Art and a Secret Garden in a Remarkable Old Building

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sign-four-o-one-richmond-artist-and-culture-centre-toronto.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-39763">Greetings!I have a multi-dimensional post for you today, that involves two of my favourite topics : art and a historic building. Oh, and, as the title suggests, some missing balls come into play as well, but we'll get to that at the end.We'll begin with the art, which was the reason we were at 401 Richmond Street West in the first place.We went to The Red Head Gallery to see an immersive installation by Canadian Artist Sally Thurlow, called "Crossroads".Visitors are invited to walk amounst 64 suspended driftwood tree trunks, each one uniquely adorned to become a sculpture in itself. The show is is a beautiful thought-provoking experience, which the artist has written about in detail on her website here.

A Lovely Party : “The Royal Occasion” Celebrating The Royal Conservatory of Music

Each spring we look forward to attending a party held by Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music, called "The Royal Occasion", during which a number of Canadians who have made a remarkable contribution to arts and culture in our country are granted Honorary Fellowships to the conservatory. Our friend Isabel works there, and kindly invites us for the "performance and presentation" part, and the party that follows.

Urban Wildlife : Birds of Spring 2018

There's a window in our kitchen through which we get an unhindered view of a big tree. My camera, equipped with a telephoto lens, is always near it, ready to go, especially in the spring and fall when migrating birds are flying through Toronto on their way to and from their breeding grounds up north.While I enjoy the novelty of spotting a travelling visitor, I also appreciate the ones who set up nests and have their babies right here in the city.We'll start with those that were just passing through ...This pair of bright yellow, tiny birds -- they're only 2 to 3 inches long, are "Yellow Bellied Flycatchers". I saw them a couple of afternoons during the last week of April.(I usually catch a sight of this species every year, and there are more photographs of them here.)

Witnessing an Artist’s Dream Come True : Corno Hanging with Warhol

Nick and I went back to the C9 Art Gallery in Yorkville, where we got the chance to see the fulfillment of an artist's dream.

You may recall this story from March, which told about a new Toronto gallery and some paintings we saw there by the French Canadian artist Joanne Corneau, aka "Corno".

I was not previously familiar with this painter, but loved her stunning large scale pieces. There was a portrait of Andy Warhol amoungst her works, which, combined with her colour choices and composition, made it evident that she was inspired by him.

While at the gallery, my eyes had continuously drifted back to one Corno painting in particular, a large canvas covered in the image of a woman's face in close-up, with bright yellow hair and sparkling eyes partially hidden behind half-closed eyelids.

What I didn't realize during that first visit to the gallery, was that Corno was not a living artist. In writing up my post, I'd looked at her website (here), and her Facebook Page (here), neither of which gave the impression that the artist had recently passed away. I believed that she continued to work in her studio, making more of her beautiful artworks.

It wasn't until just before attending this second show at C9 Gallery, which featured more of Corno's work alongside a collection of original lithographed posters of Andy Warhol exhibitions, that I found this wiki page written in English (most of what is written about her is in French). There I was somewhat surprised and saddened to discover that Corno had died from cancer in December 2016, shortly after her 64th birthday.

While I would have been interesting in seeing more of her work no matter what, the fact that I now realized that her paintings were limited to those which already existed heightened my desire to see this show.

Searching around the net, I also found this YouTube video and this one that depict Corno at work, in the midst of creating many of the paintings that now hang at C9.

This was the opening party for a show called "Corno & Warhol" ...

For the Crocheters and Admirers of Colour : A Petite Flower Garland

Hello! Here's the pattern for a small flower garland I made for spring and summer decoration.We have this odd pillar in our living room (that hides pipes and cables going upstairs) which I decorated with this garland made with jack-o-lantern beads last Halloween. Then at Christmas I hung a string of small baubles there. And at Valentine's I put the heart garland I crocheted last year (seen in this post). Once that came down, the space looked empty so I crocheted another garland to put there, this one made from small multi coloured flowers.Based on the number of garlands I've made and shared on these pages, it's clear that I like them. There's something so cheerful about them that appeals!