Corita Kent (1918–1986) was a nun for over three decades, who created bold and colourful silkscreen prints that championed social justice causes. She’s known loosely as the ‘pop-art nun,’ producing work at the same time as Andy Warhol and using his art as inspiration. This woman was an incredibly disruptive force for her time, and her achievements are ones to be remembered – despite her not getting anywhere near as much recognition as Warhol. Early life Corita was born Frances Elizabeth Kent to a large Catholic family. Kent recalled always being drawn to creative design and sketching throughout her childhood. She attended a Catholic Girls High School run by nuns of the Immaculate Heart, where some of the younger nuns...

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A muse is defined as 'a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist.' The word dates back to Greek mythology, referring to Zeus' daughters forming the nine Muses who presided over the arts. This relation to mythology has made people assume that a muse is something spiritual, or imaginary, rather than someone or something physical. But, as many artists might know, an artist's source of inspiration can take so many different forms. History is full of captivating muses, ranging from mythical beauties that captured what traits were idealised at the time, to real women whom the artists chose to be their regular models. They were celebrated and often depicted as an enchanting woman...

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We can all learn a lot from Sharmadean, particularly when it comes to her outlook on life and women's equality. Who is she? Sharmadean Reid is the Founder and CEO of Beautystack and The Stack World. Her mission is to create economic and social empowerment for women through technology and media. Okay, so you want to know what those businesses are. The Stack World is a woman-to-woman community and network that covers five key pillars: beauty, wellness, business, culture, and society. They 'create spaces for intelligent, ambitious women who see themselves as infinite learners with insatiable curiosities.' Doesn't that description make you want to sign up like, now? Beautystack was founded in 2018, which 'uses visual menus and social network...

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I can bet a hefty sum of money that you would have spent some of the last 18 months watching trashy TV, or spending more time trying to decide what to watch on Netflix, versus actually watching anything. So you took to Google, searching high and low for a well-reviewed show. The shows below all have less than desirable ratings online – and I think they deserve a chunk of your time. Many TV critiques judge the production, the presenting, and the commercial value of a show. Those factors are of course important, but these shows have one thing in common that makes them stand out from other programmes: they all showcase some incredible artwork, created with love and passion...

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I'm not the only one who's developed a thick lockdown shell, right? Even now we are all slowly getting back to normal life (whatever that looks like), most of us are still holding the weight of the previous 18 months on our shoulders. What might also have come as a shock to us, is that we've lost some of our ability to practice good levels of self-care, relax, and just be around a group of others. We adapted to prolonged isolation, and we've got no clue how to get back to 'how we used to be.' Back when Toronto first came out of lockdown, I attended a pop-up playground – not for kids, but for adults. Ran by a non-profit,...

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Some Reads // August 2021 I found this Vogue Australia interview through journalist, Grace O’Neil’s Instagram (YES I KNOW BUT INSTAGRAM IS A GOOD RESOURCE OK?). Grace interviews Charlie Porter about his new book “What Artists Wear”. I am going to buy the book today! RIGHT UP MY STREET. I find what artists choose to dress in/ surround themselves with very interesting (and clearly most people do). It’s not necessarily informed by trends or by social class, as much of fashion can be and has been, but it is definitely carefully considered in a separate type of way. A different kettle of fish, but also overlapping, like a venn-diagram. While in this book it seems Charlie is focusing on the sculptors,...

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Some Reads // October 2020 How Do We Know We're Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes  + Soufflé Souls "How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?" is a collection of essays on modern life by Pandora Sykes. She covers loads of topics: authenticity, fast fashion, the internet and religion. The first essay is about *bing bing bing* you guessed correctly, wellness. Pandora speaks about the wellness industry and asks what the heck does wellness even mean? Is it health but for the wealthy? Can you be 'healthy' but not 'well'? She speaks about how diet culture has been rebranded as wellness - for example 'Weight Watchers' is no longer, but instead simply, 'WW' with the tagline 'Wellness that Works'. “We are savvier and...

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Some Reads // July 2020 Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid  I read Kiley’s book, Such a Fun Age a few weekends ago and then, subsequently listened to every podcast on the interweb about it. It's about a 25 year old black woman named Emira and the two white people in her life at that point, her employer and the guy she starts dating. The story is just so real. I enjoyed listening to Kiley herself talk about the complexities of the characters, and how we know people just like them in our lives. Throughout the book, I noticed my brain trying to figure out which person was “right” and which person was “wrong” until I realized that that...

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Some Listens // July 2020 Pardon my French with Garance Doré Carte Blanche: Turning a Creative Passion into a Business Garance has a conversation with three women that are at different stages of starting and owning small businesses. I liked this conversation because of the honesty they brought to it and how they agreed to disagree on some things. Some were open about wanting their businesses to become large businesses, with flagship stores all over the world, while others said that wasn’t important to them. Some said they wanted a hand in everything that happened at their business, that they found it difficult to hire people, others were not as fussed about that.  Clare, founder of Clare V. talks about how she tells...

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When I opened the brown bag of potatoes yesterday and they were sprouting and looking particularly sad, a bit from Nora Ephron's, Heartburn sprung to mind. It's on page 124, entitled Potatoes and Love: Some Reflections.  The first time I read it, I laughed out loud. Then I went to read it to my sister and it made her laugh out loud. True to its theme (the lead character is a food writer), it has a kind of balance that is akin to an excellently executed culinary dish. That being said, I guess I'll just get right in there and add a quarantine twist. Potatoes and Love Quarantine: Some Reflections The beginning I have friends that begin with pasta, and friends that begin with rice,...

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