What a wonderful event! So many extraordinary displays and a massive sold out crowd! It was fantastic to be in a room with people so passionate about Vancouver history. THANK YOU to all the folks at VHF for making this happen. Huge thank you to Patti Henderson for helping me with this event and lending her…
Tag: Vancouver
Joseph, the Prologue Broadsheet Sampler
© Katarina Thorsen 2022 — This is a limited edition publication. 400 copies in total have been printed. The hardcopy of the 12-page broadsheet (newspaper) measures: 380 mm x 578 mm (approx. 15″ x 28″) FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: ABOUT THE PROJECT To purchase an individually signed and numbered copy of the 12-page…
Celebrating 95 pages with a vulnerability hangover…
I am workshopping my graphic novel through a weekly online serial. So far… we have been witnessed a crime: Looked at the original headlines: I’ve introduced my involvement (more to come): And travelled to Ireland to get our first glimpse at the main character: Molly’s and The Babes in the Wood timeline are now starting…
… it goes deep, deep down into its burrow…
I was organizing my notebooks and loose papers and to-do lists at a coffee shop this morning. I love to organize, but I am strangely disorganized. Creative chaos is my middle name, but so are organizational skills. My mind runs a 1000 miles per hour, and so I write bits of quotes, make lists, tiny…
When Doors Close: A Retreat to Unlock New Possibilities May 20-22
7 brilliant, heart-full and talented colleagues are collaborating to create When Doors Close – a retreat to unlock new possibilities. I’ve been witnessing heartaching frustration in friends, loved ones, even strangers, and hearing the refrain “all the doors seem to be closing” – over and over. I know these words well. I’ve said these words, and…
Stanley Park. Birds. Angel whispers. And Pledge Drive.
I walked around Beaver Lake today. I was infused by the profound beauty of nature. Warm sun. Blossoms. Skunk cabbage. Herons were dancing in the wind above the lake, ducks were courting and playing, chipmunks and squirrels scurrying. Chestnut-backed chickadees and red-breasted nuthatches landed on my hands. I describe the feeling as angel whispers. I took…
Stick to the facts in the text, avoid assumptions, yet draw conclusions.
In my current project, Molly, I use mainly primary sources and secondary sources such as news articles, as well as well-vetted research in order to build the story around the cold case. The drawings are then freely inspired from the research, i.e. they are an artistic interpretation. I can combine my research to build portraits….
VanCaf reflections Part 1 of 6: Julian Lawrence and Drippy the Newsboy
Fabulous afternoon at VanCaf Day 1- the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival! Such an incredible treat to take it all in- immersed in the work of great artists. I was struck by their insatiable drive to create and share and the realization that I have finally found “my people.” And today really lit fire under my ass…
Delightful local Vancouver artist: Amy Tom
I am delighted to introduce an extraordinary Vancouver artist, Amy Tom. I was introduced to her through my friend Anne Banner, owner/curator of Vancouver curiosity shop and paradise: Salmagundi West. Amy’s whimsical and magical style inspires me to no end! Check out her ETSY shop! I create postcards, magnets and art prints reproduced from my…
Connections & Creativity: an interactive gathering with Laura Mack and Kat Thorsen
I AM DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE MY NEXT COLLABORATION WITH LAURA MACK! — We invite you to experience a deeper connection to self, tap into your creativity and connect with others at a truly authentic level. We will be sharing tools and practices with you, in an experiential format that will enrich your personal and professional lives. And, if you…
Boundary- a new comic by Emily Cowan
I am so excited that Vancouver artist, Emily Cowan, has now launched her extraordinary comic BOUNDARY online! BOUNDARY is a long-form comic about being stuck, difficult families, changing friendships and the different kinds of boundaries in our lives. Mostly though, it’s about adolescent frustration and the unbearable tragedy that is being fifteen. The worst part of…
Tools for anxiety- esteem hearts at ArtQuake 2014
I was honored and elated to be part of ArtQuake 2014 at SFU Harbor Centre yesterday! ArtQuake envisions a transformed world where every youth is a vehicle for change, fueled by their own creative expression. The theme of yesterday’s event was Madness Matters: Re-creating Mental Health Through Art and Community. I provided two workshops on…
Evolution of a #wheatpaste. Portrait of @ThaneKoi, one year later
