Pride

Sunday, June 28, 2009 marked the culmination of a week of Pride festivities in Toronto with the 29th Annual Gay Pride Parade

Over 1 million people attended - some lining the 29 blocks of the city and others watching from other vantage points

Once the rain stopped there was still the chance of getting wet

An incredible variety of costumes was to be seen - on the floats, and on people on foot (and on several occasions, stilts)

Sometimes it was the lack of costume that caught the eye

A multitute of service and community groups participated, including several churches, and fire and police units

(photos - David Chan for National Post and CP24)

The Toronto Pride Parade is the largest in North America and it is definitely worth attending. The intense feeling of diversity, love, tolerance and community can not be beat. What a shame that this could not last throughout the year.

A Song, A Dance and Extraordinary Dolls

Tribute to Neda

This lovely tribute song to Neda Agha Soltan was composed and sung by several local Dallas musicians. I found this on the Pegassus website and here is what one of the musicians had to say:

Cho says:

Milad - "Green Leaves"
written by Mishanmusic by The Axis (Cho & Milad)
Concept to completion in 1 day.

This process was cathartic for my Tehran-born production partner, and this song & video are dedicated to Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman who lost her life in the Iranian Election Protests this week.
The ending contains some brief words from Ghandi, King, Obama, and Mandela

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1,000+ CPDRC Inmates Dance Tribute to Michael Jackson

Back in 2007, the inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines put together a dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller as part of their exercise routine, and also to show how well they 'worked' together. Upon hearing of MJ's death, and in approx. 27 hours the above dance routine to honour Michael was created.

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Artdolls of Lidija Fairbanks

I don't do much beading, I do however have an incredible appreciation of the talent and knowledge it takes to create intricate, beaded works of art.

Lidija Fairbanks creates unique one of a kind art dolls. Each one is reminiscent of an olde world icon (reading her bio on her site, one can understand how she was influenced in her art). I am totally blown away by the amazing bead work on her figures. (Make sure to check out her jewelry on her site too).

Oh Yuck

Woke up this morning with my left eye glued shut and really itchy. After decrusting (there is something so obscenely gross about the word 'crust') my eyelid, I looked in the mirror and I now have one eye that looks like it came straight from the pages of Hell. I'm trying some homepathic eye drops in it today, however if it is not showing improvement by tomorrow, I'll have to go to the doctor as I may need antibacterial drops.

Speaking of eyes, the video below is a literal translation of the iconic 80s song by Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Aside from a couple of seconds of straight talking in the middle of the video, it is hilarious. So many music videos are just so bizarre and really don't have much to do with the song that is being sung. The literal translation songs use the original video, a singer that sounds close (hopefully) to the original and words that actually describe the video. There are quite a few different ones on YouTube, but I think this is one of the best.

Look At Me Ma! Wordless Wednesday

March 2010 ~ Anticipation

Alice in Wonderland ........Tim Burton

Can't Wait!

For more pics and info on the movie, check out Cinematical ,

and other sites on Google.

Father's Day

I hope fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers and anyone that is in a father-like relationship is enjoying their day.

My Dad, a very young 86, lives in Vancouver and I will not see him today although I did interrupt his breakfast this morning to wish him a happy day! My Dad is my hero and my inspiration. He is an artist and still active in a weekly art group, lives on his own with his dog, gets out for daily walks, has a wicked and droll

sense of humour and strives to enjoy each day to the fullest. The one thing I don't like is that my dad no longer resides in Ontario - Vancouver is so far away!

A much younger me and my Dad (check out that tie with the suit!)

Some oldie pics of Dads and children:

Love the expression on the little girl's face!

Pre Raphaelite artist Arthur Hughes and his daughter

1908 Kentucky congressman Joseph Sherley and family. Harris & Ewing Collection

To Dads everywhere and to my Dad especially, may your day be one of delight and joy!

A Special Day

Graduation Day 1927 (Shorpy.com)

Graduation Day 2009

Fashions, curriculum and society has changed over the last 100 years, but the pride and joy on Graduation Day remains the same.

Our youngest daughter, Keara, graduated from college today with Presidential honours. This is a kid that coasted through highschool, having a great time, but basically directionless with what she wanted to do. After working a year, she decided that she wanted to focus on a career in law....and focus she did. Her dad, sister, boyfriend, friends and I are SO proud of her. Through diligence, dedication and hard work, she graduated today with a 93.5% average, and because she had maintained her high marks through each year of college, she made the President's Honour List.

Well Done Keara!

I found this poem by Nicholas Gordon which I'm sure expresses how any parent feels when their child spreads their wings to aspire to the next level of their life.

~*~

To the graduate, no more a child,

On whom these many years my love has shone:

Take pleasure in the pleasure of my pride,

However much you've managed on your own.

Even as you dance upon your stage,

Growing ever more endowed with grace,

Remember that my love will never change,

A place for you beyond all time and place.

Do what you will within your own wide world,

Understanding in your own wise way:

Always know you are my field of wonder,

The wild, star-strewn moor on which I wander,

Even as I honor you today.

~*~

And, finally...after a lovely day of celebration, Keara is back home in Toronto tonight relaxing before going back to work at a law firm tomorrow. She is definitely on the next step of her journey.

