Blog # 171...November, 2025                                                                                            

 As I keep my eyes and ears open to the art around us, I'm starting to find the art of survival capturing my attention...so many challenges in so many places. And I'm reminded of something I read about the activity and growth that occurs along the banks of a fast moving body of water, far from the rush of the mainstream. I think of that when I hear about a small creative initiative happening on the margin, like a small plant surviving in the rich soil and protected calmness at the edge of the rushing stream.

Artangel, located in the UK"produces extraordinary art in unusual places". In his book Mad, Bad and Dangerous, Colm Toibin takes us to an Artangel production in Oscar Wilde's cell in Reading Gaol to hear the prisoner's voice read De Profundis, his polemic directed to his former lover Bosey and the English upper classes. How's that for extraordinary and unusual!   Toibin's book explores the lives of Wilde, WB Yeats and James Joyce in the context of their time and families, particularly their fathers. If  you share my luxury of time and love of Irish literature, this book is a joy to read, as are two others by Toibin, The Magician,and The Master about Thomas Mann and  Henry James respectively. 

This morning, I heard Zita Cobb express her philosophy of connective tissue which she employs at Shorefast, her charitable foundation that operates the Fogo Island Inn off the shore of Newfoundland. Her example of a small community united by a small but  successful business is an encouraging example of  connective tissue, a concept close to Cobb's heart.  Makes me think of  the music initiative in Powell River, ready to pick up the pieces when the local mill closed..

Toronto hosted a music event recently that was a collaboration between a couple of unlikely partners. Dan Brown, in between best selling thrillers, has created a book for children featuring animals that's been made into a musical,  produced by actorViggo Mortensen. The performance appeared at the World Congress of Music, bringing children from different parts of the world together to perform, listen, learn and make friends.

I'm remembering Robert Redford and all the support he gave to indie film makers with the Sundance festival,,  He was also a pretty good actor, I'm re-watching some of his films. his last one All is Lost is amazing, made when he was almost 80, doing all his own stunts!                                                                                                      I'm congratulating Sarah Mulhally, first woman to be Archbishop of Cantervury. And. I'm sending kudos to all the Toronto artists who make Toronto's Nuit Blanche such a spectacular event year after year.

I discovered the cause of the underlined website connections mentioned in the last blog and dismissed it.   And I've decided to change my attitude about all the  changes that appear on internet sites, you know when a button you always use in the bottom left corner disappears and after searching for 10 minutes you find it under 3 dots in the upper right cornnr. I'm going to consider it a chance to sharpen my wits. 

                Halloween on Markham Street, created by our neighbour Spencer,                                                                  photo by John Bilodeau

That's all for now, as the dark part of the year begins, keep looking for the cracks where the light comes in.  I'm posting a bit early to send good vibes out on the airways to the Blue Jays let's wrap it up tonight.     Go Jays!

Blog # 170...October, 2025

I know I've just posted for September, it's the 2nd today, but I just heard a wonderful 90 minute doc from Iqaluit on  The Current, CBC radio. I was particularly moved by how they speak of  how strongly they feel Canadian while clinging to their distinct culture despite the distance, the hardships and how neglected they are by the rest of us. It's so important to hear their voices as we struggle with our national identity... just saying. 

Don't you hate it when someone describes something you'd love to see, then says it's over? Well here goes - A production of Dear Liar at the Shaw Festival.  It's a wonderful two-hander starring wife and husband Marla Mclean and Graeme Somerville, based on letters exchanged by George Bernard Shaw and Lady Patrick Campbell during their long and tempestuous love affair. She was his muse and inspired him to write Pygmalion, casting her as Eliza Doolittle playing opposite  Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Henry Higgins in the London opening on April11,1914.  The play was impressive enough, but the setting was spectacular! The Spiegeltent was brought over from Belgium 3 years ago and has housed several dozen performances since - who knew? It's being returned at the end of this season, but will stay in my memory always, the photo only begins to capture it.

The art world took a bit of a rest over the summer, as we all did to live throughout the very hot days. There's always a September surge...the Toronto International Film Fest, Word on the Street and a lot of small local street events. Near where we live, there's a long alleyway, lined with mismatched garage doors with weeds springing up through cracks in the pavement - not the most scenic route. But yesterday, it was alive with artists creating murals on most of the doors. Some celebrating the abundance of harvest season, some reminding us of the sadness of residential schools, others abstract shapes and colours, no particular themes, just ideas that inspired the artist to create...the randomness of life. The project was initiated by Street Art Toronto or StArt as it's cleverly called. They've been operating quietly for years to make our city more beautiful, an awesome task and I for one, am grateful.

