I finally won an effing t-shirt contest!

It's with great joy that I am announcing the arrival of 'Take Me With You' as a shirt, printed by the great people at Infectious. I not only have the honour of being a part of the launch of their new t-shirt line, but 'Take Me With You' was also the grand-prize winner of the contest that kicked off this new line. Victory dance!

They did an amazing job of the printing and placement. The initial run of shirts is pretty small, so if you would like to order one, head on over asap.

http://www.infectious.com/t-shirts/kirstenmccrea/take-me-with-you/6517

A B C D Eeeeee

Another week, another shirt design. Hopefully one day one of these will get printed! I'm a pretty big fan of this one myself, so fingers crossed. If you could take a minute to vote for it, I would really appreciate it.

Score this design: "Alphabet," to help it get printed on Threadless!

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Big show of Montreal artists opens this Thursday!

130 Montreal artists, 300 works. All on 12" x 12" supports. Should be pretty interesting. I am kicking myself for not getting photos of my 2 pieces, because I am pretty proud of them. Hopefully I will get down to the gallery this week and can snap a photo or 2.

It opens this Thursday from 5 pm onwards. Should be a good party!

The show is at 410 St. Pierre, in the Old Port (next to Olive and Gourmando).

www.galeriezoneorange.com for more info.

Recent Studio Shots

I looked around my studio last week and -eep!- there were 15 unfinished paintings being worked on. Okay: time to buckle down and finish some! Here are a few shots of what's going on. And since then, for the record, I have indeed managed to finish 2, with a good, clear direction on 2 more. Another 2 are so close to being done I really have no excuse - it's just final details at this point. So hopefully in the next couple weeks I will have some nice new works hanging in my home, instead of cluttering up my already crowded workspace.

Putin is hiding behind Jacques Brel.

This baby is being turned into the new issue of Papirmasse:

Part of a new painting:

This sucker is DONE!

Old drawing, new shot of it. For sale, $40 (email kirstenmccrea -at- gmail.com). See the full shot here.

Leftover colours on the palette become angry bear.

Thanks for looking!

Signature

Just messin' around with my name, for various reasons. I think I like the green one best, with the yellow in close second.

New Sketch

My favourite artist told me that if I want to be better, I should sketch one person from the newspaper every day. Good advice! So here is the first - Rootin' Tootin' Putin.

I haven't managed to do one sketch a day (I HATE sketching. HATE IT!!!), but I really am trying to get better at drawing and am trying my damndest to follow through on his advice. I really do think that sketching is the way to go, and that my paintings would get finished faster if I had a plan before diving into them, but aargh, it feels like it takes so much time. Anyone else out there feel as I do towards sketching, or are you all madly in love with it?

Expozine - Don't Miss It!

Papirmasse September Issue. Mmmmm fold outs...

Papirmasse and myself, Kirsten McCrea, have a table at this years Expozine! Can't wait to roll on in and check out all the amazing books and paper goods. This is definitely one of Montreal's do not miss events.

Expozine, Montreal’s annual small press, comic and zine fair, will take place on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2009, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 5035 St-Dominique (Église Saint-Enfant Jésus, between St-Joseph and Laurier, near Laurier Métro). Free admission.

The opening party, featuring readings and live music, will take place Friday, November 13, at Sky Blue Door, 5403B St. Laurent (side door), 7 – 11 p.m., free admission.

This incredible event brings together nearly 300 creators of all kinds of printed matter – from books to zines to posters and graphic novels – in both English and French. In the past eight years, Expozine has become one of North America’s largest small press fairs, attracting thousands of visitors as well as exhibitors from as far as France, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and Quebec City!

Come discover a universe of publications and printed works that is hard to find anywhere, much less all in the same room! It’s also a rare opportunity to meet hundreds of young and emerging authors, publishers and artists, and see what the winners of last year’s Expozine Alternative Press Awards are up to.

This year for the first time there will also be a program of discussions and readings running throughout the event, as well as an opening party on Friday, November 13 (details to be announced). Not to be missed!

Expozine is made possible through the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal.

