UNABASHED Art & Style Vol. 2

UNABASHED ART & STYLE

VOL 2

Letter from the Editor Letter from the editor

Haley Eyre

is a Calgary born and raised artist and photographer. She is a recent graduate from the Alberta University of the Arts, where she received for her Bachelors of Design with a Major in Photography. When she’s not working on UNABASHED, you can find her eating doughnuts, petting cats, and trying to sort her life out. To find out more about her and her work visit: haleyeyrephotography.com @ haleyeyre_art

UNABASHED IS ONLINE!

www.haleyeyrephotography/unabashedmagazine.com To inquire about advertising, email unabashedmagazine.info@gmail.com.

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Hey y’all, it’s good to be back! UNABASHED Volume 2 is finally here. After months of hard work and penny-pinching, this magazine is ready to make its way into the hands of the amazing people who support it. My first thank you goes to all the insanely talented people who helped make this magazine possible! Thank you to everyone who donated their time; this magazine is run with zero budget so it literally wouldn’t have been possible without you! My second thank you goes out to everyone who purchased and read this magazine; I wouldn’t be able to do this without y’all either! UNABASHED Magazine was started over two years ago as a passion project. My final year of university forced me to put this project on the back burner for a while, which is why I’m so excited to finally be able to release this issue! “Unabashed” means not being embarrassed or ashamed, and that is definitely what this magazine is about. It’s about being true to yourself, standing up for what you believe in, and not being embarrassed about being you. This volume of UNABASHED shares the views of a diverse group of artists from around the city of Calgary. I hope to inspire others to be unabashed about their art and to promote acceptance among the community. So, sit back, get comfortable, and enjoy this super exciting issue! xoxo Haley

IN THIS

ISSUE

Contents 03 Alexa Stripanoff

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13 17 23 26 27 40 44 48 52

Jessica Doyle Ask the Community Chalk Farm Dawson City Blues

Cole Degenstein On Imposter Syndrome Jenna Marie Hynes

62 66 70 74 75

Jesse & Plant Filled Apartment Amy Moore The Big Bang Theory Reach Out A Bit About the Artists

& Rocio Graham Future Memories

Jade Steele

Gift Guide

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“The lives of Strippers and sex workers in general are often glamourized, fetishized, and twisted to fit easy to swallow narratives... while glazing over the lived experiences of the actual people involved.”

Alexa Stripanoff Alexa Stripanoff is a Calgary based multidisciplinary artist with an interest in “documenting the Stripper experience” from an insider perspective.

Alexa received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Sculpture from the Alberta University of the Arts. When she’s not working or making art, Alexa is taking care of herself and her animals, reading, stretching, doing clerical work and sometimes making porn. Sex work is a 24/7 gig; “so when I’m not working, I’m still technically working. But I get to do it in my pyjamas from my couch so I can’t really complain.”

Can you explain your art practice? My art practice is sort of split into two bodies of work at the moment.

One is about documenting the Stripper experience for what it really is, the behind the scenes things most people don’t see as a way to both humanize Strippers in the eyes of the viewer but also to take control of the narrative. I find it disheartening that sex workers stories are almost always told from an outside perspective. The lives of Strippers and sex workers in general are often glamourized, fetishized and twisted to fit easy to swallow narratives, used as fuel for racy novels and provocative journalism while glazing over the lived experiences of the actual people involved. I use photography, both digital and film, as well as video to document every day life as a Stripper and turn my lens to where most people wouldn’t think to look. The funny thing about these works is that they are often quite mundane images. The only thing that seems to spike interest is the fact that the subjects are Strippers.

The other side of my practice is more interpretive of my experiences. My work ranges from video, paintings, photography (or what I call digital collage), and text and words, which have become a prominent aspect of my work. I like to be blunt, I think when it comes to sex work far to many issues are danced around. For example one of my most successful pieces is a series of text works titled “Bold coming from a Stripper”, where bold black letters on a wall read “ The sex industry is dangerous because of how you treat sex workers ” and “ When’s the last time you paid for porn? ” I also have a series of videos, which are actual porn videos that I star in and sell, overlayed with my own writings about my job and the sex industry as a whole, forcing the viewer to read my words in order to view the porn and view the porn to read my words. I’m also a big fan of absurdity and humor is a big thing for me because while there are a lot of serious things to talk about in regard to sex work, I think it’s important to acknowledge the absurdity of it all.

What interested you in sex work and how did you get into the industry? I got into sex work for the same reasons most people do: Money. As time went on it’s become a lot more than a job for me, its my cause, my art, and my lifestyle but initially I started doing Live cams, porn videos and selling nudes to make ends meet. My logic was that I’m a hot girl so why not monetize that? Plus being in university, I could only work weird hours, so it was hard to find a traditional job. It wasn’t until I started Stripping a few years later that I really started to feel like I was on to something. I had always been curious about it, I now say that it was not a matter of if, but WHEN I became a Stripper. I have always looked up to powerful, sexual depictions of women. Perhaps I watched the movie Burlesque one too many times but it’s just a life I’ve always been drawn too, and it’s hard not to get addicted to the freedom it provides.

What are some misconceptions about sex work that you’d like to clear up? There are so many things wrong with the way sex work is percieved on mass, I could go on for hours, but I think it all really comes back to the fundamental misunderstanding that sex work is a form of oppression rather than a response to it. If you look back to the origins of sex work and compare the reasons people chose to do it then and the reasons people do it now; the reasons are, at their core ,still the same. These were (mainly) women who were unmarried, unemployed and back when women couldn’t even own property because WE WERE PROPERTY. Sex work opened the door for these women to take control of their own lives and provide for themselves and their families. It was, and still, is a means to freedom and a big anarchistic, feminist “FUCK YOU” to The Man. Of course, where there is vulnerablility, there will always be evil people looking to take advantage, and this is why the corruption and abuse we hear about

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in the sex industry happens. The current laws and stigma in almost every region on earth makes it hard if, not impossible, for sex workers to have safe and fair working conditions and ethical treatment.

Criminalization forces it to exist adjacent to criminal activity, but that is not intrinsic to the industry. Sex work itself is not oppressive; people who oppress sex workers are.

What challenges have you come across in your art practice and/or your industry? In terms of challenges, it’s difficult to show art that also doubles as porn in any place open to the public, and even promotional platforms like social media don’t exactly support that kind of content. I’m still looking for the best way to promote those works as art and finding the right balance with other works so that they can be displayed in galleries and websites and other more traditional art spaces. On a more personal level becoming a sex worker has caused me to be alienated by family members, I’ve lost friends and it’s caused strain on romantic relationships. The stigma around it penetrates almost every aspect of my life, which can make continuing to choose to do it difficult but despite what a lot of people may think about it, I know that what I’m doing is important.

I’m doing what I’m doing now so that hopefully in the future sex workers like me won’t have to deal with the same objections from the people in their lives.

What are your aspirations and ambitions for the future?

In the future I want to walk the walk, not just talk the talk y’know? I make work about issues within the industry and I talk a lot about the changes that need to be made and I want to actually make them happen. I will one day own my own club. I hope to create a space that caters to the Strippers, because as a Stripper myself, I know that the clubs make most of their money from the Strippers, and that the customers will go where the dancers go. I also think that Strip Clubs are for everybody and need to be more inclusive and safer for people of all identities and expressions, dancers included. In having a successful club that also operates ethically and with transparency, I’m hoping that other Strip Clubs will follow suit. I also think there is so much that can be done artistically through Stripping and what’s going on now is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got big plans in that department. ...

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PG 5: Bold, coming from a Stripper, text on a wall, 2019 PG 6 TOP: untitled film photograph, 2019 PG 6 BOTTOM: untitled film photographs, 2019

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GARDEN of DELIGHTS

Photographer & Stylist HALEY EYRE Clothing Designer HANNAH NEUFELD Makeup Artist KARISSA GIBSON Model ELISE STEHOUWER

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Jessica Doyle Jessica Doyle is a Calgary based tattoo artist specializing in botanical blackwork style.

Jess currently works at Altar Tattoo, a private tattoo and art collective located in the Beltline.

When she’s not tattooing or doing art, she’d like to be travelling, exploring the mountains, doing yoga and hanging out with her pets.

How would you describe your tattoo style? I have a mainly botanical focused style. While I tend to do more black work style tattoos, I love using muted earthy colours in my work as well.

When and how did you get into tattooing? I started working at a tattoo shop back in October 2010. My goal was to get an apprenticeship, but I started off cleaning and doing front end work. Eventually with enough work and persistence, I was able to convince someone there to teach me, and I started my apprenticeship not too long after. I started tattooing in 2012 and haven’t looked back since. It’s flown by so fast; I can’t believe next year will be ten years since I started working in a shop!

Is there a piece that you’ve done you consider to be your favourite? I think picking a favourite would be too hard. I’m constantly pushing myself to create my best work with each client, so I feel like it’s always changing! I think some of the most fulfilling ones can be scar coverups. Whether its self-harm scars or surgery (I haven’t done any mastectomy coverups yet, but I would really love to), I love watching the way my clients transform and see themselves in a totally new way.

Do you work with any other art media? That’s something that I’m actually starting to work on again. Tattooing has taken the focus in my life for a long time now, and I often don’t even have time to draw fun things for no reason. I recently did a motorcycle helmet for the Parts & Labour collection release at Ill Fated Kustoms, and it felt SO good. I’ve been intentionally

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taking more time to do some painting that’s totally different than what my tattooing style is, so I’m looking forward to releasing some of those soon.

