To Hang with the Best

All is Vanity by Ingrid Mida 2011

Although it feels like I've not had much studio time lately, the universe has aligned to suggest that I start making the time. I was asked to participate in Toronto Image Work's Hang with the Best Show which opens today at their gallery in 80 Spadina Avenue in Toronto.  As well, photos from my All is Vanity series will appear in an art book being put together by the team at Artsync (If you missed my interview on Artsync, you can watch it here). And finally, the lovely Emma from Oxford, England fell in love with my Masquerade series and has ordered two of these type of works. I haven't done any embroidery in what seems like ages but I rediscovered that stitching is like meditation!

The Art of the Interview

Nathalie Bondil, Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry-Maxime Loriot at the MMFA
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Conducting an interview is like a dance. There is a back and forth between interviewer and interviewee that requires finesse and sensitivity. Your senses have to be on high alert, gauging their mood and reactions to your questions, listening to their responses, coming up with the next question..... Depending on their willingness to participate, it can be exhilarating or it can be like pulling teeth.

To my utter surprise and delight, my interviews with Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art and exhibition curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot fell into the exhilarating category. Generous with their time, charming and articulate, they made my job in writing for Fashion Projects look easy. My interview with Nathalie Bondlin was published on Fashion Projects on Wednesday and can be read here.  And my interview with Thierry-Maxime Loriot was published today and can be read here.

And although I did not interview Jean Paul Gaultier directly, I was at the back of a group of about ten journalists and I can attest to his sweet, funny and humble nature. The one thing he said that has stuck with me was this:  "Be yourself. Have confidence in yourself. Live your dream." 

Jean Paul Gaultier's Teddy Bear with a Shell Bra
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

The Guilty Pleasures of Summer

1950s Vintage Swimsuit

The lazy days of summer have arrived...at long last.  I have completed my writing assignments for Fashion Projects and Worn Fashion Journal. One darling boy just finished his last exam this afternoon and the other has graduated... I have a long list of projects to tackle at my studio and another long list of research topics and interview subjects on my to-do list but all I want to do is hang out in my backyard for a bit and enjoy the warm temps and sunny skies. I should have been at the museum this aft, but I opted to do nothing instead. Talk about guilty pleasure! What are your summer plans?