I'm often reminded of how privileged I am, not just me - you are too. I just came back from a week entering into the life of a friend who lives on the outskirts of a small town, lots of large lawns and gardens, and many activities and services for the aging folks who've moved there to enjoy a quieter setting. This week, she entered my life, in the centre of a large city, with less room, more noise, more diversity, less parking. Our friendship of almost 70 years has covered a lot of ground, through thick and thin as we sometimes say.  We both appreciate how we can relish our own lives while enjoying a visit into another, sometimes challenging, occasionally uncomfortable, but always worth it, all part of the art of living.

One of the revelations of my week in another world, was a Sunday morning church visit. I've been in chuch infrequently lately. Weddings, if they happen at all, are in gardens and people celebrate the lives/deaths of loved ones in a variety of venues. My memory is of sqirming in a hard pew with my grandparents listening to turgid music and seemingly endless sermons. Not at all what goes on today- joyous songs are projected on a screen, a bit like karaoke and the minister delivers what's more like a philosophy lecture. And it was a crowded, beautiful setting full of friendly folks, a community gathering reflecting a societal change that happened while I was at home reading the weekend papers.

Great to see so many orange shirts today, hope our hearts stay open all year. And something worth checking on Youtube is Jubilee, a channel featuring people of opposing views engaging in civil debate!

See you in November.

 Blog#169...September, 2025

The CNE's here - reminding me of my days working at Beasley's Bingo - and another summer is under our belts.  The world continues to lurch into who knows what.  But our two 18 year old golden girls, Summer and Victoria thrilled us in pools and on courts.  And for basketball fans, SGA, the dude from Hamilton, was named NBA MVP! Canada continues to be a strong, proud and kind place and we need to work at keeping it that way.     

Ron Turcotte, well loved jockey who took Secretariat all the way to the triple crown of thoroughbred horse racing in 1973 died at his home in New Brunswick last week. He suffered a spinal cord injury falling from a horse late in his career and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair advocating for disabled jockeys. 

Sticking with how Canadians enliven and enrich sport, Prisciia Uppal would have loved to write about our young athletes. Named poet in residence for the 2010 Olympics in British Columbia, she published reflective poems in Winter Sport.  She highlighted the courage of skater Joannie Rochette, competing days after her mother's death and the tenderness of skier Alexandre Bilodeau towards his brother with Down's Syndrome.   I featured Priscilla and the book in Blog#7 back in March 2012, she died in 2018 at 44, a great loss!        

It's a half century since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald; we discovered it and are reminded every time we hear Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad.   If I seem unusually nostalgic these days, it could be related to re-reading Erik Erikson's theories of the life cycle, particularly the concept that maturity is not the end of psychological growth. So I'll continue to reflect on life events that have taught me about life as I've skipped along. 

 As a last grasp at summer, I visited Prince Edward County last week, taking in the landscape dotted with breweries, wineries and cideries that flourish in the limestone rich soil. It's also dotted with art galleries, cafes, B&B's, and high end shops, a bit like a rural version of Yorkville or Ossington.  It's fun to go though and we enjoyed discovering the very beautiful and interesting Andara Gallery, featuring the work of owners Tara Wilkinson and Andrew Csafordi. Wilkinson's pieces, taken from her photography, are ethereal and floral, capturing the joy and spirituality in nature. Csafordi uses the ancient method that dates back to the Egyptians of painting with melted beeswax and pigments to create his own style of encaustic sculptural painting.  Well worth a visit if you're ever down that way.

My question this month is... when did voice mail messages stop announcing who I'm trying to call so I never know if I'm leaving a message for the intended person?

 Next blog will herald October and I will have passed another milestone, maybe you will have too, and we'll all take  a deep breath and get ready for what comes next.  See you then.  

 Blog #168...August, 2025

Last blog, I mentioned the show 52 Women, which took on the difficult task of choosing a finite number of women who have transformed Toronto. Of course there have been many many more, coming from all eras, areas and walks of life. and it's fun to compose your own list. The show runs at the City of Toronto Museum, enter at the east corner of 401 Richmond Street, until December.

Also in early days of a long run is an amazing show of Joyce Wieland's work (she'd certainly make my list!) at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Although I was aware of her, I had no idea of the tremendous range she covered. Another surprize was her passion for Canada which is expressed in many of her pieces.  It's particularly touching in the current climate to see huge Canadian flags - stocking stitched in red and white wool and only a decade old in the 70's when they were created.  And her Oh  Canada piece, rows of images of her red lips articulating each syllable of out national anthem.                                                                                                          

Her nationalism was matched by her environmental concerns, particularly for the Arctic region. She often worked very large. The first image when I entered the show has been transported from the exit at Kendall from the Spadina subway station. A dozen caribou, pretty much life size, are in different postures on an ice floe. It's executed in quilted cloth and has a realistic three dimensional quality adding to its power. I sat opposite it for half an hour and could almost feel a cool breeze, 

CBC's IDEAS has been featuring artists lately and had back-to-back shows on Joyce Wieland and Joan Jonas recently.. Striking similarities were their overshadowing by male artist/partners, Joan by Richard Serra and Joyce by Michael Snow. And they both had to wait decades before being recognized by one woman shows at major galleries in their home countries, although they were both recognized internationally.  MOMA exhibited Joan's work last year, she's still alive and active at 89, spending time between her studio in NYC and Cape Breton where she landed with a group of American artists in the 50's. 