Your work features a lot of flora and fauna. What draws you to these subjects? Something about it just makes sense to me. I’ve always loved looking at flowers and being in and around nature, and slowly have become obsessed with it! When I started tattooing, I just sort of fell into drawing flowers since they’re always a popular request and addition, and I feel like my style developed in a very organic way from there. I’m just grateful people seem to like getting them from me!

What is the most difficult spot to tattoo and why?

Hands, necks, heads and ribs! The skin is always very different on hands and feet from the rest of the body, sometimes a lot more calloused and the ink doesn’t always settle in as well. Mostly it’s because they’re hard areas to heal and you have to pay extra attention to them!

Do you have any plans or goals for the future? Right now, I want to create some more balance in my life so I have more time to explore other artistic mediums. I feel like that’s the best way to continue to grow for me right now. I’m hoping to create more things like pins, prints, shirts etc. and do some more fundraiser flash days, like the “Still Not Asking For It” event we did at Altar where the proceeds went to CCASA (Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse). ...

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ASK The

communitY UNABASHED asked members of the community to answer the same three questions.

This is what they said.

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Where do you consider your “safe space”?As cliché as it sounds, my safe space is not necessarily a space. It’s a state of mind or activity that distracts me from everything else. Often, when life sets in and adulthood is rearing its ugly head, the thing I do is go to my basement (or wherever my Play Station is plugged into at the time) and I play video games.

However, the video games I play are always older games I played in my childhood. My sister and I, after a long week of work and not seeing each other in days, will set time aside to just be kids again and play “Spyro, Crash Bandicoot or Final fantasy”. When we were kids, that’s what we did to cope with the things we didn’t understand or couldn’t control. I think that stuck with us our whole lives and the nostalgia of us being together and giggling and screaming at the top of our lungs is just my way of taking myself into a place where I feel the most comfortable and happy.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? The gold bangles. In Jamaica and other west Indian countries, it’s not uncommon to see woman sporting gold bangles. They are bright yellow gold and are shaped in a semi-circle that you push the ends together to fit your wrist.

My Grandmother always wore about three. When she passed away a couple years ago it was willed to me. My grandmother raised me for the first decade of my life. Being a Jamaican immigrant and mother of eight, she was the hardest working woman I ever met. She took care of my grandfather, eight kids and twelve grandkids, ran the farm we lived on and even helped other Jamaican’s come to Canada. I have never worn the bracelet because I am too afraid I’ll lose it and it’s the only thing I have of hers.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve ever done for money? When I was in my first year of college I couldn’t afford my semester and I was afraid I had to drop out. Coming from a middle-class family it was a miracle that my mom and stepfather could each give enough money for the first semester. Over the winter break, I was offered a job from the breeder I had bought my Shiba-Inu puppy from the previous summer. She asked me to watch her dogs while she and her husband went away to Mexico for a month. Watch puppies over winter break, sounds awesome right?

Where do you consider your “safe space”? I consider my home my safe space. It’s a place that I can shut out the world when I need to. It’s comfortable to me. It’s set up the way I like it to meet my needs.

What is the most meaningful or prized possession? I would have to say my prized possession is my home because it is my safe space. Otherwise, I am not really attached to things. I try to get the most out of stuff because it’s expensive, but I generally have no emotional attachment to things.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve ever done for money? Well, I am not a natural salesman. But one summer, desperate to make tuition for the next year of engineering studies, I took a waterless cookware sales job. I think I made three sales and made about $500 in two months. Then a job came up in my trade, so I took it and made all the money I needed in 6 weeks. I’ve never taken another sales job. ...

Wrong. The breeder lived in the middle of nowhere and she had me watching her home filled with forty-two dogs, three horses, two donkeys and one cat. During those 30 long days, I would get up at 7am (due to the howling for feeding time) and let out a set of dog’s room by room.

Then let out and feed the outside dogs kennel by kennel. I would then have to tend to the pregnant dogs and all their puppies. I had one of the dogs, Maple, run off and hide in the yard in the middle of the night because she was ready to have her puppies. I searched for hours in -30 degree weather in the dark for her. After two hours of panicking she eventually showed up on my doorstep. Needless to say, I vowed I’d never do that again. I don’t care how cute they were. ...

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Where do you consider your “safe space”? Anywhere with my close friends. I get lonely by myself.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? A pencil holder and a snail shell bought from an airport when I was a kid. My family used to fly back to our hometown for New Year’s or summer. I was 7 or so.

My sister and my cousin, who are 4 years older, didn’t want to hang out with me because I was too little and not cool enough for them. I really wanted attention the whole trip. When we were at the airport preparing to fly back, my cousin brought my sister a wood pencil holder for a farewell gift but I didn’t get anything. I cried to my parents and they promised me one when we got back. It turned out to be this beautiful one with angels on it. I still have it today. Another time, my cousin wanted to buy my sister something from the gift store at the airport and not me, so my parents bought me a shell, I chose one that somehow looked like it was made of mother of pearls. It’s the most beautiful thing ever. I think it was the most expensive thing there, but they bought it anyway. I had it on my desk at home for years. I think I might have forgotten the shell at my parents’ house when I packed to move to Canada.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve done for money?

I stole from my family for months when I was in junior high. I used to take money from my sister’s wallet every single day, bit by bit, and increase the amount over time. She finally realized her money was going missing and got my parents to confront me about it. She didn’t have any proof and I lied through my teeth looking straight into their eyes so they let it go. I stopped right away. I knew it would confirm it was me to my sister, but I got off on the fact that she couldn’t do anything.

Another time, probably around the same year, I was stealing from my dad’s wallet. Same deal, until one day he realized shit’s going missing. We had 2 maids in the house at the time (common in Asia), and he accused

them of taking the money, yelling, throwing stuff around, and making a storm.

He fired them that night. I was scared shitless but it turned out that they’d actually been stealing from him and from my mom’s cash box in the safe. I just accidentally got them fired. They still have no idea. ...

Where do you consider your “safe space”? I don’t have much of a safe space since being kicked out of my home, but at my new place, it’s been the balcony. I come out here to paint, drink, smoke, and every time I’m out here I see all kinds of people: couples, drunks, happy or sad. I feel safe here because I get to pretend that I’ve known these people all my life and get to know them from afar.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? A glass mug I got. I got it at the ACAD mug show, and I drank way too much beer from it. I bring it to Tim Hortons because I like when people comment on how pretty it is.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve done for money? When I was 12, I was part of this weird scammy door-to-door company. We called ourselves “door junkies” and sold $50 newspaper subscriptions and got $10 for everyone we sold.

I made about 3 subscriptions a night and got yelled at a lot. I got fired because I mentioned that I was stoned to my supervisor. ...

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Where do you consider your “safe space”? If we are talking about a physical safe space, it is my bedroom; it was the one place in my home that I could go to without getting in trouble for playing in. All the stuff that I’ve bought is there. The one room in the house I won’t be bothered and be left alone to my solitude. If we are talking about a mental safe space, I discovered it once in therapy when my therapist asked me to go in one session. This room is quite spacious, the walls are a deep crimson and a deep crimson velvet blanket that is extremely large is wrapped around me to keep me warm and safe, away from anyone that would cause me harm.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? My prized possession would be a hook-shaped metal pick that my grandpa made for me a few months before he passed. He had prostate cancer and bone cancer. When we were 16, my friend and I went out to visit my grandparents during the summer at their house on the lake. A few summers prior my mom’s sisters had discovered a slope on the side of the road where you could dig/pick agates. I wanted to show my friend the spot but had nothing to use. When my grandpa found out, he took us to his shop/garage and found a metal pole and fashioned it into a pick for us. The thing is that his health was fine up until that moment. After he made [the pick], I could see that he was in a lot of pain. Three months later, he passed away. I will never forget how, even though he was unwell and should not have gone out of his way to make the pick for us, he still did. Putting others before himself.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve done for money? After writing about such a heartfelt prized possession it feels awkward to write about how broke I’ve gotten and what I did for money. Going to school, paying for gas and car insurance, only having a part-time job, and having to pay for art supplies just so I can get my projects done for each class... money was getting pretty scarce. I had learned a while back about how one of my acquaintances had sold used undergarments, so taking a step forward I reached out to them asking how they did it. I am a very conservative person and selling used underwear is by far the weirdest and wildest thing I’ve done for money. If they wanted to meet in person the price would go up.

And don’t worry, I made sure I met in a public place for my safety. I had some men ask for more and buy a few more “used” underwear after the first purchase. I did this all in the name of having money to buy art supplies so I could graduate as a painting major! ...

Where do you consider your “safe space”? Since I graduated and don’t have school to go to anymore, I’d say my safe space is either my apartment or library. In both spots, I feel productive and comfortable.

What is the most meaningful or prized possession? I collect dolls and plushies, so there are a few plush animals that are really meaningful to me. No special story behind them necessarily, but it makes me so happy to completely cover my bed in plushies and make a nest when I sleep.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve ever done for money?

Unfortunately, I’ve done a lot of weird things for money, not many I’d be comfortable with mentioning. One worth noting though is that a lonely guy paid me to just hang out with him as he went off for HOURS about crazy conspiracy theories. He just wanted someone to vent to about his insane ideas, and it was so weird and funny to listen to. ...

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Where do you consider your “safe space”? My safe space is people, so my mom, my best friend, or [my partner]. But specifically, my mom’s house.

