ode to a squirrel

Posted: January 12, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, nature
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But not just any squirrel.  Toronto has many, many squirrels.  Most of them are black and a few are grey or even a reddish colour.  The rarest squirrels in the city are the albino squirrels.  I’m not sure how many there are but they can most often be seen around Trinity Bellwoods Park.

It is fitting then that this mural is next to the park, in a little lane just north of Queen West that ends at Gore Vale Avenue.  It’s a very large albino squirrel; it looks like it fits comfortably into a lovebot heart.

a large mural on white wall of a red lovebot heart and on the heart is a large albino squirrel (white squirrel) with pinkish eyes and ears.

a nippy morning in Kensington

Posted: January 7, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, stores
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Hello! “What’s up?”  has become “sup?”  I see.

a small collection of little things on a wall including the word sup? made with white strips of wood. Also the word hello is painted on the wall. Collage includes a large spring, a light bulb and blobs of something orange.

Well, let me show you some of what’s up in Kensington these days.

two hysro poles, one with a lot of signs on it and the other with three horizontal wood sections at the top of it. Signs are a street sign for Kensington Ave in both English and Chinese, a yellow no dumping sign that has been covered in stickers, and a no parking sign. Signs for Chinese businesses are in the background.

  It’s a much quieter place on a nippy winter morning.

below:  Does anyone have an extra jacket they could lend her?  Frostbite isn’t fun.

graffiti on a wood fence, a painting of a bare breasted woman's torso.

below:  It’s Canadian patio weather so it can’t be that cold. Right?

view into a backyard from an alley, some snow on the ground, a Canadian flag is hung on a wall over two brown plastic Muskoka chairs and a small patio table. A string of Christmas lights is above the flag.

below: Loose bricks become loose teeth.  Some guy is trying to hide under the stairs.

street art painting of a face on the side of a building beside a construction site, building is an old house that is empty. face is painted under the marks on the wall where the stairs were, and teeth are loose bricks hanging vertically. a red and purple throw up text graffiti is in front of the painting.

below: Fathom graffiti on the foundations of an old house that has been torn down.
Hot and cold perhaps?

graffiti by Fathom on a brick wall at a construction site, line drawings in black of a man's face, a steaming cup of something hot, and a popsicle. Like hot and cold.

below: Filet of sole

The globe sculpture at Kensington that sits high on a pole. Two of the fish that swim around the globe, one of the fish has a pair of black and red nike shoes with their laces tied together, over the front of the fish.

below: Cool camel with his headless (mindless!?) glittery arm candy.

a mannequin with a camel mask on, wearing sunglasses, with a large ring through it's nose, wearing a robe with a busy pattern in shades of brown, another mannequin that is headless is beside the camel. The second mannequin is wearing a dress covered in shiny sparkly gold sequins.

below: Persian stews and a pink octopus…. what’s in a Persian stew?  If beef stew is beef and rabbit stew is rabbit….   well, I’ll assume that Persian stew isn’t Persians just like Irish stew isn’t Irishes.
I also liked the way that the street art on the open gate merged with the painting on the wall behind.

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below: Still meditating with blinking – not distracted by the Christmas balls in front of her face.

mannequin in a window sitting in a yoga position, and covered in painted patterns, multicoloured, gold Christmas balls are hanging from the ceiling around her.

below: I thought that this was a window ornament, like the kid you see as a door knocker.  But when I zoomed in more closely, I found that is was an old curling trophy!

an old weathered curling trophy sits on a window ledge, where it has been tied on. Window behind, reflection of the trophy in the window.

below: A little sparrow doing some people watching, its feathers all puffed up to keep warm.

a little sparrow (bird) sits on a railing outside that is decorated with cedar boughs and red Christmas lights.

below: A woman and a rose in black and white, by bubz

a black and white mural by bubz, grey tones actually, of a woman with long hair and a white rose

below: Outdoor office.  I told you we Canadians were a hardy bunch.

an old office chair with black padded back and seat sits up on a small trash bin made of concrete blocks. A light dusting of snow covers all surfaces

below: Druid and a Christmas tree.

top part of a brick building, two windows, a Christmas tree in one of the windows, the word druid written in yellow spray pain above the windw, a new condo being built in the background
below: Lovebot, grominator, and a poser bunny all together by the rooftops.

