'Love on the Street' - Photographs and Bookworks Abound!

Followers of my Instagram @nataliedraz will have seen some of these 'love on the street' photographs before. I try to find a heart or instance of loving your city once a day, and document it.

  I've been working on some tiny hard-cover books, each 3x3" and containing 8 linked Love on the Street moments. I've got 5 compilations so far and big plans for more!!

 

But in between my tiny bookmaking (mostly while waiting for covers to dry), I've been matting and framing up 6x6" Love on the Street moments too! 

 

The framed photographs are available at PROOF Studio Gallery in Toronto's Distillery District. Luckily a 6x6" matted photograph is small enough to still be counted as regular mail, so Love on the Street can find its way around the world via the post office!

Graven Feather's Annual Holiday Market!

 

NATALIE DRAZ at the Graven Feather Holiday Market!!

Looking for the perfect stocking stuffers for the holidays?

Visit my Tiny Library of Tiny Books, along with illustrations, DIY kits for making your own books, and of course a wide selection of Merit Badges!!

 

Open from December 2 to December 20, visit Queen Street West's Graven Feather Studio!

Open Wed-Sat from 12-6, Sun from 12-5

 Saturday December 19 and Sunday December 20 is MARKET WEEKEND - meet all the artists, including myself! I'll be at the gallery all day Sunday!!

Watercolour Society talk at the North York Central Library, Toronto

October 14, 2015 - 'The Anatomy of an Artist Book' talk at the Watercolour Society

I was delighted to talk about my books and my watercolour technique at Toronto's Watercolour Society this past week. I gave a short demonstration of drying and regrinding my watercolour pigment for painting, and also included a quick fold for an exploding map book.

 

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Printing Antique Advertising Chops!

I had a lovely time visiting PROOF Studio Gallery to search through their collection of vintage advertising chops. Sheila and I found all the Thanksgiving-related images and got to work printing some name tags!

Sheila has a wonderful miniature proofing press ready to roll!

Some turkeys to start off.

And some VERY plump chickens!

And some other oddities: pilgrims, menu cards, even a great old camera!

A pretty good day's work! And just in time for Thanksgiving.

As the cockroach says: THE END

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!!