what an exhausting day - slept quite late, worked last night and had  several post-work drinks with the ladies.  it was one of those saturday night chirps where we deconstructed and analyzed it all.  the power of women!  the way we can support and soothe and listen, what a blessing!  

early afternoon came pretty quickly after a snooze and trae and i were off to the chinatown remixed 2010 artists' tour.  since most of the artists were unable to see all the of the 30 or so venues the day of the vernissage, the festival organizers put together this time for the artists to walk the tour together, led by centretown icon, china doll and her dog, mango. 

 we did it in about 3hrs and it was an awesome opportunity to have most of the artists on hand to say a little bit about their work and showcase the venues.  trae was such a trooper, he stayed with it the whole time propped up with snacks and soda pops and dog petting.

it was pretty inspiring to see the work and hear the intent and the process behind it.  we even came out of it with 2 pieces of art for our own collection - lino cuts by guillermo trejo.  amazing, simple, graphic!  

i met so many warm and engaged artists in my community, made me feel like i was somehow settling into this relatively new role of mine, that of someone who makes stuff.

(i love this piece of a sleeping man, like a grandpa who's fallen to sleep in the easy chair after dinner)

 

this was trae's selection, 'dientes de oro' by guillermo trejo.  gold teeth!

then tonight after trae hit the hay, i read the latest Interview magazine cover to cover (Madonna being on the front).  i read a great interview by tobey maguire of the artist KAWS.  the guy started as a skater and graffiti artist and has now broken into the rarified art world scene.  what i loved about the interview was his take on art vs. product, that there is no distinction, that 'mass produced' objects are no less valuable to the collector than original masterpieces.  and so, to him creating t-shirts, figurine toys or canvases is all the same creative process.  and likewise, there is no less inventiveness, creative juice, inspiration or hardwork going into the making of a humble collectible product than into the sculpting or painting or drawing of a one-off.

very thought-provoking indeed.