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below:  A number of these little paste-ups (the guy in the yellow frame) by t-bonez have sprung up around downtown.   This one is on Augusta.

people walking in Kensington, walking past a wall with a pasteup on it of a man in uniform saluting he's drawn from the waist up and is in a yellow frame.

part of a mural in a Kensington lane of a woman with long dark hair and a white and blue dress, she is standing. In front of her is parked a bike.

below: Taking a snowy walk in the neighbourhood that is protected by Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum from the 3 Ninjas movies.

looking down a street in Kensington, looking towards Spadina, older brick housses on the street, a group of people walking down the sidewalk, snow on the ground, winter trees, a neighbourhood watch sign that has been altered with a picture of the three boys from the movie 3 Ninjas.

below: Everyone likes Christmas!  Even a stormtrooper….

a mannequin outside a store is dressed in a Star Wars white storm trooper costume with a Santa hat and a T-shirt with the face of a stormtrooper also with a Santa hat. The store is painted yellow and has a bright red door that is open

two t-shirts on display outside a store, both are white and both have heads of famous people wearing Santa hats. One is David Bowie and the other is E.T.

below: More rooftop graffiti.  This time, with new condo development behind.  The old brick buildings with glass monsters popping up behind them – a very familiar site these days.

graffiti on the top of a red brick building, trees in front, a large new condo being built behind.

below: In keeping with the sort of PG rating of this blog, I’ll show this poster as the background!

a woman in pink gloves is taking a picture of a graffiti paste up in a street, taking the photo with her phone

below: The end, no exit. I’ll go no further, except…..

the end of a dead end alley, with graffiti on one of the walls, and a sign that says no exit painted on the wall in white.

to say have a happy New Year and I hope that 2017 is filled with lots of opportunities to walk and explore!

part of a larger mural, black line drawings on white of two smiling faces

Have a blast!

wooden decorations on the upper part of a store, cutouts painted to look like two women sitting on top of rockets as they blast into space

How did you start the new year?

Posted: January 2, 2017 in events, people
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Did you do something lazy like sleep in and then stay in your jammies all day?
Did you stay home and stay warm?

I know a few people that did just the opposite! More than 60 people took the plunge and got wet, frigid cold wet that is. The 12th annual Polar Bear dip at Sunnyside Park was well attended this year and these are some of the brave and crazy people who were there (and the less brave and crazy who came to watch, support, and take pictures of the swimmers).

 

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

below: The event is a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity and over $64,000 was raised this year. Habitat for Humanity had a team who participated, they could be spotted wearing orange T-shirts and orange hard hats.
people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario - Habitat for Humanity team wore orange T shirts and orange hard hats

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario - members of bearded villains team

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

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people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario - a man with large black beard and many tattoos is wearing a pink tutu held up with bright green cord

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario - a series of 3 shots as a boy gets into the water

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario - a man does the front crawl in the water

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario - a swimmer with a Santa outfit sort of, apron and tie

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

people participating in the 12th annual polar bear dip at Sunnyside Park in Toronto, in the icy cold water of Lake Ontario

#dothedip | #topolarbear

And so it begins! 2017

Posted: January 2, 2017 in general Toronto
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Happy New Year greetings to one and all!
May you walk many miles and explore many places.

a happpy new year sign hangs from the ceiling in a window, the view from the window is in the background, the Toronto skyline with the CN Tower and Lake Ontario

when leaves were green.

Posted: December 20, 2016 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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As the year draws to a close many people like to look back and remember the year that was.  Me, I go through files and although I find memories, I also find partially finished blog posts.  I find ideas that I started to explore but there’s never enough time in a day to do everything you want.  If only I could stop the clocks for a while and catch up!

