bouquet, a curtain of sparkly heart garlands with fancy Japanese and Thai papers, paper flower garlards), the invitation (I made a large linocut in silver on dark blue washi paper and did the type design in PhotoShop, with advice and printing help from my friend Michelle of thunderpeep), I used my invite print to make a large hand-bound guestbook, RJH and I assembled little favour boxes of gladiolus bulbs (to which I also added a small reproduction of my hand-printed invitation heart). I recruited some flower-making help from Mom and my bride's maids Reynardin and Faunalia. R&F also made us a 'Ele & Roger Are Getting Married' bunting, with handcut paper letters in silver and blues, suspended from a fine silver ribbon - and, most spectacularly F baked and decorated the wedding cake (and topper) with help from R. There were three tiers and flavours and blue ombre icing. The handmade theme extended to gifts (at least on my side) with a necklace from Navahaus, rude cross-stitch by Crass Stitches and custom cuff-links with a vintage map of Woodstock, New Brunswick for the groom by Emma of Landfill Designs. I also made my own fascinator (well, embellished barret with silk and silk flowers).




We got married on Ward's Island, at the old Ward's Island Association Clubhouse. Built in the 1930s, the building has a lot of character. The bridal party showed up early on Saturday morning to decorate. After a bit, the groom suggested that the bride and bride's maids return to the mainland to get dressed up. I think he didn't want me to fret watching him on the ladder. Luckily after we left, the 2nd groom's man and his wife showed up and they were able to finish and get dressed up themselves (minus the best man's shoes... he was in red Converse sneakers until his wife arrived later!) The women rode back on the ferry to our nearby hotel to get changed. My mother stopped by to bring us all hankercheifs. When we were ready, we walked down to the ferry, where we met a lot of the guests - some of his family for the first time. One of the things we really like about the Island is that it feels like the country, and the ferry gives you a sense of travelling to a destination, yet it is only 15 minutes from downtown. Also, since the groom stayed on the Island, I got to surprise him when we arrived and he got the first glimpse of me in my dress.



I found this vintage-reproduction dress at Cabaret with F. It wasn't the one which caught my eye, but the nicest salesman in the world convinced me to try it on; it fit like a glove. The rest of what I wore was inspired by the dress; something-blue shoes with a sort of vintage look, the flowers in my hair, a pin at my waist from my paternal grandmother and a necklace from my maternal grandmother (borrowed from Mom) of a similar vintage to the look of the dress.



We both got to greet and mingle with guests before the ceremony. The groom's men and my brothers were assigned to gather people to take their seats - but I realized my bouquet was inside... so I poked my head in the window and whispered to the groom, much to the amusement of nearby guests. I walked the aisle with both of my parents (though Mom almost forgot). Roger hired Sandy MacIntyre, a well-known Cape Breton fiddler who played with his son on guitar (cause you can take the boy out of the the Maritimes, but you can't take the Maritimes out of the boy). We wrote our vows together, and shared a single cue card (which also seemed to entertain people). A pair of swallows swooped around the barrel ceiling, prompting the Officiant to call them love birds. I loved the relaxed feel, which was what we had been hoping for. We managed to forget the cake topper in the hotel room, but prevailed upon Blythechild's trusty husband Synap to speed back in a water taxi to recover it. He was back before we even finished out photos after the ceremony (and before the reception).



I love that we had a wedding where the kids could run around on the neighbouring bowling green, do cartwheels, catch a toad and spell our names out in popped balloons. It was small and intimate. We were very happy that so many people came from so far and we thought about those who were unable to be there. It was a beautiful day.

The gate-crashers:



[Our photographer was Dave Chan, who was amazing. Most of these photos are his. All photos have credits if you click on them and in the meta-data.]

Mayday

Fellow printmaker Martha Knox featured my woodblock print 'Little Boat, Big Ocean' on her blog today and wrote a really insightful commentary.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I've been blessed with a beautiful day. It was wintry in the past week, but today is early summer. Usually it rains on Mayday.

I got up, cleaned the new floor, that my crazy RJH has been frantically installing in our basement. Dealt with a whole bunch of logistical problems (ranging consulting on calibrating instruments, tracking down addresses for wedding invites, to alerting craft show applicants of their acceptance or rejection from our show). It was another odd geophysicist/printmaker morning. Then my father showed up to take me out for a late lunch, which stretched on for some time. We went to Playa Cabana, a really good Mexican place which you wouldn't expect on a residential street near his new home. He gave me all sorts of books. He said the bookseller said, "Whoever these are for, this is not light reading." It should keep me busy for a while. I eventually returned home and moaned on the couch for a while, having eaten a stupid amount of food. My mother showed up with more gifts (kitchen stuff). My sister-in-law sent me a photo of my nephew with his birthday wishes, which was adorable. I've been fielding calls and messages. Thank you very much everyone. I feel old, but it's a really lovely day.

We're putting off celebrating till next week. We really want to complete the basement, so it'll be more work this evening. I hope you're having a beautiful day too. If you live around here GO OUTSIDE. Right now.

Happy Birthday to RJH

I hope you have an amazing new year; I know it promises some great new changes, even if today, your birthday was harder than it should be (since you are ill, but at work, and in fact, you're still there). I've decided however that this will not set the precedent for your year and this will be your best year yet! This year will be full of love and success for you. We've got our wedding and our future to look forward to, and I have a good feeling about it. It's going to be great.