So, if [my partner] can’t console me or I feel overwhelmed, it’s her house, on her couch. I don’t really like to be alone, so if I can’t find someone then I’m in a bad spot.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? It’s my iPod. There was a period through Junior High when I had two friends, everyone hated me, and I was bullied a lot. So, I would listen to music and make up scenarios in my head where the music fit the scenario, like a musical, and I could fall asleep doing that. I love my music collection on it, even though I’m not a big, crazy music fan.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve ever done for money? The weirdest thing I’ve done for money wasn’t for real money, although I’ve had some odd part-time jobs. We were at a party where whoever had the most Monopoly money at the end of the night won a prize. We had to bet and try to convince people to give us their money. [My partner’s] best friend told me to put sand down my pants. I’m like, you know what, how much? He said ‘$100’, and I said, ‘no 250 monopoly dollars and I will put sand down my pants [for the rest of the night]’. So, we went outside to this weird dirty little sandbox, because we were at somebody’s cabin in the middle of Whitehorse, and I put sand in my pants. And he said, ‘no down your underwear’. And then I woke up with a horrible UTI. I ended up peeing on the floor later in the trip, I lost all bladder control and I came in second, to [my partner]! He fucking beat me, and I had a UTI. My mom considers it the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. ...

Where do you consider your “safe space”? I’m kind of split down the middle on this question. Most of the time I feel everywhere is a safe space, and at the same time, nothing is. Like I have this strong confidence and natural ease into any place or space, and then at the same time, not at all. Kinda wack. Probs wouldn’t vibe with a crack house though.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? I have a painted portrait of a French Bulldog identical to my 15-year-old pooch, Squish, that I found at a vintage shop. That, as well as my 1996 j-Bass, and a few articles of clothing with sentimental value.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve done for money? Weirdest thing? Take photos of people for small bits of cash to afford food. I’d love to sell feet pics or something though for some ez cash. ...

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Where do you consider your “safe space”? I consider my safe space to be reading the bible and praying, for a portion of my life my family was very religious and its always stuck with me. I’m not sure if I believe in the typical Jesus, but I definitely believe in a God (a higher power). When I pray I feel safe and comfortable. It’s very peaceful for me. I do it whenever I’m angry, sad, anxious, or excited. It calms me down and I am able to be vulnerable and feel like myself. I love praying because I can do it anywhere.

What is your most meaningful or prized possession? I don’t think I have anything that is super meaningful to me right now. As I was thinking about this question the only thing that popped up in my head is my cat. The story behind my cat is a funny one. She was seen outside on our porch step by my two little brothers. They were scared of her. She was very fragile and small. She’s unique in her own way because she has these beautiful crazy eyes that everyone seems to be terrified of.

But she’s the sweetest baby you’ll ever meet. My parents didn’t want her in the house, especially my dad. So, I kept her in my room for a day until they eventually caught on. My mom, I think already knew, but my dad didn’t. That was back in 2016 and I still have her. She means the most to me because I rescued her. She’s my heart.

What is the weirdest or wildest thing you’ve done for money? This is a funny story. So back in, I believe, grade 12, my friend and I would always go on Omegle. We would get drunk and laugh and do the typical stupid young teenager Omegle things. But we started looking into webcam pages more. We came across a webcam page called myfreecams.com. When you go on there it is pretty much a porno page. All the girls are showing titties, everything you can think of. BUT you get paid to do so. So, my friend and I got an account and started webcamming; we called ourselves webcam models. Of course, we didn’t show our titties and everything else. Maybe a butt cheek, but that was it. We would just get drunk and say stupid things. I guess the men/women loved it and would pay us. We ended up getting around $200-$300 USD sent to us, which converted to like $450 CAD. It was [an actual] check too; it was like we worked a real job. But we were drunk. I’ve also been on sugar daddy websites. I’ve never ever been on a date with a sugar daddy or have gotten money (This was also back in grade 12).

But I did make an account on seekingarrangement.com. It was just a bunch of creepy old man, and I was too scared to actually do or see anyone. I’m a bit of a scaredy cat. ...

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Chalk farm

“Getting to express yourself and put your heart and soul into what you play – there’s nothing else quite like it.”

You’re a new band on the scene correct? When did you form the band and why? Yes, we are quite new. The band formed in late May 2019. I was playing with another group for a few years, touring around and such, but I had always wanted to form a blues band so I moved to Calgary to start something with my brother and dear friend. The whole purpose was to just have fun and not take ourselves so seriously.

How would you describe your music? It’s pretty simple, I suppose. We are all very influenced by those old blues players like B.B King, and Junior Wells, etc.

It’s just our take on the music that people have been playing forever – music that we really love and can put our hearts into.

You refer to yourselves as the “Davis Brothers”. Are you actually all brothers? Yes and no. Dominic and myself are actually brothers, but I consider Aidan just as much of a brother. The whole Davis Brothers thing came about way back when we were just kids. We had a friend called Ben Davis, and we would often joke about a band called “The Davis Brothers” where none of the members were actually brothers. It’s become sort of a joke, just for our own satisfaction.

LEFT to RIGHT: Thomas Platt, Aidan Brouwer, Dominic Platt.

What is your favorite part of being in a band? The music, of course. Getting to express yourself and put your heart and soul into what you play – there’s nothing else quite like it. Furthermore, getting to do it with people you truly love. Getting on stage with your best friends, giving it everything you’ve got, and getting the people dancing. That’s what it’s all about.

I’ve never been interested in the business side of things - nor have I been any good at it – but you don’t need that if you can get on stage and have a good time.

What kind of struggles have you faced? Ha! Our biggest

Chalk Farm is a Modern Electric Blues Band from Calgary, formed by Thomas Platt, Dominic Platt, and Aidan Brouwer. When they’re not creating music, they like to play chess and drink tea.

This is an interview with Thomas Platt.

struggle has been getting a solid drummer. We had a very good drummer, Miller, but that was only temporary as he goes to school in Montreal.

I think we’ve sorted something out now but until we have someone who we can rely on, we are in a bit of a stalemate. It’s hard to get any groundwork done, let alone book shows, when you don’t know who will be playing the drums!

What did you do before Chalk Farm? Before Chalk Farm we were all doing music in different capacities. Aidan is a superb songwriter and he has been writing exceedingly-impressive material for the last couple years now. He is one of the most talented and gifted musicians I have ever played with – he is also pursuing an education degree outside of the band. Dominic is immensely talented, too. He and I grew up playing guitar together, but he has become interested in the bass in the last year. Dominic is probably one of the best harmonica players in the city – he’s the secret weapon, and a big part of our bluesy sound. He studies math outside of Chalk Farm, and reads like a mad-man. I work at a café and write my own material, which I aim to record eventually but I have little interest in at this point.

What are your goals and aspirations for the future?

My goal for Chalk Farm is to play shows to more people – get younger people dancing and excited about the music we are playing. I just want everyone to go to a show where they have fun and can dance. Aidan is now recording some of his own material and will likely come out with an amazing record in the future. Dominic wants to pursue music and art, and is working at getting a PhD in mathematics. I plan to keep playing music, and I would love to get a small boat and sail around Vancouver Island. ...

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Susanna Warpig, 2019, Dominic “Pokeadogintheeye” Platt

DAWSON CITY BLUES An excerpt from Dawson City Blues by Thomas Platt

At 6’4”, Orwell towered over the meek receptionist who sat opposite him.

“You’re late”, she said sharply.

Orwell ignored her. He knew he was late, and he wasn’t about to cook up some half-assed apology. The receptionist shook her head and slid a clip-board across the desk, “Fill this out”.

Orwell reached for the pen in his suit jacket. It was sticky. He glanced down, only to find that the lining of his poorly-fitting tweed jacket had been doused with jam.

“Strawberry,” Orwell thought to himself, “Goddamn Strawberry.”

In a flash, the floodgates of Orwell’s emotional wellbeing swung open and chaos thundered through his mind. He recalled how earlier that very morning he was persuading his son to not set fire to the family dog.

“Jason! Put down the matches! Now!” “But Daddy, I want to be a fireman –” “Jason, I’m serious! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Watch me, Daddy! Watch!”

Thankfully Orwell was quick, and Lucy, the family’s Golden Retriever, was prepared to bolt as the lit match was slapped from Jason’s small hand.

“Sir!” Orwell snapped back to reality. He stood at the front desk of his dentist’s office. A sterile silence had pierced his thoughts; an empty clip-board and an irritable receptionist sat in front of him. His hand was covered in Strawberry Jam. “Dr. Wong is ready to see you now.”

Orwell let out an apathetic grunt and discreetly wiped his hand on his pants leg. As he made his way into the back he was filled with a familiar guilt – he hadn’t flossed. ***

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Cole Degenstein Born and raised in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Cole Degenstein is now a Montreal based illustrator and designer. Cole received his Bachelor of Design with a Major in Illustration from the Alberta University of the Arts. Now, if he’s not drawing, Cole spends his time on night walks, reading comics, and researching future snack options in the city (very into tiramisu).

I understand you recently moved to Montreal! Why did you decide to move and what do you think of the city? Montreal has been wonderful so far; I have been here just over three months now and itsbeginning to feel like home! I live in a really vibrant neighbourhood that is abundant with art and friendly cats and used bookstores and bakeries.

I decided to move here for a few reasons- the first being a change of scenery. I lived in Western Canada for the first 22 years of my life, so I figured it was time for a change. The tough part about that is that everyone I know, and love is in Western Canada, so I am still adjusting to being so far from them.

Montreal also has a really big independent comics community and being close to that is important to me, so I decided to take the leap!

Your illustration style is very unique, what is your creative process? My creative process actually doesn’t involve a lot of drawing funny enough. I’m an overthinker, so when it comes to making art, I give myself some time to think about what I want to make and then I just make myself sit down and actually draw it so I can move on. I’ll stew about an idea for like an entire day (or in the case of a comic, I stew about it for weeks or months), and then I hit a point where I’m like okay! now it is time to work! I usually don’t leave my desk until I’m finished. I hate picking away at a drawing over the course of days, I just want to sit down and make the entire thing start to finish and move on. I have a really short attention span when it comes to making one-off illustrations, so I really love working fast and keeping things loose because thats when I feel I make my best work.