This is one of the blog posts that didn’t see the light of day earlier in the year.  These pictures were taken back in June, back when the leaves were green and people were wearing shorts.  This is the street art on the garage doors of Perly Family Lane.

below: … as well as one little stencil black bird high on a pole.

a small stencil of a black bird's head and neck on a piece of wood, mounted high on a telephone pole in a lane, along with a no parking sign, in Perly Family Lane in Toronto.

below: An intricate stenciled painting of deer among the trees, plants, and flowers with a humming bird hovering overhead and three swallows flying past.

stencil art on a white garage door. greenery, a hummingbird, three swallows in flight, a deer, some red flowers

below: A colourful door by Manik I think.

street art on a garage door in a lane, purple text graffiti with red and yellow background, colourful, abstract

below: The rest of the photos are paintings by Pascal Paquette.
They are abstract swirls and blobs of colour.

abstract street art on a garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

abstract street art on a garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

Pascal Paquette abstract street art on two adjacent garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

abstract street art on a few adjacent garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

Pascal Paquette abstract street art on two adjacent garage door in a lane, by Pascal Paquette, swirls of colour

I suspect that there will be a few more posts like this as I try to clear out the backlog that has accumulated over the year.  Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog…. and please come back and see what happens as we move into a new year!

 

as it once was, The Ward

Posted: December 19, 2016 in history, public art
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Tucked into a space between City Hall and the Court House, is a construction site.  Up until recently it was a parking lot.  Soon it will be a new Court House.  Like all construction sites in Toronto, it is surrounded by hoardings to separate it from the streets and sidewalks.
a yellow digger, not working at the moment, sits in a vacant lot, slightly snow covered, the back of Toronto City Hall is in the background.

On two sides of the lot, the hoardings have been covered with a mural that was commissioned by Infrastructure Ontario.  It is “Picturing the Ward”and it is an exhibit about the area that once existed here, The Ward.  It was an area where many immigrants first settled.  It was roughly in the rectangle formed by College St., Yonge St., Queen St., and University Ave.   In the 1830’s it was home to Blacks escaping slavery, it saw waves of Irish, Eastern European Jews, Italians, and Chinese to name a few.

On the west side (along Centre Avenue), there are old photos, newspaper clippings, and stories of individuals who once lived in the area.   The content was collected and curated by the Toronto Ward Museum, a new ‘museum without walls’  in the city.   PATCH (part of The STEPS Initiative) designed and installed the mural.  The stories are in both English and French.

below: A segment of the mural with a story titled “Hungering for Success”.   It is the story of Edward and Donna Pasquale nee Bernardo.  Both were born in Italy and both were brought to the Ward by their parents.  They met here and married in 1918.  Edward and his brother Pamphilo founded Pasquale Brothers store on Elm Street.   During WW2 Pamphilo spent three years imprisoned in an internment camp in Petawawa along with other Italian, German, and Japanese Canadians that the government considered enemies of the state.  Edward remained in Toronto running the store.

part of larger mural, small tree branch in front, tall office building behind, mural has old photos in blue tones as well as a lot of words about the history of the area

below: The newspaper story from ‘The Toronto Star’ of 3rd October 1907 describes the death of Mrs. Hazleton, a widow with two children, who was hit by a car at Yonge & Bloor.  The car was driven by Mr. F.E. Mutton.  Yes, back then the driver of the car was named in the newspaper.

old photos in blue tones on a mural, along with a picture of an old newspaper clipping describing an automobile accident at Yonge & Bloor in which someone died.

below: The middle section is a collage of cyanotypes (an old photographic process which results in blue pictures) produced by PA System (aka Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson) .  The images are of artifacts uncovered during the excavation of the area along with some heirlooms contributed by former Ward residents.  A couple of CBC people were braving the cold that day too!

part of mural on a snowy corner, photos in blue tones, a CBC cameraman and reporter are standing on the sidewalk in front of the mural

below: The south side of the hoardings are along Armoury Street.  This section is called, These Stories Are Not Unlike Your Stories. Old photographs of the area have been reproduced in shades of blue.  Orange ‘bubbles’ contain stories.  Most of the photographs are from the City of Toronto Archives although some come from private sources.

part of a larger mural in Toronto, blue photos, with words written in large capital letters, These Stories Are Not Unlike Your Stories

below: On one side, the pictures are printed in reverse and the accompanying words are in French.  The French stories are translations of the English ones.

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: The people who lived in The Ward were poor and their housing was sub-standard.  In 1911 a report by the city’s Department of Health described how bad the living conditions were for the people here.  Largely because of that report, demolition of the area started soon after to make space for office towers and government buildings.  I’m not sure how long parts of The Ward survived, but it was in the 1950’s that the original Chinatown along Elizabeth Street was demolished to make way for Nathan Phillips Square.

