Toronto, etc

Two mini Toronto tasters:

1.  If you're ever downtown on a crisp, autumn day, with little to do, there's nothing better than going to the Toronto Islands for a bike ride.  And, if you're lucky enough to be with an amiable, obliging chap, you might even rent a tandem bike to explore the beachy trails and leisurely paths that make up Toronto's smallest community.

Hop on the ferry from Queen's Quay Harbourfront, and take a short ride over the water.  Aim for Centre Island.  Walk straight ahead for 15 minutes and you'll reach an unfortunate-looking Pizza Pizza, a ramshackle and disused candy floss machine, and a beach hut with an assortment of much-loved bicycles to rent by the hour.

We rode past lighthouses, rocky beaches, ducks, geese, and other Minus One couples all the way to the Toronto Island Airport, where planes big and small rumbled across a short runway to safety.  Then we turned around and trundled past Hanlon's Point (Toronto's only clothing-optional beach), and across to the other side of the islands where a small community thrives on a country life in the city, with a view to boot.  

Magic.  Toronto can be a pretty great place.

2.  I was also fortunate enough to visit a friend and her very first solo exhibition in Toronto.  For those who don't know her, you'll soon hear lots, I'm sure.  

Sam Mogelonsky, sculptor, artist, cheery chum, went to Queen's University in Kingston for her BFA before moving to London, England for her masters.  She returned to Canada last year and has quickly immersed herself in the Toronto art scene.  

Her solo show, Wish you were here, featured a series of utopian, fantasy glitter islands replete with island-bot, a snow globe island momento, and a bronzed typewriter that seemed to melt under the gallery lights.

Check her out!  http://www.sammogelonsky.com

Serves as a reminder that I need to spend more time in the studio, and less time in the coffee shop.  

Rubbish.

I have several items lined up for blogging, but due to a slightly mad weekend schedule and travel chaos, I will limit myself to one question today:

Does coffee taste better in a paper cup?

This soul-searching, mind-bloggling question arose one morning when, ordering coffee for a friend at a local Nero, he specifically asked for it to be served in a paper cup.

"...but we're staying in."

"Ya, but it tastes better this way."

What?!  Are you kidding me?

To be precise, we both had lattes.  Medium sized lattes, mine in the ceramic cup, his in the paper, but he swears it "tastes better" in the paper.  Does the additional waste in natural resources contribute to the mouth feel?  Does the plastic lid add a top note of spiced fruit?

He then proceeded to waste an additional paper cup on a mouthful of cold water, and ate the foam from his latte with his finger.

Maybe I need to keep better company.

Thoughts?

Wave your Yay! flags vigorously!

Last week, two of my very favourite people tied the knot in grand style - Kyla Lam and Peter Schwarz married in the super cool Gardiner Ceramics museum on 10 September 2011. 

It was one of the very happiest days I've ever experienced - the bride was brainy and beautiful, the groom was lovingly adoring, and the food and company were fab.

I come back to Toronto at least once a year, and often more.  Sometimes, it can be a bit tricky when all of your holidays are devoted to families on three different continents.  There's never quite enough time to yourself, and there's never ever enough time to see all your loved ones, both friends and family.  It would be far easier to say "screw it, I'm going to Spain", but this particular trip will go down in history as one of the best.  Despite the slightly hectic schedule thus far, finishing one wedding and planning another (my sister joins the club next summer but plans are already well under way), halfway through the trip I am content.

It isn't exactly a holiday, but it is a grand adventure in my former backyard. 

The only slight snag so far is my Nike+ Sportsband, which has refused to register my three x 5km runs from last week, and my 16km run today, bummer.  That, and discovering Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy doesn't even come out in cinemas here until December.  Heartbroken.  Hopefully, fellow Londoners, you will wait for my return so we can go see it together.  ;)

Embrace the Place

Summer is finally over!

After a mad stint in the galleries, the Summer School Holiday Programmes are over, and it's time to take a nap.    It has been lovely, coming back from Florence straight into an amazing series of workshops and programmes across three sites.

I spent Saturday at Tate Britain assisting with the Embrace the Place event, an artist-led community garden festival replete with potato-digging, honey sampling and cycle-powered tunes.  The event transformed the parking bay area of TB into a series of workshops, hangout spots and stages for art interventions and musical interludes.  Highlight of the day:  The City Shanty Band (pictured below) who gave a rip-roaring performance of country tunes with city style:

I think there are some really amazing programmes happening right now with community engagement and the Big Galleries.  It is far too easy to be cynical and undermining of these efforts, or maybe I am just being a bit naive, but any programme that seeks to involve local spaces, communities of all ages, sizes and cultures, can only be better than not having anything at all for fear of stepping on sensitive toes.  The event was a huge success, I met loads of people, and it was a brilliant cap to a busy summer of families and museum learning.  

Hagelslag

Introducing hagelslag.

Tonight is my first night at home, completely alone, for the whole evening, in as long as I can remember.

In the lead up to the wedding, I had convinced myself that a full work schedule and an exhibition at The View Tube were completely manageable, so I hardly ever spent an evening at home, let alone, alone.  

Tonight came unplanned and unexpected, and after a quiet supper of aubergine and spinach pasta, came the craving for something sweet.  There isn't much in the house by way of 'bad foods', the whole sugary storepile having been chucked out in the lead up to Get In The Dress Day.  I rummaged and rummaged and came across this:

We have a box of milk chocolate hagelslag from the Husband's parents.  Armed with my sugary topping, I then proceeded to make a classic Dutch breakfast treat.  Unfortunately I've misplaced my camera cable, so this image will have to suffice:

The instructions for such a treat are fairly straightforward, but for the uninitiated, it is as follows:

1.  Locate hagelslag, a refined carbohydrate base (in my case, Carr's Water Biscuits), and an adhesive (chocolate spread, also from Husband's parents).  

2.  Assemble as above.

The result is surprisingly moreish, but also terrible.  Months of denying myself refined sugars have left me overly sensitive to processed sweets, and it had the mouthfeel of sugar and palm oil, and only whispers of chocolate.

. . . but it did hit the spot.

Next night I have off and alone, it might be more productive to do a bit of drawing.  

Status change!

Starting the blog again, but as a newly married Chinese-Canadian printmaker-artist-educator-foodie living in London!  It has been nearly a month since we tied the knot, but I promise not to fill this space with too much use of the plural pronoun.


In the meantime, it has been full steam ahead with projects, teaching, stationery, museums and summer workshops, AND I've moved studios this week to the ACAVA Flying Angel site. 


For those who thought being married to a corporate city lawyer man would mean a life of sleeping in, leisurely charity pursuits and watercolour painting, think again!  

08 August 2011 - A lovely love story