When it comes to making comics I become (very) obsessive and hours will pass and I won’t have realized until I’m suddenly famished and my eyes burn because I forget to blink, largely because theres no possible way I could make an entire comic book in one sitting but my brain is still like “get that shit done”.

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What are your inspirations? I’m inspired by all sorts of things, but a major source of inspiration for me is day-to-day domestic life; the fleeting moments that fill the gaps between major moments in our lives are incredibly interesting to me. I’m also inspired by the illustration work of artists such as Connor Willumsen, Sarah Golden, and Charlotte Ager, as well as historic artists such as Agnes Martin and Egon Schiele. Sometimes I get inspired by a color (for example, earlier this year I had a brief love affair with a pencil crayon called Nectar and ideas were pouring out of me simply because I wanted more excuses to use Nectar). Inspiration is fickle- there are definitely days when nothing will register with me and the world feels a little dull, however those days balance out pretty nicely with days where I am overwhelmed with ideas and inspiration at every corner I turn.

Why do you use pencil crayons? A handful of reasons, one of the major ones being that I am incredibly heavy handed, and I think pencil crayon compliments that aspect of the way I draw better than any other media I’ve tried. For a long time I was frustrated because my pencil drawings looked better than my finished illustrations and for some reason it took me years and years to come to the conclusion that if my work looks best in its pencil stages then I could just… do everything in pencils.

(Also, I don’t have the patience to use media that needs to dry, oops).

Where is your favourite place to draw? What about your favourite thing? I wish I had a cool answer for what my favourite place to draw is, but I truly love drawing in my bedroom all cozied up with some tea and a blanket. With that said I do draw on the go a lot to exercise my creativity throughout the day. Walking and drawing at the same time leads to a lot of interesting results, I also enjoy drawing

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strangers I see in public and writing down things I hear them saying, doing portraits of back alleys, and illustrating piles of interesting garbage (you find a lot of that in this city and often times garbage tells quite the story)! In general though my favourite things to draw are lace, chubby bodies, food, hands and feet, Canadian geese, flattened forms, flowers, and intimate moments.

I know you have made a few zines; what draws you to making them and do you have a favorite? Bear with me because I’m gonna sound like young punk Avril Lavigne for a sec but I’m drawn to making zines/self publishing because I totally hate rules and authority and having to answer to anybody, and making zines allows me to publish literally anything I would like without having to check any specific boxes. I love that its an accessible art form for anyone to join in on, I love seeing what people choose to put out into the community as I know it is coming from their heart and soul and that I am reading an extension of who they are (a level of intimacy I truly believe you can’t get anywhere else in art). My favourite that I’ve ever published is either my comic zine called Her Special Lady, which is about rural Canadian lesbians and geese, or a mini-zine I sell at conventions called Photos of Oprah with Produce, which is about..

Oprah and produce.

Do you have any goals for the near future? How about aspirations for the far future? I’m working on a horror comic right now that I’m hoping to pitch to some publishers next summer. I’m a little overwhelmed as its much larger than any other project I’ve worked on before, but I am also feeling really inspired by the scale. I’m used to working in shorter form comics, so having the extra space to pace out scenes and give it time to breathe is really nice. Far future? Publish a book full of short comics, illustrate a trip around the Ring Road in Iceland, keep working hard and doing what I love to do. Goals unrelated to art are to learn how to knit, learn to make preserves i.e. jam, and to continue minding my own business. Thank u so much for this interview xoxoxo ...

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PG 28: Self Portrait with Houseplants and a Sunburn, 2019, pencil crayon + graphite LEFT: She, the Fourth, 2019, pencil crayon + graphite CENTRE: Excerpt from ‘Wish You Were Here’, 2018, pencil crayon + graphite RIGHT: Fat Deity, 2019, pencil crayon + graphite.

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Imposter Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where the sufferer is unable to believe that their success is deserved.

They doubt their accomplishments and attribute any success to luck or chance. Sufferers fear being found out as a fraud.

PANELISTS

Dan Cardinal McCartney is a queer, Metis, transdisciplinary visual artist, and emerging curator. “As a two-spirit, transmasculine person, Dan sifts through questions of blood memory and intergenerational trauma”.

Rocio Graham is a photographer and installation artist. “Her

Chelsea Yang-Smith is a visual artist and freelance

Alberta Rose W./Ingnuuk is a mixed ancestry Inuit interdisciplinary artist based in Calgary. Her work focuses on “evolving activism that seeks to generate dialogue and awareness about the current and historical aspects influencing Indigenous people, as well as other groups of marginalized individuals...”

photographer. Currently, Chelsea is researching the “social intersections of technology and intimacy—two opposing entities that are gradually becoming integrated. As a user, creator, and feminist thinker, her aim is to observe and critique the social changes that are taking place in how we communicate”.

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poignant still lives are influenced by her cultural Mexican heritage, identity as a woman and mother, and reflections on life cycles”.

What impact does imposter syndrome have on an individual?

[Alberta] I would say that one of the effects that it can have is stopping you from trying, from applying for things or going out to stuff. If you feel like you don’t belong, it can be hard to put yourself out there in the community and try.

[Chelsea] I definitely think it picks away at your sense of self-esteem and self-worth, especially when you get things and you don’t think you’re deserving of them. It makes it harder for you to really appreciate the obstacles you’ve overcome to achieve those things. And it’s not great for your sense of character or sense of self.

[Rocio] I agree with both of you. Also, I find that when we have imposter syndrome, we are very judgmental of ourselves, but also we judge others as well. We are constantly trying to evaluate if other people are fake or if they’re authentic or question their motives. So I find that when we are struggling with [imposter syndrome] we become more judgmental of others as well.

[Dan] I was going to say the same thing as Rocio; because you hold yourself to a [certain] standard, you hold another person to the exact same standard. Then you compare and judge yourself to somebody else’s success or [failure]. I feel like that is really detrimental to you as an artist because everybody’s so individualistic and different. It’s so capitalist to think ‘I don’t deserve something, I don’t deserve to take time to rest’. So I think it’s definitely detrimental and you need to work on it every day, in and outside of the studio.

[Alberta] I think it can also impact the work that you make, or don’t make, because it can be really hard to find the motivation to do anything if you feel like your work isn’t as important as somebody else’s.

Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome? How has it affected you as an artist?

[Chelsea] It’s been three years now into my career, since graduation, and on paper, I’ve been doing very well for myself, but I still deal with imposter syndrome. I find, for me, it’s always in comparison to people that are sometimes years ahead of me.

That’s not even the same standard; I’m not even looking at my old peers, my peer level. I guess the thing that’s helpful for me is looking at my CV. One thing that I find I have the tendency to do with Imposter Syndrome is I get an achievement and I revel in it for maybe a minute. I feel like sometimes I’m even at the reception and I’m thinking about the next thing I need to be doing.

When I don’t stop to recognize those achievements

then A) I’m exhausting myself and B) I’m not really considering how much work I put into it and it makes me feel like I’m not doing the things I need to be doing; makes me feel like I’m a bad artist and I’m failing. That I’m a complete failure. But I find going back to my CV, having that physical thing, is actually what helps bring myself back out of these episodes.

Because I’m so focused on the next thing, I forget to look at all my achievements. In periods of low, it’s really looking at my CV [that helps me reaslize] ‘oh yeah, I’ve done all this stuff, I shouldn’t be so hard on myself ’.

[Alberta] I am very aware of how capitalism indoctrinates people to believe that their value is based upon their productivity or their income or whatever other kind of material thing. I was in a practicum right after college; so even though I was doing a lot of work, I still felt like I was, in a way, not doing enough. I felt a little bit anxious that I wasn’t producing very much work. [I was] seeing peers who were at the same level as me doing really amazing things and, [although I was] really proud of them, there’s always still that nagging voice in your head [telling you that] you’ve gotta be doing stuff.

It can be really hard to overcome. It’s important to remember that it’s not a race. There’s no inventory of things that you have to do to be happy or successful.

[Chelsea] I just want to touch on Alberta’s point, where you were talking about how you’re really proud of your peers. I feel like it’s always so much easier for us to be proud of our friends and our peers, but when it’s reflected inwards, that’s where we really struggle.

We feel like our friends are deserving but ourselves are not; which is really a weird dynamic.

[Alberta] We’re our own worst critic.

[Chelsea] Yeah.

[Rocio] I think everybody suffers at one point or another of imposter syndrome, or just an insecurity that what we’re doing isn’t worth it, or that what we’re doing is not up to our [full] potential. I went into a very dark space [after graduation] from other things that were happening in my life, so my mental health was probably the lowest that it has been in a long time, and [i didn’t recognize that my] lack of motivation [was from] mental health. And then I felt even more upset. I felt like I was not achieving or not doing things, when actually I was doing something very important, which was internal work, emotional work, psychological work; I needed to take the time to recharge.

My practice is all about nature and cycles, and the more that I start to reflect on nature, the more that I have learned that. We have these expectations of humans not to be cyclical. Yet we all are so cyclical,

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in particular, if you are a hormonal human and your hormones oscillate every month. You have all these emotions with that hormonal disbalance or balance, that ebbing and flowing. And yet we want to be a linear entity, where we’re constantly producing, we’re constantly doing, instead of taking cues from nature. There are times when we flower and there are times we retreat and contract; times that we go dormant. I see it with a bulb. When it’s not flowering, it’s not not doing something, it’s growing the bulb. So it can come back with more strength [in the spring]. So, I find that, one way or another, we all suffer from this but we don’t recognize it, we’re not honest about it, we’re not very good at saying ‘you know what, I’m having a hard time right now and I just can’t’.