Halloween Studio Sale

Date:	Saturday, October 31, 2009
Time:	1:00pm - 6:00pm
Location:	100th Slice of Pie, 5334 Gaspé, #1202 12th floor

Another month, another one-day sale at the studio! Come and check out the work of all the amazing artists and amigos of those who call 100-sided-die home.

::::::::::Massive Art Sale::::::::::
\\\\\@ the 100 Sided Die///
<<>>


<<>>

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
we are open 1 day a month,
--> the last Saturday of the month
(+ by appointment)
///////////////////////

>_> <_<

Facebook event is HERE.

Pssst

Doing a photoshoot for a new online magazine. So excited! Will post links when the article goes up.

I also have a new online portfolio. Figured I would give it a try. www.behance.net/kirsten

Do It.

It's my birthday, buy something from my Etsy store! www.hellokirsten.etsy.com

(had to try)

Puces Pop 2009

I am selling art and prints all weekend at Puces Pop, Montreal's largest (and dare I say best) craft fair, hosted by Pop Montreal! Though the fair is undeniably great, I am a little sad, as this will call for a huge amount of restraint: no drinking and partying on my birthday weekend, no drinking and partying on Pop Montreal weekend, no and drinking and partying on a weekend full of great parties, no drinking and partying while my best friend is visiting me from Halifax. Okay, maybe just a little drinking and partying. Just a smidge. But really, no more than that, because if there is one thing I have learned, it is that craft fairs are best worked by the well-rested and very sober.

Puces Pop

3 & 4 oct, 11h00 - 19h00 (11:00 - 7:00)

l'Église St-Michel (105 St-Viateur O.)

Take the metro to Laurier and walk, or take the Parc bus, or ride a Bixi, or google maps it and get better directions.

Facebook event here.

Image courtesy of Pin Pals.

Love! Hate!

Spot my work in the new Love/Hate catalogue!

Hint: it's the Kim Jong painting here.

Get Your Own Stupid Hamster Face!

It's finally here! A full-colour replication of my painting, "Stephen Harper, Stupid Hamster Face". Yes, those beady little eyes can now adorn your home/office/shrine. Digitally printed on a nice, glossy cardstock, this 4" x 6" art print is sure to bring a smile to the face of the Canadian in your life. Keep it for yourself/send it to your MP/give it as a gift to the politico in your life. I'm mailing one to the man himself! These prints are limited to an edition of 300. A special discounted price is available for orders of 10 or more. Confused Americans: Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada. Whether you love him or loathe him, you cannot deny that he resembles a hamster.

Buy it here.

Fun on the internets

Submitted some banners to Lost at E Minor, just for fun.

Don't Diss Yoko

What are you waiting for? The Papirmasse August issue is out - the 8th in our series of $5 prints (available for that ridiculously low price to subscribers - sign up here!!!). I am continuing on my Yoko-Ono-Is-Secretly-Awesome rampage. 2-colour print on the frontside, text explaining the allure of Yoko on the back. $5! Seriously! www.papirmasse.com

Polaris Music Prize Poster!

Yippee! Here's my Polaris Music Prize poster for Patrick Watson's album 'Wooden Arms'. It's a great album and he is totally a contender for the win. The poster was a blast to do, and I am looking forward to seeing the silkscreened print this week (18 x 24 inches, 3 colours). There will be 15 up for sale on my etsy site within the coming weeks - yep, it's a small run, so get'em while they're hot! Detail shots below.

New Painting

A new painting for the September show at Usine 106U. Kind of a departure for me in terms of colour, but it still has lots of those repetitive lines I get obsessed with.

BOOM-CHIX-A-BOOM #8

BOOM-CHIX-A-BOOM #8 happens this weekend in Montreal at the only-55 times annually underwear and knock-off sunglasses festival...err, the St. Laurent street sale. Watch out for the little island of art in the sea of stuff you don't really need but might buy anyway because it's so cheap. Speaking of crap you don't need, I'll be selling buttons and art prints and subscriptions to Papirmasse!

Full details at the link above. Facebook link here.

LA CENTRALE GALLERY POWERHOUSE is at 4296 St. Laurent.

Best Day Ever

What a great day it was last Friday - found out I'll be designing the Patrick Watson poster for the Polaris Music Prize, found out I'll be vending at Puces Pop in Montreal in the fall (greatest craft fair ever!), and sent in the digital file of Don't Diss Yoko to the kind folks who'll be putting it up next week for the Poplar & Pine Poster Show. More details on that soon.

