BirdBrain Designs

away

May 2, 2014 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

I have been away all this week in a warm place. This was a family venture and wonderful for that, but there have been some great side benefits. I’ve had a chance to think some things through, sketch every day and read in the afternoons! I finished an Ian Rankin and am well into Americanah–I will write about it in a subsequent post. Enough to say now that I am captivated by the main character’s dilemma. A transplanted Nigerian, she is struggling with the ideas of home, loyality and the cost of success.

Here is breakfast, signed by my server. It is hard to have a ‘real’ interaction with any of the staff here, so schooled are they in silent servitude, but sketching has broken down that wall over and over this week. And that has been wonderful. Below this are a couple more pages from my sketchbook.

heading out…

April 25, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

We are heading out somewhere warm on a family excursion. I’m looking forward to some turquoise water and higher temperatures. We had a wonderful sketch demo by Prashant Miranda from the Bay of Bengal–and he showed us how to to do a beautiful turquoise wash. Around here the water is gray and fast moving. In fact, the ice just moved out a week ago or so. So I have been preparing my palette for sun washed shores and turquoise water. A while ago I took out the little metal brads that held the paint containers in my new palette box and was then able to fit 7 colours more! And you can see the turquoise glistening in the middle on the far left. Waiting.

Below is my pile of books ready for the trip. My sketchbook, two novels and two great sketching books. I continue to find inspiration in Gabriel Campanario’s book and it looks from this link that he has another to be published this August. Thomas Thorspecken‘s book just arrived in the post today! I am so excited about it that I included a couple of the pages for you to see. Gorgeous colour and layout! And I will be taking Sketchbook Skool with me –week four now; it is certainly exceeding my expectations in quality of production and amount and level of content. Semester 2 begins July 4 and I think there will be a rerun of semester 1 then too. Check it out and sign up! And I’ll be back in a week.

signs of spring in the studio

April 23, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

These two little pouches will be in the shop later today. Made of the softest bubblegum pink leather, they are lined with a polished cotton from the Bondo market in Kenya. The open one in front has a leather pocket inside for cards or cash and a high-grade European metal zipper. (I have just a few of these zippers and am using them sparingly.) The one behind has a pink metal zipper and no pocket. These are great little pouches to slip into a big bag to keep your essentials at hand.

One of the very nicest things abut blog writing is the people you meet on line. One such is my friend, Missouri. She is a customer, a commenter and an inspiration. She wrote recently wondering about a crossover shoulder bag for spring–“small but functional in a lighter neutral”. I went through my boxes and found a piece of silver pebbly leather with a nice weight and texture, a piece I had been saving for the right project. After a few sketches, I came up with the Missouri, 8.5 inches wide, 7.5 inches tall and 3 inches deep–small and functional. I like the size of the front pocket with the curving stitching, and especially its magnetic closure. All in all, a great spring bag! This too will be in the shop tonight.

some of the week’s sketches

April 22, 2014 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

The sketching course is into its third week and this week’s teacher Prachant Miranda made some wonderful video demonstrations of his watercolour techniques. His assignment for us was to go outside and sketch our surroundings, including the sky. I am trying to do a sketch a day–and gradually my confidence, if not my skill, is building. It has been too cold to sit outside sketching so the first sketch of the City Hall was done from my car. But since today was sunny and warm, I packed all my sketching gear into my bicycle saddle bag and pedalled to the waterfront. There is a marvellous old factory there which I have always loved. To my mind it’s kind of Dickensian. I had to paint squinting through chain link fence–and while I was at it, a man stopped in a car to tell me the site is slated for demolition and a condo development. I tried to find the date of construction for this red brick building, originally the Marsh and Henthorn company, but couldn’t. It must be turn-of-the-last-century. I did find a catalogue of their products from 1912. The building is equally interesting from the other side, so I will go back soon and peer through the chain link once again. (There is lots of this old red brick in Belleville but not all buildings have the charm of detail like the turrets and fan transom found on these two.)

This sketch was done in a café in Toronto last week where the afternoon sun was blasting through the windows. I am trying to sketch quickly with ink and then add watercolours–but ended up using a brush pen for this to capture the sun soaked bikes.

my reading list and other sweet things

April 18, 2014 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

I was thrilled this week to see that Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch had won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. I wrote about that exceptional novel here when I was reading it during my stay in Amsterdam after a challenging month in Kenya. It is a story about friendship, obsession and loss and the essential role of art in our lives. I had four days in Amsterdam alone. I walked for hours each day along canals and markets and through museums sketching and absorbing the centuries-old beauties, and at night, tucked into my hotel on Dam Square with the local bells chiming, I read The Goldfinch. It was an added bonus that Theo, the narrator, was also staying in a hotel just blocks away–I passed it each day and couldn’t help hoping he would appear.

