June so far

It's been a busy week for us so far. On Saturday, it was the TEST 5th Annual Spring Marketplace. RJH dropped me off at the show and then took the baby for some men's only time. There were all sorts of garage sales on the Danforth, so they wandered around and got some loot. Our neighbour found a free second-hand ExerSaucer (it's a little baby gym, in which he can stand, supported... something my sister-in-law likes to jokingly call the 'circle of neglect' because it keeps babies occupied long enough to try and do something) which she kindly hauled home for little Mr. Monkeytoes.

Sunday was our first wedding anniversary. Though it was a bit cool and overcast, we all went to Ward's Island. We showed the baby where we were married and had a lovely picnic. It was a great day!

Since then, RJH has been spending his week of vacation busily working on replacing the horrid insulbrick on the back of the house. He went and bought some cedar shingles (from the maritimes of course). There were some discoveries: the wood beneath my studio window was completely rotted, and has now been replaced. Dad came by yesterday to help stain the shingles - on both sides- before installing them. We have a rain warning today, so RJH is staining shingles in the garage. He hopes to be able to complete this project by the end of the week.

On Monday, I sent off a large package of prints, and a couple of handprinted pillows, to Ambergris Gallery, on Block Island (also known as New Shoreham), Rhode Island. They're hosting a show called 'From the Depths' this summer, so my sea creatures will be exhibited by the oceanside!

I did get to take a bit of a walk with the baby Monday too. We spotted that lovely swallowtail butterfly on a large lilac while we were out.

We just finished our Spring show, but our Toronto Etsy Street Team never sleeps. We're already working on preparing for the fall show. Etsy: Made in Canada Day will be September 27, at MaRS, at College and University streets, here in Toronto. There will be simultaneous shows in at least 30 other Canadian towns and cities and we're planning on a national promotion campaign. Our own show will be a big one: we're thinking of hosting 100 vendors!

Biggest news personally on the artistic front: I'm going to be selling at the One of a Kind Christmas show this year! I'm going to have a 5' by 10' booth from December 2 to December 7. This is a huge show. I did their spring show last year, but wasn't up for either the Christmas or spring show since. Little Mr. Monkeytoes was born during the Christmas show last year, and was too small and in need of too much attention during the 2014 Spring show, but he'll be one (one!) by December, so I'll be able to get some help with the childcare. In the meanwhile, I have to plan and build my booth and gather a lot of stock. There are tens of thousands of visitors, so I'll need a lot of items. This is a big investment too, but I think it will definitely be worth it. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how my preparations are going.

Right, nose back to the grindstone. ;)

Year of the Salamander, Talk and Hearts

Axolotl, linocut on blue Thai paper with a deckle edge, 8" by 10", (or 20.3 cm by 25.4 cm) by Ele Willoughby

My Axolotl linocut is currently part of the Year of the Salamander show at Art.Science.Gallery in Austin, TX, which runs through to June 21. Gallery founder Dr. Hayley Gillespie is an artist/herpetologist, who specifically studies salamanders, so this exhibit and working with Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) to raise awareness of salamander conservation issues are clearly a perfect fit for her. If you are in Austin, not only can use see how 22 international artists interpreted the salamander theme, you can even attend her lecture or take Herpetology 101. Get your art and science all in one place! The the amazing axolotl, by the way, known as the Mexican salamander or Mexican walking fish, is an endangered amphibian which originates in lakes near Mexico city. Unlike other amphibians, they do not usually metamorphise and develop lungs. Rather, they remain gilled and aquatic. Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate limbs, and in some cases, portions of their brains! They appear to have crazy hairdos, with their three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) which come out behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water.

June 18th, I've been invited to speak about balancing art and science careers (or, what I've gleaned in my quest to be a modern-day Renaissance woman), by the Neighbourhood Arts Network as part of their 'Making A Living Making Art: Creative Business and Social Media Strategies for Artists' series at the Lakeshore Arts Gallery. They asked me to give them my Top 5 Tips which they've published on their site. If you are in the city, you can join us Wednesday June 18th, 2014 at Lakeshore Arts Gallery, 2422 Lake Shore Blvd W at 6:00 PM and hear me and Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou speak. I'm quite flattered to learn that NAN, which is part of the Toronto Arts Council, had me on their radar, knew I am both artist and scientist and captain of the Toronto Etsy Street Team.