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: Some of the orange bubbles contain quotes from descendants of former residents of the area.  The bottom quote is: “My mom use to say, ‘We were all poor.  No one had anything.  It was normal.  Everyone was in the same position so we didn’t worry about it too much.'”  by Brian Banks, grandson of John & Mary Colestock, former residents.

 

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: There is still a lot of work to be done on the site!   The mural will be on view until at least October of next year. If you are interested in the details of the mural, more about the people featured, or the events described, then the best place to start looking is the section of the Toronto Ward Museum website that is devoted to this project.

two red diggers on top of a pile of dirt on a snow covered vacant lot, large multirise buildings in the background

dull rhymes

Posted: December 17, 2016 in galleries
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If By Dull Rhymes
an exhibit by David Armstrong Six and Kristan Horton
Clint Roenisch Gallery, St. Helens Ave

 Dull rhymes may not be the best title as there was nothing dull about the exhibit.

This exhibit  features two Canadian-born artists.  The sculptures that you see are by David Armstrong Six.  They are playful mashups of broken and cast off pieces and many resemble the human form in one way or another.  You can imagine them dancing around the room when the lights are off and everyone’s gone home.   For now, their dance is frozen in time as they await tonight’s revelry.  The two works on the wall are by Kristan Horton.

artwork by David Armstrong Six (sculpture) and Kristan Horton (prints on the wall) at the Clint Roenisch gallery - three sculptures and two pieces on board on the wall

below: Close up of one of the panels.   Details.  Eye catching.  Mesmerizing. Geometric Patterns.  Each section is made with a single part of a piece of packaging that has been manipulated (rotated, flipped, etc) to make a repeating pattern.

eight different patterns made with labels that are displayed side by side.

below: Here you can see the barcode from a box of something.  The number 2729 appears with the barcode – sometimes it in the ‘correct’ orientation and sometimes it’s the mirror image.

close up of the patterns made with different labels and barcodes by Kristan Horton

artwork by David Armstrong Six (sculpture) and Kristan Horton (prints on the wall) at the Clint Roenisch gallery - close up of one of the sculptures, it looks like a face, head, body and outstretched arm, patterned artwork on the wall in the background.

This is only a sample of the works on display.   There is a lot more information on by Kristan Horton‘s website.  I haven’t found a website for David Armstrong Six, but there are images of some of his other work online if you are interested.

artwork by David Armstrong Six (sculpture) and Kristan Horton (prints on the wall) at the Clint Roenisch gallery - one sculpture on the floor and one panel on the wall. The panel is a 10 sections, each section is a different pattern made of labels from packaging.

The exhibit is only on until the 17th of December.

Honest Ed’s waves goodbye

Posted: December 15, 2016 in landmarks, locations
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Someone has redone the signs in Bathurst subway station….
now they look like they belong at Honest Eds store!

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - the direction sign to subway and to exits.

… and when I came up to street level I discovered that the station has been decorated with Honest Eds type ‘adverts’ complete with awful puns

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station, Our prices aren't always good but they're fare

…. including word play based on subway station names such as “Turnstiles, now museum, soon you won’t”.  Groan.  Smile.

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station are two signs, one says Presto no more change-o and the other says Turnstiles now museum soon you won't

below: The main entrance to the station now looks like an Honest Eds window.

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station, The window beside the main entrance has been covered with fake ads.

below: They aren’t too easy to read in this picture, but the two signs on the left are, first, “Bacon & Eglinton $3.25” and second, “There aren’t any snakes on our tracks, St. Patrick banished them”.   Were you expecting better?  [laughing]

sign maker from Honest Eds store has redone some of the signs in Bathurst subway station plus, he has added some Honest Ed type promo signs around the station - on the window of the station, exterior of station by streetcar and bus loop has four signs in the windows that are puns based on the names of TTC stations.

Nearby is the real Honest Ed’s store, a landmark for many years.  Eighteen months ago, I posted some pictures of the store and at the end of that post I mentioned that the store was scheduled to close at the end of 2016.  Well, the end of 2016 is drawing nigh and Honest Ed’s is slowly winding down.  The decorating of Bathurst Station is part of the good-bye process.

