Toronto Maker Festival 2015

The Toronto Reference Library held the very first Toronto Maker FESTIVAL - bigger and better than ever!!

 

My GIANT star book SkyLights made its debut at the Festival this summer!

 

I was delighted to be out in the beautiful airy atrium - and to have an entire table devoted to COLOURING!!!

Maker Festival participants were hard at work mastering the pocket-sized version of the DIY Star Book Kit!
 

  It was lovely to have a weekend of workshops and drop-in pop-up-makers, as well meet the Origami Society!

Thanks for having me, Maker Festival!

And

A big thanks to the tireless organizers and volunteers who keep the Maker Festival running smoothly!

NYC World Maker Faire 2015

I had an AMAZING time as always at the NYC World Maker Faire, on September 26 & 27!

The last few weeks leading up to the NYC Maker Faire were blur of drawing and getting ready! Working on an NYC-themed pop up of all my favourite places in the city was a highlight - as was visiting each once we arrived!

 Working away on a 'flock' of pocket-sized exploding lotus Intersections; TOR

Checking out my folds and inserts.

The 5 hour delay at the airport ended up being the perfect production space: we settled in with coffee and got to folding!








This year, I brought down a variety of my large-scale bookworks, including both a new Exploding Lotus called Intersections:TOR & a Pop Up New York City - hot off the press!

 One of the highlights every year is meeting other enthusiastic makers: artists and illustrators; an epic insta-soap-workshop run by a trio of friendly Texans; 3D printers working on letterpress and gear-driven trebuchets; the world's tiniest CEO walking around selling his self-published book. It's such a treasure to be surrounded by creative spirits!

 Setting up next to Shane Evan's 30 foot tall Resurrection Robot, made out of recycled planes, was definitely a highlight!

 

I was also delighted to win the NYC World's Maker's Faire Editor's Choice Award

& The Best in Class Award!

While at the Faire, I worked along on a book of all the creative Maker ventures happening all around us: the LifeSize Mousetrap, making rockets underneath actual rockets, puppet-building near the UniSphere, and of course POP UP BOOKS!!!!

 

 We were surprised to find out the Pope was visiting NYC on the same weekend, but this is as close as we could get!

A kaleidoscope dome!

 

Robo-poetry on the go!

This furry friend.

Getting oriented at the Maker Faire!

And my pop up map of what I saw that weekend - thanks to all the Makers who came and made their own with me!!

Thanks to all the Makers, movers and shakers, colouring enthusiasts and general awesome people who I got to say hello to!!! See you next year!!

  

 

'Here There Be Dragons' Flag Book

'here there be dragons' flag book

Using topographical maps, from my own collection, and medieval manuscript imagery, generously provided online by Getty Open Content Project.

A flag book creates a dynamic relationship between many pieces layered one on top of the other - a favourite accordion book variation of mine!

'and the city we held together' Solo Exhibition at Graven Feather Gallery, March 1-28

In case you get to Toronto this March, visit my solo exhibition at GravenFeather Gallery: 3 pop-up books, a 12 foot wall mural, a wall of grid-locked city photographs, and handmade prints and paper illustrations!

My flying feathered books are all finished up!

'Flock' book

'Plumage' book

A TINY LIBRARY

Glenn the amazing intrepid woodworker took some of my sketches for a set of folding bookshelves for my miniature books, and made the most beautiful set of shelves that perfectly fit my books...

AND that fits inside my traveling suitcase to get to book shows!!

Feathers & Plumage

I've had birds on the brain lately. Specifically the amazing fluttering feathers of pigeons, as they swarm you for fries, then fly backwards so gracefully. I want to capture that sense of frenetic, graceful motion in book format.

 

Screenprinting during a snowstorm!

Some have hidden gold within.

 

Still in progress, but getting closer!