[Alberta] During my first residency the same thing happened. I saw all these other amazing artists that were there, and I was trapped for a while trying to think of a really cool project to do. I thought ‘oh no, what kind of work can I make that will be at this level’. In the end, you just have to try to let that go, because it can be crippling. You just have to let yourself create anything, even if it’s garbage.

Everybody fails. I ended up just letting go of that and the thing I did end up doing I really liked in the end.

[Dan] My Imposter Syndrome is rooted in deep colonialism, racism, transphobia, and homophobia. [In my experience], it’s really hard to get up and do the work [when] the entire world doesn’t support you or your body, except for a few blessed, amazing individuals. They don’t respect you as an artist. So for me, when my imposter syndrome really gets at me, I think ‘nobody else can do what you do, because of who you are and where you come from. There are other people who need your work.’ I’m curating a show of non-binary identity right now, and there needs to be more artists. So when my imposter syndrome pops up, I [say to myself] ‘You can self-doubt, but the world needs more artists.’ That’s how I combat it. Not being able to work, not being in the studio, not going out to shows, not being able to support my friends because I’m too anxious because I don’t think I deserve to be there; that’s how it’s affecting me. You just have to push that down sometimes to get through it.

You all have pretty much answered my next question: What do you do to combat Imposter Syndrome? Is there anything else you’d like to add?

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days of receptions or launch events, actually stop for a moment when people [tell you] ‘this is amazing’.

Just stop and pocket that comment and appreciate it.

I feel that’s how you’ll feed yourself later when you’re in the studio working and reminding yourself you can do it again.

Why do you think imposter syndrome is so prevalent among creatives?

[Rocio] I believe that other professions have a standard of service or expectations; they have to do an exam, get their certification and then you’re good to go. And I find that creative [professions] are so subjective, because how can you determine what is good art and bad art? That’s why we have curators, and that’s also where the danger is, because narratives are defined by the power structures that we have in the art world. So the narratives that are told in certain exhibition spaces are determined by the vision of those people in power. So it becomes very complicated, because if you get rejected for some exhibitions, then you feel like your work is not worthy, or that what you have to say does not have an audience. That’s not the case. We have to remind ourselves that the art world is very subjective. How do you evaluate art? I also think as creatives, we tend to be the population who is on social media the most. And we are bombarded with curated ideas of what our life should be like, what success looks like, and then we start comparing to each other. Then we go into this spiral and we all get depressed.

[Alberta] I agree with Rocio. Also, artists are usually very critical of society and aware of a lot of the social things that dictate how other people and ourselves are supposed to behave. Many times we rebel against that in a lot of ways. It’s very normal for people to want to belong, but also we just want to be with people who are like us. I think that’s why we feel better being around more like-minded people. It can be hard if you see people who you respect and [wonder if you fit in with them].

[Chelsea] I also feel like the problem, and why it’s specific to the creative industry, is a lot of creative people end up working for themselves. So you’re the one who’s managing the bills, you’re doing the admin work, you’re trying to decide when to take vacation time, you’re your own boss. So if that validation doesn’t come from you, it doesn’t come from anyone.

[Alberta] I agree with Chelsea, [when] I update my website or my CV, it’s a good reminder that I’ve worked really hard to get where I am.

[Alberta] Just being in a colonial setting, like Rocio said, can be hard if you’re a marginalized person, seeing who curators are curating. I think it’s gotten a lot better; there are a lot of really good curators out there, but there is definitely a large chunk of art history that [was controlled by] white dudes.

[Chelsea] I don’t always practice this, but on those

[Dan] I think it’s a really highly competitive place of

work. It can be so competitive that if you don’t focus on your self-esteem then that imposter syndrome can steepen. [When on] Instagram, [on] other people’s websites, and going to shows, comparing yourself to other artists is the last thing you should do, because that’s just going to [stop you from creating] anything. That’s my biggest problem and I’m trying not to do that as much anymore. Instead, I [try to] get excited for other people, because there’s no point in tearing people down to build yourself up.

[Alberta] I try to reframe it; instead of thinking ‘I feel like I’m lagging behind because they do such great work’, into motivating myself to just get some work, any work, done.

[Dan] Especially outside of institutional learning, [where]you don’t see other artists working.

So when you see other artists working, you [think] ‘thank God, I’m not alone’. That’s why that residency that Alberta and I did at Calgary Contemporary was so amazing. You can see other artists work in the studio so you don’t feel as alone.

That also helps.

[Rocio] I was thinking, is it really that the creative sector has more of that Imposter syndrome or is it that we tend to be more open about it? My experience is that creative people sometimes [tend] to be a bit more open about their emotions and more self-aware, so maybe we talk about it more; which is great because I think the more that we talk about it the better we can deal with it.

That comparison is so toxic. Your life is so unique, and you can’t compare the adversity that you have faced or make assumptions about other people’s lives. Sometimes we think other people’s lives are better, are easier, that they’re more powerful or they’re put together, or whatever. I think it starts with just recognizing those voices that we get that try to bring us down, tell us that we’re not good enough that we’re not polished enough. I had an issue, and I still do, with being in front of the camera, and it’s something that I actually have worked really hard this year to fight. I don’t like my face, and how I look. Don’t like how I talk, my accent, all those things. But as Alberta said earlier, those things stop you from trying new things. Stop you from being brave and experimenting. We are our worst enemy, and we need to find a way to silence that inner voice, the inner critic. For me, it really helped me when I started asking ‘why?’.

Why do I do what I do? And if you truly get to the core of why you do what you do, you become very passionate about what you do. It becomes easier to shut down the inner critic once you know why you’re doing what you do. At least that has worked for me! ...

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Jenna Marie Hynes Jenna is a Calgary based (at the moment) master colourist and stylist. Although she’s new to the city, she has already found a spot in the community. When she’s not doing hair, you’ll probably find her drawing self-portraiture, reading, listening to true crime podcasts, or going to the movies.

What drew you to the hair industry? Or, How did you get started? To be totally honest with you, I actually didn’t know what else to do with my life. I went to university for physics, worked briefly for an engineering firm (really did not want that to be what I did with my life), and I met my now exhusband in Las Vegas. I decided to move from Vancouver to Providence, Rhode Island, like a week later. I decided to do hair because I thought I should do something, and that’s kind of what drew me to it really. Nothing but necessity, I suppose. I didn’t want to go back to university, especially an American one and accrue such debt. So, I decided to do hair because I really didn’t know what else to do with my life and I figured I would be good at it.

It wasn’t really a passion at first. Sad but true. Is it a passion now? Yeah, it has become one. I’m a colour specialist, a master colourist. I choose not to focus on styling, I just do hair colour, and I put myself in a position where I only do what I want to do. It’s phenomenal; it’s honestly a really good feeling. I really love it.

What would your ultimate day look like in the salon? What kinds of things would you be doing? I just want people to be nice. Some people are just... It’s a really tough industry to face some days, especially coming into a new city and now I have to rebuild my books.

Unfortunately, you get people that maybe aren’t the most ideal clientele. I think that my ideal would be facing a day with just really nice people, really welcoming people. But then, if you push that aside, then in terms of just craft, I mean I love colour corrections; I like the crazy, horrible stuff that nobody wants to do. I like the problem solving, I like that it’s very stressful. It can be emotionally and physically arduous, but I really love that. The stuff that nobody else wants to touch I’m like ‘give me that’. As long as the person attached to that mess is nice, I want that. I mean the feeling of taking someone from a place where they don’t feel very good about themselves to a place where they’re beaming and glowing and they feel confident and feel strong, that’s what I really like. It’s nice to give the gift of self-esteem to somebody at the end of the day, you know?

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What inspires you in your craft? What about in everyday life? I think they’re very different things. I think that’s simply because I don’t like to base myself around just my job. I love doing hair, but it’s also nice that I chose an industry where I can leave at the end of the day and I don’t bring things home, other than emotionally. In my job I always just aspire to do something better than I did the last time. But I’m also involved in a lot of photo shoot work and fashion shoot work, both in terms of doing hair and also on the modelling side, so I see a lot of really creative stuff that happens there, which is really cool. You know, I really like to take inspiration from people just on the street as well. I think it’s really neat to just watch. I moved to a lot of different cities over the last 10 years and it’s neat to see the differences in style and differences in hair trends. I think I take inspiration from a lot of those little things. As for my everyday life… I don’t know, I’m just trying to be OK. Actually, I’m trying to take the regimented timing of my work and put it into my own personal life. I’m not organized in real life. In need to set those kinds of timing accountability.

How did you come to make color your specialty? There are two parts to that. The first answer is that my brain works really linearly, and I think that colour is the same way. I was trained [to mix] raw, pure pigment so everything has to be customized.

That was really interesting to me. Color is weird; you never know what’s going to happen even if you’ve done the same thing a thousand times; on someone else’s head it’s gonna be different. So, I really like that challenge. I think it’s the problem solving that I really like. The second part of that answer is that I just fucking hate hairstyling. I hate blow drying; I have no interest in it. I have no interesting in getting better at it, no interest in updos. I will in the context of a photo shoot, but in a salon, it’s just not worth it for me, and there’s more money in colours simply. It’s a combination of both my interests and practicality.

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What is the most difficult part of your work? I feel like a parrot, but it’s just the emotional bullshit, people are mean. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing something; people are still mean. Especially now that I’m new to a city, new to a salon, I don’t have the reputation I’ve had in the other cities I’ve lived in. So, I don’t get to be like ‘just leave’, you know?

