Archives: Jacqui Oakley

handmade hamilton

Hamilton has recently stepped up its maker market game these past few years. It seems every weekend (once the end of November rolls around) is filled with markets, fairs, and bazaars (I love me a good ol’ church bazaar!).

These events are perfect for shopping local and supporting local artists and businesses. But with so many of them going full-throttle from now until Christmas it can be hard to figure out which ones to go to. Makeology last weekend, and Stuffed this Saturday. Make sure that you put Handmade Hamilton on your list of places to check out!

Handmade Hamilton is this weekend Saturday and Sunday from 11am-5pm at the Staircase theatre. Lisa Pijuan-Nomura artist and event organizer has curated a super fine selection of 32 amazing local Hamilton artists.

Here’s a round-up of some of my favs.

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Hand & Shadow, screen printed shirts & scarves

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claygirlceramics

 Claygirl Ceramics cups, mini-bowls

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Heidi van Veen Designs, screen printed totes, pouches, pillows & tea towels

jelly-bros

Jelly Brothers, neighbourhood maps and Hamilton graphics

hitokoo

HITOKOO, seriously some of the most beautifully handcrafted clothes & accessories

We will be there too (on Sunday only) selling our limited edition Hamilton Gems prints at a special reduced priced for this weekend only!

hamilton-gems-map-jacqui-oakleyHamilton Gems map by Jacqui Oakley (made in collaboration with This Must be the Place & The Academy of All Things Awesome)

Stop by and say “Hi” and if you’re one of the first 50 shoppers (on either Saturday or Sunday) you will get a Swag Bag!

*Handmade Hamilton, S&S Nov 26-27, 11-5, 27 Dundurn Street North, TwitterFacebookInstagram

hamilton gems

The Academy of All Things Awesome and This Must Be The Place are very proud to finally present to you Hamilton Gems map illustrated by Jacqui Oakley!

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The map features a selection of Hamilton Gems focused in the downtown area with a few destinations outside the core for you to explore. Take note of a little nod to Hamilton legend Jed the Dancing Guy; usually spotted dancing in the streets of downtown Hamilton (in the map he’s dancing just to the left of the letter “H”).

Aren’t they gorgeous! You know you want one hanging on your wall.

This Saturday, November 26th we will be selling them at Stuffed Hamilton from 11am-6pm at Collective Arts Brewery. Parking is free and admission is $5 (free for kids under 12). There’ll be 70+ local vendors, coffee by Vintage Coffee Roasters, and awesome tunes by DJ Donna Love Joy to keep you grooving while you shop.

Then on Sunday, November 27th we will be selling them at Handmade Hamilton from 11am-5pm at the Staircase Theatre. Admission is only $2, which will get you access to 32+ amazing vendors like ceramic artist Krystal Speck, Hitokoo (clothing line), and more Hamilton maps by the Jelly Brothers.

For the Stuffed and Handmade Hamilton show we’re selling the maps at a special reduced price listed below. Maps are available in two sizes and formats.

20×28″ screen prints $75 black & white, $85 colour (printed by hand at Centre 3 for Print and Media Arts)

12×16″ archival giclée prints $45 colour or black & white (printed by Smokestack Studios)

If you can’t make it out to the Stuffed show or Handmade Hamilton, then you can still pick up maps from the lovely folks at Mixed Media (James North), White Elephant (Westdale), Girl on the Wing (King East), Canoe (Locke) and on-line via The Academy of All Things Awesome.

Don’t wait long to buy one, especially if it’s for a gift for Christmas. We’re doing a limited edition print for the holidays and they are already selling fast!

 *Stuffed, Saturday November 26, 11-6, 207 Burlington Street East

*Handmade Hamilton, Sunday November 27, 11-5, 27 Dundurn Street North, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

 

getting it done at centre 3

Erika McMeekin of The Academy of All Things Awesome, Jacqui Oakley illustrator of talented magnitude, and myself have combined forces to bring to you a piece of artwork that you will most definitely want to have up on your wall.

After scoping out and compiling a long list of Hamilton gems throughout the spring and summer, Erika and I met with Jacqui to see if she could make an illustrated map of all the gems. We love Jacqui’s style and her body of work, so were confident that whatever she would create would be amazing –and it is!

hamilton-gems-jacqui-oakley-process

Once Jacqui had drawn and inked her work she embarked on the process of getting the piece ready for a large scale colour silk screen print. Jacqui had to rework her illustration into four separate colour layers in a complex mind bending process that would’ve broke my head in two (makes my head hurt just thinking about it). From there we made four silk screens that Erika and I would use to make a poster sized silk screened print of Jacqui’s illustrated map.

Enter Centre 3. Guys you have no idea how lucky we are as a city to have this place around. They have a digital lab, classes and workshops (from t-shirt printing to drypoint), gallery space, art education programs, and the print studio (which is what we used for silk screening).

We got a fifty dollar one year membership (which gives all sorts of perks & discounts) and booked some one-on-one studio time with Matt McInnes print maker, artist, and Centre 3 studio tech extraordinaire. Matt was awesome and showed us the ropes, making sure we were confident and well on our way on our silk screening mission.

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With some dedicated studio time we will be working our bods, blood, sweat and tears into printing these bad boys up for you.

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Early next week I’ll give you a look at the whole finished piece with details on where you can snag one for yourself or for a gift for someone else (after all, the holiday and Christmas season is upon us). Until then, if you wanna find us we’ll be a the Print Studio printing away.

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*Centre 3, 173 James Street North, 905.524.5084, Twitter, Insta, Facebook

 

 

teaming up with AWESOME

One evening in late spring Erika McMeekin (aka The Academy of All Things Awesome) and I took an evening bike ride around the lower city. We were floating out a whim of an idea to uncover some real Hamilton gems. Now there’s is nothing that I love more than exploring this city but roaming it together with someone who’s brimming with optimistic enthusiasm was really pretty energizing. We found ourselves perched on various rooftops admiring different vantage points of the city. hamilton-gems-jackson-square-roofEventually we made our way through the grounds of Dundurn castle, and across McQuesten bridge peeking out from lookouts and gaps where the trees parted in search of a rumoured secret garden. hamilton-gems-mcqueston-bridge A few times we took wrong turns down different trails that lead to nowhere (all part of the adventure). It was an eerily breathtaking sight to finally find ourselves standing in an overgrown and lush green modern day ruin. I’ve got to give thanks to my Hamilton writing hero Paul Wilson who wrote about the Sunken Garden, which is what led us to check out the forgotten space ourselves.   hamilton-gems-memorial-gardenAs the evening was starting to stretch its way across the bay we biked through Hamilton’s oldest cemetery looking in awe at the old epitaphs, and admiring the ornate and beautiful mausoleums.hamilton-gems-cemetery hamilton-gems-princess-point From downtown rooftops, secret gardens, to Bayfront Park, roller skating and sunset views throughout the city; the minute we started peddling around town Erika and I were scheming plans for future adventures. Our first ride out was a super awesome way to kick off the start to summer. This one evening of exploring turned into a series of summer time bike rides. hamilton-gems-barton hamilton-gems-barton2 hamilton-gems-temple hamilton-gems-pink-house We wove our way from east to west, up the escarpment and down, on foot and by bike, with a road trip to Dundas and the mountain to confirm urban legends of secret lakes, the best peanut butter cookies, and an abandoned obstacle course. Not everything was as glamourous as we’d imagined in our minds but some places were breathtaking and made us fall in love with this city a million times over. hamilton-gems-sam-lawrence-parkThe best part about hanging with Erika on these adventures is that she actually puts these lofty city daydreams into action in the form of super cool events through The Academy of All Things Awesome (check them out!).  But most importantly all this Hamilton exploring actually culminated into an amazing collaborative project between myself, Erika, and fab friend and illustrator Jacqui Oakley. Stay tuned for more posts later this week and for a sneak peak of the project. Can’t wait to show you what we’ve been up to! You’re going to loooooove it. Trust me –you’ll want first dibs.

bestiary

Bestiary: A compendium of curious creatures, alive; dead & in-between, portrayed in paint to captivate & cultivate.

