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Rogues RFC Recruitment Poster

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:15:53 +0100

It has been so much fun designing promotional materials for the Rogues Rugby Football Club - Vancouver youngest Rugby club with a developmental focus, meaning that in addition to their experienced players, they recruit and train up brand new players with no previous experience. It's an amazing little sports team! For more posters, including one for the Rogues' Prom Dress Rugby, visit my artwork portfolio.

Free Illustrator CS4 file - Comic book dots

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:09:53 +0100

I've been working on a project (that I can't wait to share with you!) for Rogues Rugby Football Club. It's a poster that needs to be fun and eye-catching, so I decided to give it a comic book feel, complete with exploding "pow!" and "umpf!" captions. The finishing touch was these old school comic book dots that I measured and drew in Illustrator.

I've made them public domain, so that you can download and use them in your own graphics. This Illustrator CS4 file is suited to easy copy-paste tiling (with a bit of effort to keep everything lined up). You can play with the colours and sizing and use a clipping mask to make the shapes you need for your own comic-style graphics.

To acknowledge my work, please take a moment to link to www.miriammartin.ca somewhere on your website or blog. And if you have any trouble with the file, please let me know. Thanks.

Enjoy!

Opening Night — Brink: a Farce Tragedy and Keep to the West

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:51:58 +0100

A co-production of Resounding Scream Theatre and rice & beans theatre, Brink: a Farce Tragedy and Keep to the West opened to a full house this evening at Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive. (That’s right, Havana Restaurant has a pretty sweet little theatre in the back. Of course the restaurant will be full, so cross the street to Stella’s Tap and Tapas for dinner and/or drinks before the show.) Both plays are clever, thought-provoking and highly engaging.

Brink: a Farce Tragedy, written by Catherine Ballachey and directed by Stephanie Henderson, is their second-generation adaptation of Euripides’ tragedy Trojan Women (think 415 BC) – the third in a Trojan War trilogy. From my perspective as somebody who is not an expert in Greek tragedy, the pair have succeeded in their aim to “close the gap between ‘then’ and ‘now’”. Modern women stuck in an ancient tale slip effortlessly into the same old pigeonholes; despite the 2400 or so years between us, we can still relate to these women whose life-choices are pretty limited to bitch, victim, whore or lunatic. The writing is sophisticated and the choreography successful (loved the chorus doing the Haka, btw), with a pleasant balance of contemporary and classic, so that we the audience – assumably not versed in the classics – can appreciate the story and come away with lots to talk about.

The theme of Keep to the West is more personal for writer and director Derek Chan, resulting in a more introspective piece overall. Featuring a place that is “anywhere but here” and therefore "nowhere", where people go to be anonymous, the action revolves around an adorable and unsullied Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz) recently run-away from home and looking for adventure. The dialogue and choreography are obviously quite demanding and all of the actors rose to the occasion this evening. As somebody who values content ever-so-slightly more than form, I had a hard time finding an idea or “story” that I could grab onto and I absolutely hated (as I will always hate) the mutilated-mannequins-decorated-with-techno-junk which remind me of my art school days.

Aliya Griffin shone this evening as Hecuba in Brink, as did and Chelsea MacDonald who played Dorothy in Keep to the West and Brink’s Chorus (Manuela Sosa, Stevie Benisch and Victoria Lyons).

You can still see Brink: a Farce Tragedy and Keep to the West at Havana until this Saturday, August 14th, but you probably want to reserve your space; check out the Facebook event page for more information.

4 Free Colour Schemes – inspired by Fading Hydrangeas

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:00:09 +0100

On my arrival in the Lower Mainland 15 years ago, I was completely blown away by the colours of hydrangeas in bloom. They seem to come in every shade of intense fuschia, burgundy, mauve and violet, but it was the bright blues, greens and aquamarines that really surprised me. Sure, I knew these colours existed somewhere in nature – maybe on poison dart frogs in the Amazon, but to my Canadian “prairie girl” sensibilities, they seemed completely unnatural.

Photo courtesy David Kauffman.

These days, it’s the fading hydrangea that’s catching my eye. Each of these four colour schemes is inspired by a cluster of fading hydrangeas. If you are inspired by the combinations, please feel free to use them. If you contact me, I would be happy to share CMYK values with you. Enjoy!

Scheme 1:

Scheme 2:

Scheme 3:

Scheme 4:

Vancouver Vacation Series #2: Kanaka Creek

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 05:18:21 +0100

We’re pretty lucky to live in a part of the world where we can be in honest-to-goodness wilderness in half an hour. And I’m not talking about Whistler ... The number of amazing lakes, mountain trails, and hidden creeks, accessible just up the Valley, is astounding. If you’re up for one of those “little bit of everything” summer afternoon adventures, then Kanaka Creek is for you. One caveat – you will get to swim in some amazing pools and even sunbathe if it’s that type of day, but you will have to work hard for these privileges. Finding your secluded Kanaka paradise means going where most people don’t bother; it’s not for the faint of heart.