At the moment, the interior of the store is a shadow of its former self.  It is still in business but the goods are getting scarce.  There are definitely still bargains to be had.  I have a new hat that I bought there today, red polar fleece, that set me back 50 cents… plus tax.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. a bin of lipstick and other makeup. Someone has written the word Riley in pink lipstick on the side of the bin

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. A bin of men's underwear for $4.99

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. The bedding section is being torn apart and dismantled

below: Ed Mirvish and a crowd of shoppers back in the day.
The picture still hangs in one of the many corners of the store.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. An old picture of Ed Mirvish surrounded by a crowd of people hangs on a wall above a Bell payphone.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. a few shower curtains on display as well as some checkered tea towels. The rest of the shelves and wall space are empty

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. ladies underwear in a bin for sale, surrounded by empty bins and wall space, lots of mirrors. Yellow caution tape marks off a section of the store that is now closed.

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. a black and white photo of a young woman on a wall beside a convex mirror showing the stairwell. also an ad printed right on the mirror for bradasol lozenges

below: Photo taken from the walkway between the two buildings that make up Honest Ed’s store.  Looking south.

looking down at an icy alley where four people are walking between buildings, sign on building says Honest Eds Annex,

below: From the same vantage point, but looking north.  From here I spotted a new mural.

looking down on an alley, there is a mural along the side of one of the buildings.

below: The mural is a large scale photo montage of people passing by the Bloor Street windows of Honest Ed’s. It catches the reflections of both the window contents and the life on the street.  It is “The Theatre” and it is the creation of Matthew Monteith.

part of a mural in Honest Eds Alley by Matthew Monteith showing people walking past the windows of Honest Ed's store, large scale photo
part of a mural in Honest Eds Alley by Matthew Monteith showing people walking past the windows of Honest Ed's store, large scale photo

part of a mural in Honest Eds Alley by Matthew Monteith showing people walking past the windows of Honest Ed's store, large scale photo

interior of Honest Eds store as it gets ready to close down. an old man with a cane sits on the steps between two sections of the store

asafo flags

Posted: December 14, 2016 in galleries
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You’ve probably never heard the word asafo before.  You probably have no idea what it means.

Until last week I didn’t know the word existed either.

I went to the Royal Ontario Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit.  There were 100 excellent pictures of insects, animals, marine life, the sort of thing you’d expect.  There was no photography allowed in that exhibit so I have no photos of the images on display.  You’ll have to take my word for it that I was there.

I can appreciate the skill and patience that it takes to capture rabbits in the snow or a school of fish in a certain light underwater but those kind of pictures don’t excite me.   That’s not to diminish the work of the photographers, it was all very high caliber both technically and visually.    What I think I’m trying to say is that I left the exhibit wanting more, something more from my visit to the ROM.

Luckily I didn’t have to look far.  In the next room was Art, Honour, and Ridicule: Asafo Flags from Southern Ghana.

museum exhibit of asafo flags from Ghana, colourful flags of militia groups in yellows, reds and black. Many are hanging in display cases.

Colour, lots of colour.  And a subject that I knew nothing about, asafo flags.  I wasn’t even sure what part of Africa Ghana is in (It’s on the south coast of Western Africa between Togo and the Ivory Coast as it turns out.).

The flags are hand made with an assortment of different motifs.  The British Jack in the upper left corner is a very common feature.  That’s a clue.  Yes, Ghana was a British colony.   Reading the history of Ghana is like reading the colonial history of large parts of Africa.  The Portuguese built a fortress at Elmina in 1482.    Interest in the region was piqued by the presence of gold, hence the name Gold Coast.   By the early 17th century the first African state,  Akwamu, controlled an extensive part of the coast.  They were displaced by the Ashanti who were very involved in the slave trade, especially in trading slaves for weapons.   When European countries outlawed trading in slaves in the early 1800’s,  Ashanti power suffers.   Some tussles ensue, a few battles, some back and forth, and by 1902 what was Ashanti becomes is a British colony.    It remained a colony until 1957.

close up of a flag, hand made, British Jack in the top left corner, a man walks in front of a church in the center, a black bear in the top right.

I’m not going to pretend to know or understand African history.  I’m only trying to give some context to the flags.    First, jump back to my mention of Elmina and the Portuguese. When the Portuguese arrived in this area in the 15th century, it was the Fante (or Fanti) people that they encountered.  Both the Fante and the Ashanti belong to the Akan people.  The Fante prevented them from venturing inland and leased properties for Portuguese trading missions. But when the Portuguese objected to Fante rules and regulations the Fante expelled them.  Soon after, the Dutch arrived.  The Fante served as middlemen in the commerce between the interior and Dutch traders on the coast.