I also noticed that my shop things from secret minouette places  hit 2400 hearts today! I really do love the ♥s.  Honestly, I harbour a possible absurd fondness for them. A second round-number milestone, I hit 900 Etsy followers. So, I'd like to take a moment to thank each and every one along with 960 twitter followers, 2077 pinterest followers, 633 fans of the things from secret minouette places fanpage, and last but not least, anyone who follows this blog!

Toronto Etsy Street Team 5th Annual Springtime Market

 

I will be selling, and in fact have been busily helping organize the Toronto Etsy Street Team 5th Annual Springtime Market, June 7 from 11 am to 5 pm at the Church of St Stephen-in-the-Fields at Bellevue and College, in Kensington Market. Please stop in, say hello, and check out the latest minouette wares. 

 

I can tell you the selection process wasn't easy. We have some talented people to choose from. Seriously, check our our Spring 2014 LookBook here or peruse our Etsy Page!

 

Hope to see you there!

Mae Jemison, Astronaut

I'm working on my series of women in science protraits for the show in the fall. The latest in my scientist portrait series is American astronaut Mae Jemison. Astronauts are generally extraordinary, but I love that not only was she a trailblazer, she is someone with twin passions for art and science, who danced professionally, was well as being a chemical engineer and medical doctor.

Mae Jemison, linocut on Japanese kozo paper, 9.25" by 12.5" (23.5 cm by 32 cm) in an edition of eight by Ele Willoughby, 2014

Mae Jemison (born October 17, 1956), is a physician who became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for NASA, on September 12, 1992. She also has a B.S. in chemical engineering, served in the Peace Corps, is a dancer and choreographer, formed and runs her own company researching the application of technology to daily life, and even appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Inspired to join NASA by Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek, she was the first real astronaut to appear on any Star Trek show.

Jemison is a Professor-at-Large at Cornell University and was a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 2002. As well as her own company the Jemison Group, she founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence with projects like The Earth We Share (TEWS), an international science camp for students, ages 12 to 16, and biotech company BioSentient Corp.

Yesterday, in history

I meant to post his yesterday, but I ran out of time.

In the early morning fog of 29 May 1914, the ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland was steaming down the St. Lawrence on its return trip to England, just offshore Rimouski, Quebec, when it collided with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad, or more precisely, when the Storstad collided with her (though there is evidence to suggest both Captains made errors of judgement). Both Captains should have known to maintain their headings due to the dense fog - both, it seems did not. Of the 1,477 persons on board the ship, 1,012 died, making this the largest of any Canadian maritime accident in peacetime, and second only to the the sinking of the Titanic at the time - though now something largely forgotten by most Canadians. The Storstad did not sink.

The immense lost of life was not a failure to provide lifeboats or a design failure like the Titanic, but a combination of where she was struck, a failure to close watertight doors and the fact that so many pothole windows were left open to try and air out staterooms, despite maritime regulations requiring them to be shut once the vessel left port. The ship went down rapidly.

While doing fieldwork sailing to and from Rimouski in 2010, we allowed another research group some shiptime to test their multibeam bathymetric system. The RMS Empress of Ireland make a logical target in just 40 m of water. Seeing the undisturbed wreck apear on the screens in the lab was really a fascinating experience.

On the surface, there was nothing to see but river and fog, and the one buoy to warn of a shallow obstruction. Below, clear as day on all our screens were bright reflections on the depth sounder and multibeam screens, indicating hard surfaces. It was so unusual to see straight lines, and in fact, the clear outline of a ship, despite the near century of sediment build up, decay, and any incursion of life. Most of what we see has the organic, smooth lines of naturally formed and eroded geology. Even when we do see human-made objects (like our own equipment), it's never so large that you can read its very shape. It was haunting to see the clear outline of the Empress, silently lying on the seabed.

