curlybrownpunk

Road Closed

2011-05-07T22:01:00.001-05:00

Road Closed a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Highway 200 and Prefontaine Road; north of Niverville. The Red River crested on Friday. The Red is just west of here on the other side of the trees.

Hwy 311

2011-05-07T22:00:00.001-05:00

Hwy 311 a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Highway 311 just west of Niverville looking north west. The farm fields look like a lake. Storm clouds are moving in quickly.

32 Ena's Egg

2011-04-28T20:40:00.001-05:00

32 Ena's Egg a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

35 YLNO SK8BRDS

2011-04-28T20:29:00.001-05:00

35 YLNO SK8BRDS a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

37 Hop Scotch Spring

2011-04-28T20:28:00.003-05:00

37 Hop Scotch Spring a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

36 And Release

2011-04-28T20:28:00.001-05:00

36 And Release a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

38 The Pixie

2011-04-28T20:27:00.001-05:00

38 The Pixie a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Wanda modeling her brand new dress prior to The Pixie's show.

34.1 Space Station '60s

2011-04-28T20:25:00.001-05:00

34.1 Space Station '60s a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Waiting for Cosmonauts. Bring cocktails.

33 Teetering

2011-04-28T20:24:00.001-05:00

33 Teetering a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Myla entertained for us after Easter Dinner by building a tall teetering tower. Her clowning resulted in several near collisions which culminated in lots of ooohs and aaahs. And to our delights, it came down in an inevitable crash.

34.2 Live Load

2011-04-28T20:22:00.001-05:00

34.2 Live Load a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

31 Meemoo ♡ Abby ♡ Léah

2011-04-19T18:51:00.005-05:00

30 Meemoo ♡ Abby ♡ Léah a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

My cat Meemoo digging some sidewalk chalking while nursing his latest cat fight injuries.

30 Last snowman standing

2011-04-18T18:27:00.001-05:00

29 Last snowman standing a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

The 'Peg got hit by snow this past weekend and the family up the street celebrated by building this snow, umm, slug. He's lost all but one of his carrot eyes by the time I took this photo.

29 Maybe it's Aqua Man?

2011-04-17T22:08:00.001-05:00

29 Maybe it's Aqua Man? a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

The Great Justice League debate continues.

Our girls are so into Justice League these days. And, coincidentally, Kinder is coupling JL stickers with their chocolates. Between them they own seven out of the eight stickers. Here they're trying to work out which JL super hero is on the eighth. They still haven't figured it out.

JL is great. The stories are quite interesting and it has two women super heroes: Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl. For them that's a big plus.

And they were right; it is Aqua Man.

Justice League stickers

28 Union Bank Tower

2011-04-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

28 Union Bank Tower a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Winnipeg's Union Bank Tower, built 1904-1913, was absorbed by the Royal Bank in 1925. It's sat empty since 1992 when the Royal Bank moved down Main Street. It's currently being renovated as the home of The Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, Red River College.

uniter.ca/view/5486/

27 Printastic

2011-04-15T20:53:00.000-05:00

27 Printastic a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Wanda and I headed down to Martha Street Studio to print up some patches on fabric for her hats. I'm out of practice and Wanda wanted to work on her skills so we worked on some test runs. We're dedicating the next few Fridays as screen printing time.

www.printmakers.mb.ca

26 Passion for Pottery

2011-04-14T21:17:00.002-05:00

26 Passion for Pottery a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Ena's bowl in mid-glaze; her clay cat, next in line for glazing, is peaking from behind.

Ena is 10 years old. All of our daughters have mad pottery skills.

They attend Art City's weekly pottery workshop religiously.

25 In this corner...

2011-04-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

25 In this corner... a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

24 Magnificent Mae

2011-04-12T21:20:00.001-05:00

24 Magnificent Mae a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

For over a week, Mae has been determined to cut her hair. And here's the rub, Mae has never had her hair cut. She's allowed Wanda to trim it over the past year or more, but never cut it. But she was determined and had a plan and a style in mind. So we booked appointments for all four girls at Hair on Broadway.

Biker Jim scared Mae, even though he's a sweetheart. She was in tears before it started. Instead she chose Mini, who happens to also be a Pint Sized Poison the roller derby girl. Mae loves derby; That sealed it.

Here she is with her styled cut of her own design.