Around 1724 the Dutch either established or made important a number of militia groups of local Fante.  These are the Asafo companies.  Historically, Asafo companies were in charge of the safety and protection of the local community.   At the height of the slave trade they protected individuals and communities.   They exerted power, exercise political influence and maintain codes of conduct within Fante communities. Each company has a flag and that flag has many roles.   They represent proverbs and depict narratives of pride and wisdom.  They accompany oral history and provide a means to preserve customs and traditions.

below:

  1. top flag, by Kweku Kakanu, Saltpond Workshop. “Only a brave man goes under a large tree” because only large animals go under large trees. Made sometime between 1950 and 1957.
  2. bottom flag, artist unknown, Kromantse Workshop. “Only tie a bull to a large tree”. Both the animal and the tree are acknowledged to be strong and mighty.  Made around 1980.  It has a Ghanese flag in the top left corner.

 

two flags displayed on a black background, with three femail mannequins dressed in traditional Ghanese costume.

below:

  1. top flag, by Kweku Kakanu, Saltpond Workshop. A crocodile dominates and controls a pond of fish. Made around 1940.  The prey can not escape.
  2. bottom flag, by Kwesi Budu, Saltpond Workshop. The fish cann’t escape the net of the fishermen just like enemies will not be able to escape when confronted by the company.  Made around 1950.

two flags displayed on a black background, with two male mannequins dressed in military Ghanese costume.

Fante asafo flags from Ghana, two on display in a museum, chickens and roosters,

Fante asafo flags from Ghana, two on display in a museum, griffons

two mannequins in military uniforms as part of a museum exhibit at ROM

 

 

Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costumes,
ROM, 4th floor,
until March 2017.

 

 

 

radiating away from Roden

Posted: December 13, 2016 in alleys, graffiti and street art, public art, windows and walls
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The Roden in the title of this blog post refers to Roden Public School.  In their schoolyard they have this colourful mural, a fairly accurate map of the area with the school in the center.  The original school on this site was built in 1907-1908 as Ashdale School.  In 1910 it was renamed to honour Mr. E.P. Roden a long time school trustee.  The present school was built in 1969.

a mural on a conrete wall in a schoolyard that is a map of the area with the school in the center, colourful, about 8 feet high and twelve feet wide.

below: The school is just north of Gerrard St., between Coxwell and Greenwood, and south of the railway tracks.  I suspect that the 100 in the circle that marks the school has to do with the 100th anniversary of the school although I haven’t been able to find any information about the mural online.

close up of the center of a mural on a conrete wall in a schoolyard that is a map of the area with the school in the center, colourful, about 8 feet high and twelve feet wide.

All day Sunday, and well into the early hours of Monday morning, it snowed.  It’s been many months since I’ve walked on a snowy day.  It was a bit grey and there wasn’t a lot of contrast (as in light and shadow) in the scenery yesterday afternoon when I walked, but the novelty of white snow kept me interested (and warm!).   From Roden school I wandered westward.

below: Walking home after school.

A woman walks her two young children home from school, down a snowy lane, one on each hand. Their back is to the camera, houses, trees, hydro ples, a car on the street they are about to cross.

below: A cosy brown scarf and red hat, an avocado smile, celery arms are two doggie treat buttons on his tummy – a snowman living the easy life.  No standing around in the snow for him!

a little snowman stands on a chair outside. A red cap, celery for arms, avocado for mouth

below: This was my friend who accompanied me for part of my walk, meowing loudly most of the time.   I’m not sure what it was trying to tell me.  Maybe it was out enjoying the snow?  More likely it was looking for a warm place to snuggle.

close up photo of a black cat in an alley with some snow on the ground, garage doors and a large tree

below: Busy steps, quiet steps.

the back of two buildings, one has undeisturbed snow behind it and a sign over the door that says R Coin Laundry. The building beside it (and attached to it) is three storeys high. The upper two levels have a wood railing and balcony out the back. Snow on the ground but lots of foot steps in the snow.

below: Keeping an eye on the garage.  Eye spy!