Getting to the beautiful waterfall-fed swimming holes required 20 – 30 minutes of rock hopping, literally making your way up the creek, crossing back and forth as necessary to find a suitable path. Because of this, it’s essential that your waterproof footwear also have a good grip – maybe you have a pair of fancy schmancy hiking sandals? Flip-flops and water shoes need not apply. I wore my running shoes and after 20 anxiety-filled minutes of trying to keep them dry, it was a relief to lose my footing on a rock, soaking my feet, and leaving us free to simply wade when convenient. There was one place where we had to wade through thigh-deep water, but otherwise, it would have been possible, at least in theory, to stay on rocks the whole way.

The water is fresh and clear, and gets warm in the smaller pools on a hot day. The terrain is simply astounding, with smoothed rock faces, plentiful fossils (which you can’t take home with you, sorry), beautiful trees and stunning waterfalls. There are also a number of hazards, so I wouldn’t recommend going without somebody with some B.C. wilderness experience. Devils Club (think “poison ivy” on worse) is plentiful, sprained ankles likely, and bears like it just about as much as we do. But if you’re up for adventure, with somebody who’ll show you the ropes, and looking for a unique Fraser Valley experience, find your way to Kanaka Creek.

Vancouver vacation series #1: Drinking on Patios

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:37:00 +0100

When my vacation started, I thought, hey great, I’ll have lots of time to write… Yeah right! Well, as you can see, I haven’t written, but I have collected lots of wonderful Vancouver area experiences to blog about now. Super Vancouver vacation must-do #1 – an afternoon of drinking (and eating) on patios. Many would instinctively say Kits or Yaletown, but if you want honest-to-goodness awesome food and drink prepared with love and care in a place with character, you’re much better off on Commercial Drive. And, you’re much less likely to be ripped off with over-priced glitter. Hubby and I spent a glorious afternoon, starting off at the now almost uncomfortably trendy Havana (which still has great food and drinks and super service, by the way) and finishing at Stella’s Tap and Tapas Bar across the street.

Stella’s impressed. They have an extensive selection of Belgian beer – especially significant for me, because until my afternoon on the Stella’s patio, I had never found a Belgian beer that I liked. This is purely a matter of my own taste and constitution, but I’m usually left burpy and bloated after light, carbonated beers (FYI, I also dislike wheat ales). There is a place for a huge cold pint of light beer on a hot day, but for some reason every Belgian specialty I’ve tried in past has been a complete miss. I explained this to the server and he recommended Grimbergen Abbey Dubbel, which he described as not at all carbonated and a bit brown-sugary. One lovely online description says “chocolate and berry”. Right up my alley, I loved it. My new favourite beer at the moment.

We’re always complaining that Vancouver doesn’t have any real tapas bars … What? you say, that was totally last year’s trend; Vancouver is full of tapas bars! Vancouver tapas seems to be the same as Vancouver fusion appies – super fresh ingredients exceptionally prepared to creative perfection, for a pretty penny. This is mind, Stella’s has some fine Vancouver tapas. We loved the Seared yellow fin tuna (featured in the photo) with wilted spinach and wasabi aioli. They also had the most amazing tasting fresh water prawns and quite an impressible selection of mussels. I don’t eat bivalves in hot weather (they're fresher in cold water and less likely to be spawning and fishy tasting), but I was impressed to see the Lobster Man delivery van pull up, which means you can guarantee the shellfish is the freshest and best.

It was a perfect afternoon and we even managed to avoid getting sunburnt, thanks to a pre-drinking application of SPF 30.

Dreaming of Paris with the Impressionists

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:39:05 +0100

If you ask me what you should see on your trip to Paris, I will tell you to try, if you can fit it in, to see the Musée d’Orsay. I can’t pretend that I have been to very many great museums, but I will tell you Orsay is my favourite. I first visited in 1998, on a very special day-trip with my French host-mother Myriam, to see a show called Manet, Monet. La gare Saint-Lazare. It would be at least three more years before I learned about the Impressionists in Art History class at Emily Carr, but this outing was a pivotal point for me in deciding that I wanted to study Fine Arts. I have always felt a connection with the French Impressionists – their work, their subject matter, the historical context in which they lived, and of course, their amazing city. I’m a long way from Paris these days – both literally and figuratively – but it was a great pleasure yesterday to visit The Modern Woman exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The exhibit’s tag line is “Drawings by Degas, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Other Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris”. I’m not sure if other artists will agree, but for me, there is nothing more exciting than seeing the sketches and studies of the great artists you most admire. This collection featured pieces I had never seen, all belonging to Orsay but many of them kept hidden away in the Graphic Arts Department at the Louvre.

