It seems that my exploding toothbrush experience wasn’t as unusual as the manufacturers claimed. Now Health Canada has announced a recall. They don’t make that model toothbrush any more. I got interviewed over the phone by Canadian Press. Nice to have a little effect on things. UPDATE (Nov 3, 2011): Now I’ve got some fairly […]
Tags: Activism, photos, ruttan's place
The other night I went up to the Drawn & Quarterly bookstore on Bernard Street, in the vaguely trendy area of Mile End in Montreal. Amazingly got a seat right by the lectern, with a view of the screen, as below. Drooker’s event was billed as a Workshop on Art and Activism, but it was […]
Tags: Activism, current events, montreal, Pen & Ink, photos, sketches
Saw them the other night, at an event sponsored by Drawn & Quaterly publications. Two big cartoonists at the tops of their games. Didn’t have much to say to us struggling types. Neither of them really uses a computer, or worries about people reading their comics. Clowes talked about what it was like being nominated […]
Tags: cartoons, current events, montreal, photos
I wanted to share a family heirloom, a roll of gummed paper packing tape from my Great Grandfather’s General Store in Hardisty, Alberta. It dates from about the depression (not the current one, I mean about 1932-33), and is slightly stuck together from the gum, but I’ve unrolled a little as you see. Nice phone […]
Tags: Family, photos, ruttan's place
Shot of a drunken me (Jack Ruttan) and the estimable (and late) Sonja Skarstedt at the now-defunct Double Hook Bookstore, sometime in the early 1990s. Photo by Geof Isherwood.
Tags: books, literature, montreal, photos, poesy
Taking a break from all the sketchbooky angst to post these shots of a performance of “Pinocchio” in the local park, still going on, even as I type this!
Tags: current events, montreal, photos, ruttan's place
Yesterday, I went to check out the Formula 1 Festivities downtown in Montreal. Snapped a few photos, as above. Kind of tiring, the whole thing, so I took a pit stop in Dorchester Square, ate French Fries, and sketched the equestrian monument to the wildly popular Boer War.
Tags: Animals, colour, current events, horses, montreal, paintings, photos, sketches, watercolour
Happy with how the video turned out, because I didn’t work that hard trying to get every little thing, or even amazing things. Leave that to other chroniclers. This is just my view of the show. I made sketches, which will be posted later, and I might also make an effort at identifying some of […]
I was at the above-named event today. Plenty of cartoonists, plenty of cartoons. A surprise for me, because I didn’t know many of them. The Montreal comics scene is indeed diverse. The first day, Saturday, is devoted to creating strips: cartoonists are paired up to produce these. Sunday is for displaying the finished work to […]
Tags: cartoons, collaboration, comics, montreal, photos, workshop
I visited this show last night, at Galerie Monastiraki. Wasn’t really sure what they were doing, whether it was a book, or a show, or what. Turned out to be art. Here are some snapshots: I also made videos where I chatted with the artists. Very pleased that I’ve begun to be able to use […]
Something special for this month’s comic jam. Pierre Landry from CBC Radio came and interviewed us about the comic jam. Maybe this is a result of the press attention we got in the Gazette a couple of weeks ago. Here are some snaps from the Jam, including the interview: And you can listen to the […]
Tags: collaboration, colour, comics, Jeff Leblanc, Marr, men, montreal, Montreal Comic Jam, photos, Richard Gagnon, sketches, watercolour
I visited the vernissage for this show last night, which was a lot of fun, perfect for Hallowe’en. An artist friend on twitter suggested I check it out. So I did and wasn’t disappointed. Did a little bit of a reporter thing, with my electronic devices: my tiny Lumix Camera, and my cigarette-lighter shaped voice […]
Tags: montreal, photos, visual art, Zombies
I’m behind in my blogging, as usual. September seems to be a whirl of events and parties. While my health is back (for now!) it’s hard to get out to everything. I promised to record a few of these, so here we are. These are shots and sketches from the weekend party in Mederic Martin […]
Tags: colour, men, montreal, photos, ruttan's place, watercolour, women