I’m also a perfectionist. If there’s something that’s off I will think about it for weeks. I will lay awake at night and [think] ‘Why did I…’. Even something that a client wouldn’t notice, I will think about that. And that’s something that I’ve never really been able to get over, and [I’ve] been in the industry long enough that I should, and I don’t know how to drop that.

Do you have any goals or aspirations for the future, either for your career or your personal life? I used to toy with the idea of opening my own salon but not really anymore. It’s nice to have that [ability to say] ‘well speak to the boss then, I’m going to leave’. I mean every now and then I still toy with the idea. I think for now, my short-term goal is obviously to build all my books again and get myself into a position where I was when I lived in cities like Brooklyn, New York, Montreal, Vancouver, where I’m busy and I can take the business I want, not the business I have to take. So that’s my short-term goal. I used to have apprentices and assistants; I’d like to train apprentices again; it was really rewarding for me and it also really keeps you humble. So, I think that’s going to be my next goal. For personal life… find a bigger apartment. Get another dog probably, maybe a cat. Also, I really want to open a vegan, gluten-free food truck or cafe eventually as well because there’s such a shortage in Calgary. All of my friends in the city are vegan or have severe celiac issues or some other dietary issue and it’s really hard to find an option that caters to both in Calgary that are also affordable. So that would be a huge goal of mine. So, I could do that in addition to what I do right now, which would be really cool.

How recently did you move to Calgary? [Summer of 2019]. I lived here ten years ago, and I left when I was 18 or 19 and then I never came back. It’s really strange being back in a city that’s so familiar but so different. I don’t know how I feel about it; I spent

a lot of time living in the eastern states and then Montreal as well. It’s very different here. But I will say, people are really kind, and I feel that they’re really genuinely nice. Which is something I wasn’t used to here before; I was so desperate to get away from the city and now that I’m back this actually might feel like home, which is a really weird thing for me to say because I don’t ever feel that way. The group of people I met have been phenomenally supportive; really hospitable but also really genuine. It’s been an interesting flux for me last year. It was a hard decision for me to move here and I’m really happy that I did actually.

If you don’t mind me asking, why did you decide to move back? I went through a divorce, which is fine. I kind of bounced back and forth between Providence, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Montreal and Baltimore and it just got tiring having to split my time between these places. Because my husband was on the road for two full years, I saw him for three weeks in two years. And I just felt like, if I’m going to be lonely and I’m going to be struggling, maybe I want to go do that around some better people. Also, my Visa, because my divorce is attached to my paperwork I couldn’t stay in the States. I would’ve moved to Philadelphia in a heartbeat. My twin’s here, she’s pregnant and she has a little baby, so I thought maybe I should come and build a relationship with her. I was actually only planning on taking a vacation, so I packed a carry-on and took my two dogs. Now I’m [thinking] ‘well I guess I should go to Baltimore and get my stuff ’. But I don’t know, I think I’m gonna stay. I walked into a job at an amazing salon with amazing, talented people and walked into a group of already made friends. My best friend is here and I’m living with her right now and she’s curated this wonderful group of people. It’s been weird but it’s been good. I wasn’t planning on staying longer than two weeks but every day I’m actually more and more grateful that I stayed. ...

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JADE STEELE Jade is a local Illustrator with an insterest in depicting women, especially darkskinned beauties. Jade graduated with a Bachelor of Design with a Major in Illustration from the Alberta University of the Arts. When she’s not making art, you can find her playing video games or listening to murder podcasts.

How would you describe your illustration style? In my opinion, I feel like I’m all over the place. However, I feel like my most common styles are comic book and new age tattoo style.

What inspires your work? I have always been drawn to the tattoo industry. When I got out of high school I applied to tattoo shops all around the city and was lucky enough to have an artist take me on as an apprentice. That industry really inspired my work and I still carry a lot of that with me. Hard lines, and very graphic and flat is where my work fits in. I also fell in love with illustrator, Babs Tarr, who did the work for the Bat Girl comics. I reference her A LOT. What media do you use? Which is your favorite? I use mostly ink, water color and acrylic. I am strongest with acrylic paint by far but I’m working on mastering gouache.

Although, I’m better with acrylics, the look and texture of gouache is my favourite.

Does your work carry a message? What do you want people to experience while viewing your work? My work is very much centered around women. Specifically, black women. I find artists will draw what they know, and I have always had an admiration for black women and the beauty they hold.

As a black woman myself, I have struggled to find my own beauty in my skin tone and realized that there has been a lack of representation for the black woman. I think when I illustrate black women over and over again, it’s a reminder to myself. I hope that those who view my work see that voice and recognize the beauty of dark skinned women.

What do you find appealing about illustration on top of photographs? Illustration is the best way to tell a narrative.

You don’t need words to evoke emotion just from an image, which is what makes illustration and photography so powerful.

If you had no limitations, what would 5 years from now look like for you? No limitations, I would be working at a tattoo shop in town and travelling to work with other artists from time to time. Not to mention running my awesome online store and social media. A huge goal I have for myself regardless of the limitations is making a graphic novel. ...

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PG 48: Botanical Babe, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas PG 49 TOP: Neon Lights, 2019, Digital PG 49 BOTTOM: Modern Maasai, 2019, Gouache and Digital PG 50 LEFT: Modern Surma, 2019, Gouache and Digital PG 51 RIGHT: Botanical Babe, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas

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GIFT GUIDE Third Wheel Ceramics

Third Wheel Ceramics is a small-batch ceramics shop, created by Khiha and Sable MacFarlane at the end of 2018. Khiha and Sable create pottery works that are both beautiful and functional.

“We don’t tend to do too much planning for our designs before we create them, but rather, prefer to experiment while we create in the studio. The nice thing about clay is that it is infinitely recyclable, as long as it has not been fired. This allows us a lot of freedom in that we can try out several different forms at one time and only keep the ones that we are truly happy with”. Third Wheel Ceramics sells mostly at local markets and in various shops in Calgary and the surrounding areas. @thirdwheelceramics

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WKNDRS

WKNDRS is a Canadian brand founded by artistic duo Rachel Rivera and Claire Ouchi.

Their accessories and homeware designs feature fun, unorthodox, and playful aesthetics. These two design goddesses collaborate on all stages of the creative process, from ideation to execution.

Rivera and Ouchi met at the Alberta University of the Arts and have since moved to Vancouver to pursue careers in the art and fashion industry.

WKNDRS lets them explore the more playful side of these industries. Shop their wicked pins, patches, and other art objects on wkndrsshop.com & @wkndrsforlife Or, follow them on their personal Instagrams for a personal view into the brand: @radcastle & @claireouchi

Better Off Studio

Better Off Studio is a small batch ceramic goods brand based out of Calgary, run by Brenda Luong. The studio creates everyday functional and decorative pieces. Every piece is one-of-akind as they are wheel thrown or built by hand and thoughtfully hand painted. Their designs often reflect traditional tattoo flash. You can snag some of this great work off their website www.betteroffstudio.com or you can also find different exclusive collections not available on the website at various locations throughout the city. Visit their website to see who stocks them!

Follow Better Off Studio on Instagram @betteroffstudio

Sara Noel Perry-Din

Sara Noel Perry-Din is a local craft sculptor creating unique pieces of jewellery. Her pieces include silver collections of sea relics combined with found objects which create indiscriminate designs. Her jewellery designs emphasize touch, with all pieces designed to be fiddled and played with. Check out her Instagram to see her jewellery designs and to contact her @ ooziesmoothie To see more of her artwork, visit her website www.saranoelperrydin.com

SOME NEAT IDEAS FOR YOUR NEXT GIFT 53

WE WEAR OUR

TEARS SMILES NEXT TO OUR

When people speak about depression, they normally describe happiness as a mask; a smile hides depression. I find this metaphor too simple. In my experience, happiness and depression coexist, rather than one hiding behind another.

We Wear Our Tears Next to our Smiles displays this duality.

Photography by Haley Eyre

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Plant Filled Apartment

Jesse curates @plantfilledapartment, where he shares his conservatory of an apartment with thousands of followers on Instagram. When he’s not playing with his tropical plants, he’s snowboarding, looking for the perfect park to eat snacks in, playing Super Mario, and trying to achieve aesthetic perfection in his space.

There’s nothing better than a good right angle triangle or a perfectly straight line.

What is the Plant Filled Apartment? Plant Filled Apartment kind of came about as an idea one night where I had all of these plants in my apartment and [I thought] why not share them with people on the Internet, that could be kind of cool and crazy.

I went to Israel right after I started it and I saw so many plants there that blew my mind, and I was motivated so it just kept going. I remember I took a photo of a plant shop in Tel Aviv and the photo just like blew up. I didn’t have very many followers at the time, and it had fifteen hundred likes or something, somehow. And yeah, it was really funny, and it just did its thing. Now it’s just literally a plant-filled apartment.

That leads into the next question; what is the most difficult part of caring for so many plants? Definitely the humidity with my location. But aside from that, they’re all pretty easy. I try to spend about a half-hour with them at night; cleaning takes a long time. It gets really dusty in the apartment here, so for cleaning them, I do the spare room one night and then I do my bedroom the next day, wiping and going over them so that it’s not such a hassle.

That way I don’t resent my plants after I’m done dealing with all of them. They can definitely be a lot of work, but the humidity issue, that’s just something that’s never going to change and I’m always going to have to deal with that.

