From the Lab

A roundup of recent experiments. These are personal pieces that I create when I need a bit of a creative kickstart.

Living in Isolation

February is a waiting game

Creative Mindset

Deadlines: before and after

Heavy Thinkers

I saw the movie 'Shape of Water' and I loved the machine aesthetic of the sets. I collect old technical journals and I mined the images for some heavy industrial drawings and got to work. I haven't had a lot of creative time recently, I just finished a major children's book project and a lot of editorial work.

Here are the images in the series, these are all two colour transparent images on an warm background. I really enjoyed working on these, and I kept the series rolling, longer than I would have anticipated. It's great to create flow and get swept up by an idea that carries you along. I don't know where I am going with this yet, I may be creating a series of riso prints. Stay tuned.

Test Run

Heavy Thinker #1

Positive Vibration

Data Miner

Troll

Maximum Productivity

Ad Infinitum

A Season of Change

I've had some time to settle in, to establish new routines. Change is good - we lived 16 years and established strong ties to our previous community. But we also felt restless - new opportunities and living in a larger community were a big draw. My family is changing quickly - my oldest son is getting ready to go to University and my youngest is always looking for new sports to get involved with. They have been thriving, going to a good school and getting involved, volunteering and making new friends. 

I also gave up my studio, which I designed and built myself. It was a beautiful space, but over the years was burdened by clutter. Putting things into their right place is a good process to go through, even if it means filling a dumpster or two. I now feel motivated to make new things and explore new directions.

I've had an incredibly busy fall, with two book projects on the go and some fantastic editorial work (more on this later). 

Here's an inside view of the studio. North and South facing windows. Nice, bright and open space to work. I have a lot of art to frame and hang, but the essentials are there - the light table, computer desk and flat files.

Here's a view of my cluttered desk.

And a few knicknacks and books from my well-curated collection.

 Time to get to work!