BOO.

I'm a big fan of Halloween. People who go all out on their lawns with tacky decorations or jump out of bushes to scare unsuspecting trick or treaters? I admire the dedication to good times these people possess. But for the past couple of years, I've definitely copped out on the holiday. Didn't go out, didn't make a costume. So this year I made up for it by throwing a party, and man, did my guests ever deliver with their amazing costumes! We played scary music in a foggy basement, conjured evil spirits, spilled drinks - it was just what the doctor ordered. For my costume, I tried my hand at a little paper mache (inspired by my favourite dancing pumpkin man, of course). Even Dennis, who doesn't often participate in the whole costume thing, exposed the scary devil within.

Happy Halloween!

CITY OF CRAFT + CANZINE

Dropped by Canzine this weekend. A bit on the claustrophobic/congested side, but there was definitely a lot of great stuff to check out/eat/drink/purchase/lust after. And the venue was cool too. I left with one neat thing I can't show you because it's going to be a gift for someone who reads this blog (shhhh!). But I also picked up some coffee from Big Smoke Coffee Co, and this little linocut print to remind myself that while my current schedule might be running me into the ground a bit, it's jammed full of enjoyable stuff and everything is ok. I would love to give the artist credit, but she didn't have anything with her name on it (and I have a terrible memory). My friend Tim and I also enjoyed mini beef sliders from West Side Beef Co via the Toronto Underground Market. Delicious! And lastly, if you came to Canzine too, then you probably got a piece of my latest City Of Craft work in your bag - a shiny new postcard! Details for everyone, details for all.

Guess what! You can like Deadweight on Facebook now. If you're into that sort of thing. OMG. I'm no longer obsolete and living in the dark...

CHARMED.

Photo by Sweetie Pie Press.

I recently had the pleasure of designing a set of artist series pins for The Sweetie Pie Press called CHARMS. A watchful all-knowing eye, a wishbone, a lucky rabbit's foot, a mystical gemstone, and a couple of arrows (possibly dipped in persuasive love potions?). This set of 5 pins is available now in her Etsy shop! I should have a few copies at approaching local holiday shows too. Need protection from wrongdoers, evil spirits, curses, and all other kinds of odd, spirit-y foolishness? Look no further!

ART CRUSH: ELIZABETH GRAEBER

Elizabeth Graeber is an illustrator from Washington making nice rough around the edges work. Scratchy lines, watercolours, cool bikes, and great faces. I'd been checking out her shop, admiring her wide selection of goods, when I impulse bought An Illustrated Guide To Cocktails. My friend Tim's been drinking whiskey a lot more often these days, and I'm taste testing here and there in an attempt to develop an appreciation. Expand the horizons beyond lazily uncapping a beer, ya know? Though I certainly plan to continue doing that too... An Illustrated Guide To Cocktails (writing by Orr Shtuhl and drawing by Graeber) "tells the tales of the heyday of cocktails, from the origin of the margarita to the grandeur of the first celebrity bartender with some modern twists. Along the way, this fun, handheld guide is dabbled with beautiful illustrations and, of course, recipes." A little history, some excellent visuals, and delicious instructions? Yes please.

A few more recent crushes can be found in this Etsy treasury: Bad Ritual.

And why does Blogger keep denying me my text and font colour choices? This is not Arial. Those black links are not all peachy. This is not my beautiful house.

LATELY.

Random Moments From September (so far): 1. The giant, ravenous, popcorn eating fish of Canada's Wonderland. 2. My sister worked her shift in a bar, took a 3am Greyhound bus to Toronto from London, and then went to Canada's Wonderland in the morning. Her dedication to having a good time is impressive. Healthy breakfast choices for under-slept sisters? Funnel cake. 3. Prize winning country pumpkins. Other notable prize winning categories? Best Scarecrow, Best Darned Sock, Best Decorated T-Shirt, Biggest Carrot, etc. Note: My crew of babes did not agree with a lot of the judges calls. 4. Taking in a demolition derby on the steepest, bumpiest hill known to man. MC'd by a verbose, purple haired grandma. 5. Pink clouds. 6. Roadside tart shop scores (which were not long for this world). 7. Food and beer tickets. 8. I'm kind of in love with a weed smoking Australian man-dog. 9. The TGB Travelling Family Band. More here. & 10. The Port Hope Fall Fair Midway.

It would appear that when I'm not holed up on my computer these days, I'm at amusement parks and fairs. Sounds good to me.

SEPTEMBER STUFF.

Lately: 1. A new City of Craft ad for Worn Fashion Journal. 2. A header for the blog a few pals and I started about re-reading the Christopher Pike novels of our youth. No posts yet, but lots of intense analysis coming soon?!! 3 & 4 & 5. Listed some printed tank tops and a wishbone print in the shop!

