Monica on the moon | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘Monica on the moon’

Hands, Florests, and Minds

Posted: October 8, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: #monicaonthemoon, Boradview Hotel, DOn River, Don Valley, map, maps, Monica on the moon, Monica Wickeler, paste up, Water is Life, wheatpaste, Women Paint Riverside

The crest has been altered to read “Department of Hands, Florests, and Minds”. It comes from an old map that has been used to create a street art installation on the back alley side of the Broadview Hotel at Broadview and Queen Street East. The artist is monicaonthemoon aka Monica Wickeler.

Most of the people were printed on the maps such that the Don River was somewhere on the body. The photos of the people are interesting but so is the history that the maps tell us. The map dates from before the creation of the Port Lands at the mouth of the river. If you look at the body on the right, you can probably find the intersection of Queen Street and King Street just before they cross the river (look for the word ‘Don’). There are no streets south of King Street at the time. Front Street ends at Church. I suspect that all the red dots on the map mean swampy wetlands.

below: This woman stands more to the west. Roncesvalles on one leg and Dufferin on the other.

below: The woman on the right has one foot in Ashbridge’s Bay.

The wall is part of the recent Women Paint Riverside project that was the subject of my last blog post – Water is Life.

between Euclid and Palmerston

Posted: October 31, 2018 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: Al Runt, alley, Andre Castro, Andre Kan, Anya Mielniczek, artist, bacon, Bomi, Cameron Chalmers, Chris Perez, Christina Mazzulla, cruz1, ctr, Diana Lynn VanderMeulen, Erin McCluskey, EWOK, ghazaraza, ghost fish, Gosia Komorski, Henry Tyminski, Jieun June Kim, Karen Roberts, ladder, lane, mck_studio, Meaghan Kehoe, Melo, Monica on the moon, Monica Wickeler, muisca, murals, narwhal, Natashia Faustino, Nick Sweetman, Nixo, paint brush, people, Raoul, Shafia Shaik, soul, spray paint, street art, streetARToronto, toucan, whale, white squirrels

Lightup the Laneway Project

below: The largest mural was a collaboration between three artists. In the middle, Bacon works with blue.

below: Christina Mazzulla working on her ghost fish.

below: And the last artist working on this mural is Nick Sweetman whose narwhal is on the west end.

below: Toucan by @ghazaraza (aka Ghazaleh)

below: Working on her mural, Anya Mielniczek

below: Completed mural with stencils of elephants around the bottom as well as a note about the precarious state of elephants in Botswana

below: Spraying on the orange hair in a mural by mck_studio (aka Meaghan Kehoe)

below: Autumn painting leaves, a mural by Erin McCluskey

below: Natashia Faustino and her pink cat (tiger?) on “Into the Wild”

below: Melo was the artist who created these organic looking blobs and swirls

below: Raoul working on his mural

below: Making straight edges on his mural, Andre Kan.

below: Flowers surrounding a peaceful woman in blue, a mural by Gosia Komorski

below: White squirrels on yellows and oranges by Karen Roberts

below: Al Runt puts some finishing touches on his mural

below: The finished mural

below: Near/Far by Henry Tyminski

below: More words, this time “It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.” A quote from the TV show, ‘Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood’ along with a picture of Daniel Striped Tiger, a hand puppet from the same show.

below: Shafia Shaik working on her mural. The word GLOW has been cut off. The finished work was signed as EWOK project standing for Equity for Women of (K)olour.

below: A mural by muisca. The finished mural has green leaves and vines on both sides of the face.

below: Bright lines by Bomi (aka Rodrigo)

below: Finished whale by Andre Castro

below: A second whale, this one is the creation of CTR (aka Christian)

below: Cruz1 mural in the foreground

below: Slightly abstracted flowers by Chris Perez

below: A wonderful, larger than life loon swims towards the sunset, by Cameron Chalmers.

