On at the AGO – Winter 2023 / 24

Hello. Here's a look at some of the art to be seen at the AGO this winter.

My friend Julie and I celebrated our 11th Friendiversary with a visit to the art gallery (We met in a line up at the event written about in this post, and I'm so very glad we did. She's awesome.)

Our destination was an easy choice as this is a much loved place for us, somewhere we've both been going since we were children, where we've learned a lot about all kinds of art.

While we took some time to visit some old favourites (here is one of mine), this post will concentrate on the special exhibits that are on for a limited time right now. <This link will take you to the gallery's "Current Exhibitions" page, where you'll find more information.

KAWS: FAMILY

On until March 31, 2024. UPDATE : This exhibit has been extended until August 5th.

From the AGO website : "Making his Canadian museum debut, Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly (1974), better known as KAWS, bridges the worlds of art, popular culture and commerce with sophisticated humour and insightful appropriation. Renowned for his larger-than-life sculptures of cartoon-inspired characters and exuberant hard-edge paintings that playfully emphasize line and colour, much like 1960s Pop artists, he blurs the boundaries between populist and elite art, bringing mass media imagery into traditional art spaces.  Straddling the world of art and design, KAWS has forged a large international following both inside and outside the art world."

There are several different areas throughout the gallery that have KAWS pieces set up.

Making a Miniature Scene Decorated for Autumn

Hello! I hope you're doing well.

Lately, I've been having fun making tiny things and setting up this autumnal scene. At this point, I have no plans to actually kit out an entire doll house (although I really admire those who do), but have been enjoying the little things in life. (haha).

Everything was made from scratch except the base of the table (the part that's painted green), which is a blank wood crafting piece I found at Dollarama that I modified and added to. Also, the drawer came from a plastic toy, but I made it look like a vintage wooden item by painting it. And, didn't make the "fruits and vegetables" in the baskets and paper bag, or the stems in the white "vase". Except for the stems with the white bits on them, these are all real berries and stalks I got from the garden.

Nuit Blanche Toronto 2023

Hi there. Here are a few shots from Nuit Blanche which was on Saturday night. It's "the annual all-night celebration of contemporary art" that has been happening in Toronto for the past 17 years, except during covid, where there are installations set up, mostly outdoors, all over the city, which you can see from 7pm until 7am. I find it to be a really fun event and have been out for nearly all of them, however, I missed last year and then really struggled with the feeling of having missed out when I woke up on the Sunday morning after it was all over. So, while there weren't many installations near our home this year (they change locations every year), Nick and I still ventured out to see what we could see. Also, it was such a gorgeous evening out, with no jackets required, that we were keen to have a middle-of-the-night walk.

First we went to Stackt Market located near Niagara and Bathurst, where we somehow missed seeing the display I wanted to see, called "Tight Spaces". FAIL!! It was jammed with people in there, though, and it was hard to walk around and I have a tendency to claustrophobia in crowds, so I steered us out of there. I did particularly like this coloured umbrellas display, though, which wasn't part of Nuit Blanche.

Week 36 Creative Challenge : A Crochet Doily in a Seasonal Colour

Hi! I hope you're well. Popping in with my weekly update post for the Creative Challenge I'm doing this year. [UPDATE: Ok, I didn’t make it for the whole year on this. I was still making things every week but I got behind on photographing and posting about them. But, I did get through 70% of the year and that’s good enough for me! Thank you if you followed along.]

We were on holiday at Wasaga Beach last week and all I'd packed to craft with was a ball of cotton crochet thread and a hook. It sat untouched the whole time until the rainy evening on the last day. We couldn't complain about the rain, though, because the weather had been absolutely stunning the rest of the time, very warm and sunny, just like the middle of summer.

I started out following a pattern for this doily, but I was distracted by the view out the huge window I sat in front of, so made a mistake which I only noticed several rows later. But the piece looked ok so I didn't rip it out and finished it by improvising. That is all to say that I don't have a pattern to link to, or written out, for this one.

While I hadn't packed a variety of crafting materials, I remembered from previous visits that the light at the cottage we rent is not good for making things, so I brought along my new "neck lamp" that drapes over my shoulders and can be pointed directly at my work. I got this one from Amazon and, so far, it's been great. I'm really happy with it.

Week 35 Creative Challenge : A Macramé Owl Wall Hanging

Hello! Last week for my Creative Challenge I tried something I haven't done much of before and that is macramé, motivated by a bag full of jute twine bundles that I found at the thrift store the other day.

The whole bag cost $2.99 Cdn, not much more than you'd pay for one spool of thin jute cord like this. It contained premeasured bundles of cord, in various colours, which appear to have been prepared by someone for a class in beading or maybe even macramé, although I now know this might be a bit fine for most macramé projects. But, that is all to say that, if you like making things, check out the thrift store for supplies. That same thrifting trip, I found another bag that contained different yarns, including one complete and pristine skein of pure alpaca wool that is still available today at $18 Cdn per skein, while I got the whole bag for $2 total.