Jacquie Severs

Halloween is easily my favourite holiday of the year. Sure, Xmas gives me the warm and fuzzies but it's Halloween that makes me have sleepless nights and a twisted tummy bubbling with anticipation. I host a party each year and take costuming quite seriously. But enough about my obsession... I thought in honour of the festive season I'd feature an artist whose work features Halloween themes!
It's possibly a little known fact that I have a soft spot for folk art. Maybe it was all the years I spent in the giftware industry. Not the geese-and-checkerboard sort that is well known, but the modern take on it. Especially with Halloween stuff, I'm pretty into folksy takes on the look.

Suzanne Urban is an illustrator who works primarily on product design and surface pattern. Her Halloween stuff is so fun! And unique.

She has a degree in studio art from Marymount College and has worked for greeting card companies, publishing houses and newspapers, among others. Her style is neo-folk, which to me means that it is informed by other styles of art, and a skilled hand, but isn't so much simple as it is based on simple themes, shapes and concepts.

She has a day job in an elementary school, and lives and works in Connecticut.


Suzanne is a juried member of EHAG (I just learned what it is! Eclectic Halloween Artist's Group...um, how awesome is that?), and has been published by McGraw Hill, Scholastic and the New York Times. She's currently working in licenses for a gourmet ice cream company and has in the past worked on stamps, stationery, greeting cards and needlepoint patterns.




Suzanne makes these cool felted dolls too.


Learn more about Suzanne here.
Follow her blog here.
And have a very very happy halloween!

I hit up Fashion Week - or what they want you to call it, "LG Fashion Week Presented by Loreal". Sponsors! Geez. I was hoping the Fortnight show would be runway, but it was Studio, which means it's just on mannequins. A lingerie show without models? What fun is that?

I had a bunch of fun as per usual and this time was pretty thrilled to find myself seated in the front row for DUY. Duy is a Montreal-based designer who was born in Vietnam. He's been designing his signature line since 2001 and his work is known for tailoring, unexpected details and innovative cuts.

The Spring-Summer 2011 line left a one-word impression with me: ethereal. Even the structured pieces, like a camel coloured trench were floaty and feminine and had incredible movement as the models walked.

You can check out the whole collection here.

In between shows you stand around a lot and drink wine. There is no source for food, though I did notice in the vip section there was some candy on the tables. I always find this funny, because while I know that fashion isn't exactly known for being pro-food, I find it funny that it is so much so that there isn't any available, at all. Like, NONE.

I also caught the Amanda Lew Kee show which was monochromatic for spring.

The models had bright blue lips though, which was the only shot of colour in this line that was structured and had interesting zipper details and cuts. Amanda Lew Kee is a very young designer, having only graduated from Ryerson's fashion school in 2010.  This was her debut at fashion week!

Lew Kee was invited to participate in an effort to bridge the gap between established brands and up-and-coming designers. Lew Kee is known for her leather jackets and rock-and-roll street styling, and of course that signature blue lipstick.

One thing from the presentation I thought was really innovative was her use of hosiery on footwear. I'm assuming since this was her debut finding footwear in the natural hues of her line proved difficult and expensive. Instead models wore their own heels and they slid their feet through opaque nude hosiery, letting the  heels poke out the back. The result was a uniform footwear look that would be easy to knock-off. It creates an unique bootie-slash-sock effect.

Read more about Lew Kee's rapid rise to fame here.



I skipped the next show to have my hair made into a huge bouffant courtesy of the on-site Loreal stylists. I know, I should have gone but I really wanted one! So I waited on the sofa with a glass of wine instead of scrambling to get in.

This is the result:
So awesome! I had two people approach me afterwards and tell me I looked like Joan Holloway from Madmen which is a pretty stellar compliment in my books. It felt great too - so secure on  my head. It felt great until I tried to sleep on it (knowing it would last until the next day). I don't know how women do it, but I can't sleep on 100 bobby pins, I just can't. So I have a lion's mane crazy rats-nest today, which I think was worth it. I'll deep condition it!




I learned that to make my hair big, which is something I'm always trying to do, backcombing is the only way I'll succeed. She also said I'll need to "spray the shit" out of it, using the craziest-gluey-est hair spray I can find.