YEN MAGAZINE

After checking in at a couple local magazine depots, I finally got my paws on a copy of Yen (Australia). This marks Deadweight's first magazine appearance (fun!), and I'm stoked to have been included in such a neat one, all full of pretty ladies and good stuff.

COTTAGE LIFE.

This is the last of my August lake porn shots, I swear. Last weekend I went up to a cottage with my bandmates and a few of our favourite partners in crime. We listened to copious amounts of classic rock radio, floated in the lake, drank beers, played a rousing game of Apples to Apples, hypothesised about what the loud shirtless dudes at the cottage next to ours were doing, and lit up some marshmallows. There was a surprise fireworks show across the lake one night which seemed to happen shortly after discussing how much we wished we had brought fireworks - magic! And last but not least, on the morning of our departure we woke up to Nigel's note and accomplishment - somehow he managed to put together this snake cube brain teaser thing that tested the patience of a few of us over the course of the weekend. We looked it up online and watched a torso and hands put it together on youtube, only to have the end shot reveal a 12 year old boy. See ya next year, summer.

ZINE DREAM: ARTIFACTS.

Behold! A couple artifacts from Zine Dream...

Screen printed stickers and a poster from the happiest girl in the room, Eunice Luk. Mischievous raspberry? Yes please. Check out her blog and Fantasy Camp for more.

And I spent the day beside a champion of black and white image manipulation, Raymond Biesenger. Who also plays music in the band The Famines. His pamphlet How To Book A Maybe Successful Tour For A Band That Hasn't Received Hype on Pitchfork, etc is a useful read for bands that want to book their own tours, and an entertaining read with good reminders for any band that has planned their own tour. Lots of good looking art stuff worthy of peeping in his shop too.

ART CRUSH: LET'S SWAP IT & MIKE PERRY.

Have you checked out Let's Swap it? It's a cool idea: a place where artists and designers can swap art for free. There is always one featured item up for swap (an edition of prints, etc). If you like what's up for grabs, you can submit what you'd like to trade (anything!), and the artist will choose the swaps they are interested in. I recently swapped with Mike Perry for this big, bright geometric print! Connecting with artists I like is always a total pleasure. Follow their twitter feed for updates on new swaps.

APPLY TO CITY OF CRAFT.

Pssst...the deadline to apply for City Of Craft is coming up on August the 31st!
That's 5 more application friendly days for all the detail-fanatics in the house.

EAST COAST LIVING.

The second half of my vacation was spent small towning it up in Sackville, New Brunswick. Dennis' family lives just outside the main drag. Take a walk in his hood and you'll find barns, covered bridges, and hay rolls. Though the highway is close, it's refreshingly quiet out there at night (no upstairs neighbours practicing metal riffs or having Monday night ragers!). We ate at one of Dennis' old places of employment (Pizza Delight), and I tried fried clams and scallops at a seafood place decorated with a ridiculous number of fake flowers and butterflies (weird). We saw movies, read books, went cosmic bowling, hung out with the cat (Frank), chilled out at a cottage on the ocean for a day, and generally moved pretty slow. That recipe up there is Dennis' grandma's handwriting - her squares a fixture at every meal (along with her beets and mustard pickles).

THINGS FOR TOMORROW.

Tomorrow is Zine Dream 4 at The Tranzac! As per usual, I did not get around to putting together a finished zine (I'm starting to think this might be an impossible task for me!), but I did manage to put together a couple new things today. The eleventh hour is my hour.

1. Some weird, colourful wishbone prints. To bring more luck and magic into your life. Perhaps you could rip the print in half with your loved ones on Thanksgiving?

2. I printed a pattern onto 6 different vintage silky tanks and tees (one of a kind styles). I picked up all these tops when I was on vacation in New Brunswick. #exotic I will even iron them.

See you tomorrow!

CAMP LIFE.

Week one of my vacation was spent doing a very foreign activity (for me) - camping. I never went camping with my family when I was younger, and classic outdoorsy things (besides drinking in the backyard) were not a big part of our summer schedule. I did spent a lot of time outside in my various neighbourhoods as a youth, but never really in anything you could classify as wilderness (some fishing, the beach, etc). So I got in the van with my pals Rob, Lee, and Tim and headed to Killbear to test my ability to sleep in tents, fend off mosquitoes, and jump in lakes. The verdict? It was awesome. It would appear that I mainly took photos of sunsets and water, because like a typical city dweller, that shit makes me dizzy and jealous. Swimming in the quiet lake 3 times a day was such a treat. Imagine living in a house on the water? Hello new life goal - nice to meet you. If you're going to go camping for the first time, it's helpful to go with someone who knows everything (aka Lee Rose: Master Of Camp Life). She reinvented my perception of what "camp food" means - burritos, pasta, pancakes, etc. And for a little excitement, we almost had a run in with a bear. Grade: A+.