lefthanded.ness

Personalized party favours, but make them ✨unforgettable✨ bows with a gold foil custom touch 🎀

Spring…. I’m ready when you are 🌿🌷

Channeling sunnier days and blooming flowers through this chalkboard.

Another successful event by ✨
Loved adding a personalized touch with live hand lettering using heat-activated foil on journals.

Oresta’s floral window design

Our home chalkboard ♥️

A winter window at ❄️

A fun chalkboard at LOCAL in Lansdowne 🍹🍻

Windows & mirrors at 🎀⭐️

After 3.5 years in Vancouver for Master’s degree, I’m so happy to be back home in Ottawa 🇨🇦. I’m incredibly grateful to the local businesses, friends, and family that supported me when lefthanded-ness was just starting out, and I can’t wait to continue sharing my art in the city I grew up in 🎨🖌️.
I’m especially excited to focus on murals that not only beautify spaces but also help protect birds from window collisions, a passion I explored during my Master’s degree 🐦. I will also still be creating custom signage for businesses and projects!

If you’re a local business looking to brighten your space, support local art, and/or help birds, let’s collaborate! 💛

A few weeks ago, I installed a window mural at with the goal of preventing bird collisions on campus. Birds are unable to perceive windows, so installing bird-friendly deterrents is an effective solution.

This mural is on the interior of the window due to concerns about its durability in varying weather conditions. Unfortunately, a previous exterior window mural I created a few years ago has deteriorated significantly due to exposure to poor weather conditions. While the interior mural should extend its lifespan, it still faces challenges due to the reflective nature of the glass.

The primary purpose of exterior deterrents is to reduce glass reflectivity, such as reflections of trees or the sky. In cases where the goal is to reduce transparency, like on a glass walkway, an interior mural becomes more acceptable.

Currently, I use Sharpie oil-based paint markers for my window murals. This paint is relatively durable but can be removed with rubbing alcohol. I have discovered it doesn't hold up well on exterior windows exposed to poor weather conditions.

I'm curious whether acrylic paint might offer better weather resistance, or if there's an alternative paint that is durable but not permanent? Do you have any suggestions or ideas to help address this issue?

I believe painted window murals are an excellent way to express creativity, engage people in discussions about bird collisions, provide an easy DIY project for anyone to try at home and most importantly reduce collisions. It would be fantastic to discover a long-lasting paint that can be easily applied to exterior windows that can effectively reducing bird collisions.