By Magda, 6 May 2010
The art and science fair is this Saturday!
Art and sciene unite!
Saturday May 8, 12pm – 4pm
Harbourfront Centre
235 Queen’s Quay West, Toronto
Free, open to the public
“The Too Cool For School Art & Science Fair was invented to turn the spotlight on the unexpected feats of imagination and exploration that are happening all around us,” writes Sally McKay of her most recent brainchil on the home page of the project, www.artandsciencefair.ca.
The website was designed by me and the illustrations were drawn by Marc. We worked closely with Sally to come up with the name and identity graphics. I also designed some print posters that are available as PDF downloads from the website.
What is an Art & Science Fair?
The event is structured like a typical science fair, with fifty projects and their creators assembled for one day to share their work and ideas with an audience and to compete for awards. The difference is that the projects are a mix of both art and science.
Additionally, the participants in the Too Cool for School Art & Science Fair are from all walks of life, amateurs and professionals, many sharing their pet projects with the public for the first time. Participants are selected from an open call for submissions on the basis of originality, depth of inquiry, creative innovation and the element of surprise.
Read more about the project and check out all of Marc’s awesome illustrations on the Too Cool for School website.
By Magda, 9 April 2010
Some earrings are finally up in the Ladilola shop on Etsy. I’ve been trying out various backgrounds and styles of photography, experimenting with what works as a process for me and also how the photos then look in the shop and within Etsy search results.
Ladilola earrings in black patent leather in a geometric, pointy shape.
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By Magda, 4 April 2010
About a month ago I started using the Panasoni GF-1 camera, with the “pancake” lens (f1.7, 40mm lens equivalent). Very happy with the camera, and this is also my first time shooting RAW format files. VERY happy about that. Recently I took the camera on an outing to a friend’s place and shot inside with very little light. I used the Lightroom 3 beta release for post production, and I’m deslighted with the results I was able to achieve with the low light RAW files. I opted for black and white or super-saturated effects in Lightroom partly to test the setting and also to highlight the most aspects of the the low quality photos. There is a lot to learn in Lightroom and I’m planning on buying the video tutorial from Luminous Landscapes.
Below are a few of the photos – you can see the rest in the Band Practice photo set on Flickr. Thanks to Band Practice for the photo op. :)
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By Magda, 8 January 2010
Knit log pillows by Chick sin Design.
I just love these knit bolster pillow covers by Hong Kong based Chic sin Design. Originally I found the items in their Etsy shop.
The pillows are in the shape and size of tree logs “chewed by beavers”, and the tree bark and other texture graphics are knitted into the textile in several colours, rather than printed on the surface.
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By Marc, 19 March 2009
SROPSU - Self Replicating Oceanic Plastic Salvage Unit
Here is a pataphysical approach to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
SROPSU is a self replicating sea borne plastic dissembly/replication unit. The abundant scrap plastic floating in the world’s oceans is taken into its maw with a conveyor belt. The plastic is molecularly recombined to self replicate RepRap in the fabricator end of the unit. When there are enough RepRaps to tackle the patch, they switch production modes and start creating useful things like furniture, housewares and footwear that wash ashore in tidy bundles to be collected by school children.
By Marc, 1 February 2009
This image of a mushroom enabled garbage composter was inspired by a video podcast of Paul Stamets talking about his extensive research into the bioremediation capabilities of mycelium networks (aka mushrooms).
Here is link to a transcript of another great interview with Stamets about the remarkable nature of mushrooms.
By Marc, 12 January 2009
In the fall of 2005, Magda and I decided to sell off most of our possessions and embark on an extended period of travel.
The reasons for this were many.
Magda had a distinct feeling of being stuck.
We had figured out a way to coast through our life as freelance graphic designers/artists. We had developed a well-worn, carefully cultivated, comfortable rut of routine in Toronto. Our combination of skills and our solid network of business contacts and friends assured that we would be able to maintain a subsistence level artist existence in the city, although that year we were getting a bit more in debt every month. Although our apartment and such was comfortable, there was very little social wiggle room and the resulting torpor was upsetting to Magda. This is a very frustrating situation for someone who thrives in a rich environment characterized by rapid changes.
Our personal evolution was at a standstill. We needed to shake things up.
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