This January, I've embarked on a unique project: creating one-of-a-kind graphite drawings for each of my customers who place an order this month. This draw-to-order approach stems from my experience in December, where I ended up with an excess of unsold prints. These leftover prints will now find a new home at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto. Fortunately, this situation has afforded me the opportunity to dedicate more time to personally drawing for Humankind customers.
Recently, I returned to Toronto after a stay in Spain, where the seafood and paella were soooo tasty. Back in Toronto, my craving for seafood persisted. This led me to think about the ecological significance of oysters. Not only do they play a crucial role in protecting coastal habitats and filtering pollutants, but their natural patterns are strikingly beautiful and, of course, they are delicious too. I decided to explore the idea of giving a new purpose to something ordinarily discarded, i.e. oyster shells.
My quest for supplies began with the purchase of three fresh oysters from a local grocery store. Next, I sought a shucking knife at a dollar store, but, unfortunately, none were available. I resorted to using a paring knife which broke (haha). Here, I’m shucking the oysters and preparing them with a combination of Tabasco and lemon juice.
After eating them, I thoroughly washed and dried the oyster shells. I find the naturally occurring textures of these particular oysters very beautiful. I left them to dry overnight.
I reused the Strathmore paper I bought for “Joyous Dancer” to sketch one oyster.
Here is the final result. If you’ve purchased this month, expect to get the print and the oyster shell!