Epigenetics Eh!

(click on the image for larger version)
RELEASE TO AIR & LAND: IDENTIFIED SUBSTANCES (DIPTYCH)
DIANA TAMBLYN, 196 X 17
GICLEE (PRODUCED FROM PEN & INK ON BRISTOL)

Some background Info
London Ontario will host the Canadian Conference on Epigenetics (called Epigenetics, Eh!) next week May 4-7.  In collaboration, the organizers of the Conference and the London Arts Council offered 10 artists the opportunity to attend a presentation about Epigenetics from some local scientists who are specialists in this area. The artists were then commissioned to create a piece based on the presentation and understanding of the practice.


My Piece
I was one of the lucky artists asked to participate. Epigenetics is a rapidly growing field of science defined as:  "Any function change in the genome that does not involve an alteration of the DNA sequence."

In layman's terms one can view this as nature vs. nurture, where nature is a person's DNA, and nurture represents all sorts of external factors that can alter a person's physiology without changing their DNA.

What captured my imagination from the presentation on Epigenetics to the artists was the subject of Epigenetics and the environment. Specifically that chemicals in our environment can change the “readout” of our genes, and that multiple levels of these compounds (even if found at low “safe” levels) have an additive quality that combined can have a detrimental impact on a person’s health and well-being (not surprising at all, but nice to know it's confirmed at this epigenetics level).

For my piece, I wanted to focus at man-made chemicals found in the environment. I also didn’t think one piece would have the impact I was looking for, so I created a diptych (two pieces that work together as one) that depicts chemicals released into air, and chemicals released to the soil.

I wanted to show the beauty of our natural landscape, and through the use of text make the “invisible” chemical elements (not seen to the naked eye) visible. The listing of chemicals was taken from a report on environmental toxicology.

EpigenArt the Exhibition

The EpigenART Exhibition will display the work of all the artists involved for the duration of the conference at the London Convention Centre. We've all been invited to the banquet dinner (which I unfortunately can't attend as I'll be at TCAF), and also have been invited to some cocktail mixers where we'll get to talk about our works with the attending scientists.

Post-conference,the works will be exhibited by the London Arts Council Office and City of London Mayor's Office.

I want to thank the committee of the Epigenetics Conference as well as the London Arts Council for putting this all together. Rarely have I been treated so respectfully as an artist - we were really treated as peers in this conference and as participants who could help shed led on this emerging science. It's always been a great learning experience and collaboration!

For more info, see:
http://www.epigeneticscanada.com

London Studio Tour - April 15 - 17

The London Studio Tour is coming up and I've been hard at work preparing for it. The tour is a unique London event - during the weekend of April 15- 17, twenty-four local artists will open up their studios to the public. I've attended the event a number of times and it's a lot of fun. In 2009 I exhibited for the first time and had over 500 people through the studio!

The best part - it's free and everyone is welcome!  For my part, I will have original artwork for sale and on display including some comic pages. I'll also have all my comics and original t-shirts for sale as well.

For the kids, I will have some free comics to give away! Here's the information:

London Studio Tour
Friday, April 15th : 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Saturday, April 16th: 10:000 AM - 5:00 PM 
Sunday, April 17th: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM 
Website: http://www.londonstudiotour.com

Tree Series
Below is a couple of new pieces I've done for the show. They are the first in a new series I'm working on focusing on trees in London. Since we are the Forest City and London averages 12 trees/per person, I wanted to do a full exploration of what many take for granted in the city. The story is not all good. Many of our trees are not in good health and are dead or dying. Many trees that are healthy are non-native to the area and not particularly great for the environment.

ReForest London kindly supplied me with a lot of information and stats, and these will be making their way into the artwork. I'll be working on this series from now until October, and will post them as they are finished.

Bur Oak at 200 Collip Circle

As a place to begin with the series, I thought what better place to start than the "People's Choice" winner in last year's Amazing Tree Quest contest held by Reforest London, where Londoners identify their favourite trees. So I went out to 200 Collip Circle, near Windemere Manor to take some photos of the Giant Bur Oak there.

As I was wandering around, I wondered if I would recognize the tree from the photos. No danger there. Once you find the right spot to view it - it's stunning. Unfortunately it seems to have gotten damaged slightly with these recent heavy snows, but I know it will survive. The tree has a real mythical quality to it. It seems like it could spring to life and start moving like the trees in the Lord of the Rings.

Another View of Bur Oak Tree

Comic Book Literacy Day at the London Public Library

Comic Book Literacy Day is a really neat event coming up at the London Public Library that I'll be speaking at along with some other talented cartoonists (and friends): Scott Chantler, J.Bone, Kathryn and Stuart Immonen, and the Kill Shakespeare crew.