Afterwards the girls went upstairs to Jill's for manicures.

23 Fitness Friends

2011-04-12T20:51:00.001-05:00

23 Fitness Friends a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Ena and Mae finishing one of their many continuous running loops in their attempt to keep fit and stay thin.

22 Omand's Lake?

2011-04-10T21:04:00.001-05:00

22 Omand's Lake? a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Omand's Creek valley is flooded and the bridge completely submersed. The creek is running wide and fast, but the flooding is caused by the overflowing waters of the Assininboine River which in turn is backed up by the flood waters of the Red River a few kilometres downstream.

21 128 Walnut

2011-04-10T09:19:00.001-05:00

21 128 Walnut a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

20 Cantor Dust at Lo Pub

2011-04-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

20 Cantor Dust at Lo Pub a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

We caught Cantor Dust at Lo Pub setting up and their sound check for their CD release show: Safaris I've Been On. They were great and unique: keyboards, cello, trumpet and hand drums. Sadly, we missed the show. But we picked up a CD on our way out.

19 The Mad Potter

2011-04-07T19:30:00.001-05:00

19 The Mad Potter a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Ena, a prolific potter, at Art City displaying one of her recent works: a clay cat.

www.artcityinc.com/

18 Art City bike

2011-04-06T18:08:00.001-05:00

18 Art City bike a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

The multi-wheeled bike sculpture adorning the roof of the home of Art City. It does double time as their logo. Our kids love this place. We love it. They have great workshops, great volunteers and guest artists and they feed great meals to the kids. I can't rave about this place enough.

www.artcityinc.com/

17.1 Open Up!

2011-04-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

17 Open Up! a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

The Assiniboine River opening up at the Osborne Street bridge.

17.2 Shards of the past

2011-04-05T18:08:00.002-05:00

Two photos today from our walk from Art City to Osborne Village and back again.

17.2 Shards of the past a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Quick snap of a limestone Ionic column capital resting in Mostyn Place Park. The park hosts several salvaged shards of shattered column from the sixth Winnipeg Post Office built in 1906 and demolished in 1962.

Stripey Spring Pixie

2011-04-04T21:17:00.001-05:00

Stripey Spring Pixie a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

From Wanda June's 2011 spring collection.

www.wandajune.com

Sweet and Sassy

2011-04-04T21:16:00.001-05:00

Sweet and Sassy a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

From Wanda June's 2011 spring collection.

www.wandajune.com

16 Bowling for Tweens

2011-04-04T18:07:00.001-05:00

16 Bowling a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Poe at Art City for 'Teen Pottery' working on a bowl.

www.artcityinc.com/

15 Cat Pause

2011-04-03T18:07:00.002-05:00

15 Cat Pause a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

The very next day it snowed. And it snowed all day. Our cats got out the door, hit the sidewalk and promptly did a 180 and came back to the porch were they took refuge for most of the afternoon.

Spring Fling

2011-04-02T10:23:00.001-05:00

Spring Fling a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

From Wanda June's 2011 spring collection.

www.wandajune.com

Screaming June

2011-04-02T10:14:00.001-05:00

Screaming June a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Wanda June 2011 spring collection.

http://www.wandajune.com

14 Date Day

2011-04-02T00:31:00.002-05:00

14 Date Day a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Yesterday, was the first warm, sunny, spring day and Wanda and I found ourselves kid-free, so we embarked upon a six hour walking date through downtown Winnipeg. We started with breakfast at Blacksheep Diner, made our way down Portage to Aqua Books for lunch, then over to the Exchange District for some window shopping, exploring and dessert. We came across some new stores and re-explored some old ones. We topped it off with a great meal at home to the tunes of Michael Jackson, courtesy of Myla, and a movie in bed. What a great day.

This shot is outside of 'Alt City Modern Convenience' on McDermot, a convenience store that looks like an art project.

13 Running on empty

2011-04-01T20:17:00.001-05:00

13 Running on empty a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

We were walking along Westminster when we came along our friend's van in need of a push through the intersection and just a hair past the bus stop. (It had run out of gas.) The Shoe Doctor was there for the save.

12 Wanda June Spring photo shoot

2011-03-31T11:21:00.002-05:00

Wanda June Spring photo shoot a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

A behind the scenes shot from Wanda June's spring 2011 photo shoot. (More photos to follow.)