blog: Wild and crazy colours and shapes in a mural by Diana and Ted

below: Lines and angles all over the place, by Kenny Alexander

below: Lemon Drop man is waving at you. Mural by Jieun June Kim

below: Choose Kindness and a heart with four eyes! A mural by monica on the moon (aka Monica Wickeler)

below: A mural by Soul partially completed

below: And, last but not least, two murals by Nixo

This project was supported by StreetARToronto

strong, smart, united

Posted: July 21, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: abstract, auralast, carolannapilado, chiefladybird, chiefladybug, child, controlartdelete, cvbinns, Elicser, emily may rose, eyes, faces, flower, hello kirsten, Jieun June Kim, Monica on the moon, mother, motorcycle, mska, muisca, murals, strong smart united, tbonez, toes, toest, urban ninja squadron, women

Written in big bold letters – STRONG SMART UNITED

Those three words are what you see first as you walk down Lansdowne just north of Queen Street. This striking wall is the beginning of a group of murals and street art paintings that now adorn some of the walls and doors in an alley on the north side of Queen Street West. The paintings were done last weekend by a group of women artists. The walls had been primed previously by four high school students (and organized by the Toronto Police Services).

below: Shapes and colours by controlartdelete (aka Rachel Wilmshurst)

below: Emily May Roses’s women

below: Abstract houses and greenery by Jieun June Kim

below: Two kneeling women and a long necked bird with wings spread by Caitlin Taguibao

below: Monica on the Moon, “Over the mountains under the stars”

below: A colourful mural by _muisca_ (aka Daniela Rocha)

below: Unfortunately, this one has already been defaced, including the signature.

below: Desert woman theme, by mska

below: Geometric shapes, colours, and patterns, by hellokirsten (aka Kirsten McCrea)

below: Left – by originalsmilez (aka Julieta Arias).
But on the right, help! I don’t know (do you?)

below: Looks a bit like a brightly coloured Picasso – the work of huntoland (aka Renato Hunto)

below: My apologies but this another one where I don’t know who the artist is

below: … and this one as well I’m afraid

below: A elicser figure outside the door. Elicser is definitely male – was this mural already here?

below: Shades of pink with blue lips, by toest (aka Sarah Gilmore).

below: On a seriously cracked wall there is now a pink flower inside a green triangle surounded by a circle, by CVBinns (aka Courtney Binns)

below: Long flowing hair and with eyes closed, a mural by carolannapilado

below: A collaborative effort between auralast (aka Monique Aura) and chiefladybird (aka Ogimaa Kwe Bnes) – mother and child with the city beyond.

below: Also in the lane there are two urban ninja squadron paste ups by Tbonez

below: Looking east along the alley. The first road is Macdonell Avenue. Lansdowne is in the distance.

This project was supported by the StreetARToronto program, Toronto Police Services and the Drake Hotel. I talked briefly with a policewoman who was in the alley at the same time that I was – there is hope that the lane to the east of Lansdowne can be painted in the future.

Before then, a second all women street art jam and mural will be happening in Little India (1460 Gerrard Street East) at the end of August. The street art jam will be on the weekend of August 26th and 27th and will showcase the Woman in the Walls mural being painted at that time.

#womenpaintTO

elicser people under the train tracks

Posted: February 25, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
Tags: buildings, community garden, couple, cyclist, Elicser, GO train, kids, Monarch Park, Monica on the moon, mural, paint, parents, people, scenes, sitting, street art, train tracks, tunnel, underpass, walking

If you walk south through Monarch Park this is the view that greets you as you approach the railway underpass. Elicser has painted a large mural that extends from the park through to the Woodfield Community Rail Garden that is on the other side. As you walk through the underpass this is what you see:

It’s February so the community garden is still resting for the winter. A shed with all four sides painted by Monica on the Moon provides some colour in the meantime.

The path continues…. a slight curve and you’re on Woodfield Road and on your way again.

