An Ethical Card Company is born!

I forgot to pass on the news that I recently sold a hand-full of card designs to a brand new company called Blue Turtle Greetings(My designs are the first four on the homepage). It's truly a company with every bit of their heart in the right place. The owner is very environmentally conscious and I swear has a heart of solid gold. This is what the owner (Sandy) writes:

"Blue Turtle Greetings is a company committed to sound environmental practices, product quality and the values of peace, love & good fortune. All of our products are printed on Recycled Paper. All papers are processed clorine free and acid free. Paper suppliers commit to responsible forestry practices.Our products are manufactured in countries that abide with fair labor practices. We will not produce our products at a lower cost when it means a cost to Humanity."

I'm so so proud that there are companies are out there willing to take all of these steps in order to better our planet and human conditions around the planet. I know it takes months of hard work researching to find companies that fit the profiles above.

Good Luck Sandy and I hope to work with you for many years.
***image/logo © blue turtle greeings 2007***

Tid Bits

My work is featured in this month's issue of Mosaic Magazine (I believe I have four pieces in it) and when I finally located a bunch of copies I was stunned at the quality. Thanks Connie!

Also I have a few cards for sale at the Paint Spot on 124th Street (Christmas Cards). If you decide to check out this little art store branch (the bigger one is on Whyte Ave) you'll positively drool over the beautiful new moleskins they have (they're coloured!).

happy holidays.

Royal Bison Craft and Arts Fair

The countdown is on for Christmas! I'm growing more and more excited about being a part of the local & handmade business's that exist in our community. It's such a positive place to shop for Christmas presents. Support a local artist and share the skills and talents of your local community with those who would never think to shop in such places. It's a tremendous circle of support and I just can't thank my customers enough.

Here's the scoop:
Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair
DEC 1-2
10am - 5pm
8426 - Gateway Blvd (Cosmopolitan Music Society Building)
FEE: $2 each (little kids get in free)
Locally made: Jewelry, Magazines, Books, Art, Music, Photography, Amps, Soaps, Accessories, Posters and more.

Here's some fabulous people who will be joining me at the fair:
Raymond Biesinger (organizer of event and illustrator/image maker king)
Amanda Woodward (usual occupation is illustrator, however, I believe she's bringing some funky ornaments to the show...)
Michelle McBride (aka Miss Dishy, the creator of those oh so pretty magnet sets, plushies, and more)
and will be sharing a table with
Miss Sarah Jackson (those wee little jam books that are all the rage these days!)
Acorn Studios (those fabulous earrings I've been wearing lately!!... and the owner is so earth friendly it's nutts, in a good way)

Illustration Friday: The Zoo

moose, originally uploaded by crystal driedger.

Here's a little sketch of something quite Canadian (in some sort of iconic way anyway)! Although I've never seen a moose in the zoo I have seen many in the wild, which is really where they belong anyway.

Sketching with a friend

Here's a little doodle I did last night when I met with a friend to sketch. Everyone, in my opinon, needs a sketching buddy!

Thank you!

I just wanted to thank everyone involved in the Stop & Shop Arts and Craft fair. It was a divine pleasure to work alongside such wonderful vendors and was a tremendous sucsess for so many people. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by especially to those who bought some original art from me (my alien and one of my nudes now have a special place in someone's home)! For those of you interested, the next show will be the Royal Bison Arts and Crafts Fair on Dec 1 - 2 (I'll update you on location and times later).

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
-xoxo crystal

See me in person (this weekend)

I'll be at this years Stop & Shop with local illustrator & graphic designer Sarah Jackson and local illustrator, graphic designer & crafter Michelle McBride/aka Miss Dishy. It'd be a great place to get some handmade Christmas presents. Buy handmade, buy local and help out our environment (and keep our city unique by supporting local business!)

STOP & SHOP
TRANS ALTA ARTS BARN (10330 84ave, Edmonton AB, Canada)
$5 at the door
NOVEMBER 16 - 18
Friday 5pm - 9pm
Saturday 11am - 7pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm


NEW THINGS!
• New print available of my "Alien" Painting for only $15
• Selection of Originals (not available during the summmer markets)
• Three new bookmark designs
• Calendars

Robot Angel (In Progress)

This is for a demo I'm going to do in class this Thursday (it's an illustration techniques class, college level). I'm going to be talking about mixed media including Holli Conger's junkadoodles (see her junkadoodles samples here), collage & collage artists, 3D illustrators (such as Red Nose Studio and other artists that use clay, paper maché and models).... i've been looking forward to this lecture for quite some time because it's still new to me and so very very exciting!

Mr. Bateman how do you do?

Tonight I met the legendary wildlife conservationist and fine artist, Robert Bateman. He told my sister and I a story about being in a canoe when a caribou swam right up to it... if you meet me in person I'll give you the rest of the details (it's one worth hearing for sure). Not having enough money to buy a print (sigh) I instead got him to sign my sketchbook. He flipped through it and to my utter amazement says he really likes my cross hatching! Made my day ten million times over. Thanks Mr. Bateman... another childhood dream comes to reality.

Part Time Workin'

Well I'm back at the museum part time (the Royal Alberta Museum) helping out the old team with some graphics... and a little illustration. When they asked me to do a giant cheque to give to the museum school in the shape of a bus I added a little flare (the animals are all from the Wild Alberta Gallery, a permanent feature in the museum and the driver, Moe, is the museum's logo and mascot!). Enjoy.

Illustration Friday: Hats

This painting was completed earlier this year as a way to practice my technique on plywood. I have enjoyed selling quite a few prints of it at my local market.

Creatures of Silly: