The Learning Zone

It’s a wrap! Summer semester is over and we at Library Services Learning Zone are looking ahead to welcoming back students and faculty when we open for the Fall/Winter Semester.

The Learning Zone recently celebrated its 5^th Anniversary with the launch of the ReUse Depot, networking across campus to promote the Re-using, Re-claiming, Re-purposing, and Re-cycling art & design materials.

At the Learning Zone, the promotion of exchange and sustainability is embraced through the support for Plate Station, OCAD Seed Library, and GrOCAD.

In addition, the Learning Zone contains a growing OCAD Zine Library collection, eclectic multi-platform magazine Visionaire, Design Annuals, XPACE Cultural Centre: External Space and Career Services Resume/CV Drop-in Clinics.

Visit us to study, collaborate, or fuel your imagination.

Stay tuned for our September hours!

Tetyana Herych is in her final year studying in the Cross-Disciplinary Art: Publications program. She primarily makes print-based work – small edition artist books. She likes to deal with human politics and visual aesthetics. Tetyana is currently in the process of starting a new small press, focusing on publications and artist multiples.

LZ: What do you enjoy most about your program?

 TH: I really like that my program is new, because it allows me to structure my education the way I want to. The head of my program, Johanna Householder, and the creator of the program, Shannon Gerard are both great educators who are open to new and innovative ideas.

 How has the publications program shaped your vision as an independent publisher?

The publications program has introduced me to so many new artists and publishers. It has helped me distinguish the good from the bad, and look at my own work more objectively.

What inspires you?

I am currently inspired by architecture from various eras, decorative patterns, and 50s furniture. Oh and Humphrey Bogart.

What kind of books do you enjoy reading? What are you reading now?

I don’t have a favourite genre, although I do spend a lot of time reading graphic novels. I am currently in the middle of reading Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, and I am taking my time soaking in the technical details that Ware uses.

During your mobility/exchange program with Pacific Northwest College of Art, you printed a book called Ukraine: In the winter & spring of 2013-2014. How did your experience at PNCA influence the direction of your book?

I would not have been able to print this book at OCADU. At PNCA I had a lot more access to the screenprinting and letter press studio. They were also a lot more organized and less crowded, which allowed me to work comfortably.

In Toronto I know the Ukrainian community, whereas in Portland, I did not know any Ukrainians, and I even ended up living with a couple from Russia. The combination of isolation and a comfortable working environment produced the book.

How would you describe yourself as an artist?

I hesitate to call myself an artist, because I feel like an observer or facilitator in the art world. I currently write for an online publication that reviews art shows. I also recently put on a large art exhibition with Jazmine Carr at the Brink’s Building, where we showed over 20 emerging artists associated with OCADU. I think right now I’m taking my time in observing the art world and figuring out what is missing, so that I can fill in the gap with something useful.

What is your creative process?

If I’m taking on a new project, I try to research as much as I can about it online, then I try to talk about it to anyone that would listen. Their reaction gives me a good indicator if it is worth pursuing or not.

When you graduate, you are on a path into becoming an independent publisher, what will be your focus?

My focus will always remain in art, but also other political and environmental issues. You know, things that make us human.

What is your relationship to books compared to e-books?

I only indulge in e-books when they are free, and I am too broke to purchase a hard copy for class, and the library’s copy is unavailable. I do not enjoy reading from a screen. The book is no longer a book. All the physical pleasure associated with holding a book is removed. However, I am interesting in exploring the e-book for small reads that are specifically designed for that medium.

What are 3 likes and 3 dislikes of yours?

I like coffee, soylent, and red wine.

I dislike white wine, wal-mart, and Stephen Harper.

What are your favourite printing processes?

 I enjoy screenprinting, because the possibilities are endless!

What is it that excites you most about the materials that you work with? Is there another medium you like to work in?

I enjoy working with ink and watercolours, the immediacy is great for sketching. I’ve also been pushing myself to work more with video, and figuring out what best captures attention.

What do you do to relax?

I like to make cocktails and listen to music.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us, any final thoughts?

“You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

Katie Kotler’s digital animation, Despondence, uses playful renderings of simple forms, regular geometry, and fluttery organic shapes floating through space, to create an eye-popping visual symmetry of fun.

Kotler, a recent graduate from OCAD University Digital Future Program takes her inspiration from early computer animated technology, contemporary digital art and the usage of grids to describe spatial relationships, used throughout history to resolve a multitude of mathematical abstractions and geometric fundamentals, and is at the core of all computerized digital structures.

Curated by Adrienne Crossman.

On until September 14 at External Space in the Learning Zone or online.