Wanda designs and sews her clothing for her company Wanda June. And, unknown to most, she's also the model.

11 Spring Break shenanigans

2011-03-30T11:40:00.001-05:00

When you have four daughters, all close in age, your home usually becomes a hub of activity. Yesterday was no exception.

10 Nest of the Warrior

2011-03-29T19:56:00.002-05:00

Poe all bundled up in her bed-fort re-re-re-reading (4th read) another book in her favourite series: 'Warriors'.

9 Myla Megamind

2011-03-28T08:45:00.001-05:00

Myla Megamind a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Dinner ended with Myla's energetic reenactment of the best gags from 'Megamind'. We were planning to watch another movie together, but Myla's antics swayed us.

This was a tough shot. She wouldn't stand still long enough to capture her image well enough. I have a dozen blurred photos of her. This one captures her zany, frenetic character well.

8 Lunch with Wanda

2011-03-27T20:46:00.004-05:00

Lunch with Wanda a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Lunch at Moxies is a far cry from Breakfast at Tiffanies, but Wanda and I made it fun. We ventured out to the burbs, a rare event for us, and treated the big box malls like a downtown strip.

7 Osborne and River

2011-03-26T16:44:00.002-05:00

Osborne and River a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

I ducked out to grab a movie from Movie Village and took the opportunity to grab a quick snap.

6.2 Willy rocking out on accordion

2011-03-25T23:14:00.006-05:00

Two photos this time around. They're both fantastic and work as a diptych.

Willy rocking out on accordion a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

It didn't take much persuading on my part to get Willy, Wanda's dad, to pull out his accordion and belt out a few polkas. He played loud and hard and admitted later he didn't have to play so loud. Wanda followed along on guitar and the girls danced wearing Wanda's old handmade dresses.

You haven't lived until you've listened to an old Menno man play German polka on an accordion accompanied by guitar.

6.1 Wanda June on guitar

2011-03-25T23:13:00.004-05:00

Wanda June on guitar a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Wanda tuning Willy's old guitar for Ena. Willy bought it back in the early '70s when he moved to Winnipeg from Paraguay. He swears he'll gift it to his first grandchild who can play every chord. Ena is the only one in the running.

After Ena played, Wanda strung a few chords then played along with some old German polkas.

Who knew a night in Steinbach could be this much fun.

5 Spring melt on Walnut

2011-03-24T22:37:00.002-05:00

Spring melt on Walnut a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

4 Blue, blue, white, white, and blue.

2011-03-23T21:02:00.003-05:00

Blue, blue, white, white, and blue. a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

And a bit of brown. Wanda sporting her new hairdo on a late winter's day. Her hair and scarf echo her surroundings.

3 Ena Peach Boata

2011-03-22T23:15:00.004-05:00

Peach boat a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Ena munching a peach boat from Deluca's. Our chore charts are displayed behind; a necessity with four kids.

2 Spring Splash

2011-03-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

2 Spring Splash a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Celebrating Spring with a splash in the puddles.

1.2 Mysterious Mae: International Girl of Mystery

2011-03-20T23:43:00.002-05:00

International Girl of Mystery a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Mae has decided to be a spy when she grows up. Last month it was soccer player and coach. This month she's drawing inspiration from Nancy Drew. And with Moggy themed duotang in hand she's out to conquer life's mysteries.

1 Celebrating Spring

2011-03-20T21:27:00.001-05:00

Celebrating Spring a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Celebrating the vernal equinox with nachos and a Manga drawing party.

In Like A Lion — March 11, 2011

2011-03-11T20:48:00.000-06:00

#10 Westbound Walnut stop a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Winnipeg is famed for its March blizzards. And after a weary February and with much fanfare, the much anticipated blizzard hit the 'Peg. And it was a fantastic blustery affair with heavy winds and blowing snow.

Ena, Myla and I ventured out at the start of the storm in search of movies and snacks at the convenience store before hunkering down for the night to wait out it and prepare to dig out tomorrow.

The snaps with the flakes were captured with a flash. The others without, capturing the light and detail well, but not the falling and blowing snow. They look scenic, quiet and still. Reality was somewhere between.

There's several Police cruisers in the photos. They were on a manhunt. Two of them pulled over to asked me if I'd spotted the "perp".

More photos on my Flikr Photostream.