What is it about plants that speak to you? I grew up in a small town that was an hour and a half away and I was surrounded by pine trees and we had an apple tree in the backyard. So, moving to the city it was very much you look around and see building, building, building, building. I went to Plant one day and I saw this Fiddle Lead Fig, (everyone loves those) so I bought one. I killed it shortly afterwards, but that’s definitely what sparked it all.

Do you have a favorite plant? My favorite kind of plant is a philodendron gloriosum; has been for so long, but I also am in love with my alocasia cuprea right now. It’s very alien-looking and the back is purple. I got it not too long ago; it’s crazy because I didn’t think that I was going to [like it so much], but now I love that plant so much. I love it because it seems to be a pretty easy alocasia. A lot of those plants get spider mites and stuff; a lot of them will be in the sinus, the top part of the leaf where there’s usually a split, but this one doesn’t have one. So that one’s pretty carefree, which is surprising because it’s so weird and fancy looking.

And other than that, I like really velvety plants, like that gloriosum, and a lot of my anthuriums in my greenhouse.

What is your favourite part of what you do? Lately, it’s been the greenhouse that I have because it’s so much effort. But when you get a big leaf out of an anthurium and it’s super velvety - they take forever to grow - so when they come out and they’re like near perfect it’s really rewarding. It’s funny, you look around and there’s not much in here but there’s also a lot in here, but it’s all just plants. If you eliminated all the plants, there wouldn’t be much. They’re fun to have around and take care of. And Calgary is so dry that it takes some effort for sure. It’s crazy like having a hygrometer; sometimes it’ll go down below 30 per cent humidity, which is insane. Some of the anthuriums, like the ones in my greenhouse or that big one on the table, if I gave it like 70 per cent it would be ideal. But at 50 you know you can kind of meet in the middle; it’s a challenge sometimes.

Do you have favourite spot in the apartment? My favourite spot is laying on that couch, head at the door, feet down by the plants so that I can just look down on my feet and all the plants. It’s nice to lay there and appreciate everything because they are a lot of work. Not to compare it too much to art but I mean it in its own way. And it’s like laying there, looking at your painting; that wall is kind of like a feature wall. It’s calming, and it’s nice in the winter when it’s cold and you have the humidifier blowing on you. It’s a warm nest.

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Do you have any plans for the future? Well I have been doing some pop-up shops and I have more that I want to do along that line.

What kind of pop-up shops have you been doing? This last summer, I had one at Alter Tattoo. That was the first one that I did. It was absolutely bonkers. It was in one of their private studios and the room was elbow to elbow for so long, and there was a line down the stairs. That one did really well, it sold out in two hours. What were you selling? I was just selling plants.

And then Rima from River of Ceramics was there too, and she also sold out like crazy. Then I did [a pop-up shop] at West Elm as well. Jenny from Oh My Planties did that one with me. It also went super well; I was told [they’d] never had people line up for a pop-up shop before.

Why do you think these pop-up events are so popular?

I find that plants, the kinds that I’m in to – aroids, philodendrons, monsteras, anthuriums, the bigger foliage, velvety - [have] their own following. There are succulents and [plants] like that and then there are aroids, which in the last few years have become a really big thing. They’ve got a following and they’ve become trendy. You can’t buy a lot of this stuff from local stores. It’s getting super popular and demand is very high.

Do you have any tips for someone, like me, who is bad at caring for plants? I would always say my first tip for new people is always: it’s better to under-water than over-water. If you rot a plant out, you can’t really make it come back. If you dry a plant out, chances are it’s going to show you that and droop which it can usually bounce back from. It’s not a good thing

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to do to a plant, that’s not what I’m saying, but it’s easier to recover a plant from being under-watered than over-watered for sure. The other [piece of advice] is, especially right now, going into winter when the days are getting shorter, older leaves are gonna fall off. It’s just like a plant cutting its hair.

So as long as you have new growth coming there’s not really too much to worry about.

There are some challenging plants in here for sure, but I have killed so many plants too, along the way, and they have not all been documented. I have stuff in a moss box that’s recovering that I pretty much killed. It just takes time and sometimes you forget about a plant, it’s not even that it’s a difficult plant. Things happen, they’re plants, they’ll probably come back, it’s fine. That’s cool. There’s no need to be hard on yourself.

What else do you do besides Plant Filled Apartment? I work in a snowboard and skateboard shop, which is kind of funny coming home to tropical plants after selling snowboards. I’ve been with that company for about 10 years now. I was working for Quicksilver before that, and I worked for Hershel merchandising backpacks and stuff for a few years.

Which I think has played into my home, everything needs to be in rule of thirds, everything’s got its place. It’s been a pretty fun journey. I’m hoping one day that I can open a shop somewhere around here and do my own thing with some plants and stuff and have fun. ...

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AMY MOORE

Amy Moore is multidisciplinary artist, musician, and interior designer based in Calgary. She graduated from Mount Royal University with a Bachelors in Interior Design. When she’s not designing or drawing, she’s making music, song-writing, studying feminism, knitting up a storm, surfing the net for memes, snuggling her pets, reheating her coffee in the microwave 6 or so times, and hunting for cat sweaters.

How would you describe your aesthetic? Oh man, I would have to say that my aesthetic would be a mix of psychedelic rainbow glam and automatic surrealism. My work generally circles around known and found objects and recontextualizing them – almost like a celebration of everyday objects!

What creative media do you work within? Is there anything you’d like to explore that you haven’t yet? I’m a total maximalist so I like to use a whole range of media – my favourites are alcohol markers, felt tip pens, gel pens, sharpies (especially neon ones), and highlighters. I’ve really been getting into painting with gouache lately too! I really just appreciate any media that can provide so much saturation that it makes your eyes buzz.

I would really love to get into silk-screening, and I would definitely like to explore textile and garment design too- I’m actually in the process of making a shirt pattern in AutoCAD right now!

What inspires your practice? Studying interior design was a really a big turning point for my art practice. I honestly had stopped working on my personal practice throughout my time in school, but my passion for art was definitely reignited after I graduated with a newly-developed appreciation for everyday objects. I love celebrating the cyclical nature of daily life and human emotion by viewing them through a hyper-saturated lens.

Do you find that your design practice differs from your other art practices? If so, how? Do you prefer one over the other? Having two separate practices is super awesome because it helps me feed my artistic needs in different ways; interior design allows me to pursue my

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technical and structured creative interests, whereas my art practice allows me to nurture my cravings for automatic and nonsensical freedom. Both allow me to explore and express different sides of myself that I couldn’t do without the other, and I really do hope that I’ll have the opportunity to combine my two practices at some point in my life.

What did you think of your time studying Interior Design at school? Is there anything you would change? Design school was definitely a very awakening and enlightening experience for many different reasons. During my time in school, I was able to define what my personal values and ideologies truly revolve around, and how I could use them to deepen my explorations in my design practice. I became very interested in challenging gender norms and common social practices through my work – I remember studying Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro’s Womanhouse and being so empowered by the physical translation of feminism into an interior environment. Having said that, my degree was quite commercially based, and many of the professors expected realistic concepts as opposed to abstract ones, but I always liked to challenge everyday perceptions of what is or isn’t considered “realistic.” If I had to change anything about my time in school, I’d say that the program should be more open to abstract interpretations of interiority – like what it means to design a space versus a place. Life doesn’t have to be so serious and neither do interiors – if you want fuzzy pink walls and glittery orange cabinets, go for it!

What was your favourite part of your studies? What was your least favourite? My favourite part of my time in school would have to be when I designed Ladyboy, a queer club and drag venue. It was essentially my dream project! I was able to combine gender politics, feminism, and drag with interior design, all while designing custom velour furniture and 12-foot lava lamps – I really hope that one day I have the opportunity to work on a similar project sometime throughout my professional practice. On the flip side, my very, very least favourite part of my studies would have to be the lack of reception from my professors regarding gender-sensitive and accessibility-based design implementations. During my thesis, I ended up having to contact the City of Calgary to re-assess the building code after I was told by a faculty member that “gender-neutral washroom facilities are not permitted within the code,” which turned out to be very false. Inclusivity in design shouldn’t be an option, and it shouldn’t be taught as one either – we need spaces that promote diversity and inclusivity for folks of all abilities, genders, and identities.

What are your plans/goals for the future? My dream is to have my own interior and installation art practice! I want to transform everyday spaces into places that are designed for feeling, seeing, and reflecting upon one’s self – there is so much more to design than what is on the surface. I just need a glittery shovel and some purple boots, and I’ll help everyone dig deep into their abstracted consciousness. ...

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PG 66 TOP: segmeld, 2019, marker PG 66 BOTTOM: dog tired, 2019, marker PG 68 TOP: Mr. Feets, 2019, marker PG 68 BOTTOM: h o u s e, 2019, marker PG 69 TOP: road closed, 2019, marker PG 69 BOTTOM: strawbunny, 2019, marker

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THE BIG BANG THEORY: THE BEST THING SINCE THE ACTUAL BIG BANG

By Bryce McNaughton

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he Big Bang Theory” is a poorly written mess of a show. Bazinga! (As Dr Cooper would say).

The reality of “the Big Bang Theory” is that it is the greatest television show to come out in the last 20 years and its effect on culture as a whole cannot be overstated. When America woke up on September 24th, year 8 (if you’re using the standard “postFamily Guy” calendar), they had no idea that they were about to enter a whole new world of laughs, tears, and family. The show follows 4 best friends who also happen to be scientists, and is every bit as clever as the characters themselves. On top of all of this, the show teaches you a great deal about physics, astronomy, and so many more topics that previously only the greatest minds could understand. It even does all of this while bringing other wonderful sci-fi names to the spotlight. Perhaps you’ve heard of “Star Wars”? If you have, you can thank “The Big Bang Theory” for single-handedly making that franchise a household name. In my research (outside of watching all 279 episodes), I have found that many people have levelled cheap criticisms the shows way, to stop people from consuming media that they love. So, in this article, I am going to level-headedly and precisely shut down each and every one of those “arguments”.