She used the Studio Line "Indestructible" spray.

Also after my hair was done I had someone from the Stephen Lewis Foundation approach me and ask me for a picture. Which is a testament to it's awesomness. They were there because the final show was a fundraiser for the organization, which raises money for grassroots, community organizaions who work to  stop the spread of HIV, and improve the lives of those affected by HIV in Africa.

We weren't able to get seats for that show so we were watching from the soundbooth, which was a fun perspective too. Celebrities walked in designs made of African fabrics created by designers who participated in Fashion Week. I found it intresting but I found for some reason watching the sound guys do their thing with all the switches and panels more interesting.



What fun! Now I'm going to go and see if I can't wash these knots out of my hair. I think the Children's detangling spray "no more tears" might be getting a spin today.

My second column for the Oshawa Express ran today. Funny what the topic is, because I just recently discovered my boss, the gallery CEO was one of the experts on the Canadian Antiques Roadshow. Despite quite a lot of time on the net searching (and the inadvertent download of at least one worm) I haven't been able to find her clips online. Hurry up and post them CBC! However, I did find this gem:




Here's the Article. They apparently did not like my colons or semicolons. Oh well.

Investigating original art
By Jacquie Severs

Setting the scene.
It’s Saturday morning around 8 a.m.

Curbside.

A yard sale is already in full swing and you’ve got your eyes on a piece of original art for the low price of $20.

Sound familiar? Now you face a decision.

Is purchasing the item a good investment?

Here’s the quick answer.

If you love it, and want it on your wall, it’s the best investment you’ll ever make.

Art, like antiques, can change in value based on desirability.

While it is fun to discover that the item you picked up for a steal is actually an original item that has commercial value, the joy of purchasing art work, be it second hand or directly from an artist, is the feeling you get when you look at it on your wall.

Original art is truly one of a kind.

If you want to purchase the yard sale find for any other reason other than liking it, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Sure, we’ve all seen the televised antique shows with tall tales of attic finds and everyone has a ‘friend of a friend’ who found a Group of Seven original in their garage.

Let’s keep the dream alive and keep that in our minds as a possibility.

However, it’s much more likely that you’ve, at best, found a decent replica or study by a student. And if this is the case, you should be sure that you’ve purchased something you actually like, because in the scenario that the item isn’t genuine, you are still left with something you can live with.

With that said, there are numerous resources online and in libraries to help you research the art you’ve found.

The first step is to investigate the piece to see if you can find an artist’s name. Having the artist’s name can dig up many tidbits of information that will help you piece together its history.

Your next step is research.

Libraries offer computer commons for “googling” while another avenue is to make an appointment to visit your local art gallery’s archives.

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery has an extensive archive and library with information on Canadian and international artists, galleries and styles.

Most of all, enjoy the search for answers, and enjoy your purchase of original art.

This fall I'm trying out writing for a local paper, the Oshawa Express. I'm writing about the art scene from the RMG perspective. I'm thinking this article should have been placed second in the series, since it doesn't explain what "RMG" is in long form...but oh well, you send the columns, they edit and print them I guess! I've got a couple more in the bag but otherwise I really need to get writing. I'm playing it down but I'm pretty excited about it, cause now I'm officially published and everything. It's not groundbreaking literature, but it's great experience and keeps me writing regularly, something I set about doing in 2007 and have managed to stick to as a general plan.

Maybe that book I dream about writing really will happen someday? I'm sure eventually a topic will come to me. Or I'll settle on one of the characters that lives in my head. Or, I'll decide it's time to tell a few of those stories people seem to like so much, that I seem to like telling so much, once I've had a martini. Or two. Like the one about crashing Fashion Week, parking in the VIP section and getting in through the bathroom exit. That's a good one.

I've worn glasses since grade one. At the time I was told I needed to wear them, I took the news well. I wasn't old enough to be vain about it, but my sister was and somehow found a way to be jealous of my poor eyesight. I remember her saying, "Everyone in my grade has either glasses or braces and I don't have either!" as if this was a bad thing. Now that we're older and she has both perfect teeth and near perfect eyesight, that comment seems hilariously misguided. But seeing as she was in grade 5, I'm sure she just wanted to fit in.

