Source: Project Spo
tlight: TRANSformation, a Photography Project by Maxx Giffen
Go check out The Quilliad‘s feature of this project on trans identity. A great example of the power of combining art+politics.
Tag Archives: photography
Project Spotlight: TRANSformation, a Photography Project by Maxx Giffen
Filed under art
A Trip to Beautiful, Wild Scotland
Hello!
Apologies for the infrequency of recent updates; we’ve been busy! While there will be some updates on arts events and the like soon, for now I’d like to share some photos from a recent trip to Scotland, because it is a truly gorgeous country. This is only a small fraction of the 800+ photos taken over the course of 10 days–it was hard to put the camera down!
-Sarah, Apple of my Odd Eye collective manager
Hadrian’s Wall
Near Glen Coe
On the train to Mallaig
Carbost
Castle bridge
Botanical Gardens in Glasgow
The scale of the flower gardens in Scotland is truly astounding. Yes, there’s a person in there–our very own Devin Edwards.
Filed under Photography, travel
New Photos for Spring
While yearning for warmer weather, I happened to notice the wintery beauty of the remains of this year’s herb garden. Waste not, want not–I grabbed my camera and snapped some shots. These are the ones that turned out the best. Some feel hopeful, others melancholy, while the last, “Nightmare”, feels a bit menacing to me. While I was going for very specific focal points with the other images, this last one works for me precisely because of the indistinct threat it seems to hold (the background on the right looks a bit like a blurry wolf-monster to my eye).
If you like any of these images, you may wish to know that parts of this series are now available as backer rewards for The Quilliad‘s fifth issue Kickstarter. The Quilliad is a local, small press journal of art and literature that all of us at Apple of my Odd Eye are involved with in some way. Devin and Ashley have also supplied The Quilliad with some prints for Kickstarter.
-Sarah
Filed under art
Foliage on Fire: A Trip to High Park in the Fall (Plus Artist News)
Earlier this week, I went on a two-hour walk through High Park with my mom (we decided that our weekly cardio needed to be something that would take advantage of what nice weather we have left before the Polar Vortex sets in). The trip yielded some beautiful photos, some of which I’ve shared below:
Other than a little cropping, I haven’t edited these yet. I wanted to share them before winter sets in (I’ve already seen snowflakes this morning).
In artist news, I’ll soon be exhibiting at PRINT Gallery in Kensington, and Sean will be directing photography on a feature film in December. We’ll have more info on both those endeavours soon.
Also, Apple of my Odd Eye will be at the Strange and Astounding Show on November 29 and 30 in Oshawa at the Woodview Park Community Centre, 151 Cadillac Avenue. Ash, Devin, and I will be present at the show, so come out and say hi! There will be horror and scifi art, comics, and toys at the show. We’ll be bringing original paintings, prints, cards, buttons, books, jewelry, and more.
-Sarah
Filed under art
Happy Halloween! More Costume and Makeup Inspiration
For my final costume this year, I came up with two different looks for two different days (Wednesday and today) with the same basic concept. Wednesday was a little more elf princess, and today is a little more forest sprite/goblin, but the antlers are the centrepiece in both cases:
For some process shots, check out the post on how it was made (this was a way more complicated process than I had planned, and there are a few things I will do differently in the future if I make these again, but the end result works for the costume, and that’s what really matters): https://appleofmyoddeye.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/antlers-an-adventure-in-costuming/
And here are the costumes! I think today’s is better than Wednesday’s, but I do like some things about Wednesday’s makeup. Also, I apologise to any archers who may be offended by how inexpertly I hold that bow; in my defense, it is not designed to be a practical weapon–it’s very much for show!
I’m not the only one who got into the Halloween spirit. Devin dressed up for work today, and Ash was grinning like a Cheshire Cat at The Quilliad‘s launch and costume party last week (Devin went for a creepy costume for the launch as well):
Devin as a dead groom.
Ashley as the Cheshire Cat
Looking at my family, it’s not hard to see where my costume obsession comes from:
Zombie-Dad
Mom dressed up today as well!
The Varnam-Varga-Edwards-Tadman crew
Filed under Photography
Our Spooky Neighbourhood
Our neighbourhood always gets into the Halloween spirit, so I took the time to walk around and capture some of the creative displays of Halloween decorations near our apartment building. I saw everything from cotton spider webs to kid’s drawings on pumpkins. Some displays consist mostly of well-chosen pre-made decorations, but the garbage-bag spider is pretty clever!
Hope you have a great All Hallows Eve!
-Sarah
Filed under Photography
A Creepy Evening Stroll
“Emergency” – Sarah Y. Varnam
Devin and I went for a walk this evening and came across this TTC emergency exit. It immediately made me think of zombies and ghost stories. I hope you enjoy this creepy little photoshoot:
“Emergency” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Figure I” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Figure II” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Exploring” – Sarah Y. Varnam
If you’re a fan of creepy art (and maybe also spooky and speculative writing), you might like The Quilliad‘s fourth issue. It’s the publication’s Halloween issue, and there will be thrills and chills in abundance, as well as some pieces that are just plain strange. We believe that literature and art can embrace the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, and we want this issue to reflect that. The Kickstarter for this issue is still going for a few more days, and we’re still accepting submissions.
Check it out.
-Sarah
Filed under art, Photography
Immaculate Selfie Gallery Show Opening
Selfie with my selfie.
The Black Cat is tiny but lovely.
Last night was the opening night for the Immaculate Selfie show at the Black Cat Gallery in Toronto. Curated by Devan Patel of Project Gallery, the exhibition is a celebration and interrogation of the internet age’s fascination with the self portrait in its new form, the selfie. The selfies adorning the tiny gallery’s walls ranged from photographs to oil paintings–there were even some fingerprints.
Guests were encouraged to take selfies with the art on display, and the mirrors on the ceiling intensified the sense of self-reflexivity. Oh, and the art was pretty great (I’m not just saying that because my work was included; there were some really clever interpretations of the theme as well as some beautiful portraits).
Here are more photos from the night:
EIFLES ETALUCAMMI EHT
Mirror-selfie.
My piece was in good company.
“Portrait II” – Sarah Y. Varnam
There were Polaroid selfies hidden around the room like Easter eggs.
Where does this lead??
Booze plus shmooze.
Face to face.
Devin’s car decided to misbehave, thus the sad face, but he showed up anyway.
Dear Dad looking at art.
For more information about the series my selfie is from (the idea is slightly more complex than me slathering paint on my face, though that was admittedly a lot of fun), check out this blog post from February: https://appleofmyoddeye.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/portrait-photopainting-series-by-sarah-y-varnam/
-Sarah
Filed under art
Everyday Apocalypse
I walked out onto our balcony on Sunday morning and was struck by the eeriness of what I saw:
“Foreboding” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Past-Life” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Rustle” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“At the Bottom” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Hanging” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“By a Thread” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“The Cage” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Nostalgia” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Threads” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“Rows” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“New Growth I” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“New Growth II” – Sarah Y. Varnam
“New Growth III” – Sarah Y. Varnam
Our garden has turned into a tangled, dripping mess, and I love it (though I miss eating fresh sweetpeas in the morning). I couldn’t resist capturing the faded tones contrasted with those bursts of colour. Fall is one of my favourite seasons largely because of Halloween, so I might just be seeing ghosts and apocalypse everywhere because of that.
We have some more spooky art that we’ll be sharing over the next little while in the spirit of the season. Until then, we hope you enjoy the pumpkin-flavoured everything that has invaded the retail world this month.
-Sarah
The Quilliad’s issue 4 cover
P.S. If you like apocalyptic, spooky, or fantastical art–or writing–check out The Quilliad, a little literary and arts publication with a Halloween theme for its upcoming issue.
We’re working on our fourth issue right now, which means both that our Kickstarter is up until the end of the month and our submission call is open until the 30th of September. We’ve got a bunch of cool and creepy rewards available for the Kickstarter and we’d love to see your work for our submission call.
Filed under Photography
New Work and Next Steps for the Apple of my Odd Eye Artist Collective
We’ve been busy! We’ve been to publication launches and art shows, finished paintings, taken photographs, and started commissions.
Last Saturday, Devin and Sarah represented Apple of my Odd Eye at the Wychwood Barns Art Market.
All set up–Apple of my Odd eye’s stall at Wychwood Barns
Devin watching the stall
Sarah’s jewelry at Wychwood Barns
Wychwood Barns Art Market
We were also part of The Quilliad’s third issue launch party.
At The Quilliad’s issue 3 launch
At The Quilliad’s issue 3 launch
We’ve also been busy creating. Sarah recently finished a few of her favourite paintings so far. They both have a fantasy theme.
“Weather Eyes Open” detail
“Weather Eyes Open” – Sarah Y. Varnam Not for Sale
“In the Heart of Winter” – Sarah Y. Varnam 16×20 – $500
Sean recently got back from a trip to British Columbia, where he worked on some time lapse work and tried out some new camera techniques. He’ll be sharing tips on how to do time lapse right on Geek Collateral’s site.
A screenshot from Sean’s recent time lapse work.
We also have a corporate commission! Sarah and Devin are working on some pieces in the company’s colours and using the company’s symbol, a pineapple.
The company likes this one.
“Starry” – Sarah Y. Varnam 12×16 – SOLD
They aren’t so interested in these. Anyone want pineapples?
“Circuit Constellation” – Sarah Y. Varnam (commission) Original Available – 16×20 – $75
Sarah is also working on a painting for a friend’s stag and doe.
Next up: Sarah’s Odd Eye sculptures will be part of Architecure of Mad, an art exhibit celebrating Mad Pride, on Saturday, July 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 246 Sackville Street in Toronto.
Sarah’s Odd Eye sculptures
We’ll also be checking in with some work from Ashley Pleasant soon.
Another piece of important news is that we will probably be doing fewer craft shows. This is mostly due to the costs of these shows. We won’t be disappearing, though. We still have at least one more craft show this year, and we’re hoping to announce more gallery events. You can also find our work on Etsy and Zazzle, or if the piece you like isn’t up on either site, just email us at appleofmyoddeye@gmail.com.
Filed under art
Apple of my Odd Eye 