Kudos to Brahm - owner of Heroes, the United Way, the London Public Library, and The Child and Youth Network for putting this together. See below for full information. Come on out and bring your kids as it's happening over March Break week!

Heroes presents: What’s your story? Comic Book Literacy Day

Wednesday, March 16, 2011
1:00pm –8:00pm
Central London Public Library

Join us at the London Public Central Library from 1 8 pm for a day-long celebration of comic books and graphic novels. There will be something for comic-lovers of every age.

 
AGENDA

1:00pm-1:45pm Comic Art Workshop featuring Freeze DNA

(Ages 6-14 -Stevenson Hunt)

• Learn how to draw basic illustrations, animals, and facial expressions and participate in a questions and answer period at the end of the workshop

1:00pm-8:00pm Comic Artists Gallery

(All ages - The Passageway)

• An open invitation to local comic artists to display their work, draw, network and meet fans

1:30pm-8:00pm Comic Jam featuring J. Bone and friends

(All ages - Teen Annex)

• J. Bone is a Canadian comic book artist and writer who has worked on such titles as DC Comics' Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Super Friends - Ask him to draw your favourite comic book character!

• It’s a comic jam! Draw a panel and pass it on. Join in and create a comic together with artists of all levels. Let's try and create as many collaborative comics as possible and put them on display!

2:00pm-4:00pm Creating Web Comics featuring Jeffrey Preston

All ages - The Passageway/Teen Annex

• Jeffrey Preston, creator of Cripz: A Webcomic. An introduction to web comics and creating your own wecomic.

2:00pm-2:30pm Comics for Kids: Three Thieves featuring Scott Chantler

(Ages 9-12 - Stevenson Hunt B)

• A reading and discussion of his acclaimed kids’ comic series, Three Thieves published by Kids Can Press

2:30pm-3:30pm Be a Comic Book Artist by Alison Williams

(Ages 9-12 - Stevenson Hunt A)

• 2 half hour comic art workshop sessions with 20 participants each

5:00pm-6:00pm The Creative Process of Popular Comics

(Teens and adults - Stevenson Hunt)
Featuring Stuart and Kathryn Immonen

• Stuart Immonen - Marvel Comics artist for Fear Itself, and in the past, Avengers, Captain America, Incredible Hulk, New Avengers, Thor, Fantastic Four, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, DC Comics’ Superman, Never as Bad as You Think*, and Moving Pictures*

• Kathryn Immonen – Marvel Comics author for Wolverine and Jubilee, and in the past Heralds, X-Men, Runaways, and Hellcat

*Immonen collaboration

6:00pm-7:00pm Canadian Non-fiction Graphic Novels

(Teens and adults - Stevenson Hunt)
Featuring Scott Chantler and Diana Tamblyn

• Scott Chantler is an acclaimed graphic novelist whose books have been nominated for many awards and recommended by the American Library Association and the Junior Library Guild, he has created the non-fiction graphic novels Northwest Passage and Two Generals

• Diana Tamblyn is an Ignatz-nominated cartoonist who has been actively writing and drawing comics for over 12 years. Her latest comic project is "From Earth to Babylon: The Story of Gerald Bull and the Supergun". This is a historical based work on the life of Canadian Gerald Bull - considered to be one of the most brilliant artillery scientists of the 20th century. Her past work includes a comic biography of another Canadian scientist - Frederick Banting

7:00pm-8:00pm Comic Book Literacy with Kill Shakespeare, Scott Robins, Mathew Hoy

(Teens and adults - Stevenson Hunt)

• A presentation and panel discussion featuring Kill Shakespeare’s creators Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col and artist, Andy B; Scott Robins, librarian and blogger from Comic Book Resources and local parent-comic book fan, Mathew Hoy

Other events and activities happening throughout the day:

• Dress up day - wear a comic book costume to celebrate the day
• Fun-time photo booth - costumes and props will complete your digital picture
• Free comic book for kids all day courtesy of Heroes

Comic creator signings, and meet and greets all day at Heroes:

• 3:00-4:30 p.m. Meet and greet local comic artists
• 4:00-5:30 p.m. J. Bone, Diana Tamblyn and Scott Chantler
• 5:00-6:30 p.m. Kill Shakespeare
• 6:30-8:00 p.m. Stuart and Kathryn Immonen

Portrait of Annie Koyama

Portrait of Annie Koyama - Patron of Comics This is my version of of Koyama Press' "Kick Ass Annie" icon logo. A number of different cartoonists have done up versions of Koyama's log (as seen on the book Annie is holding above), and the results are fabulous. You can see the whole set on Flickr here. 

