KLUNDER Barbara

KLUNDER Barbara

Born 1948 in Toronto.

Her earliest instruction came from her artistic household. For her formal education she attended the Ontario College of Art from 1965 to 1966.

From when she was 17 years old and attending the OCA, she began working as a freelance illustrator and designer, providing the Globe & Mail with illustrations. She also provided cartoons and illustrations including book covers for other publications. She created the Klunder script and Klunder script creatures fonts.

About 1976, she started designing hand-knit sweaters and with the help of Vogue Magazine launched them in New York to great success. She followed these with rug designs. Some of these were included in a 1991 Textile Museum of Canada exhibit Tapestries for the Environment which included artists from around the world. These projects revealed her interest in nature and concern for our environment.

She became an integral part of the BamBoo a night club which existed from 1983 to 2002, in the Toronto Queen Street West district then an avant-garde community. She created its logo, painted most of its murals and mosaics, and illustrated its ads, menus, posters, t-shirts, giant murals, monthly newsletters (over 200 in total), and she illustrated The BamBoo Cooks, Recipes from the Legendary Nightclub. Her visuals influenced by African art, matched the musical vision of Richard O’Brien, the co-founder.

She did posters for other music events which included those for both the Toronto and Vancouver Jazz Festivals for 12 years. They were assembled into a show at Prime Gallery (Toronto) in 1998.

Following the environmental themes expressed in her sweater and rug designs, she created 27 small purses made of materials from nature: birchbark, pinecones, wood etc which in 1996 became a solo show at the Canadian Craft Museum.

The environmental themes continued in her  books Other Goose Recycled Rhymes For Our Fragile Times (2007) and The Animal’s Day, An Island Alphabet (2009) The Island is Toronto Island. She lived on Toronto Island for 33 years before the 2017 flood, the highest flood ever recorded, forced her to leave and to move to the Stinson neighbourhood in Hamilton in 2018. She moved back to her house on Toronto Island in 2020 after a second even higher flood in 2019 and a long renovation to repair the extensive damage to her home.

These concerns continue. In a recent embroidered piece (2020) called “Canary in a Coal Mine”, the image of the canary turns out to be a collage of the things that kill the canary, loss of habitat, disease, dollar signs for money. As Barbara summed it up in the article written by Kathy Renwald “The symbols of what killed the canary are there, so much of it is about money.”

WORK:

CARTOONIST:

BOOK GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content cartoon editorial:

Portfoolio, The Year 87 In Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux . Ludcom Inc. 1987.

Portfoolio: 1989 in Canadian Caricature. Ed., Guy Badeaux . Writ., Charles Gordon. Macmillan of Canada, 1989.

ILLUSTRATOR:

BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC:

Content activity & Cover book front:

Tattoo You! Colour & Make Your Own Designs. Writ., Jennifer Glossop. Somerville House Publishing, 1996.

PERIODICAL TEXT ANTHOLOGY:

Content essay:

Canadian Magazine, 13 May 1978: “Peace on Wheels.” Writ., Sharon Fitzsimmons.

Maclean’s 13 May 2002: “Mother Incorporated.” Writ., Jennifer Logan: 12.

This Magazine, August/September 1986: 5.

Cover front:

Radio Guide, 6-8, August 1986.

WRITER & ILLUSTRATOR:

BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC:

Content poetry & Cover book front:

Other Goose: Recycled Rhymes for Our Fragile Times. Groundwood Books, 2007.

MERCHANDISE:

GREETING CARDS:                                                                                                          All published by Adfactor Publishing & Postcards, Toronto

“Mary Mary Quite Contrary – How does your garden grow? “First weeding and watering  Then selling and bartering, It’s amazing how shit turns to dough.”: 1986.

“Little Bo Beep is one of the Sheep Found at the shopping centre. Leave her alone and she’s liable to clone, But isn’t that why you sent her?” 1986.

“Laura Secord’s Udderly Patriotic Cow” Oil on wood 18”X9” from the Herstorical show: “Laura Secord: The Bitter Truth”.

“Buzzwords: Men Are Dogs And Women Are Cats – Good Luck”. Sketch for hooked rug. Part of Pages Bookstore window show Nov. 1992 launching the pocket-sized Book of Original Sayings.

SOURCE:

Article book:

Portfoolio, The Year 87 In Canadian Caricature. 1987: “Barbara Kunder”: 205.

Internet:

Barbara Klunder, www.thespec.com/entertainment/2020/03/19/artist-barbara-klunder-is-loving-her-loft-life-in-hamilton.html. Accessed 28 July 2021.

Barbara Klunder, http://barbaraklunder.com/about-barbara/. Accessed 28 July 2021.

BamBoo, http://thenandnowtoronto.com/2014/12/then-now-bamboo/ Accessed 28 July 2021.

GALLERY:

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\K\KLUNDER Barbara, Cdn Magazine, 13 May 1978.jpg                    Canadian Magazine, 13 May 1978: “Peace on Wheels”.

A magazine cover with a cartoon character jumping Description automatically generatedRadio Guide, 6-8, August 1986: Front cover.

A drawing of a person in a garden Description automatically generated                                          Greeting card, “Mary Mary Quite Contrary” 1986.

A newspaper article with text and a picture of a person Description automatically generatedMaclean’s, 13 May 2002: 12.

A cat with a cat's tail Description automatically generated                                    Greeting card, from original 1992.

Bamboo GTO ___ 51e5a7070e510-moon

Two pieces of BamBoo artwork by Barbara Klunder. Images courtesy of her.Two of Barbara Klunder’s pieces of art work at the BamBoo.