City of Craft Spring :: April 18!!

Citizens!

The rumours are true! Our 4th City of Craft Spring is happening at the Theatre Centre on Saturday, April 18!

Amazing poster by Paul Dotey

Over 20 vendors...many of them new to City of Craft! Handmade goodness, rummage and supplies...it's going to be terrific!

More details here. See you there!

CraftLabs workshops at City of Craft!

Citizens! City of Craft is only two days away! I hope you've been following along on our Facebook page and enjoying the great portraits of our talented vendors, as well as the sneak peaks at the 100 swag bags that will be given away when City of Craft opens at 11:00 am.

But that's not all! Along with fantastic vendors selling unique handmade goods, cool art installations, and wonderful swag, City of Craft is once again holding some great FREE workshops at its CraftLabs! Amazing!

The workshops are taking place both days. Check out this great schedule!

 

Zine Workshop Saturday 12:30 pm

Did you always want to make a zine but didn’t know where to start? Well fear not because we are here to help! Artist and zine-maker extraordinaire Marta Chudolinska will give a short talk about the history of zines and will show you 3 easy book binding methods so that you can start your own independent publishing.

Marta Chudolinska (pronounced who-doh-lean-ska) is a printmaker, draw-er and zinester fascinated by the mystical narrative potential of images.

Paper Marbling Sunday 3:00 pm

The OCAD U Student Press will be on hand to show you how to delicately swirl water and special inks to create beautiful and mesmerizing marble patterns on paper. Paper marbling is perfect for great for stationary, book covers or cards.

The OCAD U Student Press prints and publishes the Shift series and Rivet, a biannual publication. The press also facilitates hands-on workshops for students and organize Function, a series of art and design talks. 

Geometric Paper Ornaments Saturday 2:00 pm | Sunday 2:30 pm

Using basic shapes and geometry you can create easy and striking ornaments for your tree or your pad.  Workshop participants will decorate paper templates and then cut and fold them into beautiful 3D paper decorations.

Marta Ryczko is a graphic designer, illustrator and zine-maker. She is currently designing one poster a day, for 1000 days.

Beginners Bookbinding Sunday 1:30 pm

Let the amazing Shannon Gerard teach you how to sew a book using the pamphlet stitch method, and then kick it up a notch and make a book using buttonhole binding. Perfect for those who are itching to make a homemade gift!

Shannon Gerard is a dork, dreamer and discerning bibliophile. She is a lady of many talents and is involved with many different projects, including the Carl Wagan Book Mobile, Mountain School Bookhouse and The Book Bakery.

Don't these sound great? So be sure to come out to City of Craft this weekend to buy craft and make crafts!

Special thanks and warm fuzzies to Marta Ryczko, this year's CraftLab Coordinator! (She did the pretty art images in above too.)

Craft Toronto: Collective Noun Linocuts by the minouette.

True fact, I am personally a sucker for collective nouns, in all of their ridiculous linguistic glory. That's why this series of inspired linocuts (which can be found here) by Ele Willoughby has me so beguiled.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: A History of Hunger by Tara Bursey.

I have to admit that it has been far too long since I took a wander through the Craft Toronto pool on Flickr. The array of new work is astounding. Pre-emptively planning for the thaw, City of Craft staffer, Tara Bursey, seems to be hatching her own brood of food-based histories. Enigmatically, these delicate "books" have little writing with which to explain themselves. I am sure this is a situation that will rectify itself soon enough - Tara is one of the sharpest critical craft writers going (says me). For the best mastery of foodcraft I have ever witnessed, I also recommend a stroll through her portfolio site.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Three Dimensional Pyramid Quilt by Happy Sleepy.

Images by Magda Wojtyra

Citizens, this 3D quilt from the Land of Happy Sleepy (Magda Wojtyra & Marc Ngui) is veritably blowing my mind. Bound for installation at the Gladstone as part of the upArt Contemporary Art Fair, it will be viewable to all at the end of October. I can't wait to see it in person! Although, for the moment, watching the above animation of Magda trying to figure out pyramid arrangements is deeply satisfying. Not only does it fill me with a sense of endless possibility, but it also completely maps the process I am currently going through inching table spaces around to see how many awesome vendors we can fit in the 2011 show. Tetris everywhere!

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

The Red Handed Child in Ceremonial Head-dress by KipikArt.

Doll and Photo by KipikArt

There is something in this doll/fetish that makes me feel the magic and the warmth of autumn.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Emerald Shiners by Happy Sleepy.

Fish and photo by Magda Wojtyra.

From the artist:

These are made from silver lame fabric and plastic food containers for the transparent fins.

The eyes are made from silver chocolate wrapping for the sclera and bicycle innertube rubber for the pupils, held together with globs of transparent plastic glue to give it dimension and a glossy, wet eye look.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Citizenship by Lido Pimienta.

Citizenship by Lido Pimienta

Citizenship is a theme dear to our hearts here in the City of Craft. That's why we were extra tickled to see Lido Pimienta's new illustration pop up in the Craft Toronto photo pool. Even better yet, it was made in celebration of her upcoming Canadian citizenship oath-taking. Congratulations!

Here are her comments about the piece:

Today I got a letter saying in less than a month I will take an oath and become a Canadian Citizen.

This is a happy drawing.

Hoy recibí una carta diciendo que en menos de un mes me vuelvo ciudadana Canadiense.

Este es un dibujo feliz.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Birds on a Wire Emroidery by katherine skene

Seriously, is it Spring yet?

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Ornaments from the Creative Minds of Hogtown.

by just the thing

by the.minouette

by sukigirl74

As many of you are making last minute gifts, baking up a storm and/or running around the city, we thought we would share a few great handmade ornaments from the Craft Toronto photo pool of Flickr. Aren't these great?

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: wildflower on rutile/green by krystal speck

Photo by krystal speck

Does anything say midsummer quite as well as this large and lovely vase by Krystal Speck? If so, all these items should be collected into the perfect picnic or backyard barbecue. We are going to need to remember these times come February.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: chipmunk illustration by greasy chicken face.

Photo by greasy chicken face

Ah, we always devour the ones we love most.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Paddle by glasgo54

Photos by glasco54

To quote the artist:

Paddle done for a ROM fundraiser gala thing. The idea was to suggest a deteriorated, sinuous, bone like, fragile object.... This was fun to do--drilled a shitload of holes--all hand drilled just for the hell of it....These shots aren't finished though--we still have to clean up the holes, paint the insides green and give it a nice clear coat varnish.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Doilie Rock Garden by Woolly Fabulous

Photo by woolly fabulous

A damp and dirty garden corner transformed into an epic intervention of lace and stitching. This project boggles the mind! For even more lacescapes of the natural world, take a browse through Woolly Fabulous' photostream. She has covered her fair share of things. Trees, even!

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Corn Maze by Tara Bursey

Photo by tara.bursey

It is no secret that Tara Bursey is a hero to City of Craft. I mean, just look at this recent foodcraft she created for the Greenbelt Quilt Project.

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? You can join!

Craft Toronto: Mysterious Vines Embroidery by Lori Hutchinson.

Photo by lori hutchinson

The Craft Toronto photo pool is a rolling stream of craft projects being made in the city (and thereabouts). It is an initiative hosted by City of Craft and reflects more makers than any of our real-world events ever could. What's more? you can join!