There is a railway bridge over Lawrence Avenue East just to the east of Weston Road (close to Weston UP Station). The walls beside the sidewalk on both sides of the underpass have been painted with street art designs of flowers, birds and animals. The murals are the result of a collaboration between Que Rock and Alex Bacon.
Another Weston mural – Out and About
Another recent Weston blog post – A little piece of Weston
Teesdale Place runs west off of Pharmacy Ave., just east of Victoria Park subway station.
below: Victoria Park subway station is on the far left. As the tracks cross Pharmacy Avenue, there is a mural by Jarus of a boy holding a blue jay that covers all of the underpass.
On the other side of the underpass is another mural by Jarus – a young girl holding a cardinal carefully in her hand.
below: Teesdale Place
A winter walk down Graffiti Alley and Rush Lane
below: Posing with a blue mask (you can also see them in the photo above).
below: A little red dress with flair
below: TBJ, Toronto blue jay
below: A large rose by Josh Creighton
below: Yin and yang
below: Rust, grime, and the remnants of stickers on an old window.
below: Horst
below: This blog post would have been finished a day or two earlier but I fell behind because of this photo. I fell down the rabbit hole when researching these condos. I have since decided that rather than getting bogged down now discussing this development, I would leave it for a later date. The red face sums it all up.
Happy Victoria Day!
Happy 2 4 long weekend.
More correctly, I hope that you had a good weekend!
This blog post is the result of a walk through Mt. Pleasant cemetery, down the ravine behind Yonge Street that goes under St. Clair East and the Summerhill railway bridge. After crossing Mt. Pleasant Road, take the right at the fork in the path to go uphill on Milkman Lane. This brings you out of the ravine close to Glen Road. Follow Glen Road south to Sherbourne subway station.
below: Lots of shades of red, green, and yellow in the cemetery.
I will dedicate this post to the man that I met on the path near the St. Clair bridge. He had many questions about the path and where it went. He was in awe that such a place existed in the city and was so excited to find it. He couldn’t linger though because he was on a break from work.
below: Blossoms on an Arnolds crab apple tree, Malus X Arnoldiana (the tree had a label, cemetery)
below: Dense clusters of fragile pink and white petals on a Japanese Flowering Cherry Prunus Serrulata.
below: The chains of humankind? Or something creepier? Please don’t put anything like this on my tombstone regardless of what they symbolism might be!
below: It was very quiet and surprisingly green on the path. I had procrastinated about walking in the ravines because I didn’t think that spring was far enough along. Surprise! Spring has sprung very quickly – the leaves have been popping out all over the place. May is a fantastic month – everything comes alive so quickly.
below: Walking on Park Drive, under Glen Road, following the Yellow Creek.
below: It looks like a throne under the bridge!
below: Yellow Creek, near St. Clair.
below: Wildlife!
below: Fungi growing out of a rotting log on the forest floor.
below: Mushrooms of a more colourful variety
below: Under St. Clair.
below: I didn’t see any real ones that day. You can spot this one close to Sherbourne subway station.
Bring on summer!
The second annual Brain Project is now on display across the city. These are only a small sample of the brain sculptures that form the exhibit. In total there are 100 brains in about 20 locations around the city. There is a map on the Brain Project website if you are interested in visiting some of them.
below: One of the locations where you can see some of the brain sculptures is Nathan Phillips Square.
Descriptions of all the brains on display around the city, as well as notes on the artists responsible, can be found online. You can vote online for your favorite brain.
below: Circles of beads and sequins – circles representing wholeness and totality come together to form a complex mosaic like the brain itself. “Unleash Your Mind” is by Kara Ross.
below: Sitting on top of a blue and teal brain is a blue jay in a nest – a sculpture by Ted Hamer that is called “Thinkubator”. Here the brain is shown as an idea incubator where the bird symbolizes the idea.
below: “Vitale” by Molly Gambardella is dedicated to the artist’s grandmother who died of Alzheimers in 2016. Vitale was her maiden name.
below: Three of the brains on display at the Distillery District. In front is “Red Head” by Anitra Hamilton who glued pieces of chicken eggshells to the surface of the brain. Red acrylic paint highlights the spaces between the eggshells. In the middle is Cindy Scaife’s “Food for Thought”. Broccoli, avocado, apple and walnut, all healthy foods, play in the park.
below: Also at the Distillery District is a brain by Laura Bundesen, “Not Forgotten” is a collage of fabric embellished with lace and embroidery and beads. It is in memory of her stepmother who suffered from dementia.
Part of the goal of the project is raise awareness of diseases like Alzheimers that affect the brain. Another goal was to raise money – the sculptures are sponsored by various people and corporations (such as Telus). As well, most of the brains from last year’s exhibit have been sold. Funds raised through this project are donated to Baycrest Health Services.
below: Keight MacLean’s “Loss” illustrates the idea of memory and memory loss using a portrait of a person, a loved one. Paint as the memory loss, obscures the picture.
Frank Kovac Lane is a short alley just south of Christie subway station. Some of the garage doors were painted with murals in past years and, as usual, there were plenty of tags. Recently, the lane was the scene of a community mural painting session thanks to the 4th Toronto Rangers (Girl Guides), StreetARToronto, artist Nick Sweetman, and some local residents. Now some of the tags are gone and more importantly, some more garage doors are home to bright and cheerful murals. A few of them are included here.
below: At the north end of the lane is this large, colourful mural by Nick Sweetman.
Two large blue bears have found a plethora of honey. Will the bees share?
below: The new murals continue the animal theme, “Urban Wildlife”, starting with this fox.
below: A common Toronto animal, a raccoon, beside a red fire hydrant.
below: A blue jay eyes some blueberries.
below: Several monster faces have lived in this alley for a while and they still remain.
This one looks like he needs a hair cut.
below: This graffiti is actually on Harbord Street but I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it
– a camera and an “oh snap”
Today’s blog starts with an anatomy lesson as illustrated by vampz on a wall in Graffiti Alley – the arterial and venous blood flow of the head and neck.
I walked the alleys behind Queen St West today to see if there was anything new. The biggest new pieces were the above head and a new birdo creation, pictured below. A realistic looking blue jay and a floating pink gem.
below: The back part of the blue jay is on the side wall of the garage
which produces an interesting 3D effect.
below: This tribute to the basketball Raptors and their appearance in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals is also a new addition. DeRozan is pictured on the left and my apologies for not knowing the player on the right. Unfortunately, it was too close to garbage day and the bins were overflowing so I couldn’t move them out of the way. Next time.
below: And unfortunately, garbage was an issue today.
below: The face isn’t new to the alley, but the words are.
Written by a woman with priorities!
Pretty female working retail falls in love with guys who need bail
the sweet smell of lust or love
you mean well, but money can get her a new car and clean nails.
The Lady”
below: Love Department featuring Phoebe.
You can find more of her on instagram @phoebenewyork
below: Even a simple smile will do most of the time.
below: Cloud Monet and the woman in white, or Who you lookin’ at Mr. Fish?
below: A couple of stikmans. No anatomical realism here!
below: A bit of mystery. I’m not sure if it’s a stikman or if it’s a newcomer to the alley
below: Pull up a seat and rest a bit, we’re almost done.
below: The final words on today’s walk. Someone’s not happy!
as I walk Toronto 