BirdBrain Designs

colours of oaxaca

November 1, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

Sketching anywhere in Oaxaca means you are not alone. People stop to take photos and ask questions, always politely interested. Here I am sitting in the Zocalo with very interested company.

The city is alive this weekend with celebrations of el Dia de los Muertos. Last night we joined the parades–brass bands, banners, fireworks, parents carrying children dressed as skeletons, catrinas and devils, others walkling alongside with white faces and dark eyes. There is a sense of reverence and awe combined with great celebration. We joined the crowds at the Panteon, a huge cemetary just outside the centre of town. Inside the walls there were endless candles and marigolds and sombre music and outside a carnival, including ferris wheel, games and wonderful street food. The adorable sponge-bob, below, had a skeleton face and tiny shining eyes peering from a slit in the striped box body.

first two days in Oaxaca

October 28, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

I am staying in an apartment in Oaxaca, Mexico, for a couple of weeks, five blocks from the old city centre. It has been warm and sunny and I have had two days to walk around the old city and begin to sketch. I have been sitting on low walls within sight of some lovely buildings, But today I bought a child’s stool at a plastico store at the outrageous price of $1.80 so I plan to do some street scenes crouched down on my red teddy bear stool. I’ve worked out a way to attach it to my backpack.

This city is a Unesco World Hertage site and for good reason–the limestone colonial buildings with the wonderful ironwork abound. Below is the one wing of the state cathedral and below that a window of the science building at the university. We are on our way to the coast for a few days, but hope to be back on Thursday for the Day of the Dead celebrations. Will keep you posted and with some luck will have some sketches of the activities.

new leather bags — medium PTBP & Sherbrooke

October 24, 2014 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

I am leaving for a couple of weeks–but will stay in touch here. In the meantime I wanted to show you two more new bags which will be available when I come home. The first is another part-time backpack, this time in slate leather. The camera finds it hard to capture this lovely leather–it has a shimmer which lets you know it is not black, but its own neutral shade. This PTBP is larger than the first one: 12.5″ wide, 11″ tall and 4″ deep with a double leather bottom, wide leather strap, exterior zipper pocket and interior zip/slip pocket in birdbrain canvas and a leather phone pocket. This bag converts easily from cross-body to backpack and can be worn with the pocket against your back for added security.

The second bag is a Sherbrooke bag in tobacco leather. I have been using one like this and find it a great size. It has a zipper pocket outside and three repurposed leather pockets inside. Height 9.5″, width 9.5″ with a long adjustable strap. A perfect day bag which can easily slip inside a tote if you like. High quality zippers and hardware.

hooked in the mountains 3: some of my favourites

October 23, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

There were over 500 pieces in the Hooked in the Mountains rug show in Burlington Vermont this year and there were many, many exceptional pieces. I’ve included just a very small sample here. The first two pieces are designed and hooked by Diane Phillips. The interplay of patterns in each piece is complex and challenging, creating pieces I went back to again and again.

Colleen Faulkner describes her Poppies as ‘a labour of love to be certified for the Oxford School Certification class’. As well as wool, Colleen used felt strips, embroidery floss and ribbon. A stunning use of complementary colours.

Sue Burton-Kelly created a dynamic rug using Deanne Fitzpatrick pattern, For All We Have Under the Sky.

Dale Young-Wheeler used Karla Gerard’s Abstract Sheep to create a delightful piece.

And again a dynamic interplay of colour and pattern in Genghis by Rae Harrell.

And finally, a wonderful Sharp-shinned Hawk by Peg Irish. Peg is an inventive rug hooker who combines many techniques in her work. The hawk is hooked and felted.

hooked in the mountains 2: featured artists

October 19, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

First, Peg Irish. This piece, Fall Mosaic, has over 2000 1″ squares, some recycled from other hooked pieces, glued on to a backing. I’ve included a close-up so you can see the textures and variety including embellishments. Below that is another fall scene. You need to stand back to truly appreciate these wonderful pieces.

Rachelle LeBlanc’s pieces are suberb portraits–but I love the backgrounds as much as the faces. You could study these pieces for ages and still not see it all, such skilled use of colour and texture.

And finally Roslyn Logsdon’s wonderful architectural pieces.

