enter ocad: some material art and design highlights

as usual, OCAD had way too much to see at its annual grad show. just to see the thesis work of my friends took up almost all the time i had to sight-see.

here are some of the material art and design 2010 thesis students whose work deserves mentioning:

Homa Esmaili's Round Squares was a fan favourite. Her guestbook proves it with both inappropiate and appreciative comments. inspired by her interactions with men, she broke them down into some common stereotypes that were both witty and intriguing.

and some detail shots:

 i love love love Caroline Yu's bearded porcelain cups that were featured in the material art and design sale. why didn't i buy them...

Iris Cho's cutlery about selective eating disorders was also great to see. she had a video on display as well showing people trying and failing to use her utensils. the many-hinged knife, fork and spoon set was particularly funny to watch.

 

Sachiko Burgin's Entwined jewellery series about twinship was another great display with interesting pieces. both her and her twin sister are extremely talented and will be a force to reckon with should they ever team up. Sachiko's display is the kind that I wanted for my own work, too bad it wouldn't have really worked.

and how could i not mention my friend Jon Riosa? his wearable sculptures on restriction were so dynamic that his guestbook was full of outrage that he didn't win the medal.

OCAD's 95th Annual Grad Show

The thesis students at OCAD have been very busy this past week. Displays are being installed and finishing touches are being applied for Enter OCAD - the school's 95th Annual Grad Show. I was helping my friend Jon with building his display today and I'm excited to see it all set up in the end. His work is dynamic, introspective, intricate and definitely worth looking at. 

I hope you all come out to it. There are six floors of work from 12 different programs, and over 500 emerging artists. I'll have some jewellery for sale in room 201 of 100 McCaul, and I'll have my new ring in a collection of rapid prototyped objects outside of room 500 on the 5th floor.

one of a kind show - one day left!

you have one day left to check out the one of a kind show! i didn't have a lot of time to walk around today since i had to man the booth but i did get to try some yummy treats (smoked salmon pate for one :D) and see some great handmade pieces.

thanks to everyone who's come out already!
 
here's some pics from our booth:

one of a kind spring show

so you may have already read that i'll have some work in the one of a kind spring show this year (march 31st - april 4th). this is a reminder to come and visit!

i cannot stress how great this show is. my fingers constantly twitch for my wallet as i peruse the endless aisles. the colourful pieces in the top left of the photo are from my friend and harbourfront resident shu-yu lu. i don't think she can make work that's not cute. it's just not possible.

this year OCAD is less focused on selling work and more focused on representing quality and innovative craftsmanship. if that interests you at all, i hope to see you there! our booth is E-20 and i'll personally be there on saturday april 3rd from 10 am - 3 pm.

today i'm helping set up the booth that only came together from a A LOT of hard work. we've been putting it together non stop since two saturday's ago to create a very gallery like set up. i'm excited...you should be too!

check out my news page for more info on the show.

installed

here is a crappy documentation photo of there was a crowd of seeds.

i hope to take new photos when the grass is green, and there are no fallen leaves or snow.

steel, organza, silk, thread

below is a detail of the organza flower.

and below this is the model - it was smaller and less detailed. 

another injury...

i am now working on the final version for there was a crowd of seeds. metalshop is a very different environment for me versus the jewellery studio. everything is dented, dinged up, and unergonomic to my jeweler body.

anyways, i was hammering my leaves yesterday at a VERY low tree stump (knee height) when in jewellery it is at waist height. i strained something in my lower back, and i am in mucho pain.

i want to keep going...but i know its better to rest injuries than to work through them...

there was a crowd of seeds

for the past week I've been using all my spare time to get into the metalshop at OCAD. welding has become easier for me now :) we had to create a model for an installation that will be going up in december. this one is about 19" high, and the final will be about double the size.

"there was a crowd of seeds is a work about hindered growth. how growth should be fostered, appreciated, exclaimed, and how there is no need to spread out and push down.

there are times when one can feel as if they have no room to grow, to breathe, to be – when one has lost their sense of place. i'm using the concept of aggressive plants to symbolically depict a person who has no room to flourish."

can you see the small, spindly, wilting flower in their midst that is unable to receive its own share of light?

the bottom photo is a visualization of the piece in its intended space.