glass | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘glass’

Water is Life

Posted: October 7, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: Broadview, Claire Browne, Currents of Change, Eastend Arts, emily may rose, flowers, Frannie Potts, Girls mural camp, glass, Haenahhh, hello kirsten, Julia Prajza, Kirsten McCrea, lake, Memengwaa Kwe Originals, Merryn, Mo Thunder, Moonlight Murals collective, murals, Native Women in the Arts, paint, Queen East, raccoons, river, Riverside, Scarbrite Collective, spray paint, street art, Sylvie, tap, Victoria Day, water, women, Women Paint, Women Paint Riverside

Women Paint Riverside
“Currents of Change”

below: The faucet is on and water pours into a glass. Interesting lively water, full of colours and patterns in this mural by Kirsten McCrea

below: A large mural by Mo Thunder. Follow the link to her website for more information about the mural – a mother and child lying side by side forming the land as water swirls around them.

below: White flowers on a watery blue background by Julia Prajza

below: Invasive species such as phragmites in the Don Valley, by Merryn

below: Rabbit and deer having to contend with out of control greenery, possibly dog-strangling vine. Phragmites are reeds, those tall perennial grasses that grow very tall.

below: Raccoons frolic in the water and raccoons sit by the shore. Even one raccoon spray painting a rock, naughty raccoon! Mural by Emily May Rose.

below: by Haenahhh. Arms around each other

below: Hands reaching out in a mural by Claire Browne,

below: Victoria Day‘s mural – what looks a bit like a blue water serpent but is actually a dragon flying high above us in the sky.

below: In the pink is written, “A persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone.”

below: by Scarbrite Collective (brightening the streets of Scarborough), aka Frannie Potts and Sylvie with help from Memengwaa Kwe Originals aka Caterina.

below: Love not hate. A blue raccoon stealthily walks across a roof above a mural that was painted by participants in this year’s Girls Mural Camp (a three week program in the summer for teenage girls).

below: The other part of the Girls Mural Camp project.

below: by Moonlight Murals Collective

below: Three heads that seem wrapped by a fish, mural by Cedar Eve

below: Eyes closed

below: The Girls Mural Camp 2020 mural is in the same alley.

NOTE: There is also an installation by monicaonthemoon on the back of the Broadview Hotel that is part of this project but I have given it a separate blog post – Hands, Florests, and Minds.

With support from:

Eastend Arts

Women Paint

Native Women in the Arts (NWIA)

Riverside BIA

StreetARToronto

cold and windy, downtown in January

Posted: January 30, 2021 in construction, locations, public art
Tags: Bay Street, Bremner Blvd, construction, cranes, development, Dewit L. Petros, Front St., glass, GO bus terminal, Iceberg, mural, queens quay east, Queens Quay West, Raptors Way, reflections, Rob Jensen, Robert Wyland, signs, Sonic Runway, Union station, walkway, Warren Trezevant, whale

A cold and frosty afternoon walk westward along a windy Queens Quay to Harbourfront with a detour to Union Station to warm up. It was below zero, but only single digits so it can’t be that bad, right?

below: New construction, Lower Jarvis at Queens Quay East, beside Sugar Beach

below: Redpath Sugar on Queens Quay East

below: “Whaling Wall”, 1997, on the side of Redpath Sugar, one in a series of 100 murals painted by Robert Wyland that feature whales and other seal life.

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from Queens Quay

below: Ice just beginning to form on the water. Although it’s almost February, Lake Ontario remains unfrozen – at least up until last Thursday when this picture was taken. That was also the coldest day of the winter that we’ve had so far. A lot more of the harbour, and lake, should be frozen now!

below: Looking north up Bay Street from Queens Quay

below: Lakeshore & Gardiner at Bay Street.

below: There’s a new walkway over Bay Street that joins Union Station and the GO bus terminal.

below: Looking south from the new walkway. On the right is the old postal sorting station, then Air Canada Centre, and now totally rebranded as the Scotiabank Arena.

below: It also offers new views into windows!

below: Towards the new GO Terminal. When I wandered through it was just me and two security guards.

below: The first of these that I have seen, inside the new GO bus terminal.

below: The old GO Terminal

below: It was very quiet in front of Union Station, especially subdued for late on a weekday afternoon.

below: Remembering the 2019 Raptors team.

below: York Street at Bremner, with the base of the CN Tower peaking through.

below: Looking into the lobby of a new building at 10 York Street, designed by Brad Golden & Co.

below: “Iceberg” in Canada Square, with the CN Tower in the background. This sculpture, that you can walk through, also has sound and lights. The latter would probably be better seen a little later in the day!

below: Dewit L. Petros, “Untitled (Overlapping and intertwined territories that fall from view III)”, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. This was part of the 2020 Contact Photography Festival.

below: “Sonic Runway” a light-art installation on the waterfront created by Warren Trezevant and Rob Jensen.