'Me Made March' — Wanda June Hoody Tank

2011-03-09T19:57:00.001-06:00

'Me Made March' — Wanda June Hoody Tank a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Wanda June's new tank hoody worn for ' Me Made March' and was available to win as part of her Facebook Friday Giveaway promotion.

Me Made March
The purpose of Me-Made-March '11 is to encourage those of us who make and/or refashion clothes to actually wear them in their everyday lives.

When I took this photo the windchill was about -30º. We took a few quick photos before rushing back inside. She was freezing. I don't know how she posed so well.

Disco or Die! Fall 2010 collection

2011-03-09T19:53:00.002-06:00

Disco or Die! a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Poster for Wanda June's 'Disco or Die!' fall 2010 collection.

I snapped this photo of Wanda posing serendipitously up against a 'Sportruk' camper owned by one of our neighbours. It was a tight squeeze; there's a car just out of frame on the right. I couldn't fit in her feet without having the car come into the frame.

We hadn't planned this shot. We came across the Sportruk in parked in a neighbour's car pad off of our back lane and took a few quick snaps. It's quite the coincidence how well her outfit matches the camper. It also fit well into our '70s theme.

I love how at odds her glam outfit juxtaposes the outdoor evirons. She looks like a model on vacation.

Wanda June 2011 posters

2011-03-08T20:40:00.010-06:00

With Wanda's recent release of her 2011 clothing collection, I assembled a few posters for in-store retail promotion. I snapped these photos at our our recent photo studio shoot at Level 3 studio. Here's two in the series.

The tunic mini dress

This is a great shot of Wanda in full disco regalia in stark contrast to the casual photo below.

Wanda is dressed achromatically in black, silver, greys, and off white. Her skin and hair are the warmest values in the photo. I took cues from the image and stuck to a similar achromatic palette for the design. The targets are one of our favourite icons; they echo the design on the fabric and hark back to earlier mod fashions. The fabric, a vintage stretch jersey, and the dress design are reminiscent of "It" girls Twiggy and Edie Sedgewick and the fashions of the '60s and early '70s.

Tunic Mini Dress

The one-shoulder tank top

I love this shot. I took it from a step ladder looking down on Wanda. The original photo is taller; I cropped her legs to fit on 8.5x11. I also designed a larger poster with the uncropped photo.

Wanda was inspired by '60s mod designs for this collection. The fabric, a vintage, stretch jersey, and the design are reminiscent of that earlier era but convey a fresh, contemporary sensibility. Sticking to the mod theme, I purposely chose circles, which resemble the London Underground logo and targets, both icons of mod culture, and stuck to the same primary mod colours, blue and red, also seen in Wanda's clothing.

One Shoulder Tank Top

Wanda June Mod Styles poster

2011-03-05T00:13:00.000-06:00

A new poster design for Wanda June clothing. This one is based on my love of poster art and flat, vector images. I limited the colour palette to mimic a silk screen print. The photo is form our most recent photo shoot. It's also used on a poster below.

Design, illsutration and original photo by Jim Hounslow

Wanda June Clothing and Apparel

Retro Sci Fi posters

2011-03-04T22:53:00.011-06:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I have a few new poster designs below. The photos our from a recent shoot Wanda and I did to prepare for her Winnipeg Folk Festival application and her 2011 apparel catalogue.

We found out late that the application deadline had been moved up a month. We panicked. With days to spare, Wanda hurriedly bought fabric and sewed several new pieces of clothing. I booked a photo studio. It was our first studio shoot. And it was exciting and fun.

The following day, I spent a few hours on the application and Wanda drove it the WFF offices through a snow storm. She made it by deadline with only minutes to spare.

The concept for the posters below come from the name of Wanda's 2011 clothing line: "Now boarding for Mars..." It also comes from my love of retro sci fi movies, retro movie posters and space queens and heroes.

Queen of Mars

Who will save the universe?

Now Boarding for Mars

Posters featuring photos of my wife, Wanda June, from a one of our recent photo shoots.

Photo, design and illustration: Jim Hounslow. Dresses by Wanda June. Model: Wanda June

Wanda June Clothing and Apparel

Walnutters: Life on Walnut Street

2011-02-24T19:12:00.000-06:00

Walnut Street has it's share of colourful characters and equally colourful homes. Here's a sampling of some of our neighbours' homes.