 Joyce died in 1998 at 66, without the satisfaction of recogition in her hometown but leaving us with the joy of appreciating her work at the AGO. 

As the song goes, it's been too damn hot lately, but it's given me anyway a chance to slow down, spend hours stretched out reading. Paula Hawkins followed The Girl on the Train with a series of psyuchological thrillers that engrossed me as I ignored other things I might be doing.

I'm asking many questions of the world right now, least important is what has happened to those cucumbers we used to have, the chubby ones with slight bristles, like a chin or a shin needing a shave?  They seem to have been replaced by long thin ones wrapped in plastic, I'm grumpy about it and it's distracting me for a moment from other horrors.

This just in, I saw the production of Macbeth at Stratford yesterday. Purists will be recoiling in horror as conflicts in The Scotish Play are rendered as biker wars. I found it a tribute to Shakespeare's grasp of basic, sometimes barbaric human behaviour and its timeless inevitability, especially right now...but that's just me.

Sending this off into the blogosphere with my regards to readers in various parts of the world, I know you're out there enjoying glimpses of Canada. 

Back in September\.

 Blog # 167...July, 2025

A few blogs back I suggested that STEM should be amemded to STEAM to include art as an important focus of our attention and study. Although it doesn't fit the acronym, I'm suggesting it's time we recognize skilled trades for their worth and let go of the cultural bias that considers them less worthy than intellectual or artistic fields...enough said. 

It's now late in June and I thought this blog was almost done and ready for my typo checker, until, I went to see the exhibition of Joyce Wieland's incredible collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It was tempting to preempt what I'd written and devote the entire blog to her, but I've decided to let the show settle in my mind and heart and write about it in August.  In the meantime, if you're anywhere near Toronto before January 4th, 2026, you'll be in for a very important, fascination and very accessible experience.

Ideas and art come in many sizes. Most of the time artists walk around amongst us, unnoticed, buying groceries, getting their hair cut, you know- being ordinary. But there's often stuff going on in their heads, they're noticing something and getting an idea. I heard one the other day talking about how seeing window air conditioners got him thinking of how they remove heat and release it outside. That led to imagining heated emotions also coming out into the atmosphere and a tiny pop up gallery called the Laboratory of Artistic Intelligence  on Dundas Street just outside Scadding Court. I love the thought of the hot breath of babies wailing, angry words being exchanged or the heat coming off a body working out could waft out and become art.  We passed by and photgraphed the streetscape, galleries ... open when the artists are inspired to be there.

lso, I mentioned the show 52 Women  at the City of Toronto Museum (added to our cultureal landscape in 2022), the City Archives and Luminato. The show continues until December, celebrating the way these women have contributed to our City throughout history. I was lucky to have a curated tour with Cathy Crowe, the beloved street nurse.  Also, Luminato collaborated in a  wondrous theatrical event at the City Archives, placing actresses in different parts of the building to deliver monologues on behalf of the women. It had a limited run, we were lucky to see that too..

I try hard not to be totally Toronto-centric and am always thrilled to hear about something far from my orbit, like Powell River in northern British Columbia. it's a world renowned music centre, thriving particularly since the closing of its paper mill in August 2023. Even before that, there was an active group of talented musicians, hosting an annual International Choral Kathaunixu, drawing thousands of singers from around the world. Labour Day weekend features the Sunshine Music Festival. Year round musical activities and events held by the Powell River Academy of Music attract musicians and lovers of music from home and abroad. Bravo Powell River!

Last month, I was thrilled when Michael Crummy won the Dublin Literary prize and enen more so when a friend sent me a link to the award ceremony. The Lord Mayor of Dublin spoke beautifully about the literary traditions in Ireland, Dublin in particular, and Michael was eloquently humble and amusing - of course, he's from Newfoundland!

Writing about the place of art forms in our world opens a wide door for me. This past month, much of the time the wildfires and the poeple affected so profoundly have been front and centre. The creativity involved in carrying on, whether while abandoning home, risking injury fighting fires or welcoming and feeding strangers, is as moving  as a Rivera mural or a Lorca poem.

As the season for hockey finally wids down, I wonder how can it be that Florida has taken a stranhlehold on the Stanley Cup...4 times in the past 5years!