And then home to warm up again!

drawn to walls

Posted: September 9, 2020 in windows and walls
Tags: abstract, blinds, brick, cladding, colour, composition, fire hydrant, glass, line, metal, paper, shadows, shape, texture, tile, tree, trellis, wall, window

I’m not sure how many posts I’ve now done on walls but this it the latest installment….
Walls as a canvas for abstractions and graphic design elements.

below: Sprayed black on orange. Colour, line.

below: Red metal. It was once part of a truck. Text, pattern.

below: Wood and brick. Two textures.

below: Wedged in between wood and glass, from Sunday 12th February 2017.

below: Splotches of paint on a textured wall.

below: It’s actually construction in front of Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street.

below: Beginnings. Layout and design – repeated vertical lines.

below: Almost nothing there, slipping away

exploring stargate

Posted: August 24, 2020 in public art
Tags: aliens, Anna Passakas, Blue Republic, clay, glass, Radoslaw Kudlinski, sculpture, stargate

At Redpath and Roehampton, close to Yonge & Eglinton, there is a new public art installation consisting of seven sculptures and two murals on glass (windows). This group is “Stargate”, designed by Anna Passakas and Radoslaw Kudlinski of the art group Blue Republic; it took three years to make. On one corner are four sculptures with a 15-foot, six-legged, bright yellow alien being the central piece.

This blue figure is the dominant sculpture on the other side of Redpath. He is 12 feet tall. This animal-like creature and the yellow alien were inspired by Eastern and Greek mythology along with a heavy dose of science fiction.

The five smaller pieces are aluminum-based.

Anna Passakas: “Stargate attempts to inspire connection between different worlds,We are not meant to resist the unknown, rather, we are meant to explore and understand it, whatever it may be.”

Radoslaw Kudlinksi: “Our inspiration for this piece came from the unique diversity of this city. For some, moving to a new neighbourhood is like moving from one universe to another. So many people bring various experiences and cultures with them from all over the world.”

light and colour on the TTC

Posted: April 4, 2020 in public art, transportation, windows and walls
Tags: colour, escalator, Finch West, glass, Hwy 407, light, Pioneer Village, reflections, subway stations, TTC, Vaughan, windows, York University

We all need some light and colour these days. So I went through old files and found these colourful pictures of the newest TTC subway stations that I took back in February, on Family Day actually. It seems like a long time ago!

below: Escalators, Pioneer Village subway station

below: From the outside looking in, Pioneer Village station

below: Hwy 407 station. Artwork by David Pearl.

below: The pinks, yellows, and blues from the coloured windows shine and bounce off surfaces

below: Little lights dance around the ceiling and upper part of the walls. This effect is caused by the artwork in the ceiling – a circular opening that you can just see in the upper left corner.

below: Looking straight up into the skylight with it’s many-sided walls that are covered with reflective material.

below: ‘Atmospheric Lens’ by Paul Raff Studio is the artwork that is incorporated into the roof of the station. It features skylights and reflective panels. Vaughan station.

below: Curved, reflective ceiling, Vaughan station

below: Finch West station with its very shiny red hexagonal wall tiles and coloured panes of glass.

below: No colours at York University station, but lots of windows and lots of natural light.

old Parkhurst windows

Posted: March 5, 2020 in old buildings, windows and walls
Tags: abandoned, empty, glass, historic, industrial, Leaside, old, panes, Parkhurst, Research Rd., windows

Until a few years ago this was part of Parkhurst Knitwear but today it sits empty. Today when I passed by the lighting was good for taking pictures of the south exterior wall. There is a fence between the street and the building but there is ample room for photography. I am now on many surveillance videos (if the warning signs were for real).

This building started its life as Radio Stores Building No. 16. It was constructed in 1942 and the chimney was added in 1946. Building No. 16 was part of a complex of buildings occupying 55 acres of land east of Laird Drive and south of Eglinton that was owned by Research Enterprises Ltd. (REL). During WW1 this land was an aerodrome.

In 1940 REL was incorporated in response to the outbreak of World War II; it was a Crown Corporation created through the Munitions and Supply Act of Parliament in September 1939.

REL’s mandate was the production of technology equipment such as optical instruments and radio and radar equipment to assist with pilots with night flight. During its 6 years of operation, REL employed 7,500 people.

After the war, this building was sold to Dorothea Knitting Mills (1947). Dorothea ultimately became part of Parkhurst Knitwear.

This building is part of a larger story – the slow disappearance of industries in Leaside as commercial and residential developments proliferate. Prior to 2010, the area was zoned industrial but developers fought for, and won, changes to the zoning in the area.