My first pair of glasses were Christian Dior. Anyone who wears glasses knows that 'designer' is somehow different when it comes to eye wear. The prices even out and I'm sure the Dior glasses for kids were no different in price than the Fisher Price glasses for kids. As well, in 1986, Dior hadn't been revived by John Galliano yet, so it was still a sort-of old lady brand. None the less, I still feel quite chuffed knowing my first glasses were Dior.

They were clear with pink stripes and cats-eye shaped with a tiny pink plastic bow in one corner. I wore them with a geeky pink strap so if they fell off, they would hang there like you might picture a librarian would do with a pair of bifocals. It wasn't long after this that I learned what vanity was.

Next I had a pair of those big big eighties glasses, they were black and looked like they had been paint spattered with neon pink. Good lord. If I was less vain (and had a scanner handy) I'd post a picture of myself drowning in the sheer size of them. Instead I've found a picture of a pair that are identical, save the colour palette. Terrible, and not in an ironic-hipster-cool way. Just plain terrible. I loved them at the time, and was pretty sure paint-splatter was the coolest finish for eye wear ever, until another girl in my class showed up in the same pair. Less cool, suddenly. That was the beginning of something that happens to me a lot.

I enjoy being an early adopter. I wouldn't say I'm cutting edge or anything, but I definitely have a tendency to want something as it is just beginning to surface in culture. I recall many episodes of being made fun of for wearing something, only to see many other people wearing it just a few months later. (See docs, birkenstocks with socks (ah, the 90's), clogs, paint splattered glasses, black nail polish, etc)

Being an early adopter in the realm of eye wear takes some guts. See, I have to wear glasses every day, and since I have both a lazy (or should I say "effort impaired") eye and an astigmatism, my glasses are expensive. Both of those failings are in one eye, and the other eye is virtually normal. What results from this imbalance is a literal imbalance of lens. If I don't pay the big bucks, I've got a coke bottle on one eye and a reading glass on the other. Since that look is  not only unattractive but uncomfortable, I always upgrade to the better lenses and my glasses cost an arm and a leg. For this reason, there has been only one 5-year stretch where I owned two pairs, and that was only because my sister's benefits were awesome, and she took pity on me because I was a poor student/young professional.

So I was an early adopter with the last 2 pairs, which I've now had for 5 years. I guess since I got two pairs it was easier to delay getting new ones - which you should have about every 2 years - because sharing the wear of them elongated how long it took for them to get scratched and all bunged up.

One pair was bright blue, Emporio Armani, and had those thick thick arms on the side that everyone wears these days.
(these are them in the black variation.)








The other pair is a black plastic frame, also very popular at the moment (though mine are slightly different in shape than the ones that are basically Ray Ban Wayfarer Knock-offs, pictured at right). I would have likely purchased Wayfarer styled ones, had they been available, because the look I was actually reaching for was Woody Allen inspired. I less than succeeded in that quest. At the time, however, I was just happy to have two pairs that were very different than any I'd ever had, and that one pair was black and kinda geeky. Alas time passes and what at one time seemed unique, now seems very Wal-Mart.

So for the past 8 months I've been shopping for new frames. The decision is not made lightly, as I will be wearing these glasses every day for the next few years. I've shopped and shopped. All I could seem to find were ones exactly like the ones I already had.

At Walmart, I noticed they had Vivienne Westwood frames. I got really excited by this because although I try to avoid brand loyalty when shopping for glasses (see Emporio Armani, who I have no love for) and just shop based on look, I love Vivienne Westwood. I did a project on her once in highschool and now she feels like part of me.

Though the Vivienne Westwood frames at Walmart were rhinestone-studded and pretty awesome, they weren't quite right, as much as I tried to convince myself that they were.

In an odd twist/test of brand loyalty fate, the ones I liked best at Walmart were by Baby Phat. I am just not willing to wear the Baby Phat cat logo on my face, I'm just not. Perhaps inspired by the logo, they were cats-eye shape, which was in my mind as a new shape to look for. But, I'm not a Baby Phat girl, nor do I like cats. It just wasn't happening.