Thanks Margaret and Karen for the excellent proofing and Michael for taking the pics. We'll be back in August with Joyce Wieland!

Blog # 166...June, 2025 

Wow, what a creepy experience it was to assign AI to write a mid month blog and see what it would produce. Many of you agreed with me that it was both amazing and scary.  I know AI can be immensely useful in some settings but my curiosity has been satisfied and I'll continue to be old school and do my own writing.

The New Yorker won three Pulitzers this year, more wins than any magazine has ever had in one year! I get it delivered every week (yikes) and although it's very yankocentric, I like the point of view and love the writing. Jia Tolentino wrote this recently,  "I feel a troubling kind of opacity in my brain lately -  as if reality were becoming illegible, as if language were a vessel with holes in the bottom and meaning was leaking out all over the floor." She goes on to mention  the environment, COVID, wars both physical and trade, addictions to phones and other materials, and news real and fake.  

Many of us may feel that way, strugggling with our perception of reality, but not with Jia's elegant way with words. The feelings have given rise to a field day for writers of self help books.  Although I often find them a stretching out of a magazine article, I'm conscious that some people find them useful and supportive  in the search for a good night's sleep or just articulating  a concern or problem. 

Two in particular have caught my eye recently as they hover week after week on the best seller list.  They seem at first to be in opposition to each other: The Let Them Theory advises stepping back and allowing others to make mistakes, respecting a person's choices as their right. The other Believing advocates  leaning in and belonging -  explaining that conventional religion has been replaced by individual and collective ways to believe, behave and belong. I do like things that provoke thinking... full  disclosure here, I haven't read either of these books. t was attracted to the topics and summaries though, maybe they'll strike you too.

 I had a nightmare the other night about Elon Musk drilling into the Great Lakes to drain water to green up the golf courses of you know who (or is it whom?) News this am reveals that he's bored with ransacking the US civil service and is resigning as head basher at DOGE. I hope my dream wasn't prescient.

I'm signing off with a question...why has it become so difficult to buy a quart of plain 2% milk? I was unsuccessful in two local stores yesterday in finding milk that wasn't made from nuts, had the lactose removed (expensive) or was in huge unwieldy bags. I'm delighted that people with allergies can find products that suit them but what about the rest of us? I'm thinking of getting my own cow.

A huge thank you to my friend Margaret Adamson who has offered to catch typos I make as my eyes age along with the reast of me.

That's all for now, see you again when we'll be getting ready to celebrate Canada Day - with extra vigour this year.

 Blog #165...May, 2025 

photo by John Bilodeau

I live across the street from a beautiful Catholic church and although I'm not a parishioner, I feel a neighbourly attachment. And I love the way its stone archway leads me into the City. I often stop and chat with Father Mike and today shared my sadness at the death of Pope Francis and my deep appreciation for his life. I loved the words of his fellow Jesuit Father James Martin that "he was a humanitarian, a spiritual leader and a nice guy."  It was revealed recently that Francis had, since October 2023, made a nightly phone call of encouragement and support to Holy Family Church in Gaza.  

I'm pleased and a bit surprised at all the feelings of pride in and appreciation of Canada that are popping up everywhere. The election results are comforting, especially the numbers who turned out to vote. I think I can move back to writing about art in our world now...just a couple of last gasps. 

A piece by Wayne Eyre caught my eye, it was headed "The world order is reverting to what it has been for almost all of the long arc of human history: a system in which strength and force, not values and rules, are once again the currency of international  relations." He's a military man, former head of the Canadian  Defense Force with that perspective. Makes me wonder if we're safer now than when wild beasts lurked outside our caves?

Another article a while ago suggested Victory Bonds as a way of raising money for the war we're currently waging on many fronts. I started school in September 1941, as WWII was well under way and the grade one class at Frankland Public School wasn't left out of the war effort.  Each time we could bring 25 cents to school, we could buy a victory stamp to paste on a page and when there were enough, we could buy a War Bond. They had works of art by Canadians on them and combined two things we all loved, collecting things and stickers. Sounds as if they might be back in business all these years later?

Who knew there was a Museum of Toronto? Well, I know now and it has a great show that opened in April and runs until December, featuring women who transformed this City. They're from different fields and eras, many are familiar: Hazel McCallion, Bianca Andreescu, Rosalie Abella,Cathy Crowe and Margaret Atwood. Others, we're meeting for the first time. 52 Women brings together the Museum of Toronto (at 401 Richmond) the City Archives and Luminato,  There will be concerts and  curated tours of the exhibit; watch for more in June when I've had a chance to visit. The HotDocs festival is on and I just saw a wonderful film set in Haida Gwaii, using basketball as a theme to explore their history, culture and political activism. It's called Saints and Warriors, watch for it.

A la prochaine.