As I reported in the Amsterdam post, The Goldfinch is also on the shortlist of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. My reading partner, Irene, and I have been reading our way through the list of winners of this prestigious prize for some years. This is where we discovered Rose Tremain and Tea Obreht. This year we have decided to read all of the nominees and a couple from past years we have missed. For the most part, I still like to have a book in my hand–but you can’t beat the ebook for travel–so I have ordered one or two for my ipad.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Americanah

Hannah Kent – Burial Rites

Jhumpa Lahiri – The Lowland

Audrey Magee – The Undertaking

Eimear McBride – A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing

A. M. Holmes – May We Be Forgiven

Suzanne Berne – A Crime in the Neighbourhood

We have hung up the snowshoes and washed out the buckets for another year. The extended cold weather made for a late season and the deep snow made it even harder this year to collect the sap. But, in my books, this remains one of the very sweetest ways to welcome Spring.

the melon pouch

April 17, 2014 by Birdbrain 1 Comment

This leather is a wonderful colour for spring so I was happy to see that there was enough leather to make both the bag in the previous post and this pouch. Measuring 9.5″x5″, it fits easily into the larger bag, but is also a good size to carry on its own with the handy detachable wrist strap. It has a durable metal zipper and a double leather pocket inside for tickets or cars and cash. And it is lined with the same great African wax cotton as is in the larger bag. In the shop today.

the melon slouch

April 15, 2014 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

Here is the new bag made from the jacket pictured in the last post. It is a great colour and a great leather which I have reinforced and double stitched for this its second life. It has the features I consider essential for a day bag. Inside it is lined with wonderful African fabric and has two sets of leather pockets–slip and zip on the one side and on the other, a divided pocket which nicely houses your phone and passport. Outside it also has a big useful pocket and an adjustable leather strap. This bag will be in the shop tomorrow, along with a matching pouch–great to throw inside or carry on its own.

melon slouch 1

sketching and another new bag

April 13, 2014 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

Here area couple of my sketches from this week from my two favourite local cafés. The first one is from L’Auberge de France, a local french bistro and bakery and a gem in an otherwise very sad downtown core. L’Auberge has the very best cappuccino and is always full of bustling activity. And what I like is they serve their café in beautiful sketchworthy cups!

I am loving the online course because I get to see sketches done this week around the world. People are very generous about sharing and about making encouraging comments on the work of others. I am learning so much. We are actually into week two, taught by the adorable Koosje Koene from Amsterdam, who encouraged us to get outside to sketch. I am about to do this afternoon, because the sun is shining here in Eastern Ontario, despite the forecast for rain. The lessons each week consist of several videos and demonstrations. I’ve watched some of this week’s–but am saving the last few until tomorrow because I know Koosje is going to ask me to use coloured pencils, something I have not done since my last set of Laurentians in grade 6! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes…

And I also wanted to mention the shop. It was open briefly with the new bag of the last post. But that bag, Keller 14, sold in a few hours and is on its way to Massachusetts. A very nice welcome back into the world of ‘making’. So the shop is empty again. But I do have a new bag on the studio table. It is a great coral colour and is made from the jacket pictured below on the left. It is well on its way and I hope to post a picture of it tomorrow. But meanwhile, I am on my way outside to enjoy the sun. Hope you are too!

a new leather bag

April 10, 2014 by Birdbrain 2 Comments

This is my first bag of 2014 and made of one of the nicest pieces of leather I have ever used. Actually there are a few pieces of leather in this bag, upholstery remnants and pieces of men’s jackets–that’s where the challenge comes in–but they are all of the same top quality. It is a handsome durable bag which will work hard for many years.

It has two outside pockets, both secure. One has a zipper and the other a magnetic closure. Inside it is big on personality. Lined with the Amsterdam squares, it has a pair of fuchsia leather pockets which will hold your phone, passport or other valuables as well as an orange waxed canvas slip pocket large enough for an ipad.

This bag would be great for travel. It can be worn cross-body or the strap can be shortened so you can tuck the bag under your arm. It is large enough to hold all your essentials, including tablet as I said, but a good size to carry easily.

Dimensions: W: 13″ H: 11,”D: 5″ Strap extends to 47″

Will be in the shop by the end of the week.

sketching with 1000 on-line sketchers

April 8, 2014 by Birdbrain Leave a Comment

Can you believe it? There are 889 people in the closed Face Book group that is associated with my on-line sketching course! And well over 1300 have watched the first set of lessons. Yikes! Imagine. Our first set of lessons was in my inbox last Friday morning. It included talks about creativity and expression, video tours of two of Danny Gregory’s sketchbooks and a video demo of him sketching his son’s shoes. (And transcripts of all the information ready to be downloaded.) Danny is a warm and generous teacher who believes that creativity is a crucial life force which we should honour. I’ve long been a fan of his approach since I read his first book The Creative License. Check out this link and read his story. He will convince you too.

Anyway, the weekend was very busy with all my family home, something that doesn’t happen often, and lots of tramping about in the sugar bush. But today I got down to sketching. Our assignment is to take our sketchbooks with us and document the week. Today it was pouring rain and cold, so these are indoor sketches. First my Ahnu boots which have been to Kenya and Amsterdam and back as well as braved this Ontario winter–but are now ready to be stored away until next year.

And then below, 15 Campbell Street. I sat in the library to do this. Our library has full-length windows and wing chairs positioned strategically at each one. I sketched from there last week, but today I found another window at the back and this building which I have walked by millions of times, but never really taken in. It is a 1909 classic, now empty and sad as is much of our downtown. This was a quick sketch–most of the time spent trying to get the angles right. We are to sketch ink first, no pencil, and this results in some wonky lines and do-overs as you will see. I have wanted to document the lovely old buildings in Belleville for some time–it is amazing what you learn about design and craft when you really look. And so I have made a start. I still need to work out just where the sketch will be on the page–so I don’t lose the bottom of the building as I did here!

And for those of you who have been wondering, I have finally finished a leather bag, my first in four months. It has definitely been a long time coming–and should be posted here this week. It is made of great black upholstery leather and lined with the very last of the Amsterdam squares.