Hooked in the Mountains 1

October 16, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

I have been at Hooked in the Mountains in Burlington Vermont this week. This is a spectacular rug show in a spectacular part of the coutry. There are over 500 rugs in the show! Doing a post on the ipad is a tedious process, so for now I’ll just give you a taste. This is Davey DeGraff’s marvellous depiction of her grandaughter, Ava Blossom.

thanksgiving

October 13, 2014 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. We were very fortunate to have most of our family with us to close up the cottage for the winter, to make and consume the traditional foods including GG’s turkey stuffing, and to enjoy the spectacular weather in southern Ontario. And GG was there at 95 to enjoy it all.

Carissa modelled some of the recent bags which have been on the blog. Here we are set to go for a walk and she is wearing her own green Part-time Backpack. Carissa tries out some of the new designs in her busy life and makes suggestions for changes. For this design we have added a clip to hold the straps together. But overall she reports that this bag converts easily from backpack to cross-body and is great to go from bicycle to board meeting. I have enough of this gorgeous leather for two more bags and the next will be slightly bigger than this one–a medium size. Here is the Full-time Backpack and a pair of the new mittens:And finally, another Part-time Backpack worn both as a backpack and a cross-body bag. And notice the pink mittens with sheep skin cuffs!

the leather case

October 11, 2014 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

I’ve been making small cases with some leftover pieces. Normally I like lots of colour but I have fallen for these small neutral cases because of their understated elegance. They are the perfect size for throwing in a larger bag, but would easily take phone, keys, cards and more if you wanted to rely on them alone. Perfect for travel too. Each one is a slightly different leather, but all are lined with moss waxed canvas and have interior pockets for credit cards and licences. High quality metal zipper adds the perfect touch.

Large case: 8.5″ x 6″. Medium case: 7.5″ x 5″.

listen to the leather

October 8, 2014 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

I have been saving this leather remnant. It is milk chocolate with a lovely hand and a great look. I thought it would make a good backpack, so I combined it with a pair of recycled brown leather pants to come up with this.

I’ve been exploring backpack designs since I had a request for one last year. I like the idea of a convertible backpack because of the versatility. This bag came together pretty quickly, but I was stuck on how to attach the straps. I tried various pieces of hardware to adjust the strap length and none looked right. Finally it came to me, when I really studied the leather and the design, that knotting the straps was the very best option. It allowed for a backpack mode as well as a shoulder bag and a cross-body bag. This is a casual everyday bag and the knots are a perfect solution.

This bag is 15.5″ tall, 13.5″ wide and 6″ deep. It is doubly secure–the strap snugs things in tight and then the flap closes with a magnetic clasp. It is lined with khaki denim and has three pockets, a zippered pocket with birdbrain graphics, a slip pocket behind and a leather phone pocket. At the backside of the bag is a small zippered pocket perfect for things you want to keep at hand like your phone or keys. This design is a prototype; there are some features I will modify, but many I like and will use in the next PT backpack.

a day of inspiration in the city

October 6, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

I have owned a print of this painting for many years. I feel like I have always known it, so deeply is it imbedded, but actually saw the real thing for the first time at the National Gallery about 15 years ago. (As with other famous paintings which loom large in our imaginations, this painting is surprisingly small.) And I saw it again on Saturday at the Art Gallery of Ontario; it was part of an exhaustive retrospective of the work of Alexander Colville, the Canadian painter who died last year. Like much of his work, To Prince Edward Island, portrays a relationship and hints at the tension and isolation barely below the surface. The woman gazes off and the man is vulnerable and obscured behind. Other paintings are even more unflinching and bring a deep sense of foreboding and even terror, in spite of their somewhat ordinary subjects. Sarah Milroy’s 2013 article gives a good overview of Colville’s work and life and has a link to four of his most famous paintings, including Pacific, for me his most haunting.

The exhibit explored Colville’s process and had many of his sketches. Of course I loved this one.

And there was much to learn from his early watercolours. Look at the skies.

In the afternoon I went to an open house of my favourite Canadian clothing designer. I’ve said here before how I limit my buying as much as possible to second-hand and hand made. And Jana’s work is some of the most inventive and easy to wear that I have found. Her fabrics are wonderful and her designs timeless. It was so good to see her again and be among others who were also interested in and support local design.

When I climbed on the train at the end of the day, I was full of ideas–and full of gratitude that this world of inspiration is so close.