On Monday November 29 at 2pm, Kim and I will be live-streaming our Virtual Collage Jam on my YouTube channel as usual — but from Gladstone House’s brand-new studio space! We'll be joined in the studio by a few lucky Virtual Collage Jammers. To join the Virtual Collage Jam list to get email notices of future events like this, sign up for my email list!

TOUR THE AMAZING RENOVATIONS!
Before our Jam, Gladstone House curator Lee Petrie will introduce us to the hotel’s new contemporary design that honours the iconic hotel’s history, and a selection of work from the more than 50 artists showcased in the hotel.
Tour will start at 1:30pm. Meet in the lobby. (This will also be live-streamed!.)

TO JOIN THE LIVESTREAMS
on Monday November 29, simply click on the photos above at 1:30 pm and 2pm respectively, or you can also find them on my YouTube Channel.

We are SOOO looking forward to this! I hope you can join us!

Warmest,
Kal and Kim

... but there are plenty of classes with me online, as well as my FREE Virtual Collage Jam every other Monday! 

​Stay safe everyone!

I started my FREE Virtual Collage Jam on March 30, 2020 as an offering to my artistic community so that we could create together -- taking our minds off the pandemic temporarily and feel connected. It took off like crazy, and turned into one of the best experiences of my life! We'd get together every Monday on Zoom, and then YouTube with a common prompt and a few cobbled-together collage materials, spend an hour and a half together talking art, collage, creativity, etc. -- while our hands kept busy making collages. You could feel the stress and anxiety subside as we worked together. Our private Facebook group became a hotbed of collage posting and sharing of ideas and encouragement -- it was truly beautiful!

Kim and I are now taking some time off to re-charge. We had a hectic Fall and early 2020 with two shows each in 3 months -- we were exhausted before covid hit... And when it did, we were compelled to respond as quickly as we could with online classes and our free events to help our community (and us) cope. It became a beautiful thing. We finally got to spend time together again -- such a treat. As designers, we used to work from our home, and now here we were again. Except for the covid anxiety, it felt wonderful. And we got to work with each other again, which was such a treat.

We both LOVE having free YouTube events that anyone can join us for -- or you can watch the replays if you can't join live. Starting in September, our respective events will alternate on Saturday afternoons at 2pm, starting on September 19th with Kim's Virtual Studio Party, followed the next week by the return of my Virtual Collage Jam.

Conceived as a way for artists to safely showcase their work and receive support (donations, purchases, etc.) during Covid-19, The National Arts Drive happens this Saturday! 
Artists in select cities across Canada, the US and Mexico will be displaying, performing and showcasing their creativity from driveways, balconies, windows, stoops, front lawns, or participating local small businesses (where applicable and safe) simultaneously. In the GTA, the time period is 4-7pm EDT,  and I’ll be showing a bevy of my Subversive SignsTM, including some new designs!
By RSVP-ing on their website as a “Driver” — aka a viewer/appreciator — you will receive an email on Saturday with a map marked with the locations of all the participating artists in your area so you can drive around to see/hear/appreciate what they have to offer! 
I’m in Brampton — so I’m a long way away from most of you, so no pressure — but please consider heading out to support the artists in your area — artists have been hit very hard by Covid-19, so they will really appreciate your showing them some love!

Virtual Collage Jam is a FREE, real-time, weekly social collage-making session - Now on YouTube!

Every Monday at 2pm EDT, go to my YouTube Channel and look for the LIVE NOW stream.

Work, chat & connect while indulging in some cut-and-paste therapy! Getting hands-on is very grounding, and collaging is tons of fun, regardless of level or ability. I'll be working (playing!) and chatting right alongside you.
You can use YouTube's chat to ask questions, comment, respond to my questions, etc. My partner Kim-Lee Kho will be manning the chat - passing along your comments so I can respond. 

I’ve also created a private Virtual Collage Jam Facebook Group so we can share our collages and see what others in the group have made!

Weekly Prompts (Optional):
I email the group an optional theme/idea/image (as well as posting it on the Facebook group) that you can work with if desired. It might be a word, an idea, a common image we can all incorporate, etc. 
It’s fun seeing what other minds do using the same starting point … and I’m open to suggestions/contributions for future sessions!

Tools & Materials
 I love collage because it’s SO democratic:

• You can do it with simple cutting tools, a gluestick and a few pictures. 
• •You don’t have to be able to draw or paint.
• •There are many different options for materials: coloured papers, magazines, old books, your own photos, images taken from the internet and printed out, etc. 

These sessions are FREE! 
Please email me if you're interested  in joining using the button below. I send out a weekly email with the week's optional prompt. (I also post it in our Facebook group.) Your email will NOT be shared with any third parties, and you will not receive emails from me about anything else — unless you wish to sign up for my email list, of course.

