My mantra for 2018 was
balance. After a hectic previous year, I made a goal to focus on work/life balance, which is always a struggle for freelancers. While I am very satisfied with (and grateful for) the work accomplished this year, I am most proud of my commitment to self-care throughout the process. As in previous years (
2011,
2012,
2013,
2014,
2015,
2016,
2017), here is my annual recap of how my year unfolded.
January started at a slower pace, allowing time to
get the studio in order. I received my
Communication Arts award in the mail, which was such an honour. (Turns out, it's really heavy!) You might know that I am obsessed with daytimers and calendars, so I released a new
perpetual wall calendar - it makes planning out the year fun and easy. Biggest news of the year: I started taking
tap dancing lessons!
In
February, I participated in
City of Craft's Made for Love Valentine's Day pop-up at the Workroom. I also had lettering work featured in
Today's Parent magazine (yay for daydrinking!) I also had some downtime to start researching sign painting at the Toronto Archives.
In
March, I was invited to offer hand-lettered cards and prints at
She Matters, a fundraising brunch in support of the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, which offers legal representation, professional counselling and multilingual interpretation to women who have experienced violence. I also shared some new custom lettering work for
President's Choice + Sid Lee. New hand-lettering also got full page coverage in the
West End Phoenix.
As the days started to get longer,
April brought a
new feature on chromatic type in UPPERCASE Magazine. Warmer temperatures also allowed me to do some window painting:
Craig's Cookies (my first in One Shot enamel paint!) and
The Theatre Centre. I also completed a
huge custom chalkboard for Boxcar Social. And what a pleasant surprise: my article on custom signs feature in the May/June/July issue of
Cottage Life magazine!
In
May, I completed some hand-painted signage for
Will O'Hare's photography show (part of the Contact Photography Festival), as well as a
huge custom chalkboard for a real estate staging. Spring was in the air, so a
new custom sign for Sweet Gale Gardens. I also completed a fun
Pollock-inspired mural for Craig's Cookies. And the
tapping continued!
After five months of research, I started a new project in
June called
#chrispaintssigns, using traditional sign painting techniques to explore letterform proportions. As we prepared for our latest instalment of
Pixel & Bristle at the Drake Hotel, I launched a new series called
Dishonest Signs. Also, my
ABC250 monograph turned one!
In
July, I shared a large scale window painting project for
Michael Johnston Music School - four windows hand-painted with One Shot enamel paint. I got to do a cute birth announcement for Nicole & James at
Type Books. More window painting at
The Theatre Centre, and a quick sign for
Gloria Cafe. Then I
wrapped up my #chrispaintssigns project, and jumped on a plane...
I was
away in Italy (!) for most of
August, but did have time to prep something for the
TypeCon silent auction, which happened in Portland.
September was quiet, but I did zip over to Calgary to offer a
brush lettering workshop at UPPERCASE Magazine. My
most popular Instagram post of the year was about the least popular Ontario politician in recent years...
Part of
October was spent
visiting family in Saskatchewan. I also prepared
some graphics for my favourite wartime gal, Pearle Harbour.
In
November, I partnered up with
Wonder Pens to offer a special brush lettering workshop at their new Clinton Street store. Along with two special pieces for the
Buddies Art Attack auction, I released some new work for the holidays, including an
alphabet print, a GLOW-IN-THE-DARK
Toronto signs print, and some coupon-inspired
holidays cards. A couple of these prints were featured in the annual
Swash & Serif typography show. And I also shared some new explosive lettering on pimple popping (!) for
Chatelaine Magazine.
And then suddenly, it was
December! Another round of
Pixel & Bristle at the Drake Hotel, plus my first
studio sale, and a
pop-up at Gloria Cafe. I snuck in one more launch: a new
ABC book published my the Harvest Commission. A quick
custom window for Type Books. But my favourite and most meaningful project of the year: a
special typographic portrait to celebrate the 80th birthday of Roberta, gifted from her four children: David, Jenny, Rebekah and Heidi. The piece is comprised of over sixty individually typeset words, names, phrases, places, artists, songs and events that have filled Roberta’s rich life.
This year would not have been possible without the support of YOU – those who purchased a print from my shop, liked one of my Instagram photos, or visited my studio. I am grateful to continue doing work that I love. THANK YOU!
I wish you all the best in this new year.
CR