If you’re free tonight you should come on down to Jacqui Oakley‘s art opening at Defacto Mulberry (193 James St. North). The opening starts at 7pm and goes until 11.

There’ll be a whole body of Jacqui’s beautiful art work on display including giclée prints that will be for sale (perfect holiday gifts y’all!). Check’em out in the photo below.

photo courtesy of Jacqui Oakley. Check out her blog here.

 

Jacqui’s show will be up from December 13th and throughout the month of January.


 

august art crawl

This month’s art crawl is going to be another really good one!  The ladies from the Beehive Craft Collective are putting on their 2 day craft show in the old Friendship Gift Shop (118 James St. north).  They will have some fabulous vendors.  If you want to get a little taste of what will be at the craft fair you can checkout the Beehive Craft Collective blog and their spotlight features of the vendors & their products.

Here’s a tiny sample of some of the talented crafters that will be there.

cards by Katie Muth, Summer Craft Fair, James St. North

From http://www.ohmysocute.com/

I have unknowingly bought many, many cards by printmaker Katie Muth.  I’ve bid happy wishes with Katie’s artwork for weddings, thank yous, births and birthdays, cards all of which I’ve purchased from Mixed Media. It’ll be great to stock up on some more artful greetings for all the upcoming nuptials I will be witnessing in the next few months.

rust jars fat quarter, Bespoke Uprising, summer craft fair, James St. north

Hand drawn images, & screen printed textiles by bespoken uprising

For more images go to bespoken uprising’s blog or for some shopping check out her etsy page.

 

bacon egg potery, by breand and butter pottery, summer craft fair, Hamiton, James St. North

from http://breadandbutterpottery.com/pottery/

Super cute pottery from Bread & Butter Pottery.

 

the lasso, textiles, scarf, scout & catalogue, summer craft fair, Hamilton, James St. norht

from http://www.scoutandcatalogue.com/

Soft and pretty textiles and garments from Scout & Catalogue.

 

In addition to all this wonderful summer craftiness, Steve will have his artwork in 2 galleries for the art crawl; Align at b contemporary and Zoo at Loose Canon.  At b contemporary, pieces by Steve Newberry like the one below, as well as, artwork by Stephanie Seagram and Nicole Collins, will be exhibited.

Steve Newberry artist, b contemporary art gallery, James St. North Art Crawl, Hamilton art gallery

landscapes -belleville artist Steve Newberry

For more pictures of the gorgeous artwork at  Zoo’s opening from July’s art crawl , check out Jacqui Oakley’s blog post.

 

*b contemporary, 226 James St. North, Hamilton

*Loose Canon, 150 James St. North, Hamilton

 

zoo

Tonight’s art crawl will feature a super cool exhibit called Zoo at Loose Canon Gallery.  I’m plugging this exhibit not only because Steve has work in this show, but also because there are some sickeningly talented artists that are part of the show too.

zoo art exhibit at Loose Canon Gallery, Hamilton James north art crawl, steve newberry, jacqui oakley, jamie lawson, dushan milic, kyle reed, jen hsieh, dan brandon

Loose Canon, James north art crawl, Hamilton galleries, zoo art show,

Jacqui and Jamie hanging the signage for Zoo at Loose Canon Gallery.

Jacqui Oakley and Jamie Lawson are the curators of this show, and are also unbelievably amazing artists, whose work will be exhibited in this show.

Here’s a little sample of some of their work.

Jonah & The Whale by artist Jamie Lawson, zoo, Hamilton, James north art crawl, Loose Canon gallery

Jonah & The Whale -Jamie Lawson

Image from: jamielawsondesign.com

Jacqui Oakley, illustrator

woodpecker illustration -Jacqui Oakley

Image from:  jacquioakley.com This link will take  you Jacqui’s website, where she details some of her processes in doing this beautiful illustration (so much work to do behind the scenes!)

 

*Loose Canon Gallery, 150 James St. north, Hamilton