I was invited back to the Toronto Wearables Meetup this month to show one of my pieces. Following the artist talks, a few people (including me) who have spoken about their works during past meetups will be showing their work. CBC is going to be filming the event, because they’re going to be doing a segment on the Toronto Wearables community.

The Meetup is at OCAD University’s Social Body Lab (205 Richmond Street West, Room 7514, 5th floor) on Wednesday, February 8th from 7pm-9pm.

You can find out more about the main speakers and the event at this link. Click here to register for the event.

Links:
Eventbrite
Toronto Wearables
Toronto Wearables Mailing List

Erin Lewis also wrote a great summary of what I talked about in my speech. You can see it at this link.

The photos in this post were also taken by Erin Lewis.

You can also stream CBC Radio 1 from their website: http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/

Update as of January 11th: The talk has been moved to room 7514, on the 5th floor.

Some information about the Toronto Wearables meetup:

The Toronto Wearables Meetup is a gathering of people interested in wearable technology, fashion, wearable electronics, soft circuits, electronic textiles, emerging materials, and other creative and innovative approaches to things that live on the body.  This Meetup is a gathering artists, fashion designers, industrial designers, textile enthusiasts, engineers, researchers, students, and anyone interested in these emerging and intersecting fields.

You can register for the talk on EventBrite.

Here is a link to the blog post on the official Toronto Wearables website.

Join 2000 of your closest friends for two epic days and one mind-blowing night as we explore the imagination- unleashing anime merch and manga, carnival rides and cosplay contests, bouncy castles and circus acts onto an unsuspecting city.

Around-the-clock events, contests, panels, workshops and dance parties make for late-night magic, early-morning mischief, and everything in between. ‘Tis the season for sensory overload! So if your ultimate summer adventure involves donning your cosplay and riding away on the Ferris wheel, nabbing your personal plushy sidekick from the marketplace, or getting down to bone-shaking beats from world-class DJs, don’t settle for one! Do them ALL at ATOMIC LOLLIPOP.

The carnival is located at 801 Dixon Road, in Toronto, ON. Tickets to the event are $40.00.

I’m going to be selling a few new products, including Glowworms. The marketplace runs from 12pm-8pm on Saturday, and 10am-5pm on Sunday.

Atomic Lollipop Website

Facebook Event

Google Maps Link

I’ve added a project that I finished a few months ago and finally got around to taking photos of:

The Glowworm is an object that can be worn in many ways. It is commonly worn around the neck, similar to a scarf or a tie. It can also be worn around the waist, arm, or in your hair.

When the two silver parts of the Glowworm are touching, it will emit a soft glow. The battery is small and easily replaceable, and is held in by a magnet located at one end of the Glowworm.

I will be producing these in small batches, and I plan to begin selling them shortly after I relaunch my shop. It will be available in dark, earthy colors. I’m aiming to have the shop completed by July 2011. More pictures are available under the Textiles section, here is a link.

I’ve added photos and videos from my show to a website that I made specifically for the show, siphonophorae.com. The show went pretty well, although making the mannequins and setting up the hanging system was a lot more work than I had expected. Thanks to everyone who helped me set up in the gallery!

I’ve also added a new piece to the Textiles section called Mimicry. It was one of the pieces that was in my show. Here is a short description:

Some sea creatures, such as flounders and octopi, are able to camouflage themselves, mimicking their surroundings. This defense mechanism makes them invisible to their predators, allowing them to stay safe. Using this concept, I have created a dress that changes to match the color of its surroundings.

I’ve added video for Hybridization, Under the Surface and Mimicry, showing the interactiveness of each piece. I’m so glad to finally be able to share these videos for these pieces. My favorite video is definitely the one for Under the Surface.

Marisa Ranalli is a textile artist who incorporates electronics into her artwork. She works with human interaction and how it relates to themes of deep sea life, human biology, and light. Marisa uses felt and silk to create three dimensional, wearable forms. Siphonophorae is the culmination of Marisa’s research over the past 5 years.

Siphonophorae’s opening reception is on December 6th, from 5:30-7:00pm. The show is viewable from December 7-11th, from 11am-5pm daily at the Anna Leonowens Gallery in Halifax, NS. I will be showing the Crumple Shirt, Hybridization, Under the Surface, and one other pieces that I have been working on that are not on the website yet.

I will be having an artist talk on Wednesday December 8th at noon, in the gallery.

Google Maps Link to the Anna Leonowens Gallery

Facebook Event

Many different types of creatures have innate defense mechanisms to help them to survive. My inspiration is drawn from sea creatures – most specifically, jellyfish, sea urchins, and puffer fish. Puffer fish are known for being able to fill themselves up with water or air to produce sharp spines that cover their bodies.

I have incorporated wool covered nitinol wire into this outfit to show how a person with a similar defense mechanism might involuntarily react if their personal space was invaded. When someone touches the spine or shoulders of the outfit, the ‘spines’ on the front of the outfit recoil.

This piece consists of two layered dresses. The dress underneath has been hand painted with dyes, mimicking patterns and colors found underwater. The dress overtop is translucent, but weighted at the bottom to cause the fabric to flow like a moving jellyfish.

The textile processes used to create this piece are dyeing, knitting, felting, and sewing. The dress underneath was sewn together and then hand painted by using a process called polychromatic printing. Parts of the dress overtop were knitted and then attached to the silk. The dress was then dyed and felted. The ‘spines’ are nitinol wire covered in wool. An Arduino powers the nitinol wire. The electronic components are powered by a rechargeable battery.

You can view more images and more information about this on the main site. I’ve also posted some extra pictures from the shoot, and process photos that didn’t make the cut on Flickr.

Photos were taken by me. My sister is modeling the dress, and helped quite a bit with figuring out a name for this outfit. My favorite part of the dress is definitely the layer underneath, it was hand painted using a polychromatic printing method.

This piece (as well as a few other of my pieces) will be shown at my solo show called ‘Siphonophorae’ at the Anna Leonowens Gallery (Halifax, NS)  from December 7th-11th, 2010. I will be making a post in a few weeks with more information about it.

I’ve made a few changes and added some new things. The Illustration section has been merged into the Design section. I’ve added an entirely new Web section to show my web development and design work. The shop has been removed temporarily. I added a new project to the Textiles section, which I will be making a blog post about shortly.

The shop is currently under construction as I work to create a better shopping cart system, one that will match the new layout of the site. Some older products will be removed to make room for newer ones.

Other than that, I have a lot going on currently. I’m graduating in December, and I have a solo show at the Anna Leonowens Gallery (Halifax, NS) coming up as well. Hopefully that means that this blog will be updated a bit more in the next few months.