Making the ordinary extraordinary

One of the things I love about this time of year, is that you can make anything special just because. The mantel is decorated with ornaments and garland, the roof is adorned with lights... there is almost nothing in the house left untouched by the magical holiday wand – which is why I like to add a holiday flare to ordinary things.
Take hot chocolate for example. Why not dress it up a little for the holidays? This evening I was helping my sister wrap gifts while watching a Christmas movie, and it seemed like the perfect occasion for one of these drinks. I think stemmed glass mugs give the drink that extra step up (makes them look classy), but any mug will do. We started off with some rich hot chocolate mix, added in a teaspoon of skim milk powder. Then we poured in the hot water, stirred, and added in a little Baileys liquor. Topped it off with some whipped cream and a candy cane, and ta-dah! The perfect beverage for an evening of gift wrapping.

What is your holiday tradition?

I was recently at a Christmas party over the weekend and the discussion came up about holiday traditions... and it got me thinking – I'd love to know your favorite holiday traditions! Is there something special you do on Christmas day? What does your family bake/cook?
I thought it would be fun to spotlight some of your traditions this year and spread some holiday cheer! If you have a photo that you’d like to share with all of us, attach a link in your comment below and I will feature a few in an upcoming blog post!
In my family, it's become a tradition that my siblings and I take turns every year requesting a special holiday treat that my mom will make from scratch. Nothing like home-made baking at this time of year! My favorite holiday cookie is Gevulde Koek, a Dutch recipe that has been passed down through the generations. Try making your own batch this year! I always like to top off the cookies with half of a candied cherry — which adds a bit of festive colour.



Gevulde koek
(Recipe adopted from mydutchbakingblog.blogspot.com)


For the dough:
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of cold water
1 3/4 stick of butter

For the filling:
1 cup of almond paste*
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg white
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of almond essence

For brushing:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of milk
8 sliced or whole almonds/ candied cherries

Mix the dry ingredients and cut the butter into the dough, until it has the consistency of wet sand. Add a tablespoon of icecold water and knead the dough into a cohesive whole, making sure all the butter is well mixed in. Pat into an oval, cover with plastic film and refrigerate while you make the paste.

Now crumble up the almond paste and beat it with the rest of the ingredients foamy and thick. *If you don't have access to canned almond paste, you can easily make your own by processing two cups of slivered raw almonds, adding 1/4 cup of sugar and three tablespoons of water to make it into a thick paste. If you think it's too runny, add a tablespoon of flour, but not more.

Set your oven to 350F and turn it on. Take the dough out of the fridge, cut it in half and roll one half out, to about 1/8 of an inch and cut out eight rounds. I use the canning ring for a wide mouth jar, it's approximately eight inches across. Roll the other half out and cut another eight rounds (or more of course!). Place one huge heaping teaspoon of almond paste mix in the middle of one cookie, place a second round on top and carefully seal the edges. You can do this with a fork or gently tapping it with your finger.

When all are done, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet or on a silicone mat. Beat the egg yolk with the milk and brush the top of the cookies, then place an almond or cherry on top. Bake for about thirty minutes or until golden.

Let them cool a little bit and enjoy this typical Dutch treat!

Distilling down an Idea

Whatever your creative process might be, it often involves honing in on key concepts. I usually start off with an old fashioned paper and pen. For some reason this method always works out better for me than going straight to the computer (if it's a digital project). There is something freeing about simply sketching and brainstorming. Mind mapping may seem like the opposite of what you want to accomplish: now you have exponentially even more ideas than you started off with! But don't despair. Now your job is to narrow your ideas down to the key concepts.


I recently worked on a design proposal for the City of Surrey. I started out with a large concept: "Sustainable Energy for All." Now as far as large concepts go, this one was huge! So how do I even start to tackle the job of conveying this idea in a single banner set? Well... first I started out with the task of with breaking down sustainability into manageable key ideas. Thankfully the creative brief did a lot of the work for me. I broke it down into 4 main renewable natural resources: the sun, wind, water and geothermal heat/biomass. Then I started sketching out how I would represent each of elements.