Love,
me

the Lady

I lost one of my oldest friends a week ago Saturday. She was only 38. She was diagnosed with cancer in the fall. The second loved one (and non-smoker) to die of lung cancer within one year and one day. I've seen others write about this, in ways I've found quite moving, but I've felt completely inarticulate. I've focused on the practical, the logistical (like getting to Chicago and back in a minimum of time) and trying to help. When my step-mother died, I saw the survivors were laden with a myriad of responsibilities when least able to deal with it. So, I was glad to be able to offer RJH's help getting an obit printed in time, or to contact our Alma mater, or find friends with whom we've lost touch. Though what I wanted to do was to go back, to spend more time with her, to make her life easier in what were her last months.

I was able to get to her funeral, though it was in the middle of the OOAK, which made it even more exhausting. I'm thankful for the help I got from friends and family. I'll tell you about the show and the rest of the week in a little while. Right now, I need a break.

squares baby quilt

So since I was busily quilting, I went ahead a made another quilt for a friend who's expecting. This one is more free in terms of colours, but simpler in terms of design and assembly. This one includes squares with my block prints (and one screenprinted bear silhouette) and a few squares with my friend Tanis' block prints (some fabric I've been hoarding for some time).







The reverse is mainly night-themed fabric: stars, NASA imagery, imaginary constellations (along with mushrooms and Russian nesting dolls).




Here's the reverse of the Baby W's quilt:

2012 in review - Part II

July
We had some of our first guests for Canada Day. I went to the Etsy meet-up and got featured in their video. I started a Western Zodiac linocut series, to go with the Chinese Zodiac series. I made a rock garden. I started a series of linocut monograms. I helped run a craft show for our team! Etsy featured my portrait of Mme. Wu in the blog 'Short Stories' series. Like the rest of the city, I was sickened to hear of the shooting on Danzig, but living with a journalist meant I learned about it earlier than many. We hosted the T.E.S.T. 3rd Annual "Spring" Handmade Market, complete with post-show cocktail party (where two mysterious strangers showed up and systematically ate all the cheese)! My shop reached 1500 hearts. I made a portrait of Turing, for his centennial year.



August
I got a summer cold and ear ache, but went to hear the Bloggess read, none the less. It was hilarious. I negotiated a magazine cover. We had a housewarming party. We made our vacation, driving through Ontario, the Adirondacks in NY, NH, Vermont and into Maine, then up to New Brunswick, to visit his family and old friends. While camping on Deer Island, by the shore, complete with tidal whirlpool and Minke whales by our campfire, we got engaged! We drove north to Quebec and back to Ontario, to stay with my family at my late step-mother's cottage (and announce our news). We were (happily) upstaged by my brother and his wife, who announced they are expecting their first child!



September
My portrait of Mme. Wu graced the cover of Physics World! I made a portrait of Hypatia, and sold art at the Queen West Art Crawl. RJH re-did the roof of the garage! My Shar-pei linocut was selected to be featured on an Animal Planet show! I attempted to plan our wedding on a very tight schedule, but had not luck. RJH and I explored the events of Nuit Blanche.




October
I started a series of linocuts of Canadian provinces and territories. I wrote about Lise Meitner for Ada Lovelace Day (celebrating women in STEM) and a California science blog QUEST wrote about me! The Finch and Pea wrote about my portrait of Mme. Wu. My attempts to plan the wedding continued to be foiled. I made more bees and my work will appear in a booklet on local bees (which will include profiles on the collection of local artists interested in the biodiversity of bees). I enjoyed my first Hallowe'en in a home of our own, and giving out candy to all the kids.



November
RJH got promoted! I redesigned my blogs and shop. I had an interesting and flattering business opportunity (still waiting to hear... fingers crossed... but will be flattered either way). I ran what I called 'Santa's little sweatshop' in preparation for the Holiday rush and plans for craft shows. I participated in a two-day Wandering Winter Craft Show at Magic Pony, while RJH edited photos live at the Grey Cup. I made a lot of pillows, several of whom are dinosaurs.



December
I did another Wandering Winter Craft Show at the Gladstone Hotel (while RJH dealt with the fall-out of the soon-to-be-famous sherling-coat-wearing Ikea-shopping monkey). Then I did the Movies And Makers show at the Fox Cinema. For the first time in years, I found myself mid-December with outstanding xmas shopping; for me, this is a calamity. I had previously, assiduously avoided entering stores in December, since I am both a bit claustrophobic and I found it effectively robbed me of any xmas spirit. I managed to finish shopping by the 20th, though (since, I must be in love, there is nothing else which could compel me to enter stores during the Holiday crunch) I did help RJH a bit after that. My laptop gave up altogether, and RJH surprised me with an early xmas gift - the MacBook Pro on which I am currently typing. I took on a custom order for three Classical themed prints on a tight deadline. We were really pleased to briefly host Lady R. & D and their tall and charming toddler E. We would hope they return and can stay longer in the future. I had a quiet Solstice at home with RJH. We spent xmas eve at my father's with his new girlfriend and her boys. We spent xmas at my mother's (after RJH got off work, having generously volunteered to work Christmas day). I had an enormous number of brunches.



Overall this was a year of upheaval for me, and I experienced both some of the most difficult things and the most wonderful. My contract ended, and my daily work shifted dramatically from mostly applied science, to mostly art. I'm still trying to find the right niche: work which I love and can do here in Toronto, and from which I can make a good living. We lost my step-mother. We bought our first home, moved and dove into repairs and making it our own. I had some successes with my art, including a magazine cover, a TV appearance and another exciting opportunity. We got engaged to be married! My brother and his wife are expecting their first child - the first grandchild in my family. RJH got promoted. We spent our first Christmas in our own home. In my experience, most years have fewer milestones than 2012 did.

I hope in 2013, we'll have our wedding. I hope to make new steps in my career. I'm excited to meet my new niece or nephew. Most of all, I hope my love ones, friends and family, are happy and healthy, and I wish all the best to all of you.