Toronto Craft Alert

Interview by Amy Borkwood

Crystal Bretschger is an illustrator and graphic designer by trade, and a recent Torontonian by way of New York City. She makes some of the most compelling illustrations—a lovely combination of childlike aesthetic and stark linework. I asked her some questions recently about her work, her new life in the city, and the banner she just created for the Toronto Craft Alert’s newsletter.

Can you tell me a bit about the process of your work—where do you work, what materials do you use?

Well, I have a 500 square foot apartment that I share with my husband. So space is limited. Of that, I dominate half the space when I rollout my massive sheet of plastic in our living/dining room and get out my bag of acrylics & papers that I keep stored under our bed. Needless to say, my husband is a very patient man. I work with patterned papers that I create every six months, acrylic paints, pens, watercolor paper, and matte medium. Because of the prep and clean up time I only get around to doing this one or two times a month.
When I create my digital illustrations I draw the elements with pen on paper, scan them in, and color them on the computer. That takes far less preparation and space, so I create those on a regular basis.

Your design work and your illustration are very different—your design work is very professional and clean, while your illustration is sparse, colourful, negotiating between child-like and haunting. Can you tell me a bit about those two different spheres of your life? Does one influence the other? How do you separate these two very different aesthetics?

Good question, but difficult. I’ve looked at my illustration and design work side by side and they are significantly different. The separation, I think is partly due to the different tools I’m using: the hand and the computer. However, I am noticing that slowly my illustrations and design work are informing one another and coming closer together stylistically. My illustrations are becoming more clean and streamlined, while my design work is becoming more intuitive and playful. A good amalgamation of the two has been my digital illustration in which I draw my elements on paper, scan them in and then compose and colour them on the computer.

Can you tell me about how you started your work as an illustrator? Had you always been doing illustration, and when did you decide to make it your “work”?

Well, I guess I started to think of myself as an “Illustrator” when I graduated from the Illustration Department at Parsons. I had gotten all of the tools that I needed from school and after graduation it was really about taking all I learned and applying it to real life. We were constantly told during school that you have to pound the pavement, get your work out there, get it seen and get it seen regularly. I try to send out emails or postcards every six months that showcase new work. I contact design studios just as frequently to find freelance graphic design work.

The funny thing about being an illustrator, and this was the case with the majority of my professors, was that it was not their full-time job or their main source of income. Rather it was a supplement to a balanced creative lifestyle. My professors taught classes as well as holding full-time positions as graphic designers, animators, exhibiting artists, and even a few mothers.

I learned quickly after graduation that it was all up to me to find my own creative balance. I loved school for the support and freedom that it allowed me, but it was like living in a bubble. Life after graduation has been a lot of work but I’m beginning to find my groove…4 years later. I work as a graphic designer during the day. I do my illustrations/digital work in the evenings. I also love to take printmaking classes when time allows. And eventually, I would love to go back to Parsons and teach a course.

I’m really interested in the content of your work—the little animal-people that turn up in most of your illustrations. Who are they, where did they come from?

It’s funny, I know that they evolved from somewhere, but I have no idea where from. It’s possible they came from traveling and spending a lot of time alone. Perhaps they became my imaginary friends that accompanied me from country to country for two years or kept me laughing during my first long Toronto winter. All bundled up to the eyeballs in their parkas and walking an hour to work in the snow while it’s still dark. They must be a defensive mechanism to keep me sane!

How have you made your work public—gallery shows, online shops, etc? How do you get your work out into the world?

This is an issue that I constantly grapple with. How do I want the world to see my work, on the computer screen, under gallery lights or on a crafts table? There are so many options for the contemporary crafter.

I guess what I end up asking myself is: How can I get as much exposure for the least amount of time/money/and energy spent? This may sound very practical and unromantic, but I do want to make a living as an Illustrator. The most cost effective answer I’ve come up with is the internet. Blogspot is free and my website costs me 25 dollars a year.

However, in the past, I’ve run the gamut…I’ve had some international shows at small galleries while I was traveling, I have taken part in group shows at local galleries, and exhibited in national juried shows. But putting together a show is a lot of time and money. So currently, I’m most satisfied with the exposure that I have received from my website and blog.

Which artists/makers are you interested in and influenced by? Do you have any favourite local artists or artisans?

There are so many that I’ve actually started a word document to keep track of all the illustrators and artists work that I love. But, there are a few that I check on regularly. Those are: Camilla Engman, Jordin Isip, George Bates, Joseph Hart, Andy Kehoe and AJ Fosik. Most of which were Parsons Alums or Professors.

In terms of my favorite local artists, I have only been living in Toronto for 1 year, so my knowledge is limited. But I did take a printmaking course with a really great screenprinter and artist, Jeff Garcia. He is really talented and I admire his playful approach to art. He has introduced me to local talents like, Fiona Smyth, Deadweight, Nate Duval and Michael Deforge.

I read in your bio that you’re originally a New Yorker—when/why did you move to Toronto? What do you find to be the biggest differences between Toronto and New York in terms of getting gallery shows, making art, being part of an arts community, etc?

I got married and moved to Toronto over a year ago with my husband who is Canadian. He grew up in Oakville and wanted to move back to Toronto and start a business with 2 of his friends. We had lived together in the East Village in a great little apartment but our paycheques were going straight to rent.

Toronto is a much more affordable city where we can have the lifestyle that we want and also be putting away savings for the future. Canada also has free health care, so in the States it would be a lot more expensive for me to be freelance and my husband to run his own business. Moving to Toronto was a practical decision.

When I was living in New York, my art community was built in. Since I had gone to Parsons, I had a strong network of professors, friends, and other creative’s that I had compiled over years and kept in touch with on a regular basis. All of the jobs that I had since graduation I found through the Parsons Alumni Job Board. The connections that I made at Parsons were invaluable.

Moving to Toronto I really had to start from scratch. It has definitely been one of the biggest, if not the biggest challenge of my life. Finding a job has been especially difficult. I find that when I go on interviews in Toronto the companies usually hire from specific schools or programs. They’ve heard of Parsons, but it’s unfamiliar. They would much rather hire from OCAD, Sheridan, etc. I’ve gotten some great breaks from people that are willing to venture outside of the box and I’m very appreciative of that.

Also: I spied the new Toronto Craft Alert newsletter banner on your website. Can you tell me a bit about that design and how you came up with it? p.s. it’s amazing.

Well, I had a lot of fun doing that project. I’ve been subscribing to TCA since I moved here a year ago. It was a great way for me to learn about all the crafty happenings in a new city. So with that in mind, I was really honoured when Jen asked me to create a banner for the TCA. She was really great to work with. She had a clear vision of what she wanted for the new banner, but gave me plenty of creative freedom, which is the ideal client to work for. Jen had mentioned that she liked my little guys, would love to see some hand written text, and some crafty elements like the megaphone and cat’s cradle. Also, the colour palette was to stay in the same orange & blue family, but could be tinted to accommodate my style. So really it was up to me to create the elements and arrange them as I pleased. We went back and forth a few times and I’m really happy with the final product. I can’t wait to get my new Craft Alert in the mail!

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Amy Borkwood is a bookbinder and freelance arts-writer living in Toronto. Her bookworks can be found at her online shop, Nightjar Books.