So there was a news story a bit over one year ago where the president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, Stephen Duckett, was pressured by some reporters to answer questions after he had left a meeting and was on the way to another one. Duckett’s reaction to them was entertaining; He was eating a cooking, and basically refused to speak to the press because he was too busy eating this cookie. The persistent reporters followed him out of the building, down the street, and all the way to another building and the whole time he milked his cookie excuse for as long as possible. While surely an immature and inappropriate way to deal with the reporters who had valid questions about a recent heath system problem that deserved to be answered, it was certainly really funny to watch.

You can see the whole event on this 2 minute video here, and if you don’t watch it you probably won’t understand why my graphic is funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DxeCK5Ne_Q
[Stephen Duckett's "Cookie Exchange" with Edmonton media]

His repeated cookie eating responses inspired me to create this:

The original image was simply a screenshot from that YouTube video, plus some random cookie monster graphic from a google image search.

P.S. He was fired a few days after this cookie controversy… and he also received a golden parachutte severance of one year’s salary.

Ingredients: -11 degree weather + water + various bottle caps + one burned out lightbulb + 2 unidentified sticks = Samuel.

Watercolour, pencil crayon and marker.

Alternative names for this piece include Ergotoxicosis, and Ignis sacer.

As many of you know, Christmas has never been a part of my family tradition. While I remain open to the concept and welcome holiday festivities, I don’t go out of my way to do anything Christmasy or festive around this time. This year, I find myself spending the evening of the 24th with my art supplies. In the true spirit of the season, I would like to share with you the result of such an evening.

Firstly, we have Skittles the Christmas Skunk. I acknowledge that he is extremely deformed, but implore you to refrain from commenting on his unsightliness. After all, Christmas is about forgiving. It is proof that I am loved, given that my partner went as far as to put it on her Christmas tree. Like all my other needle-felt creations, this distant cousin of Pepé le Pew is fashioned out of Peace Fleece roving wool.

Next, we have the collage-type art, a medium to which I should clearly stick. This particular piece is called Con Sequins, and deals with the repercussions of an advertisement-driven childhood.

Lastly, we have some hand-drawn documentation of the Anti-Santa. When interviewed, all he had to say was YoYoYo.

I wish you all the merriest of Christmases, and a wonderful start to the new year <3

As you all know, it is important to adapt to the circumstances. In this case, the circumstances entail my home scanner no longer working as well as it once did.

What this means in the context of Art Time Collective, is that many of my uploads will be coming from the University of Toronto Scotiabank Information Commons. Indeed, my art will now be indirectly sponsored by a colossal research institution posing as a university, coupled with one of the companies responsible for the 2001 financial crisis in Argentina.

But my, what crisp images.

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Geocache:

Markers and pencil crayons, combined with a background from a Jacques Cousteau book, as well as a puffer fish from a book of questions and answers. The eyebeams were cut out from a duotang-type folder.

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For Sale

Images from a handyman’s encyclopoedia, as well as from National Geographic. The thought bubbles are outlines in black Sharpie.

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Vanity flair

Background from a handyman’s encyclopoedia, statue from a book about Greek mythology. I  drew the screwdriver using permanent marker.

Darwin sees evolution as a non-hierarchical explosion of multi-directional changes and adaptations. I tried to capture the essence of the great man, tending to his idea over the multiple decades he spent developing his theory. The artwork is based on (and incorporates) Darwin’s sketch of his proposed Tree of Life, which in a lot of ways continues to be much more accurate than the forward-facing, teleological depictions of evolution we see today. Darwin’s figure was developed by manipulating various images (a bust of Darwin, a suit, a pair of shoes and a watering can), and the tree (along with its foliage) was drawn on the computer. The top of the tree, wherein speciation is shown, is Darwin’s original image, as are the words “I think,” which I believe, in their scribbled-down context, to be the two most modest words ever written.

Accompanying this image is an essay I recently wrote for my History of Evolution course, which provided inspiration for the direction in which I decided to take this artwork.

Hope to hear your thoughts,

–Ionatan Waisgluss

*** Make sure to tell your friends. ***