I wanted to do a completely different take on the logo that represented my view of Annie. Annie Koyama is a true patron, and a patron of comics at that! Not someone you stumble across much anymore, and I wanted to honour that side of her...

So being an art history grad, I thought I would model my piece after the Italian Renaissance artists who would paint portraits of their patrons.The above is modeled after Piero della Francesca's portrait of Federico da Montefeltro which is a favourite portrait of mine.

Main difference with my version of course is since Annie is a publisher I just had to have her holding a book! I then placed the original Kick Ass Annie logo on the book.

Here's what the original looks like...



Greetings & Resolutions for 2011

Best Wishes for a Safe and Happy 2011!

The new puppy and kitten kept us pretty busy this holiday season, which meant that everything got done but our Christmas cards. So - thought I would send out New Year's greetings for 2011 instead!

2011 is going to be a big year for me - we are finally all settled here in London, Ont, Rosie is happy in Grade 1 (believe it or not), and I will be turning the big 4-0.

I've been feeling a sense of impending doom as I approach this number. I feel like the meter has jumped forward and I really need to put the pedal to the metal this year. By the end of 2011, my aim is to feel like I've made some big steps forward in achieving my artistic goals. Mainly to get a major comic work PUBLISHED, and to produce more art in general.

Goals for 2011
To keep myself honest, for the first time ever I thought I'd write down the goals I'd like to achieve. So here goes. I plan to scratch them off, as the year progresses...    

Do my version of "Kick Ass Annie" for Annie Koyama DONE
Annie has been a real inspiration for me this year. To see the pure love, energy she puts into Koyama Press and her stable of artists is a thing to behold. On top of that she is one of the nicest people in the comics biz I've ever met. My Kick Ass Annie is way overdue, and I will get this to her this month!

April 15,16,17 - London Studio Tour DONE

I will be participating in the Studio Tour for my 2nd time this year. This is a fabulous tour that happens in London, Ontario in the Spring, whereby 20 or so local artists open up their homes and their art studios to the public for a weekend. This is a juried show that features a wide variety of work by great local artists. It's always a treat to see them in their environment and it's free to attend! The first time I did it I had over 500 people through my studio that weekend.

I plan on doing lots of new original art and have special prints for this show.


May 7, 8, Toronto Comic Arts Festival DONE
This is the first year I won't be exhibiting at TCAF. I thought I'd better focus on producing more comics before I actively sell more of them. I will of course be in attendance all weekend though. Hanging out with friends and enjoying the best work that comics have to offer.

June 16 - 20, Visual Fringe DONE
Last year was the first time I participated in the Visual Fringe, an offshoot of the Fringe Festival here in London, Ontario. Featuring a great variety of local artists, I was impressed with how well-organized the Visual Fringe was. Held at the Arts Project, they got tons of people through the doors and looking at artwork over a 10-day period. I sold lots of comics and t-shirts. For this Fringe, I plan to do a original theatre-inspired tee.

September 25th, Word on the Street
This is the best show for me, and even though I'm taking the year off from comic shows, I don't want to miss this one. The beauty of Word on the Street is that it's affordable (if you are very small press and book your table super-early as they sell out by spring), you're surrounding by virtually all of the Canadian publishing industry for one day, and the crowds that come out are unbelievable since it's a terrific, FREE, outdoor event. Best of all, I find the people I see there are not the same people I see at all the comic shows. They're people who just love books and are very open to all different kinds of books.

October, 2011 - The Tamblyn Show
Details TBA, but I'm just solidifying plans right now for a joint-show between my and my uncle - John Tamblyn, a very talented photographer (and yes I am completely biased), to do a joint art show. It will fall over my birthday, so I'm planning for the opening party to be a big one!

Complete artwork for at least 3 more Chapters of Bull Comic
I know, I know this doesn't sound like much. But it'll be a lot for me. With 3 more chapters done, I'll have over half of my Graphic novel done and in the can with approx. 75 pages completed. I'm slow okay! Really though, I'm very happy with what I've done so far and think it's my best work to-date. The hardest part is to keep up the momentum...

Draw every day, even if it's for a half-hourI have a full-time gig, and between it, my little girl, my husband, 2 pets and other adult responsibilities, there's not a lot of time left in the day. I'm a happier person the more I draw though, so I need to make time to do this every day even if it's for a small chunk of time. I'm pretty good with this but need to get better.
Feel free to check back often this year to see how I'm doing. Also feel free to send words of wisdom and encouragement!