And so the quest for cats-eyed frames continued. I've shopped at Lens Crafters (they have lots of Ray Bans) but nothing struck my fancy there. Everything seemed very same-y. I shopped Sears, the Bay and a mall optical shop, as well as my optometrists office. All were filled with same-y disappointment. Though I had been recommended The Optic Zone many times, and know a lot of people with great glasses from there, the trip to Toronto (which would then be followed by at least one more trip there) seemed excessive. I did happen by there one time while already in the city for another purpose...and of course, they were closed. So it never happened.

The reason The Optic Zone is so highly recommended is that it is the sort of place you go into and the guy who owns it picks a pair for you and you put them on and think, "Holy crap, I would have never picked these for myself, but they are AWESOME!!" Needless to say, I wanted that experience, but I wanted it closer to home.

Enter my dental receptionist in a great pair of frames. I had to comment. She pointed me towards The Optical Boutique  in Oshawa with the warning that it was the sort of place where you had a lot of help and they would virtually pick the glasses for you. Though this was intended as a warning, this is just what I was looking for. Walking in the front entrance today was a joy.

Loads of different styles and many things off the beaten path. Colour! Shape! Variety! Ah, a glasses heaven right in my hometown. The service was great, I found great frames (that I am now positively dying to have) and feel confident that while they are very different from what I expected to have, they will be something I will love, love, love. They have a bit of an upwards-swing, like a cat eye, but are larger and a bit different in shape. They are tortoise shell on the outside, and green inside. I'll tweetpic them when I get them!

The best part was the service. Though I can't really review the service and follow-up once I receive my glasses, I can say the purchasing experience was spectacular. The owner himself helped me, wasn't too pushy, gave me time to think, but gave me real reasons to consider the ones he was picking. I bought the first pair I tried on at his request. Though I tried on many others in between, and then different colour variations of the first pair, I ended up with the first pair. He had an eye for faces, I can tell you that.

This is the difference between great service from a professional and standard service at big box stores. The cost wasn't even higher than I expected either, which was good news.  I don't know if it is something to do with getting older or if it comes from having worked in a service industry before, but I really appreciate professional service. The best haircut I ever had was from a talented stylist to whom I gave the instructions "a haircut please". After all, he's the pro, right? Why am I trying to tell someone who sees faces with glasses or people with heads of hair all day every day what works and what doesn't? I appreciate a business who will straight up tell you when you are making the wrong choice. When I worked at Secrets from your sister... this was something we did every day. After all, you don't spend 45 minutes helping a woman find the perfect bra and then just let her walk out of the store in the wrong size. You tell her it's wrong. Because you know, and you're the expert, and you've seen happy customer after happy customer who followed your advice.

So, I'm just a few days away from the next phase of my glasses-wearing life. In an odd way I can segment my life and memories by the glasses I was wearing at the time. Though I like to think of myself as someone who isn't really materialistic, I do sometimes like to think of what I would buy with an unlimited budget. After giving my friends and family a boatload of gifts (and maybe a boat as well) I'd definitely splash out on an eye wear wardrobe. A different pair for every occasion and event. So many people try to hide the fact they wear glasses, wear invisible frames, or contact lenses. Lately I've even been taking off my glasses for photos, because someone somewhere said I look better that way.

But I think the reality of the situation is I'm not me without my glasses. And when these ones arrive in a few days, I get to be a new-and-improved me. And that is boatloads of fun.

September all but disappeared. I've been super busy at work and doing flowers as well as a jam-packed social schedule. It's been great! But I've missed you, dear blog, and am now a few days late in my September Illustrator post. Ah well.

Lisa Connolly is an Irish-born illustrator who was educated in Wales at the West Wales School for the Arts. Initially, she studied fashion design but soon transferred into textiles and began working on designing textiles, learned to stitch in a method she calls "stitch-a-crazy-stitch", then print on fabrics and ceramics, and as a result has developed a unique illustrative style.

 Lisa creates strange and unusual characters, often stitched into fabric, as above.

I'm particularly interested in the characters she stitches and then prints on home goods, which can be found and purchased on her website. 


The home goods are unusual, and really anything but "cute" that seems to dominate the current look for illustrative pattern. I admire the expressive nature of these faces.

Lisa has shown her work across London and Dublin. Currently her work is supported by the Laura Ashley Foundation.

Check out some of her recent work on her blog found here. 

Her work was also featured on Design Milk in 2009.