Henri Toulouse--Lautrec

The drawings all depict women – not a new subject matter by any means. But it is the way that the Impressionists depicted women that was groundbreaking at the time. In the mid- to late 1800s, these artists began portraying Parisian woman as they were: in their homes, in their boudoirs, on the streets and in the cabarets, not necessarily in the company of men, and not always in flattering ways. Until this point, unsmiling aristocratic women appeared in stuffy portraits and the glorified pleasantly plump Aphrodite-like nude was dominant in biblical and mythological images.

Edouard Manet

In 1863, l’Académie des Beaux-Arts rejected Manet’s déjeuner sur l’herbe from being shown at the Salon de Paris – basically the only place French artists could sell their work – because it portrayed a nude woman “hanging out” with clothed men. Of course, female nudes were the norm in the art world at the time, but only glorified nudes in allegorical settings – not realistic women in a contemporary setting. Impressionism also opened up the possibility for women artists to portray aspects of women’s life that men were not privy to. I was happy to see some drawings by Berthe Morisot – a great woman artist best known for depicting women in domestic settings. Women from a woman’s point of view, so to speak.

Berthe Morisot

The Impressionists changed the world of western art, and they were part of a changing Paris – the late 19th century Paris that I love and dream about whenever I am there.

A Shout Out to Ted Lewin

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:08:46 +0100

My husband recently mentioned a book he remembers reading when he was seven (he has a photographic memory, so these things happen …). He said that it was called Faithful Elephants. It’s a story by Yukio Tsuchiya about the elephants who were among 27 “dangerous animals” killed in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo during World War II, apparently for propaganda purposes, “to shock to the residents of Tokyo into taking seriously the threat of air raids” (read more). The book itself (which I still haven’t got my hands on) is a graphic portrayal of the horrors of war, palatable to both children and adults. My husband said that it was, and I quote, “the most beautifully illustrated book”. So, I set about finding it. It turns out that it was illustrated by Ted Lewin – a world traveler, former pro-wrestler turned children’s book illustrator.

I decided to head to the children’s section of the local library and found a few different books by Lewin – all beautifully illustrated. His illustrations are painstakingly pencil-drawn and then painted with watercolour. The depth and detail of each image is astounding. While they feature very “busy” scenes, Lewin draws your eye to key facial expressions or points of interest by varying the amount of detail and density of paint. It is truly beautiful work. I borrowed two books (which isn’t so weird since my son is picture book age) – Amazon Boy and How Much? Visiting Markets Around the World, both written and illustrated by Ted Lewin and featuring beautiful illustrations of places he has clearly visited and enjoyed.

If you are looking for good books for your kids or studying the work of exceptional illustrators or watercolour artists, I highly recommend Mr. Lewin.

21st Century Cream Puffs

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:36:33 +0100

Papa huh? Put a beard on your what? I was pretty skeptical about Beard Papas, but not skeptical enough to keep me from trying them. In a nutshell, they’re cream puffs with a bit of extra crunch because they add a second layer of pie pastry on top of the classic French pâte à choux (also called choux pastry or profiterole pastry). The contemporary twist that has really made Beard Papa’s successful though is the unexpected array of cream flavours, including strawberry, pumpkin, green tea and even Earl Grey tea. I had to try the original vanilla custard one first.

The first pleasant surprise was that they are not overly sweet – much less “Krispy Kreme” than I had imagined. The second thing that struck me (as I chowed down at the bus stop,) was the obvious lack of petroleum product in the filling. Here was a puff pastry unlike any I’d ever had outside of France; it had to be real egg and whipped cream in the filling. Real butter in the pastry? Not so sure, but definitely real fresh cream in the filling.

It turns out the “whipped cream custard” is definitely the real thing – made fresh several times a day in a process that takes two hours. The whipped cream is folded into the custard just before serving. They also use all natural ingredients and no preservatives (so you’ve gotta eat your puffs right away!) The pastry is also made from all natural ingredients and gets baked on-site several times a day. I am not completely convinced, from my taste-test or from my reading, that the raw little puffs don’t sit in the freezer for a bit before being baked – maybe somebody with first hand Papa-making experience can confirm?

I’ve always loved the creative mixing of culinary genres, but I also appreciate any trend toward natural ingredients and away from preservatives and artificial flavours. As a bonus, they also have a funny little animation on their website. Check out the Beard Papa Story. 4/5 stars (4.5 if it's real butter in the pastry and they make the pastry onsite …)

Something Left, Something Taken

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:53:57 +0100

Today I discovered drawn - a fantastic little collaborative blog for illustrators, cartoonists, and artists who like to draw. Today’s post by contributor and illustrator John Martz, takes you to a fresh and super-fun little animated short by a husband and wife team – Max Poter and Ru Kuwahata of Tiny Inventions. Stop motion, puppetry, blue jello = water, and the wonders of After Effects!

If you enjoy the film, definitely visit their fascinating Making of blog post from May 23rd.

“Disciplined exploration and playful execution” … Nice!