Unspent Love

Who could’ve done this?!

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:28:42 -0500

Who could’ve done this?!

I set up this photo booth of sorts at last week’s Book...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:22:20 -0500

I set up this photo booth of sorts at last week’s Book Launch. The freakiest image is Becky as Becky up there at the top. In December I am hoping to try making masks!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the book launch at YYZ. I had...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:55:04 -0500

Thanks to everyone who came out to the book launch at YYZ. I had a capital evening. So many of the people I love most in this world all gathered in the same room. Some of you met each other for the first time! One of my very best friends from high school, whom I haven’t seen in about 15 years, was there! And I was introduced to quite a few new folks including one bonafide Jedi. Not too shabby.

I’m so happy to report that Conundrum Press is bustin out...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:43:00 -0400

I’m so happy to report that Conundrum Press is bustin out a paperback version of UNSPENT LOVE!

YYZ is holding a launch to celebrate it on NOV 11 (11 11 11— make a wish!)

I’ll also be showing the animated results of the wall piece at YYZ, for one night only.

And it’s a sushi party!

Read the new affordable version of my book!
See an animated wall!
Use chopsticks!
Laugh your head off!
Find true love! (And spend it all. Just go for it. Don’t hold anything in reserve for your recovery. Love like crazy.)

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 2011
7-10 PM
@ YYZ ARTIST’S OUTLET
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 140
Toronto

More info on Conundrum’s website:
http://www.conundrumpress.com/wp/?page_id=1698

and on mine:
http://shannongerard.tumblr.com/

If you’re one of them on FB, the invite is here:
UNSPENT LOVE BOOK LAUNCH on FB

I didn’t quite finish this animation because I ran out of...

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:11:08 -0400

I didn’t quite finish this animation because I ran out of paste and time. But I am happy with the new experiment of adding white paper in some of the frames to imply movement and erasure. This time around I also dramatically increased the number of frames, so the motion is more fluid. The wall also has a very appealing dimensionality to it now, feeling and looking like a fungal growth where the figures overlap 80 times. I will continue this sequence later in the week.

Thanks to Simon Glass for much needed assistance and instruction about my camera settings, and to James who helped me build this movie (again) from my photos.

Slowly adding new animations to the wall at YYZ. James helped me...

Wed, 25 May 2011 15:21:45 -0400

Slowly adding new animations to the wall at YYZ. James helped me so much, even though he was mad about his stupid jerk neighbours being stupid jerks the whole time. Why are there stupid jerks everywhere? Anyway, these birds look pretty good and maybe I will have them poop on the roof of the house of the jerks in the next sequence.

UNSPENT LOVE has been generously supported by the Ontario Arts...

Tue, 03 May 2011 10:35:44 -0400

UNSPENT LOVE has been generously supported by the Ontario Arts Council!

Art Sync Documentary on Women in Comics

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:06:47 -0400

Art Sync Documentary on Women in Comics:

I talk a little bit about Unspent Love, and working in general, in this short Art Sync documentary, Women In Comics.

Second animation, pre-paste draft. Click the image to open it in...

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:36:00 -0400

Second animation, pre-paste draft. Click the image to open it in a new window and it should animate. My computer adds each frame very slowly, then the animation plays. Am I making my GIFs wrong?

Grr. No matter what I do, the animation below looks awkward. I...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:29:15 -0500

Grr. No matter what I do, the animation below looks awkward. I think the drawings are just not fluid enough. Above are two frames that really didn’t work in the sequence, but still look nice. Pretty nice, for casualties.

Fastest hair combing ever!

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:25:00 -0500

Fastest hair combing ever!

It often seems as though my life-management strategy is to put...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:17:00 -0500

It often seems as though my life-management strategy is to put everything on a rotating cycle of neglect. I’ve been focused on some other work for a bit, but am now back to the wall at YYZ. These new animations are slightly more awkward than the first two of Gen. I should be adding them to the wall this week or next.

Leah Sandals’ Unspent Love Q&A for the National Post...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:42:44 -0500

Leah Sandals’ Unspent Love Q&A for the National Post is online now:

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/12/20/questions-artists-shannon-gerards-expresses-her-unspent-love-through-multi-crafting/

Leah also posted some B Sides from our interview on her blog:

http://neditpasmoncoeur.blogspot.com/2010/12/of-crochet-and-cartoons-q-with-shannon.html

Thanks Leah!

Last week I had a really great chat with Leah Sandals about...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:49:13 -0500

Last week I had a really great chat with Leah Sandals about Unspent Love. There’s a sweet little blurb about it now on my favourite art blog (hers!). Thanks Leah!

http://neditpasmoncoeur.blogspot.com/2010/11/driving-art-up-wall-jeff-harrison.html

Sometimes play can lead to exciting, accidental discoveries. For...

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:55:00 -0500

Sometimes play can lead to exciting, accidental discoveries. For another project, I have been researching and thinking a lot about puppets. Some potential crossover is suggested by these moments of hilarity.

Clean up at Open Studio was as fun as installing the work. I...

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:52:18 -0500

Clean up at Open Studio was as fun as installing the work. I salvaged most of the heads of each drawing to paste up around town.

Unspent Love at Open Studio, Toronto. November 4-27, 2010

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:46:00 -0500

Unspent Love at Open Studio, Toronto. November 4-27, 2010

A curious and vaguely unsettling similarity in my paste and my...

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:03:06 -0500

A curious and vaguely unsettling similarity in my paste and my lunch. Miso soup is forever transformed. G-ross.

Detail from the first animation. If you stop by YYZ, feel the...

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:01:33 -0500

Detail from the first animation. If you stop by YYZ, feel the thickness of paper around the neckline. Very satisfying. Multiple, off-registered hair is also a nice element.

Okay! Here’s a first, lo-fi attempt at animating the wall...

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:42:00 -0500

Okay! Here’s a first, lo-fi attempt at animating the wall at YYZ. (If you don’t see an animation in the image above, try clicking on it. It should open in another window and move)

In person, this looks really neat. There’s a nice density of paper built up already after only 10 layers of images pasted on top of one another. As I add more and more imagery and expand the animated area, I am hoping the wall will start to look and feel like a topographic map. The idea of telling stories this way is pretty exciting. Eventually, the action will move across the wall and new stories and characters will develop.

I am really pleased with the transparency that occurs before the layers of paper dry so that what you see are multiple instances of Gen showing through each other.

The biggest problem for me to solve is how to light the area. It is a pretty narrow corridor, so I have to photograph the wall at an angle. Today I just used whatever cheap flood lights I could find and rigged them up to a ladder. Is anyone an expert at lighting? Does anyone in Toronto have more professional grade lights I could borrow to experiment with? Email me on shannon AT shannongerard DOT org if you have any tips. I’m learning so many new things on this project.