My main intention was to make the concept of sustainability accessible to the masses. The result is an illustration that relies on the cyclical movement of a colourful wind- spinner/fan. Many of us have grown up with something similar and the image is easy recognizable. Each blade of the fan represents interdependent components of sustainability (including, but not limited to): solar power, geothermal heat, wind turbines, as well as our part in the cycle (represented by the human hand). The overall design remains sleek and void of unneeded clutter, while still communicating a strong visual message. The colours are bright and vivid and will catch the attention of people viewing from a distance.

Owning Artwork doesn't have to break the bank

At this time of year, money can be tight! But buying artwork that you love doesn't have to break the bank.

Instead of selling purely original artwork for a steep amount, many artists are also taking into consideration the other 99%. Websites such as Society6 offer you artwork at a fraction of the price of the original. So if you're not concerned with an investment piece, and would gladly settle for a print—this is the direction for you! And just because it's a print doesn't mean it needs to look like it. A lot of fine art publishers are now offering art printed on canvas. So what is the incentive for an artist to sell prints? Although 100% of the proceeds don't go directly to the artist, it is a way to make art accessible to the masses... and I think worth the pay cut.

Incorporating your interests

 As an artist, it's hard to know what will sell. It's always a good idea to have one ear to the ground: listening to what your audience wants. Although I am a freelance illustrator and fine artist, I've always had an eye for interior design. So it's no surprise that I try to harmonize these interests sometimes. I want to create artwork that will suit your everyday life, and something I would hang on my own wall. Here are some examples of how you can incorporate artwork into your home.

Decorating for the Holidays

So if you're like me, decorating for the holidays is part of the holiday tradition... and as a creative soul, I can't help but love this time of year!  But decorating doesn't have to be traditional. Read on to see how you can create a contemporary look this season.

This year at my mom's house we decided to go with a an icy blue Christmas theme. One of the tricks I picked up this year was to bunch ornaments together with wire. This gives your tree/wreath/mantel a bold pop of colour amidst the evergreen and lights. Clustering your ornaments also helps to make your tree look fuller. This method doesn't have to be expensive. Go to your local dollar store and pick up a variety of different sizes in your colour scheme. I normally wire together 3 different ornaments (small, medium, and large). You also want to experiment with combining different "finishes" together: satin, frosted, sparkles etc. A little word of caution though, I managed to break a couple glass balls, so you may be better off with more inexpensive plastic ones. Just be careful, and have fun. Any colour scheme will work, and you'll probably find that a lot of your decorations in storage will compliment your theme. You can never go wrong with white, silver, or crystal pieces. As for your ribbon, we experimented with deco–mesh this year. You can purchase deco–mesh in a wide variety of colours at places such as Potters and Michaels.

Deadlines drive success

I'm a strong believer that some people work better under pressure. And as much as I'm an advocate for leisurely mornings, I'm beginning to recognize that due to the lack of pressure — I find myself floundering. Now, in case my current clients are reading this, you shouldn't be worried. I am in fact, on schedule. Perhaps even ahead of schedule. In the IDEA program (Illustration&Design: Elements and Applications) at Capilano University we were led to believe that such things were not possible... not even feasible. So what do I do now that the inconceivable is now reality? Well clearly I'm doing something wrong :) And the lack of money in the wallet proves it. Usually a good indicator.

The question is, should this worry me? Taking a poll of my graduating class (and by poll, I mean stalking them on facebook – obviously – that's how everything is conducted these days) there are a handful of us that are still in the struggling "starving artist" stage, others who have advanced to the "intern" stage, and yet others who have managed to become a "junior" something or another. So my question is, how to go from the bottom of the ladder to the top? Secrets? Tips?
I love it when I come across stories like this one: An Apps to Riches Story: How Lisa Bettany went from struggling photographer to app evangelist.

I can empathize with these sorts of stories when people share that they were relying on their parents to back their dream. Sometimes the paycheck comes a little later. So I press on. Maybe one day I'll look back on these posts and think "remember when?"