What is the point of a piece that is meant to be temporary? Work that is impermanent reminds us that nothing in life is permanent, that every state is temporary and transitory. Contemplating this concept teaches us to embrace change in our life, instead of working against it. When others notice a piece that is…
DRAWING ON PAIN: Aug 29 – Oct 13, 2013 at Espana Gallery, Vancouver BC
DRAWING ON PAIN Aug 29- Oct 13, 2013 Opening August 29, 2013 7-9 PM Espana Gallery 689 Abbott Street Vancouver BC Includes Artist Talk DRAWING ON PAIN exhibits my personal therapeutic process as I utilize art to help me process the difficult challenges I have encountered (and continue to encounter) in my life– such as…
For it is a Vancouver Story. #graphicnovel study
For it is a Vancouver Story. MOLLY- the graphic novel The TIMELINE of the story ranges from 1891-1968. The main event in Stanley Park occurred in 1947. — GRABLINE: He brushed the leaves aside and uncovered the most baffling double murder Vancouver has ever had. – The Vancouver Province April 15, 1953 –
Molly’s confession. #graphicnovel study #openingsequence
I am going to tell the story of my life in an alphabet of ashes. – Blas de Otero — GRABLINE: He brushed the leaves aside and uncovered the most baffling double murder Vancouver has ever had. – The Vancouver Province April 15, 1953 MOLLY- the graphic novel —
It doesn’t stop him. My death stops him. #graphicnovel study
Recall March 7, 2013, photoshoot at Salmagundi West for my graphic novel. I am struck by the ability of my model, Jocelyn Louise, to convey, in a simple glance, the pain of my main character as she tries to escape the memories of childhood trauma. Asexual. Living in church, reading about God all the time, getting callouses…
With a faery, hand in hand… photo shoot for the #graphicnovel at Salmagundi West!
On March 7, 2013, I was humbled at the generosity of Salmagundi West owner Anna Banner who allowed us to use her store as a back drop for our latest photoshoot! I was joined by Jocelyn Louise (who portrays Molly) and stylist Jay Fisher… … and my daughter Anna Thorsen who took the main shots…
“Where white is black and black is white, I won.” #graphicnovel study #crowskull
When Crow was white he decided the sun was too white. He decided it glared much too whitely. He decided to attack it and defeat it. He got his strength up flush and in full glitter. He clawed and fluffed his rage up. He aimed his beak direct at the sun’s centre. He laughed himself…
Maybe you mistook me for an angel… #graphicnovel studies and research
Sometimes, the truths that we hold to be fixed in our culture develop a fissure, which widens into a crack, and as we watch, the mirror shatters shard by shard, until nothing is left but fragments of the prejudice lying in disarray at our feet. – Patricia Pearson, Perceptions of Female Violence and the Vocabulary…
… the depths of that leaf-encumbered forest, the soul… #graphicnovel study
It rasped her, though, to have stirring about in her this brutal monster! To hear twigs cracking and feel hooves planted down in the depths of that leaf-encumbered forest, the soul; never to be content quite, or quite secure. – Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway MOLLY- the graphic novel —
Regarding Molly- importance of working titles and “acting as if…”
As I experiment with marrying text to illustration in my graphic novel, I am working from the end backwards, creating a working title and promotional mockup. Acting as if the book is completed, the project feels organized and allows me to create a skeletal framework on which to flesh out ideas. This framework can then…
The dissonance of text and illustration. Study for #graphicnovel #Molly #BabesintheWoods
MOLLY- the graphic novel —
Shame. Study for #graphicnovel
Recommended reading: — MOLLY- the graphic novel —
I, in fleshy tomb, am buried above ground. Study for #graphicnovel
— Encompass’d with a thousand dangers, Weary, faint, trembling with a thousand terrors….I…in fleshy tomb, am Buried above ground. – William Cowper MOLLY- the graphic novel —
The Babes in the Wood study #graphicnovel
The Babes in the Wood [1] My dear do you know, How a long time ago, Two poor little children, Whose names I don’t know, Were stolen away On a fine summer’s day, And left in a wood, As I’ve heard people say, Poor Babes in the Wood! Poor Babes in the Wood! Oh! don’t…
Take Off the Amber, Put Out the Lamp #graphicnovel #research
Take the day. Immerse. Forget everything else. Read. Sketch. Cocoon. Trust the calling. Today’s resources: Jamison, K.R. (1999) Night Falls Fast- understanding suicide, Vintage Books: New York, NY, USA Malooof, J., ed. (2012) Vivian Maier- Street Photographer, powerHouse Books: New York NY, USA Appignanesi, L. (2007) Sad, Mad and Bad- women and the mind-doctors from…