I can’t remember how long this building has been empty. If was still a functioning knitting mill in 2013. In 2019 the city of Toronto moved to have the building listed as a Heritage site. Last year there was a large sign on the building advertising the fact that it was soon to be a self-storage facility. Is that still its fate?

colour and silliness

Posted: November 24, 2019 in alleys, windows and walls
Tags: alley, bricks, door, glass, metal, paint, wall, window, windows, wood

There’s a building near King and Strachan that is adjacent to an alley. The alley side of that building has been painted in many, many, squares and rectangles of different colours and as a result, it looks like like a giant mosaic.

Although there is a certain sameness to these pictures, here’s a sample of the doors, windows, and wall in that alley.

a day of action and morning light

Posted: March 29, 2019 in events, locations, old buildings, transportation
Tags: buildings, construction, crane, fire trucks, glass, light, OPSEU, people, reflections, street, streetcar, subway, sun, TTC, Yonge

The other day I heard rumours of a subway protest – i.e. a protest over the potential uploading of the responsibility for the TTC from the city to the province. On the 27th of March there was a “day of action” at 40 subway stations during the morning rush, starting at 7:30 a.m.

below: Walking toward Eglinton subway station with the sun shining from behind me. Golden glass.

I couldn’t find anyone at Eglinton station (was I too early?) but there were 4 people handing out leaflets inside Bloor station. I also saw this guy with an OPSEU flag by Wellesley station.

So much for the idea of a blog post about this day of action. But it was a beautiful morning so I enjoyed the walk down Yonge street. I don’t often walk here that early and I was surprised how quiet it was. The light was also interesting.

below: A mix of old and new architecture, looking south towards the old St. Charles tavern clock tower that is being incorporated into a new development.

below: Near Yonge & Bloor. Preservation of an old building… and very big crane.

below: Looking north from Dundas under a watchful eye.

below: Looking north from Queen Street. The Eaton Centre is on the left in the foreground. Play the game of ‘name that building’ or ‘I remember when’.

below: This was the largest group of “protesters” that I saw. It was more of an information session than a protest, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

below: People headed to work as I started home.

Aga Khan Park

Posted: October 20, 2018 in galleries
Tags: Aga Khan museum, art, bottles, chairs, display, exhibit, glass, history, interior, Ismaili Centre, Javid Jah, knife, light, marble, medallion, mosaic, muqarna, Muslin, painting, reflections, room, stone, The Encompassing, wall, water

below: ‘The Encompassing’ by street artist Javid (aka JAH) stands in one of the reflecting pools between the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum. This is one of a number of pieces on display. Each is painted on reclaimed corrugated metal. They are an examination of the geometry in Islamic patterns and architecture. His work will remain on display until the 31st of October.

below: On the other side of the above painting, is this one – “Beyond”, also by Javid. The Ismaili Centre is in the background with its large pale blue dome over the prayer room.

below: The large wood beams that cover the entrance to the Ismaili Centre were being re-stained this morning.

The Toronto Ismaili Centre is one of 6 around the world. It was designed by Indian architect Charles Correa and opened in 2014. If you go on the tour of the inside of the Ismaili Centre, you will see a building that is filled with natural light, as well as natural woods and stone.

below: A calligraphy based medallion made of stone is on a white wall. The Arabic word ‘allah’ is in the center and surrounding it are the ninety nine attributes of God, written in Arabic.

below: A closer look at the wall. It took two men, a father and son, fourteen months to carve the design into this wall and a matching wall on the other side of the room. They worked six days a week . The arabesque design was penciled on using a stencil and then carved by hand.

below: A second medallion is on a wall across the room from the one above (on the other wall that was carved).

Crossing back past the reflecting pools to the Aga Khan Museum….

below: Another Javid Jah painting, this time “The Manifest”. (To the left, you can see a metal sculpture called “Big Heech” ). Like all of Jah’s paintings here, this one is based on geometry. The basic shape here is a pentagon (sacral chakra) and it is seen on the floor. This type of archway is called a muqarna and it is unique to muslim architecture. Here the shape of the indentations in the muqarna are based on the pentagon.

The “Big Heech” is the work of Parviz Tanavoli, made from stainless steel in 2014. It is derived from the Persian word for “nothingness” and it is an important word in Perian Sufism.

“Emperors and Jewels: Treasures of the Indian Court from the Al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait”, is a temporary exhibit at the Aga Khan Museum featuring artworks and historical objects from the treasuries of Mughal emperors. The Mughal Empire ruled most of present day Pakistan and India in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Mughals were Muslim but the majority of the population were Hindu.

below: Part of a larger picture depicting a hunting scene, reproduced and enlarged especially for the exhibit.

below: Three glass bottles

below: Two fish joined to make a circle, a standard. From India, late 18th century. Made from silver. There are many myths and symbols that feature fish. In Hindu tradition, the fish was associated with Brahma and Manu, a progenitor of mankind. In addition, one myth is that a fish was believed to hold up the globe.

below: A portrait of Nawab Bairam Khan, painted around 1710-40, watercolour and gold on paper. He is pictured in profile, sitting alone in his peaceful garden.