Someone couldn’t resist responding to the ‘post no bills’ prohibition on this boarded up west-end construction site.

Can you name them all these happy guys?

Spotted on Annette Street near High Park Ave.

Such philosophical street art … makes you stop and think about what this person is getting at.

I can think of several interpretations. If I were to choose one, I would say:
Be so passionate about what you choose to do that you can’t hear the people across the way saying it’s not possible.

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If you like beads and you haven’t been to The Beadery you are missing out! Claude, the owner, is a jewellery designer with a fantastic eye. He collects all kinds of interesting beads and jewellery supplies from around the world. You’ll find exquisite beads here that are hard to find anywhere else. The Beadery is on the north side of Queen west of Spadina.

Technorati Tags: Artisan, beads, Craft, jewellery, Queen St. W

Well, things have slowed down on the Mukodu Blog a little lately with the addition of a beautiful baby girl to our family. We are slowly getting back up to speed. Bare with me if you will…

I stumbled across Scratch Espresso Bar a while ago and finally had a chance to check it out. It’s located in an unexpected place, on Bathurst south of St. Clair. You may have noticed it because of Elicser’s graffiti mural outside, a holdover from the space’s previous incarnation as an art gallery.

Scratch has a lovely mellow vibe. It still maintains an art gallery theme, with local art displayed on the brick wall. It’s a great environment for reading the paper or getting a little work done (free wifi)… if you still happen to have a job, that is. And if you’re out of work in these tough economic times, Scratch is still a great place to indulge in the luxury of a delectable latte or hot chocolate. They use the same fantastic Intelligentsia beans that Crema and Manic offer.

Technorati Tags: Artists, Cafe, coffee, latte, wifi, Toronto

Americo on Queen West has the most beautiful yarns and knitting patterns I’ve seen. It’s one of those stores where you walk in and want to own everything in site. But wait, there’s a catch: the sweaters are not for sale; you have to knit them yourself. Since I’m a lousy knitter you’ll likely never see me in one of these fantastic sweaters. Unless of course I choose the huge yarn so that the project is shortened by a factor of 10. If I start this year it might get done by 2010.

For those that love knitting this store is amazing. For the rest of us it’s a bit of a tease.

Technorati Tags: alpaca, Artisan, knitting, Queen St. W, Toronto, wool, yarn

The Ontario College of Art’s annual fundraiser art sale is happening next week. It’s always fun to see what great art has been created on such small canvasses, not to mention guessing who has created the mystery pieces.

Each piece is 5½ x 7½ inches in size, costs $75 and is donated by a famous or not-yet famous artist. Can you guess which is which? Or does it even matter? A beautiful piece of original work to look at on your wall for years to come is certainly worth more than $75.
Public Art Preview:

Wednesday November 19 @ noon – 8
Thursday November 20 @ noon – 6
Friday November 21 @ noon – 8

Public Art Sale:

Saturday November 22, 2008 @ 10am – 4pm

This event is first come first served, so I guess you should get there early if you think many people want the same piece that you do.
All events take place at 100 McCaul Street, Toronto.

Nuit Blanche is finally here! (on Saturday night) The leaves are starting to turn and fall has rolled in ( or ‘reared it’s head’ – as sarah palin would say), signaling it is time again for an all night art crawl. I love this event. My optimistic side imagines me staying out ’till dawn on Sunday… but by early morning I’m sure my eyes will begin to shut, and unless there’s someone to carry me around in a bed, I will likely just dream my way around from my bed at home.

I was hoping to just wander, but with 155 destinations this may take a little planning.

Luckily the subway is running all night and the blue night bus/streetcar routes will be running at 30 min intervals or better. The easiest approach would be to buy a day pass for $9 for two adults, since it will last all night for nuit blanche. For more info check out http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/gettingAround.shtml ..

Technorati Tags: Artists, Toronto

The Queen West Art Crawl is this weekend. Saturday and Sunday between 11am – 6pm, numerous artists will be displaying and selling their works in Trinity Bellwoods Park. Galleries between Spadina and Roncesvalles will be exhibiting for the crawl. Buskers and musicians will be playing in the streets.
Let’s hope the weather is nice for the event!

There’s another new market in town… This one is more focused on art, collectibles and food creations.

The Queen West Market is held on the second floor of the Spin Gallery building at 1100 Queen Street just west of Dovercourt in a beautiful loft space with fantastic floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s open on both Saturdays and Sundays from 11am -6pm.

By the way, booths are still relatively inexpensive for those artistically inclined… could be fun.

Technorati Tags: Artists, breads, Craft, market, Beaconsfield, Queen St. W, Queen St. W

Elicser is one of my favourite local artists.
You can find his works on public walls around Toronto, and in galleries.
Check out some of these images…

His pieces communicate very interesting characters and settings. I’ll let you know when I get the details of his next show.

Technorati Tags: Design, graffiti, Artist, Toronto