An old single car garage with grey shingle material covering it. Yellowish beige garage door with a small brightly coloured street art piece on it that includes an eye

below: Bikes and deer in the alley.  A mother deers keeps watch over her fawn.

mural of many bikes, as well as some deer. Deer look life like, standing in the alley watching you. Graffiti animals, street art painting of deer on a cement block garage wall.

below:  On one hand, I want to say that  for those who want to look, there are many little surprises to be found in the lanes and alleys of this city.   But on the other hand, there are an incredible number of old cars parked in city backyards.  Some are neglected and clearly not roadworthy while others still have some life left in them.

looking through a hole in a blue fence, an old light blue car is parked in a backyard, covered with snow, the white of the house is behind the car.

below: Another car.

Close up of chainlink fence, rusty, but in focus. Out of focus behind it is an old blue car that is covered with snow. It is parked between two black vehicles.

below: Clowning around in a window.

A small figurine of a clown holding his hat above his head, blue jacket, red pants, black bowtie, small figurine in front of a plant with green and purple leaves.

below: I think it’s dub monkey, duh?

white stencil on a concrete wall that says dub monkey with the face of a monkey

below: Looking south to Gerrard Street.  Snow and slush, very Toronto in the winter.   The orange construction sign is also very Toronto, but in all seasons these days.

looking towards a street with two sem-detached houses, one is boarded up and the other isn't. A construction sign, a pedestrian on the sidewalk, a black dog.

below: Someone added some colour to the alley when they shouldn’t have.

a bright red shopping cart has been abandoned in front of a green garage door in a snowy alley

below: A mural by kairo, on a pink that packs a punch on a grey winter day.

mural of a woman's head by kairo. Background has been painted a dark pink, with white spots. WOman has long reddish brown hair.

below: More alley colour to brighten the day.

Back of a house in a lane. Gate covering bac is lopsidded, on an angle. The garage that faces the alley has a bright yellow door. Two storey semi detached houses, one brown and one reddish.

below: Someone loves their bike.  I find it a bit creepy that the picture is a skull.

a small painting that has been hung a fence. A white skull with the eyes drawn as the wheels of a bike. The words say I love my bike, with the word love being a small heart.

below: Wall art of another kind.  Shades of yellow.

Yellow wall with rust coloured upper part. Tags and graffiti have been painted over with different colours of yellow paint to produce a patchwork like effect.

below: Little ups and downs in the lane.   A large majestic winter tree stands over the lane.

looking down an alley, a two storey house, a large mature tree with no leaves, the brightening sky of the late afternoon as the cloud cover lifts enough to let a but of sunlight through. Snow in the alley, with tire tracks from a few cars that have driven over it.

below: A peacock mural.  Lahore Halal Meat store on the corner of Gerrard is a reminder that this part of Gerrard was/is referred to as Little India because of the large number of Indian (Southeast Asian) shops and restaurants.

building on the corner of two streets, two storeys, as seen from the back. Shops on the lower level and apartments upstairs. Large mural of a peacock on the side of the building, a large billboard on top of it. Lahore Halal Meat store on the corner.

below:  This photo is from the entrance to Lahore Halal Meat store in the above photo.   The material on the inside features brides and grooms within heart shapes and surrounded by white flowers.  Not what you’d expect in a meat shop!

An open door, glass paneled door, of a store, a red and white Open sign is at the bottom of the door, part of the exterior wall is blue tiles that are starting to fall off, the counter inside is covered with a blue and white material that is pictures of brides and grooms in heart shapes surrounded by flowers.

below: Textured concrete, broken bricks, and the remnants of a black stencil.

a wall. Upper part is brick. A swath has been painted white, but some bricks have broken off in front to reveal the brighter orangish red underneath. The bottom part of the wall is grey concrete that has been texturized with slanted lines.

below: Sunflowers reach for a sunny place.

looking down a lane. A mural on a wall is on the left. It is bright yellow sunflowers under a blue sky. Snow in the alley with car tracks from a few vehicles, trees, a house, osme garages,

below: A fork in the alley.  A jumble of lines.

snowy and icy alley, dooking downhill towards a fork in the road, garage doors on all sides, backs of houses in the background, alleys and lanes of east part of Toronto

a large sign advertising Kawartha Dairy ice cream, on a sidewalk on a sluchy winter day, large pink ice cream cone picture,

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