Vintage Notebooks and Colouring Books

Just in time for the Christmas season, these stylish notebooks and fishy colouring books are now on sale at Pixel Print and Shopgirls. Remember the vintage wallpaper I found a few months ago? Pixel Print suggested putting it to good use--they did all the printing and binding, I drew the illustrations and assembled the covers, and here is the exciting result!

All the covers were hand assembled, each unique depending on the cut of the wallpaper. The notebooks have a matching shiny ribbon that matches the metallic ink in the wallpaper. The inside pages are 100% recycled paper. They come in 2 sizes, 5"x7" and 3"x8".

The colouring books have 8 fun, activity-based illustrations, including "wave maze" and "connect the bubbles". The rest of the pages are blank to write or draw. The cover has an extra flap at the back, a bookmark to mark your page! They measure 6.5"x8".

Four Seasons Hotel

My artwork has now travelled to California! These snow paintings were bought by the Four Seasons Hotel, to be displayed in the lobby of their spa in Palo Alto. A dream come true--the atmosphere and experiences at the spa are similar reflections of the process and concept behind my work.

Each of the three pieces are 22" x 22", framed in 1/2" acrylic. Once I have a photo of the work in the space, I'll post that too!

Greeting Cards

A friend of mine has set up a beautiful printing shop just down the street. Located by Dundas and Dovercourt, Pixel Print offers a variety of services, including a window store front of greeting cards. Among the designs, are a set of three cards I illustrated a while back, patterns inspired by three of the natural elements—Earth, Fire, and Water. Stop by to have a look and see the rest of the store!

Here is a recent post by blogTO.

Square Foot Show 2010 - Sold!

The Square Foot Show is here again! AWOL Gallery presents the 8th of it's kind, featuring hundreds of artists. Here is a glimpse of my piece (or look for "116 G" at the 100A location to see it up close :)

The artwork is up at 2 locations:
100A Ossington Avenue, 2nd floor, and
AWOL Gallery, 76 Ossington Avenue

Show runs from August 21 - September 5, 2010
Gallery hours are Thursday - Saturday 12-8 pm, Sunday 12-5 pm

Rememorations at Shopgirls

My solo exhibition at Shopgirls is now up. Please join me on Thursday to say hi and have some light refreshments.

Opening Reception
Thursday August 5th, 7-10 pm
Shopgirls Gallery Boutique
1342 Queen Street West, Toronto

This will be Pam Lostracco's first exhibition with the gallery. Lostracco's mixed media work is created through a process that echoes the natural transformation of the urban environment through time, a transformation she sees as similar to the way that a visual impression evolves in the memory, continuously changing in terms of how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.

Rememorations runs August 1-31.

To see more photos of the opening, click here.

IX Gallery

My newest painting (of unusual dimensions) will be featured this summer at IX Gallery. Hope to see you at the opening!

July 29th - September 11th 2010

Summer 2010: A cornucopia of emerging talent
Join us for the first exhibit in our new space, a diverse collective of images from seven photographers capturing the essence of the hottest season. Summer 2010 will feature shots abstract and straight up, manipulated and raw, digital and film.

Opening Reception: Thursday July 29th 7 - 9 PM
IX Gallery: 11 Davies Avenue, Toronto
Artists in Attendance

Sizes range from 16" x 24" to 30" x 40"
Edition print numbers from 1/9 to 1/25

Found Treasure

Riding back from the grocery store, a shinny glimmer in a pile of yellow rolls caught my eye. Loaded with groceries, I kept going until a block later, when instinct made me turn back. The ripped and aged rolls turned out to be vintage wallpaper. Five rolls of beautifully, patterned paper. I felt like I had just struck gold!

Along the trim of one of the papers is printed "Made in Canada by CWM" (Canadian Wallpaper Manufacturer's Limited). Looks like it operated in Toronto (The Boxer Building at 222 Islington Ave) from 1927-1978 until they relocated to Brampton and became Sunworthy. Which means my paper is at least 32 years old. I've posted more photos of the paper here.

Bali Pics

New photos of Bali 2--four years ago I celebrated my 30th birthday, and this time was for my mom's 60th! It was just as colourful as I remembered, intricate carvings and patterns everywhere. Had a much more thorough look around Ubud and took in views of volcanos in the North. Black sand and white sand, rain and shine, teas and coffees, monkeys and elephants, rice paddies and temples... an eventful 2 weeks.

Artist of the Day

Today (Friday May 7) Zatista is featuring me as their artist of the day! Links to my store are posted on Facebook and Twitter. Visit Zatista to check out my work and other artists too!

Design on a Dime

One of my pieces will be auctioned at the annual Design on a Dime fundraiser in New York City!

"Housing Works Thrift Shops sixth annual Design on a Dime fundraising event kicks off with the Opening Night Reception on Thursday, May 6th at the Metropolitan Pavilion. The sale is free and open to the public both Friday, May 7th and Saturday, May 8th. Shop spectacular rooms by the country’s top designers; featuring brand new housewares, furniture, and linens, all available at charitable prices.

All proceeds from Design on a Dime go to Housing Works, the nation’s largest grassroots AIDS service organization. Founded in 1990, Housing Works provides lifesaving services to homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. Since 2005, Design on a Dime has raised more than $2 million in support of Housing Works."

Zatista

I am now selling my artwork on Zatista!

Zatista is a user-friendly website that allows you to search for original artwork by your preference of style, medium, colour, or price range. Definitely lots of work to choose from!

"Zatista's mission is to create an online marketplace that effectively connects buyers and sellers of fine and contemporary original art. Our commitment is to provide an innovative, safe, and comfortable experience to discover and purchase high-quality original art, as well as increase exposure for our artists and galleries."

Panama

I feel warmed up again after going through my pics from Panama! Huy and I went a couple months ago for a quick break just before Christmas. The hotel landscaping was beautiful and the meals were all absolutely delicious. Took a boat ride down (or should I say up?) the canal, passing humongous cargo ships. And explored the old town of Panama City, finding inspiring details, colour pallets and patterns.