An article written by Valerie Leung at the Richmond News. Thank you so much for the kind words!
Best,
Popo & Lola
Early Drafting Stage
Just thought it would be fun to show you some of our early stage drafting!
Like we mentioned in a previous post, we each came up with a few drafts but also leaving some room for the other person’s creative elements.
Then, we combined our favourite elements together in many different ways while trying to create the best composition and layout. The above image is one of the outcomes!
This interesting process is definitely a first for both of us. A lot of trust and communication are needed. But we are both so happy with the final end result!
Mural is done!
Have you seen our complete mural at Thompson Community Centre? After three and a half weeks of painting… WE ARE DONE! Come and visit the mural yourself! While you are around the area, check out Thompson’s famous skatepark, basketball court and other outdoor activities.
Stay well,
Popo & Lola
Mural in Process
Have you seen this scribble/symbol method being use for drafting on a huge surface? It is our first time to tackle such a big canvas and drafting with a projector just didn’t work in our case.
Recommended by our fellow artist friend, we tried out this scribble method! Once we have connected all the lines and took a few steps back, Ta-Da! Drafting done 😀
Day One
First day of painting! Technically, it took us one and a half day to finish painting this first coat. We are so excited to get started. More process photos will be posted so stay tune!
Love,
Popo & Lola
Mural Concept Development Process
Hi everyone,
It has been a while. Hope you have been keeping well and staying healthy.
From the start of May, we have been working hard on developing the concept and sketches for the final mural. Based on the social engagement results and our personal experience being in space, we wanted to create a mural that celebrates Thompson Community Centre, depicting its ever-bustling nature while remaining a safe space and a place for connection. A common theme in our public engagement was the stories of different individuals unexpectedly coming together to form long-lasting friendships and relationships. We aimed to commemorate this aspect through the characters portrayed in the mural: both multicultural and multigenerational, they’re all pursuing a variety of activities but they are also united as one whole community.
April and I were also physically apart for the past couple weeks, our method of collaborating becomes a longer yet interesting process! Each person started with abstract shapes and came up with a few drafts while leaving some space for the other person to add on. After, we picked out some elements of each other’s drawing that are more relevant and fitting to the major themes. Then, we combined the elements together in many different ways while trying to create the best composition and layout.
We worked hard to incorporate and tried our best to address all of the main themes we agreed on as a team. Hopefully, they came through in one way or another. Can’t wait to show you all more details!
Until then, stay well!
Love,
Dawn and April
How to make a Zine at home!
If you haven’t watched our therapeutic ASMR zine tutorial on @howartworks, here is the link.
You can also download the free pdf template by clicking the tab below:
Have fun at home!
If you would like to share your zine with us, feel free to post it on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #popoandlolazines
Artist Takeover on Social Media
For the rest of the month, Popo and Lola will be doing #artisttakeover on Instagram @howartworks and Facebook @ThompsonCC51! In lieu of our in-person workshops, we will be sharing some fun art tutorials that you can easily do at home on your own or with your family 🙂
Community Board Engagement Recap
Our Community Board Engagement had to cut short but we are lucky to have received such an overwhelming response. In early March, we put up a board at the community centre where people can write their response to our questions.
We decorated the board with our theme colour and stapled zines all around so people can take away if they want more time to answer these questions 🙂
After a few days, we went back to check the board and it was filled with responses! There are a lot of fun answers. These responses definitely showed us that Thompson is a very active, healthy and fun community. We also learned that there used to be a mural on the old building too!
We thank you everyone for sharing. All of you who wrote down your contact information and submitted to the submission box will enter for a chance to win prizes. We love your enthusiasm and fun drawings. Keep commenting and engaging on our social media for the following month. You still can enter for a chance to win the giveaways!
We will be posting more quarantine-friendly activities that you can do while practicing social distancing. Please stay tuned.
Love, Popo and Lola
Zine Workshop: A Recap!
Like the rest of the world, we are staying home right now! But we are missing the days of crowds and spending time with others face-to-face. Reminiscing on that, we thought we would take a look back at the zine workshop we had a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun, and went by so quickly!
There were around 13 participants, consisting of mostly kids and teens, though there were also a few staff members and a couple members of the art committee. We taught them how to make a zine using only a single sheet of paper, then participants filled them in with art, stories, memories, and jokes.
We really enjoyed ourselves! People in general, and kids especially, are so funny and always surprise you. It was a memorable experience with different stories shared that we didn’t expect.
It would be so fun to have another in-person workshop. But for now we are staying tight at home and looking forward to when life will get back to normal — hopefully sooner rather than later. ❤
Love, Popo and Lola
Dear Friends,
Hello everyone, due to the current situation, some of our workshops will be cancelled or postponed. In the meanwhile, we will keep engaging with everyone via instagram and Thompson Community Centre’s facebook page. More updates will come soon.
Stay safe and Take Care!
Love, Popo and Lola
March 7th – 21st// Community Board Engagement
Our second community engagement is happening soon!
From March 7th to March 21st, we will be putting up a fun, interactive bulletin board at the Thompson Community Centre. We encourage everyone in the community to write or draw your answer so we can learn more about what Thompson means to you!
In addition, we will leave copies of the interactive activity zines for others to take home, allowing them to have more time to answer the questions. After, you can either return the zines back to the submission box that will be attached to the board or take a photo and send it to us via email – popoandlola@gmail.com.
Anyone who would like to enter into a lucky draw for participating in this engagement can fill out names and contact info on a small information form. The forms will be next to the submission box.
Prizes include:
One $50 Gift Certificate for Thompson Community Centre
One of 5 signed artist prints of the final mural with a Thompson Community sling bag
one of 10 single visit passes to Thompson Community Centre.
After March 21st, once the campaign is over, we will be doing the lucky draw from all of the participants on instagram. We will reach out to them and they can pick up their prize from the Thompson Community Centre front desk.
March 6th – April 30th // Social Media Campaign
Our social media campaign will officially start on March 6th!
In order to create a mural that is engaging and relatable to the public, we would really love to hear more about the rich history and the diverse community in Thompson.
From March 6th till April 30th, we will be gradually posting questions about the Thompson Community on our instagram account @popoandloala. Everyone who participates and engages in our social media campaign will be instantly entered in a lucky draw for many amazing prizes! To find out more details on the lucky draw rules, click here!
Popo and Lola 