Monica, and others, on the Danforth

Posted: December 1, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
Tags: airways, alley, black line drawing, Danforth, Danforth Mosaic BIA, Emilia Jajus, fish, graffiti, Great Wave, Hokusai, lane, laneway, Monica on the moon, mural, painting, rat, sticker

A short walk earlier this month along the laneways south of the Danforth near Woodbine Ave.

below: A mural by Monica on the Moon, styled after Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave off Kanagawa’ picture. This is only part of it – the mural wraps around the back of the building.

below: Just throwing a little bit of fun into the mix. The ‘Great Wave’ has inspired many other great works of art over the years including this Cookie Monster one:

below: Leaving the Danforth area briefly, there is also this mural by skam near Bloor and Bathurst. You can find it in Loretto Lane on the side wall of Kinka Restaurant.

below: A little path leads onto a mural on Amroth Ave just south of the Danforth that was painted by Airways Airbrushing and Sign Co. It was funded by the City of Toronto and the Danforth Mosaic BIA.

below: Historical mural on a Bell box, ‘Danforth’ 1912 by Emilia Jajus 2012.

below: Another Monica on the Moon mural

below: Alley ratz and company

below: A red fish swimming in bright blue by an unknown artist.

udlaakut, good morning

Posted: November 6, 2015 in graffiti and street art
Tags: #graffitialleyeast, #PUA69, alligator, animals, colourful, Craven Rd., creatures, Eskape Reality, face, fun, Gerrard India Bazaar BIA, Gerrard Street East, ghost, good morning, Gujranwala Tikka house, Kairo, Kairo Marie, Little India, Monica on the moon, murals, Nick Sweetman, people, PUA, Rhodes Ave., rickshaw, Runt, street art, Tim Skynz, udlaakut, woman

There is a new collection of street art in Little India. It can be found if you go behind the stores on the south side of Gerrard Street between Rhodes Avenue and Craven Road. The art is easily seen because there is not only an alley behind the stores but also a parking lot.

below: Udlaakut Alysia. Udlaakut is Inuit for good morning.

below: Above the stairs painted by timmydrift and below the stairs by thepasystem

below: A marine creature (alligator) by Nick Sweetman and a woman’s face by Kairo.

below: The metal fittings on the back of the building were spray painted shiny gold and incorporated into the design of the mural.

below: behind 1465 Gerrard Street East

below: Lean back!

below: behind Siddhartha vegetarian restaurant

below: On the back of the Flying Pony cafe is this colourful mural painted by Tim Skynz, lead artist of the group Eskape Reality

below: tropical paradise?!

below: Side of the Flying Pony cafe

Diagonally across the corner (of Gerrard and Rhodes) from the Flying Pony is another store that has been covered with street art recently. This mural was painted by Runt. 1600 Gerrard East is the home of Lenswork, a photo and art studio gallery.

If you go back to Craven Road there are two murals.

First, there is the one by Monica on the Moon on a small building behind the Gujran Wala Tikka House restaurant.

Beside it, on the side of the Gujran Wala Tikka House, is a larger mural titled “The Rickshaw” by Monica Wickeler
(note: Monica Wickeler is Monica on the Moon)

below: And last, seen on a pole in the parking lot:

The alley project was coordinated by Tammy Rogers
with assistance from Monica Wickeler and the Gerrard India Bazaar BIA.

imagine design create

Posted: November 4, 2015 in graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, art, balloons, bobby, building, colin makes art, cool ethan, gameboy lovebot, garage, garage doors, gas mask, girl, houses, lane, lovebot, man, Monica on the moon, mural, police, spray paint, stencils, street art, streetcar, TTC

As I sort through the photos that I took this past summer, I keep finding pictures of street art that I have not yet posted. The following collection were taken in the Dupont and Ossington area back in July.

below: A very horizontal piece by Cool Ethan, obviously

below: A TTC streetcar passes by the Massey Harris building, a mural by Colin Turner Bloom. This office building, at 915 King St. West, was built in 1883 as the headquarters for the Massey Harris Co. It was declared a heritage building in 1973. Since then it has been developed as lofts/condos.