Three bits of awesome


1) June is tomorrow, so it's time to vote for your favourite June lettering at 12 in 13 for 14!

2) Today is the last day to take advantage of my spring sale at my shop. Get $10 off when you spend $60 on your favourite prints. Just enter promo code ABC2013 at checkout - before midnight tonight!

3) Here's a photo of my work, Razorblade Origami Alphabet, at the opening of the Creative Type Five exhibit in Toronto last night. The show runs until Sunday at Cooper Cole gallery - I hope you can check it out!

Have a great weekend!

CR

Grandma and Grandpa's special day


Here are some snapshots from my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary surprise party last weekend in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. My grandparents were actually one of two happy couples who married at the same ceremony on April 17, 1963. Both couples were in attendance, surrounded by friends and family.

It was a special day, times two.

I'm an uncle!


Well, not really. But I still wanted to share photos of my sister's beautiful Bengal cats. In the bottom photo: Triton (right) & Stella (left).

Follow me on Instagram for more cat photos!

Have a great weekend :)

CR

Special delivery


On April 17, my grandparents their 50th wedding anniversary. This was my gift to them.

SL10K 2013: Results, and a lesson


For the second year in a row, I participated in the Sporting Life 10K Run in Toronto, which raises money for Camp Oochigeas, a camp for children with cancer.

I started training in January, with 2 goals in mind: 1) to beat last year's time of 1:04:35, and 2) to beat last year's fundraising total of $420.

I only reached one of my goals this year.

Back on March 28th, I felt a strange twinge in my right shin, so I checked in with my family doctor. After several tests through the month of April – an xray, an ultrasound, and nuclear bone scan (!) – the sports doctor confirmed that the twinge I felt was not shin splints (a common condition for runners), but a tiny stress fracture on my right tibia. I found this out last Wednesday, four days before the race.

The treatment for a stress fracture is no running for 6-10 weeks.

After consulting with the sports doctor, he said that based on the date of the injury, the progress my healing, and my current level of my shin pain, I could try running the 10k, but must stop immediately if I feel any pain. He warned that a stress fracture can easily turn into a compound fracture, which would be bad news.

Up until this morning, I didn't know if I was going to be able to run. I thought of walking the entire distance if need be - there's no shame in that. I told myself I would decide when I got to the start line based on how my body felt. When the whistle blew at 8:20am, I started walking and increased the speed slowly over course of the first kilometre. For the first 8km, everything was feeling okay.

Then right at the 8km mark, just as one of my favourite songs came on my iPod, I felt a moderate twinge in my knee/shin. It took me about half a second to realize that that was my body's signal to stop. So for the last 2km, I walked briskly, and passed under the finish line as the timer struck 1:09:49.

I only reached one of my goals this year. But the goal I did reach still blows my mind. With the unbelievable support of friends and family from across the country, I raised 3X last year's total: $1260! This is enough money to help five kids with cancer go to camp - how amazing is that?! I can't thank each of you enough for your contributions and encouragement.

This year was an exercise in listening to my body and learning my limitations. Being stubborn and ambitious, I really really wanted to run the full distance today and beat my personal record. But it was deeply humbling to accept the limitations I was given, and focus on the true purpose of the run, which had nothing to do with me, but rather, the lives of children fighting with cancer.

This was all summed up perfectly by a inspirational quote I received in my inbox first thing this morning:

"Affirm sufficiency."

CR

Creative Type Five


Exciting news! My new work, Razorblade Origami Alphabet, has been selected to participate in Creative Type Five, an annual curated exhibition of typographic artwork from Toronto illustrators, artists and graphic designers. Here's a sneak peek:

Through the methods of incision and paper folding, this sculptural alphabet explores the underlying form and structure of letters, based on their geometry and inherent lines of symmetry. Check out some process work here.

The opening reception is Thursday, May 30th from 6pm to 10pm at Cooper Cole Gallery (Dundas and Ossington) and the exhibition runs until Sunday, June 2nd. Please stop by to get a closer look!

9 new prints for 2013

After months of preparation, I am thrilled to unveil 9 new pieces of art, all available in my shop.

Drumroll please!

1) Square brush script alphabet print
This alphabet was hand-lettered with a Pentel brush pen, scanned, and screen printed by hand in Toronto with black water-based ink on 245gsm pure white 100% cotton archival paper.



2) Triangle brush script alphabet print
This alphabet was hand-lettered with a Pentel brush pen, scanned, and screen printed by hand in Toronto with black water-based ink on 245gsm pure white 100% cotton archival paper.


3) Circle brush script alphabet print
This alphabet was hand-lettered with a Pentel brush pen, scanned, and screen printed by hand in Toronto with black water-based ink on 245gsm pure white 100% cotton archival paper.



4) Razorblade screen alphabet print
This layered alphabet features the typeface Razorblade, which I designed back in 2009. These 9" x 9" posters are screen printed by hand in Toronto with water-based ink on 245gsm pure white 100% cotton archival paper.


5) Geometrica Sans snellen chart alphabet print
This alphabet, inspired by old-fashioned eye charts, features one of the faces of Geometrica Sans, a typeface I designed back in 2010. These 9" x 18" posters are ink jet printed in Toronto in full colour on 180gsm ultra white matte cotton-based art paper.


6) Razorblade cut-and-fold alphabet print
This conceptual alphabet is a variation of the typeface Razorblade, which I designed back in 2009. These 9" x 9" posters are ink jet printed in Toronto in greyscale on 180gsm ultra white matte cotton-based art paper. (Check out the preliminary work here.)


7) Geometrica Sans school alphabet print
This elementary school-inspired alphabet features one of the faces of Geometrica Sans  a typeface I designed back in 2010. These 9" x 9" posters are ink jet printed in Toronto in full colour on 180gsm ultra white matte cotton-based art paper.


8) Geometrica Sans shapes alphabet print
This Bauhaus-inspired alphabet features one of the faces of Geometrica Sans, a typeface I designed back in 2010. These 9" x 9" posters are ink jet printed in Toronto in full colour on 180gsm ultra white matte cotton-based art paper.


9) Alphabet 100 mini-prints
You can now purchase your favourite letter from the Alphabet 100 project. There are 52 letters to choose from – A through Z, in both uppercase and lowercase. Pictured below is upper case A, B and C. View all the letters here, and the complete list of options here. These 9" x 9" posters are ink jet printed in Toronto in full colour on 180gsm ultra white matte cotton-based art paper.


All these 9" x 9" prints (with the exception of the Geometrica Sans snellen chart alphabet print) fit perfectly in the simple (and affordable!) Ikea Ribba frame.


Do you have a baby shower coming up? Need a birthday gift? Graduation present? Please keep these prints in mind if you need gifts for friends and loved ones in the coming months.

As a further incentive, I have launched an exciting promotion for the month of May (please see attached). If you spend $60 on your favourite prints, you will get $10 off! Please enter promo code ABC2013 at checkout. Offer ends May 31, 2013.

And, if that wasn't enough, if tweet or retweet about the promo on Twitter, you will be entered to win a FREE 9" x 9" print of your choice. Wee! Just make sure my handle, @Chris_Rouleau, is in your tweet. Enter as many times as you want!

I must extend a huge thank you to Raymond at Front Print, and a extra big thanks to Bianca, Mike, Jordy and everyone at Kid Icarus who helped make the screen prints come to live. I couldn't be happier!

Well, what are you waiting for? Get some new art for your home or office! And if you like the new work, please forward this blog post to your friends (especially educators and moms/moms-to-be), and share the promo details on your social networks. The best publicity is word of mouth.

Happy spring! And happy shopping!

CR