First of all, the most prominent criticism directed towards the show is the “excessive” use of laugh track which some viewers say begins to feel grating.

However, I would like to point out that The Big Bang Theory doesn’t use a laugh track and is instead actually filmed in front of a live audience. Therefore, anyone who has any problems with the laugh track doesn’t actually have any issue with the show itself, and I believe anybody who shares this brainless sentiment is just jealous of the people who got to sit front row to some of the best-recorded scenes on television. As you read my next few paragraphs, close your eyes and imagine a world where the life I am describing is your own. Only then will you understand my point about the “laugh track” argument.

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ou’re at home with your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. You all live together because most of your family was unable to make anything worthwhile of themselves in their younger years, and are now just husks of their former selves, waiting until the day when their lives will get better, while knowing in their hearts that day will never come. The chilly autumn wind whispers secrets through the gaps in the shoddy lean-to you call home. You think to ask your father what he plans to do about your home in the brutal winter months, but as quickly as the thought comes to you, it vanishes, leaving behind the knowledge that your father hadn’t planned for any of this, and that anything short of a miracle will mean that your family is going to have a very unpleasant winter.

You hear it. The crunching of leaves leading up to your home. The mailman; no doubt bringing you the news that will change the fate of the rest of your life. The air vibrates with anticipation, as your entire family conjures images of a letter that would save them from this pathetic excuse for an existence. Perhaps a distant family member had left one of you an inheritance, or maybe a merciful millionaire had seen your family’s plight and wished to make their life more meaningful by helping a family of strangers to get back on their feet. You realize you’ve been holding your breath for minutes, no, hours as you waited for the mailman to arrive with a golden metallic envelope containing your very reason for being alive. He places the envelope into the mail slot.

As it falls gently into your home you see that it is a plain white envelope. No matter, you think, because this is the most powerful envelope in the entire world, and now it’s safe in your mother’s hands. She gently opens it, trying her hardest not to rip the contents with her shaking fingers. As she reads the first line, her brow scrunches up. She’s confused, but what could possibly confuse her?

Surely the realtor who had given them a new home had thought to write his meaning in clear terms.

Now struck with a frenzy-like panic, you snatch the letter from her. She hardly has time to object before you finish reading the letter. Your father, the only employed family member, has lost his job.

“Wait, come back!”, you hardly hear your mother’s yelling over the slapping of your shoes against the concrete. You realize you’re not sure why you’re running. Maybe it’s to find a new family, a new home, a new life, yet you know the only thing you’re likely to find out here is a bad flu. Still, you run, putting as much distance between you and the reality of your broken life as you can. You think of the better times when you would wake up late on a Sunday afternoon, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafting under your bedroom door.

Your mother’s beautiful voice gently singing somewhere across the house, making the comfort of your bed even cozier. The days your father would come home with a sparkle in his eye, celebrating his new promotion with a surprise just for you; a brand new, lime green bike. Oh, how you lamented selling that bike, even while you knew deep down it was the only way you could…

You’re awakened from your daydream as an older gentleman with short charcoal hair and a silvery beard blocks your way. “Woah there, you don’t look so good. Are you lost?” Chuck Lorre asks.

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he fresh orange juice from the back of the limo is the sweetest thing you’ve ever tasted, and you can feel it pulling your goofy grin even wider. You had heard so much about Chuck but only in your wildest dreams had you ever met him in person.

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You had never been able to watch any of his shows, but you had heard so many stories of them from your friends at school that you felt they were more about your life than the decrepit pile of rotten wood you call your home. When he told you that you were invited to watch a filming of one of his shows, you were over the moon. At least you finally have something, anything positive in your life to take your mind off things.

Chuck smiles sweetly at you from a few seats over.

“It’s always so great to meet a fan,” Chuck said. “I have a few shows being filmed today, was there any show in particular you wanted to see?”. You hadn’t even considered what you would be seeing today. But what are the shows being filmed? “Two and a Half Men”, you say sheepishly, not wanting to push your luck.

Chuck responds “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather see The Big Bang Theory?”. You almost jump out of the window in your excitement. “No, uh, yeah, I want to see both, but uh”, you stammer, tripping over almost every word. Chuck chuckles, apparently seeing your enthusiasm. “Big Bang it is!”

are many set changes and so many laughs. For one scene, in particular, Leonard and Penny find themselves in the hallway outside their apartments.

In the previous scene, they had been fighting about something, but you know in your heart that they are going to be okay. Penny is trying to reassure Leonard that he does not need to be jealous, and that’s when you hear it. You weren’t sure at first, but the hush that suddenly fell over the room is quick to dissuade your doubts. Penny just told Leonard that she loved him for the first time, and you were there for it. Your various gasps and nervous laughter will now live on eternally in this scene, and many others throughout the episode. Suddenly, everything else in your life fades away because now you have found your true purpose. A purpose more amazing and beautiful than any other on this planet. Nothing else matters at all because you are immortalized in the sounds - no - the very being of the greatest moments this dark world has to offer. Years later you die happily, knowing that you can never truly die.

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ou’re quickly ushered into a dimly lit studio. You can’t make out any details of the set, but you can feel the electricity in the air. The sound of hushed whispers can be heard all around you, but even using all of your concentration you can’t make out a single word. Your mind starts wandering and you notice the woman sitting next to you smells very nice. You’re about to ask her what kind of perfume she uses when you see a tall, somewhat lanky silhouette walk out into the set. Now that your eyes have adjusted, you can make out that the set appears to be a small apartment. The lights flash on, and you can’t tell if they’re blinding you, or if the man you see on the set is. You’ve never seen him, but you’ve heard so much about him it would be impossible not to recognize.

The man you’re looking at is Sheldon Cooper.

The next hour or so is a blur. You’ve basically been on autopilot since you saw Sheldon for the first time, and who could blame you? You’re staring the essence of comedy and science right in the face. There

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’m told that articles generally have conclusions to drive home the point of the previous writing. A final word or phrase that cements the writing deep into the readers’ conscience. I feel that my article does not need an explanation, but I will provide one anyway, just in case a select few of you somehow aren’t clear about it. May 16th 2019. That’s the day the last episode aired. The last day that was worth getting out of bed. Most of you, and myself, will never get to watch an episode of “The Big Bang Theory” be recorded. Which begs the question: Why are we still here? That’s a question I can answer.

As long as Chuck Lorre lives there is a chance, no matter how small, that “The Big Bang Theory” will be rebooted. I pledge, and by reading this, you too have pledged, to live on. To try to put ourselves in a position so that when the day comes, we won’t be too late once again. And on the day that Chuck Lorre leaves this domain, so too, must we. ...

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From 2018: A Dating Odyssey by Haley Eyre

REACH OUT Find all the amazing featured artists on their social!

Alexa Stripanoff @alexastripanoff (on Twitter and Instagram) Hannah Neufeld @neufh Karissa Gibson @ka_rissma Elise Stehouwer @elisestehouwer (Mode Models) Jessica Doyle @jessicadoyle, jessdoyletattoo.com Chalk Farm @chalkfarmband, Chalkfarm on Soundcloud Dominic Platt @dominic.j.platt Cole Degenstein @coledegenstein, coledegenstein.com Dan Cardinal McCartney @ dancarcarcardinal, dancardinalmccartney.com Alberta Rose W./Ingnuuk @ingniq.art, www.ingniq.com Chelsea Yang-Smith @chelseayangsmith, chelseayangsmith.com Rocio Graham @rociograham, rociograhamstudio.com Jenna Marie Hynes @hairbydejennarate Jade Steele @jv.ill Jesse & Plant Filled Apartment @plantfilledapartment Amy Moore @soft_melt, @humney.music

We Wear Our Tears Next to our Smiles

Models David Nguyen Dario Jajarmi Richard Kaing Sarah Kirk Mariah Blanchard Bryce McNaughton Raine Steele

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A BIT ABOUT THE

ARTISTS HANNAH NEUFELD, DESIGNER

I make illustrations of ordinary things and transform them into new, exciting art forms. My clothing, especially, are modern, comfortable, and of course a little bit quirky.

KARISSA GIBSON, MAKEUP ARTIST As an artist, my goal for when people see my makeup work is to not only see a makeup artist, but to experience an emphasis on [MAKE]up [ART]istry. I thrive in thinking outside of the box; whether that be shown in experimenting with different textures and materials or in finding ways to say more with makeup conceptually.

Future memories Rocio Graham

A part of Contemporary Calgary’s PLANETARY Exhibition Future Memories Alberta seeds, paper, ferric ammonium citrate, potassium ferricyanide, hydrogen peroxide and UV lights 12.2’ x 6.6’ 2019 Seeds Luminous Flux Video Installation Rocio Graham Music: Illumination by Kai Engel Video editing: Levin Ifko

January 23 - April 26, 2020 Contemporary Calgary The earliest stars produced and dispersed the first heavy elements that resulted in the formation of solar systems like our own. They travelled and expanded and are ultimately, responsible for the creation of our planet earth. Fascinated by the power of stars in the cosmos to create new solar systems, I draw parallels between them and the botanical world. The inherent power of seeds to explode, expand, disseminate and travel to create new vast green systems, remind us of the importance of our seed preservation in Anthropocene times. It’s an optimistic view in the power of one.

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WOW!

YOU’RE REALLY COOL YEAH, YOU.