as I walk Toronto

alley detour

Posted: October 1, 2013 in graffiti and street art
Tags: CN Tower, doors, garages, graffiti, great wall of China, hi buddy, mural, my spot, poles, Toronto, words

Late last week a friend and I were walking to the Kensington area to take some pictures. We almost didn’t get there because we were distracted by a number of small alleys along the way. This is a small sample of what we saw that day.

A mural of the Great Wall of China has been painted on the side of a building. There is a hydro pole in front of it with a sign that says no dumping.

shadows on the Great Wall of China

Never lose your dinosaur

Black wall with a robot and heart sticker. Someone has written the words, what's real? what's not?on the wall as well

robot love – is it real?

A line of robot stickers on a short yellow pole in an alley

I guess one could make jokes about pole dancing robots.

buildings in an alley that have graffiti on them. the CN Tower is in the background

in front of the CN tower

crsy tag on an old grey wood garage in an alley

on a grey and weathered wall

two storey building painted grey and purple. The stairwell to the upper level is open. It is painted purple. There is an old chair on the landing.

purple entrance in the alley

graffiti image of a naked woman who is wearing an Indian feather headdress

loitering while wearing nothing except a few feathers

Concrete block wall with the words blue, blue, blue written on it. The sky behind is very blue.

Blue, very blue

A wall and door have been painted a maroon colour. Someone has written the words Hi Buddy on the door. There is a light fixture over the door but it is broken.

Hi Buddy on maroon

Black and white graffiti that says my spot

Please find your own.

havenbrook

Posted: September 18, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: 401, bridge, concrete, DOn River, face, graffiti, Havenbrook Park, mud, paw prints, raccoon, stencil, Toronto

I ventured north today, north of the 401….. to Havenbrook Park which is just far enough north to access the bridge under the 401 just east of Leslie Street. I went there because I had heard that some interesting graffiti could be found under the bridge. As you can see, someone beat me to it. It’s all gone, all cleaned up.

There is a small, and boring, amount of graffiti across the river and up the hill. If I also wanted to climb the fence, I could access a bit more graffiti. My cane was handy for managing the incline down to the river but that was the limit of my adventuring for today.

Having said that, there was this one piece of graffiti:

The graffiti had been cleaned up and so had the surroundings. It was probably the cleanest of the bridges that I have been under in Toronto. I saw rocks, dirt, water, paw prints and not much else.

polar bears

Posted: September 13, 2013 in events
Tags: cold, New Years day, Polar Bear, Polar Bear Dip, Sunnyside Park, swim, Toronto, winter

Since my walking is still limited and I have time on my hands, I have been sorting and editing older photos.

Back on New Years day I went to Sunnyside Park to watch the annual Polar Bear Dip. Some of the photos that I took that day are now at: http://www.asiwalktoronto.com/lightbox_polar.html

my still life

Posted: September 8, 2013 in Uncategorized

pills and a hospital ID tag sitting on a table.

My Still Life

Your choice – meniscus, PCL or just “soft tissue injury of the knee”. The results are all the same – limited mobility.

That’s my life at the moment, my still life.

looking through the railing of a balcony towards other apartments and their balconies

I’ve titled this photo “Behind bars – how I feel”. You can subtitle it as ‘A bit of silliness to make me smile as the lack of walking is starting to get me down.’

Tower Automotive Building

Posted: September 2, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: 1988, blue face, brick, eyeless, faccio sempre la brava, face, fence, girl, graffiti, heritage, industrial, Junction, Loopy Le Loop, Looter, lsd, street art, tags, the Junction, Toronto, Tower Automotive, vacant lot, wall, watering can

Standing alone in a vacant lot on Sterling Road is the Tower Automotive Building. It was built by Northern Aluminium in 1920 and at some point became the property of Tower Automotive who used the site to build car parts. In 2005 it was declared a heritage building but it was closed shortly thereafter when the company declared bankruptcy.