I forgot to mention:

www.papirmasse.com

Submissions for the SNAP! shirt contest

SNAP! magazine is having an ongoing t-shirt contest. I threw together a few 'Don't Diss Yoko' shirts in the hopes that one would win. Vote here:

http://snapme.ca/content/t-shirt-design-competition/2009/07/23/kirsten-mccrea

Everyone is always hating on Yoko Ono. She's almost universally despised in North America, which I think is pretty culturally revealing. People claim to hate her because she is "weird" and "broke up the Beatles", but beyond that they know almost nothing about her! Yoko Ono was a well-known and respected performance artist before she hooked up with the man whose fame completely overshadowed hers, and she was hugely important in the popularization of performance art and the legitimization of non-traditional art forms. She ran her own avant-garde gallery out of her apartment in New York, and was an early member of the legendary group Fluxus.

I think that the hatred for her stems from some sort of gross cultural inability to shake off the idea of a the siren who drains a mans virility (hence her reputation as the Beatles breaker-upper), and discomfort with the image of a powerful and sexy Asian woman at the height of the Vietnam war.

So I say DON'T DISS YOKO. She's awesome. It's totally fair to hate her if you know her work and have an informed opinion, but no naive hating!

Vote here:

http://snapme.ca/content/t-shirt-design-competition/2009/07/23/kirsten-mccrea

PAPIRMASSE art subscription MONTREAL LAUNCH!!!!

It's the official Montreal launch of Papirmasse next week! Come to the SNAP! salon for cheap art, cheap drinks, and good music. July 23, 8-11. More information on the art-subscription Papirmasse at www.papirmasse.com

And if you aren't in Montreal, remember that Papirmasse is

it is only

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO MUCH TO ANNOUNCE!!!

Holy moly, we've been BUSY.

We're going to take the numerical approach here, to make sure we don't miss anything!

1) Papirmasse, the mail-art subscription we publish, is

it is only

YES!  That's only $60 for ***12*** signed and editioned art prints!   And they come in the mail every month!!!  What are you waiting for?  These are limited edition.  There are only 1,000 subscriptions available.  If you miss out, how else are you going to fill your house with art and have tons of amazingly unique presents at the ready for birthdays that sneak up on you?

You can go straight to our Etsy store to sign up, or, if you're new to the whole concept of Papirmasse, you might want to visit the website.  Which brings us to:

2)

YES!  We redesigned the website.  It is now WAY nicer.  The main page looks the same, but we highly recommend you scroll through the issues published so far, and also: click on the 'papirmasse in the news' button at the bottom, where you will see stuff such as:

3) The beautiful magazines that have been hyping us up.

Parlour Magazine out of Edmonton listed Papirmasse as one of their favourite things in their breakthrough Lady Gaga issue:

and SNAP! magazine, out of Montreal (and one of the best things about Montreal too!  Make sure to pick up a FREE copy if you are ever in this beautiful city) wrote a short piece about us in their latest issue, below.

It is extremely well written and articulates many things about the mail-art project better than we ever have, so props to them.  An excerpt from the article appears on our 'in the news' section, and the entire issue can be browsed on their website.

4) The June issue of Papirmasse is out!  Look what you get for $5!  Articles about corporate graffiti and the art market on the back.  17" x 20".

Here's the May issue. 12" x 18".

And April - a reversible book!!! Each page measures 5.75" x 8.75"

See all this and more at www.papirmasse.com

Okay, 5) is a digression, but our studio mate Evil Alice put up a great tour of our shared studio space, 100-Sided Die, on her blog.  Thanks Alice!  Now you can see where I work!  Remember how badly I wanted a real studio?

Also, 6) I might have some buttons for sale at the Warped Tour, courtesy of Thoughtcrime Ink.  I submitted 20 designs to them, so we'll see which ones they choose to print (if any, no pressure Jeff!)

And 7) No more t-shirts for a while.  I am sick of the tormented waiting and weird highschool popularity contest feeling.

That's it for the next few days at least!  I do have some art shows coming up though, so I'll be back with more news before too long.