a bunnified adventure!

when gsus and i took our trip to vancouver island in august he surprised me with a special treat. bunnies!! oH mY. i do love bunnies. i am, however, for some mysterious reason, highly allergic to bunnies. i would have never known this had not mama-j and her lovely husband adopted the cutest bunny, willoughbee, and let him loose in their house. whenever i went over, i couldn't help myself -petting him was too much of a temptation. but man, did i get ever get a sniffly sneezy goo eyed reaction from the whole affair. sadly, i ended up having to restrain myself on future visits, and he wasn't as free to roam when i was around. what a cutester he was.

this post is dedicated to him and all freedom lovin' bunnies in the world.
rip dear willoughbee.

your friend always,
akula

"being human requires the authoring of one's life, of one's life story. having a coherent, functional sense of one's self requires ongoing, active engagement in this authoring process"

just something i read this morning for a paper i have to write. it struck a chord.

in my recent past i have pretty much let life happen to me. sometimes (often?) i took on this role of victim, feeling overly sorry for myself when things weren't going as i hoped, as i dreamed they might. and many times that i knew what i was doing - i understood that my attitude was my biggest obstacle to reaching my dreams. i just didn't have a clue what to do to change it.

i was not taking responsibility for my own life story.

and even now, this instant...i feel like i may be failing some part of myself. because i can't get across what i want to say..not the way other people can...because i can't paint the image i see...not the way others know how...and i drive myself away. i want to end the words and start over.

but ok.
i can. here i am with another chance to begin.

your friend always,
akula

art in the gardens

i have an assignment. i have to choose a place that would be suitable to take an intermediate art class for an afternoon...or a daytrip. i chose the royal botanical gardens just outside toronto. this was a purely selfish decision on my part, and now i have to find a way to sell the idea to my prof. not that the trip wouldn't be interesting for students..it's just that i can imagine them maybe snickering at a sculpture like this, or worse...getting lost in the labyrinth. i'm not sure this is the right place to take an intermediate class (12 to 15 yr olds)...senior students, sure. i don't know anything about organizing field trips. i just followed my gut and it led me to the gardens. i'll just make it work.

isn't this sculpture lovely?

by the way, i'm on the hunt for a decent name. i don't know what to sign off with. i was akula (but now that i ended that blog, it seems unfitting), and i'd prefer not to use my real name. *mo is a temporary placeholder because i can't come up with something more creative. anyway...i'm not terribly concerned or anything. really, i do have other things to spend time thinking about!

your friend always,
*mo

the barns (but no chickens)

i'm loving the colours and textures of this fence. it's long & surrounds a progressing development in my neighbourhood called the green arts barns - which is going to be a pretty fantastic environment when it's all finished. the whole thing is a conversion of old, unused ttc "barns" (ttc, for those not in the loop, stands for toronto transit commission) - this is where the ttc housed streetcars & buses - those that needed repair and those that were being tested for safety, or some such reasons.

i guess the space sat unused for a long time once it was no longer needed. so, artscape bought the land and the buildings, and are now turning everything into a magnificent cultural space! they've retained the old structures (catherdral like heights!) and are transforming them into spaces for independent artist studios and for non-profit organizations. i think the very popular "toronto school of art" is going to have a satellite space for classes. to top it off, there's going to be a massive greenhouse, and who knows what else!

i've been living in this neighbourhood for eight years, and the worst thing is that while the barns are coming in, i'm itching to leave, to live and be inspired in a new place. who knows, we might be on our way out just as this fence is coming down.

i'm already feeling a pang of regret.

your friend always,
*mo

nb. just noticed that the old name of the project, green arts barns, has been changed to artscape wychwood barns... which reflects the name of the neighbourhood they are in, and of course, the company that put up the bill$ to renovate!

not on any other day

this pic was taken a few weeks ago in my neighbourhood. i just took my camera with me up and down some streets, trying to find what i could find. i found myself looking at things i tend not to really notice on any other day. it was nice to not to have a destination, and just go wherever i felt compelled to wander. we're always running here and there, trying to catch up with time. i think that sometimes it's necessary to pause, reflect, and allow time to catch up with us.

your friend always,
*mo

dear doctor

i've had this painting on file for quite a while now. it's by ben vandyk, a long time friend of gsus' from way back in the day. ben helped me out a few years back (maybe more like four) when i needed some work to 'curate' for a class assignment. i've used the word curate because it sounds important. in fact, i'd peg the whole thing as a more adult version of show and tell since the audience was made up my peers from class and the two profs who dreamed up the whole idea.

however, i did make some cube shaped fliers advertising my "show" which seemed to blow away the profs. because they were three - D! haha. seriously!

anyway. i love this painting (especially how now it means something new to me), and i have other examples of his amazing work which i will put up slowly. unfortunately, we haven't been in touch with ben for a while, and i'm not even sure whether he has a website. but if and when i do find one, i will make sure to link to it here.

this was my first serious post on my blog.
dear doctor...thanks for going to school for so long and knowing what to do. but next time, please don't make me sign waivers while i'm doped up on morphine. it just doesn't seem ethical.

your friend always,
*mo

वेल्कोमे तो माय न्यू होम
(welcome to my new home)
i hope you enjoy your time here. thanks so much for stopping by.