The ten storey Tower Automotive bulding. In the foreground is the land left vacant after the demolition of the sheet casting machining buildings in 2010.

The ten storey Tower Automotive building. In the foreground is the land left vacant after the demolition of the sheet casting machining buildings in 2010.

Looking up the spine of the building. North side of Tower Automotive.

walking along the west wall

Faccio Sempre la Brava, translate from the Italian as I always do the good.

Faccio Sempre la Brava, translates from the Italian as, I always do the good.

Loopy Le Loop with tags

two wire gates. One has a sign on it that says 'protected by' but the name of the company is obscured by a tag

ungated

interior, doors

When I was researching this building, I found a site that has a collection of great photos of the interior of the building that were taken in May of this year:

jermalism.blogspot.ca/2013/05/abandonment-issues-tower-automotive.html

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Art Spin

Posted: September 2, 2013 in events, galleries
Tags: art, Art Spin, brick, Caroline Larsen, Celia Neubauer, concrete, gallery, green door, heritage, industrial, Jinny Yu, John Oswald, Lois Schklar, Mary Grisey, Michael Toke, Noel Middleton, projections, sculpture, Stillnessence, Toronto, Tower Automotive, visual, Vuk Dragojevic, wire

Fourth Annual Art Spin Exhibition,
Tower Automotive Building, 158 Sterling Rd.,
Aug 29 – Sept 1, 2013

18 artists, one old vacant heritage industrial building.

Interesting lighting. Interesting use of the space. Interesting relationships between the installations and their surroundings.

I have not included photos of all the art in the exhibit. My apologies to the artists whose work I haven’t shown.

looking at ‘Sound the Alarm’ by Caroline Larsen’ with the video installation ‘I,I,I,I’ in the foreground

‘We Are Happy’ by Michael Toke. Like a visit to the dentist’s office.

a group of people looking at a piece of art. They are in a large open space that once was a factory. Concrete and brick walls.

The painting on the wall to the left is ‘Exit Enter’ by Celia Neubauer.

‘Sterling Caer Observer’ by Noel Middleton

A sculpture that is composed of three tall vertical pieces of shiny metal. A yellowish brick wall is in the background.

‘Untitled’ by Jinny Yu. Three shaped pieces of metal by brick wall.

artist: Mary Grisey

‘Floating in the Eye of the Storm’ by Lois Schklar.

wire sculpture

‘Stillnessence Vivarium’ by John Oswald.

This installation lent itself to a many interpretations.

more information about Art Spin http://www.artspin.ca

The video installation ‘Melting Bricks’ was in small room where it was shown fairly high up on the wall. It was the only source of light in the room. I focused on the relationship between the room and the light when I was taking pictures of it. (my apologies to the artist as I seem to have forgotten his/her name).

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The Ex

Posted: August 31, 2013 in events
Tags: August, Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, deep fried, Ex, ferris wheel, food, midway, prizes, rides, Toronto, Twister, Zipper

An evening at the Canadian National Exhibition

A warm August evening.

Admission is only $5 if you go after 5 p.m., and if you don’t mind a few crowds!

A view from the Sky Ride. Downtown Toronto with the CN tower is in the background. Midway rides and games can be seen.

Riding the Sky Ride over the CNE midway

A fast food stand at the Ex, selling cheeseburgers, sausages, deep fried Mars bars, and other unhealthy food!

The Ex has always been a place to buy unhealthy, “interesting” food! Deep fried Mars bars, Twinkies, and Oreos are just some of the goodies available.

birds eye view of the midway. multicoloured roofs over midway game stalls, lots of people walking around

The midway is also where you will find many games to play! Many ways to spend your money if you”re feeling lucky.