Tobogganing at Omand's Creek

2010-12-28T16:56:00.000-06:00

Family Toboggan Run a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

We didn't do much sledding this past winter due to weather, time and lack of interest as the girls are getting older. This was a fantastic warm and sunny day back during the winter holidays and we had the slopes of Omand's Creek to ourselves.

Not surprisingly, Winnipeg doesn't have much in the way of hills, Garbage Hill aside, so riverbanks and toboggan runs are the favoured slopes of choice.

To capture the top photo, I was belly down on the slope. Not the best lighting but a decent shot anyway.

Ena and Mae a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Queen of the Slopes a photo by jim hounslow on Flickr.

Here's a shot of Wanda getting ready to own the slopes. Who needs a snowboard when you can ride a wooden toboggan down the hill.

IMT: Warrior

2009-05-27T20:48:00.004-05:00

My first post for Inspire Me Thursday. The theme: Warrior. A composite drawing of several sketches of Apollo the Archer and Constanstine, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

IF: Cracked

2009-05-25T16:07:00.003-05:00

My entry for IF's theme 'Cracked'.

IF: Contagious

2009-05-15T18:24:00.003-05:00

My entry for this week's IF theme: Contagious. As temps in Winnipeg dip well below zero, the puddles freeze, and snow falls in mid May, I suffer through a cold and an upper respiratory infection and this particular theme hits home.

IF: Parade

2009-05-14T16:34:00.005-05:00

Entry for IF's theme of Parade. Just under the wire but here it is. My first entry in months. I screwed up a bit. I was working under the impression that the theme was Hierarchy, hence the chess pieces, which was last week's theme. But with a bit of change I've made it work with the actual theme: Parade.

IF: Island

2008-09-18T14:54:00.004-05:00

Quick sketch for IF's Island.

IF: Canned

2008-07-30T17:31:00.003-05:00

Busy summer. Missed the last two IFs. Here's my entry for 'Canned'; a recent illustration of a robot with a Tin Man complex.

IF: Fierce 2

2008-06-27T12:08:00.004-05:00

A second submission for fierce. The original illustration was drawn for my niece's soccer team Burlington 'The Mad Dogs'. Nothing's more fierce than 9 and 10 year old girls. I went with pink to match their soccer uniforms.

IF: Fierce 1

2008-06-27T10:53:00.003-05:00

An older illustration rendered in graphite.

IF: Hoard

2008-06-26T17:54:00.003-05:00

Peanut butter hoarder?

IF: Punchline. "That is not my dog!"

2008-06-17T23:29:00.007-05:00

The lead up the to the punchline: "That is not my dog!" From the film 'The Pink Panther Strikes Again'. This was one of my favourite movies as a kid and this scene with Clouseau and the German inn keeper is the most memorable. This dialogue also gave us the "zimmer" joke. Check it out on YouTube.

IF: Forgotten

2008-06-13T17:33:00.002-05:00

Late, but not forgotten.

I often forget what I intended to get. I walk upstairs in my house and back down empty handed or with the wrong item. I walk down the street and suddenly remember I've forgotten to bring some item with me. I wake up in the middle of the night and remember a song lyric, word or name forgotten the day before. I even make lists but frequently misplace them.

IF: Baby

2008-06-04T13:34:00.004-05:00

A reminder that not all babies are perfect, angels or cute.

IF: Worry

2008-05-29T16:15:00.003-05:00

A quick sketch for Worry. I love robots. I love big robots. I love scary robots. I love big, scary robots.

IF: Wide

2008-05-22T17:25:00.004-05:00

Big, wide eyed excitement. Inspired by my girlfriend's daughter (she loves the sugar rush), recent viewings of HR PufnStuf with my kids and nostalgia for sugary confections from the corner store.

IF: Electricity

2008-05-13T20:04:00.002-05:00

My submission for IF: Electricity. I was working on another drawing for IF, a robot being electrocuted, when I caught a bit of an episode of Astroboy. This is an amalgamation of the two.

IF: Seed

2008-05-05T23:04:00.002-05:00

Submission for Illustration Friday. Theme: Seed.

Jack's magic beans meets bit torrents.

IF: Wrinkles

2008-04-28T23:24:00.001-05:00

My first submission to Illustration Friday for the theme "Wrinkles". More desiccated than wrinkly, but here you have it: my comic book version of my favourite type of undead, a zombie.