Author: Kevin Bourne

A few months ago I wrote an opinion piece called There’s No Creation Without Collaboration that was pretty well received. I wrote that very few things of note have been created by “one man shows”. Working with others is something that many creative people struggle with because it requires surrendering your vision to others. Today’s piece is a follow-up which reflects something I’m learning on my own creative journey- there’s no creation without persistence. It’s noted that Thomas Edison failed over a thousand times before successfully creating a light bulb. When Illumination Pictures needed a theme song for the Minion…

Name: Christopher Tabaro Home base: San Diego, California/Guelph, ON Biggest accomplishment: Being able to do music for a living while being able to inspire others. What creativity means to me: An action. A lot of people think of stuff, but I think that the creative process is all about action; making it happen. It’s painting your own picture, literally or metaphorically, rather than painting the same thing as somebody else. Past and present creative icons: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Victor Wooten, Herbie Hancock Place where I feel most creative: It doesn’t matter where, as long as I’m in a room…

“Painting is like the hardest thing to work with when it comes to narratives because it’s not like a photo. You are manipulating the image so a lot is lost but also, a lot is gained because you spend so much on it.” -Amanda Boulos Amanda Boulos couldn’t have been more right with this statement. The Toronto-based artist was able to capture what many couldn’t on camera in Split Split Mound. Boulos explained that she used the concept of GIFs in some of her pieces. Instead of recording movements and having the video play continuously, she decided to paint the…

If you’re an aspiring rapper looking to sharpen your pen as a lyricist, here are six techniques the pros use to improve their lyricism. You’re an aspiring young rapper. You spend hours listening to your favourite artists on repeat. Your notebook binder is an endless sea of your most poppin’ punchlines and “bangin’-est” bars. One problem. You have the lyrical depth of a cardboard box. No matter how much you write, your raps lack the punch needed to take it to the next level. Don’t sweat the technique! Here are 6 lyrical crafting techniques that the pros use today to…

In the most recent video episode of Live! & Rock, CDH Live! and Shel Rock interviewed Lego artist, Mel Finelli. They talked about gender and race in arts and entertainment, Star Wars, and more! Watch the latest video episode of Live! & Rock below.

Directed by Tim Miller, starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Gina Carano “A former Special Force agent ends up being a test subject in an experiment that gives him healing power and alter ego Deadpool. Deadpool now must hunt down the person who destroyed his life in this darkly twisted and humorous tale of love and sweet revenge.” Ryan Reynolds returns once again as Deadpool after his first appearance in X-Men Origin. Expect the unexpected in the most anticipated R-rated superhero film of the year that will blow your brains out, literally. After the failure of rebooting…

February 1st marked the 54th birthday of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. In celebration of one of the world’s most talented artists, let’s look back at one of my favorite fashion collaborations. Elegant, chic, timeless, and iconic are all words that come to mind when I think of the Louis Vuitton branding. The first time I ever saw a Louis Vuitton handbag was when I was a child. My mother was given the Speedy 30 as a gift years before I was born. I was completely mesmerized by the “LV” monogram; I loved how it stood out in camel colour against…

Over the past week, I’ve been sitting and monitoring social media gauging the reactions to the Oscar nominations, because really it’s just free entertainment seeing people argue over who they subjectively believe should win the prestigious award in their respective categories. But recently I came across more and more people and articles saying that the awards are racist or pointless. It’s gotten so far that big Hollywood names such as Will and Jada Smith will be boycotting the event and even the nominated Mark Ruffalo has considered not attending. All of a sudden, the free entertainment and playful arguments have…

Based in New South Wales, Australia, Daniel Cozens is a graphic designer at Mountainboat Design, a freelance company specializing in logo design and branding. “When I have no work (or my procrastination hat) on, I normally find myself coming up with fun little pictures that have popped into my head, which is a great way to stay balanced when working on a single paid project for an extended amount of time.” For more information about Daniel Cozens or to see more of his work, check out his website or Facebook account.

Directed by Adam McKay, written by Charles Randolph, and starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. The Big Short follows four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predict the mid-2000’s mortgage housing crisis years before it happens, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight. If there’s one thing I can appreciate about a film, it’s when it concerns a subject in which I have next to no interest, presented in a way that keeps me interested. Films like Moneyball, the 2011 Oscar-nominated movie that could keep even the…

After starting our iPad issues in March 2014, last year marked our first year as an online entity. We launched our website on January 24, 2015 at our launch party. Since then our website has gone through a massive overhaul when it comes to colour scheme, layout and content (more on that later). As the workload increased we unfortunately had to make the difficult decision to put our iPad issues on hold to build up our website, but we’ll be bringing them back in 2017. Early in the year we added our first film reviewer, Vladimir Jean-Gilles, who would eventually…

SHIFTER had the opportunity to profile Canadian content creator Temitopé Owolabi who’s beginning to make noise in the fashion and photography world, being featured in top media outlets and working with leading brands. Here’s a closer look at Temitopé Owolabi. Name: Temitopé Owolabi Home Base: Ottawa, Canada Biggest accomplishment so far: Got my first A- during my fall semester at Carleton University. What creativity means to me: Creativity to me means expressing myself whether it is through fashion or taking photos of architecture, nature, people etc. My photos generally convey what I am feeling at a certain point in time. Past and…