Virtual Collage Jam is a real-time, weekly social collage-making session using the Zoom platform. 
Work, chat & connect while indulging in some cut-and-paste therapy! Getting hands-on is very grounding, and collaging is tons of fun, regardless of level or ability. I'll be working (playing!) and chatting right alongside you.
I’ve also created a private Virtual Collage Jam Facebook Group so we can share our collages and see what others in the group have made!
​
Weekly Prompts (Optional):
I will post an optional theme/idea/image on the Facebook Group that you can work with if desired. It might be a word, an idea, a common image we can all incorporate, etc. 
It’s fun seeing what other minds do using the same starting point … and I’m open to suggestions/contributions for future sessions!

Tools & Materials
 I love collage because it’s SO democratic:

• You can do it with simple cutting tools, a gluestick and a few pictures. 
• •You don’t have to be able to draw or paint.
• •There are many different options for materials: coloured papers, magazines, old books, your own photos, images taken from the internet and printed out, etc. 

These sessions are FREE! 
But I will need your email address to send you the weekly Zoom meeting link: You can direct message me with your email address on Facebook or Instagram, or use the button below to email me.
Your email will NOT be shared with any third parties, and you will not receive emails from me about anything else — unless you wish to sign up for my email list, of course.

I’m over-the-moon-excited to be an invited artist at this year’s Come Up to My Room at the Gladstone Hotel!

Now in its 17th year, this much-anticipated perennial is one of the only exhibitions where art and design intersect, with the historic hotel becoming a platform for site-specific installations. Visitors can explore, discover and engage in conversation with the artists. Different from our 37 permanent artist-designed hotel rooms, CUTMR presents temporary projects that occupy and alter spaces in dramatic, conceptual, or experimental ways.
Find out more about this year’s event and check out previous years work. 

What’ll I be showing??
I don’t think I’m letting the cat out of the bag too much to say, "Expect signs - LOTS of signs!"
If you missed my December Subversive Signs show at Red Head Gallery, this is your chance to see many of my new works and some old favourites, too.
Public Hours:
Thurs. Jan. 16: 7-10pm
Fri. Jan. 17: 11am-8pm
Sat. Jan. 18: 11am-10pm  -  including Exhibition Party 7-10pm, and Love Design Party 10pm til late
Sun. Jan. 19: 11am-5pm
Tickets are $10 and available here!
Students with valid ID: $5 on Friday

I'm super-excited (and more than a bit nervous!) to be hosting my first downtown solo show at Red Head Gallery!

My first exhibition focussed solely on my sign work, Signs of Subversion will encompass old favourites (both custom-fabricated and vinyl interventions on existing road signs) as well as bevy of brand-new signs made for this show!

All signs will be available for sale (at end of show) - and a limited number of my more popular 12x18" parking signs will be available as  cash-and-carry - arrive early for best selection!
(If I run out of the design you want, I'll be taking orders and doing my best to fulfill them before Christmas!)

I know its a crazy-busy time of year, but if you find yourself downtown, come on by for a fun art break!

​DECEMBER 10 TO 14, 2019
Reception: Saturday December, 14, 1- 4 PM

Exhibition Hours:
Tuesday, December 10,  12-5 PM
Wednesday December 11,  12-5 PM
Thursday, December 12,  12-8 PM
Friday, December 13,  12-8 PM
Saturday December 14,  12-5 PM

Exhibition Artist Statement
Signs are everywhere in our communities, so many aiming to control or prohibit aspects of our of behaviour, movement, or freedom. As good, orderly Canadians, we obey most of them without a second thought. Kal finds that both interesting and disconcerting. What if, rather than the expected restrictions, official signage either questioned authority or supported a more humane agenda — ideally doing it with a bit of levity? Sharing a chuckle instantly creates connection, diffuses tension and re-humanizes us. What better way to open space for dialog on any given topic — be it personal, societal or global?

A long-time graphic designer, Kal has maintained his love of creative restraints in his art signage work. Since youth enthralled with the dynamic colours and graphics of sport (formula one, cycling), his love of bold, direct communication endures in the references to signage, advertising, memes and graffiti in his work.
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Can't make this one?
I'm also over-the-moon excited (and honoured) to have been invited to participate in January's Come Up to My Room event at The Gladstone Hotel! Now in its 17th year, ‘Come Up To My Room’ invites artists and designers to create a 4-day site-specific, immersive installations that stimulate the imagination and encourage discussion and dialogue between contributors and visitors alike. This year's dates are January 16-19. Save the dates and stay tuned for more deets!