The St. Lawrence is deceptive. In French, we have the word Fleuve to better describe this mighty river which drains into the sea. We do say 'seaway' in English... but river is insufficient. While sometimes calm, the waters are brakish, the tides surprisingly large and the currents stronger than you would imagine for a protected river. I certainly made sure my porthole window was shut. But, a cruise liner is filled with passengers with little to no experience of being at sea. In the dense fog as we surveyed, it was easy to imagine the chaos, especially in the early morning dark. Many passengers may not even have awoken. The story of the sinking, and subsequent inquiry makes for some dramatic and in fact scandalous reading.

The crew of our vessel viewed the ship somewhat solemnly, not so much because they felt the connection to events of a century previous, but because more recently, the wreck itself had claimed more lives. In only 40 m of water, skilled scuba divers can explore it. But in cold water with low visibility, it is a dangerous dive. In 2009, the year before our survey, six divers had died.

Cat woes

I haven't posted much lately, because baby - and now cat. Our beloved, if persnickety cat Minouette is getting to be a certain age for a cat. She is 17.5 years old. She started demanding a lot of water. Then we noticed puddles of clear, odorless liquid in the kitchen, which we did not immediately recognize.  We thought she had spat up, as cats do. It turns out that these are common symptom in older cats: peeing on things, especially cool, flat, surfaces like kitchen tiles, and drinking excessively. The odorlessness confused us. After a couple of trips to the vet, we've discovered she is diabetic. This is serious, but it is a liveable disease, and there is no sign she's in distress. It could have been worse. We were scared we would get a diagnosis of kidney failure, and it was stressful waiting for her test results. Cause, we love that damn cat. So, she's now on a high-protein diet and gets insulin twice a day, subcutaneously. I'm happy to report that I am able to administer the insulin, despite my anxiety about needles. I can't even watch someone get an injection in a movie, but luckily these needles are so small that I can handle it.

On the flip side, she decided to pee directly into the air vent in the kitchen, which is bad news for us. 'Odorless' is a relative term. RJH turned the heat on the other day (it's been that sort of spring) and guess what? Even watered down cat pee sure stinks when heated. We have done all we can to clean the vent, but we may have to tear down the ceiling in the basement and replace the vent altogether. Worst of all, while she is adjusting to the diet, and barely notices the injections, she has kept up the wayward peeing.

Also RJH and I got some terrible cold, from my nephew I think. RJH actually took some time off and he never does that... so that tells you how dreadful it's been. I just hope the baby doesn't get it!

To top it off, our internet was down for the better part of 2 days, which may be a mere 'first world problem' but it is a bother.

That's an older photo of Minouette, above, by RJH, but it's one of my favorites.

Etsy Summit

It was a busy week! Monday and Tuesday, along with Etsy admin, sponsors and team captains & leaders from across Canada, I took part in the Etsy Summit at MaRS. In fact, Etsy invited me to give a short talk about how to grow your team, and lead some break-out group discussions too. I started my talk by apologizing for not sticking around for extra meals and maybe being a little distracted, since this is the first time I left Gabriel with a sitter (Mom) and logical or no, it's part of the job description of a mother to worry. (I joked Tuesday that I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or hurt to find him happy and relaxed when I got home.) I got a lot of positive feedback, so I think I managed to give a good talk despite any concerns or distractions. The meeting was a success - we have some exciting plans. We're working on a pan-Canadian extravaganza! September 27, there will be simultaneous marketplaces in 30+ cities from coast to coast, called 'Etsy: Made in Canada'. You can read more on the TEST blog. I think it's a great idea to actually gain some national attention.

The rest of the week was filled with some doctors appointments for baby (who is healthy and "robust", thank you, it turns out). Apart from that, I had another birthday, so there was sushi and multiple chocolate cakes. There was some actual sunshine on Mayday, so we managed to go outside, which is great, because most years it rains. RJH has been busy photographing (and playing in) a charity hockey tournament, and the baby and I are just taking it easy.  I think we'll just eat cake and giraffe toes, respectively, and maybe take some photos with my exciting new camera. If it stops raining, we might go watch the bonfire down the street, but it's nice some days to have no bigger ambitions than cuddling.