A wall of stuffed toys - Bart Simpsons and South Park characters

Stuffed toys – the most popular midway game prize.

two of the midway rides - the swings and a ferris wheel

Spinners

many people in a line up waiting to get on the Zipper ride

line-ups are an inevitable part of a summer evening at the CNE

Some people in a line up waiting to get on a ride, the Twister ride is in the background

waiting for the Twister

two kids on a large bumble bee, one of the rides in Kid Land at the CNE

Happily riding the bumble bees in Kid Land.

the CNE website: http://theex.com/

more photos: http://www.asIwalkToronto.com/cne.html

other people’s photos:

Wychwood Barns

Posted: August 23, 2013 in locations, Uncategorized
Tags: artscape, bricks, converted building, five, heritage, St. Clair West, streetcars, Toronto, TTC, Wychwood, Wychwood barns

In 1913 the first of five Wychwood “Barns” were built by the city of Toronto as a streetcar maintenance facility. Streetcars accessed the site from the mainlines on St. Clair Ave., which is just to the north, via tracks on Wychwood Avenue.

There were five barns built from 1913 to 1921 as industrial buildings. They are brick structures, two storeys high with an interior steel structure that was exposed. The facility remained part of the TTC until 1992. The City of Toronto currently leases the site to Toronto Artscape Inc., a not-for-profit organization that develops and operates space for the arts, at $1 a year on a 50 year lease.

Barn 1 has been converted into a private live-work studio and housing for community artists, while Barn 2 was made into a community gathering space, including a theatre. Barns 1 & 2 became a covered street that is two storeys high, 60 metres long, and 10 meters wide. Barns 3 and 4 are private-public spaces where non-profit organizations can operate.

Interior of the present day Wychwood Barns, central part. Historical photos of Toronto streetcars hang over the doors on the right.

Interior of the present day Wychwood Barns, central part (barns 1 and 2). Historical photos of Toronto streetcars hang over the doors on the right.

A greenhouse and community gardens are located in Barn four. The roof was removed from Barn 5. All that remains is the steel structure that forms the arcade.

A large number 5 hangs over the remains of the fifth barn.

Barn number 5

part of an old wall showing the brick details.

Exposed interior wall

Sunflowers growing in the community gardens in barn 4.

walking Graffiti Alley again

Posted: August 22, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: colours, fish, graffiti, Graffiti Alley, marine life, McDougall Lane, paint, posters, Queen St. West, resurrect, Rush Lane, soul, spray paint, stickers, tags, Tom and Jerry, Toronto, uber, weeds

Behind the south side of Queen St. West, starting at Spadina and heading west. At Bathurst there is a slight detour because someone built a Loblaws grocery store and a condo in the way. But just turn south to Richmond and walk a short distance west. On your right there is a small alley; follow this lane to almost Dufferin street – if there is no construction in the way!

I have walked this route many times. Sometimes there are new things to see, or changes have occurred. Sometimes I just notice things that I missed on previous visits.

Larger than life. The woman on red has been there since the first time I walked this way a couple of years ago. The aquatic scenes on the building across the alley are a more recent addition.

Tom and Jerry and their never ending chase scene.

The alley changes with the seasons. Even here there is greenery.

Sunshine and shadows in the lane.

Above the alley. She now appears in a few places.

Tag, baker, inserted between two windows

I just want people to like me. A sticker in McDougall Lane, a good use of US Priority Mail labels.

I resurrect the destructed poster with a few tags added accompanied by a girl with a broken heart.

Black and white graffiti on a wall and door. There is life sized picture of a man on the door. He is holding a red heart in his hands.

He evolves. First his face was added – with googly eyes and his tongue stuck out. Now he seems to be anatomically correct as well!

Graffiti of many caricature images of Rob Ford. Most are black and white but one is red and white. Some of the edges are beginning to rip.

Starting to fray at the edges

back of a building on Queen St. that has a large red and blue tag on it. There is a large green skull-like picture on the door. Four blue recylcing bins are by the door.

Garbage bins guarding the door.

Uber's yellow bird is laughing and drinking something from a can. Somone has added the words grain fed to his forehead.

I’m not sure what he’s drinking, but apparently he’s grain fed. He looks a bit grubby because he’s sitting on the ground next to the dust and dirt in the lane.