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*A Fabulous Song for Graduates Everywhere*

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Keara, We Love You!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Almost Wordless...because when I blog, I feel compelled to write something. LOL

I didn't realize until I had uploaded this pic that not only were the buds 'at rest', but also the tiny little fly which I had not noticed. At any moment though, things could change

Bedtime Musical Interlude

I've never heard of this group before. Found some other vids of theirs on Youtube and rather like them. I love discovering new music!

Heads Up on GiveAways!

Give Away #1 ~ Baroness Bijoutery

The incomparable Baroness Bijoutery is once again offering a fabulous piece of her artisan jewelry. I love this piece, particularly as I have a particular fondness for dragonflies. Please visit the Baroness and leave a comment on this post to enter.

Give Away #2 ~ To Dwell In Primitive Thymes

To celbrate their 100th post, To Dwell In Primitive Thymes is hosting a fabulous give away from several artists on their site.

There are seven artists participating and the prizes are wonderful! A couple of examples:

To view the other delightful works offered and to enter the give away, please visit this post on the TDIPT's blog.

Have fun...and Good Luck!

A Sister

If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. ~Linda Sunshine

Nancy on her 2nd birthday. I'm going to do one of two things here - face dive into the cake or push her face into it. I can't remember just what happened (probably nothing as I'm sure mom and/or Dad intervened. LOL)

I have one sister, Nancy. Nanc is 2.5 years younger than me, however once we hit our late teens and to the present, I've always felt like the younger sister. Nancy is a very deep thinker, very philosophical and tends to take things much more seriously than I do. Of the two of us, she has always been the mature one. Me? Even in my middle age...perpetually immature.

This past Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. my sis Nancy and her eldest daughter, Kelsey arrived from Vancouver. They had travelled east to Ontario for Kelsey's graduation ceremony from Guelph University and also as Kelsey was receiving a special award of excellence in her studies.

Nanc and Kels

We don't see each other often (due to the 5 hour plane journey separating us) and even though our visit was short, it was wonderful to just sit and chat and get caught up. Sure, we speak on the phone and email, however there is something special about chatting face to face.

Nancy also inherited artistic genes from our parents. Infact, I feel she is more talented than I am. She is very diversified and over the years has worked with textile arts (weaving, felting, quilting, etc), paper creations, and pottery. Her prime focus now is still pottery. She incorporates her love of, and the spirituality of west coast nature into her creations. Where she lives in Vancouver is very close to the ocean and she also has an old growth forest nearby........what utopic places to walk! Kelp, shells, driftwood, stones, fungi, nothing is safe from her collector spirit when she is on one of her daily walks. Nanc has exhibited in several galleries in the BC area and below are some of the pieces she had in the most recent show.

I absolutely love her work! It is organically beautiful and I'm so proud that I have several of her pieces for my own collection

(yaaaay Christmas and birthdays!).

Her creative time is limited at the moment due to a very demanding fulltime job, but I know that whenever she can she is into the clay. To see more of Nancy's work you can visit her website

And finally, I love this pic - it reminds me of when Nanc and I were (alot) younger and played dress-up with mom's old dresses and our favorite dolls.

Whew...and An Award

My first post in a week - I don't think I have ever gone that long. Since Tuesday morning (early) we have had nonstop company and I just haven't been on the computer much (nor in my studio room at all!). I have been trying to keep caught up on my favorite bloggers' posts, but even there I have dropped the ball on several occasions.

I'm looking forward to getting back into my studio and also back to regular blogging for the next couple of weeks anyway. Summer is always a hectic time for us and computer time is much more sporadic than through the cooler months.

Without any delay, I want to thank fellow artist, Della Rae of DellaRaeDezines for the One Lovely Blog Award. Thank you, Della so much for thinking of my blog....it is SO appreciated! The rules of acceptance for this award, are as follows:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I am going to have to come back to the naming of other blogs, as I know many people have already received this award and I fear I will have to slowly add to a list. In the meantime, I would like to post an open invitation that if you would like this award, please grap it - and, try and follow the requirements so that you can keep in the fun of these awards!

Dolls - Not Just For Kiddies

Through the ages, dolls are primarily thought of as playthings for children. Dolls have been used by adults too for a variety of uses: religious; fashion; to invoke goddess favours (fertility); comfort; injury (voodoo); story telling; and teaching. These are just a few examples of how dolls have aided and been used by adults. As these charming pictures show, dolls were also used as a prop:

Dolls were also used (and still are) in entertainment, ie. the puppet or ventriloquist dummy.

One of a kind dolls are collected and treasured today by adults as pieces of art. There are many artists in the past who created beautiful dolls, however the majority were designed for children. There were some artists in the past century that created dolls solely for adults.

Perhaps one of the most famous was Hans Bellmer . His surrealistic dolls are compelling, wonderful and in some cases frightening.

Salvador Dali famous for his surrealistic paintings also liked to occasionally dapple in figurative work. Below is a pic of Dali with one of his mannequins in 1933.

Another artist of the past, Hannah Hoch was a member of the German Dada movement and was known for her fabulous montage work. She also created some artist dolls. The pic below is of Hannah and one of her dolls from 1925.

The history of dolls and art dolls is fascinating and there is a wealth of information on the internet. Spend some time on Google and you will be fascinated and then search and check out some of the phenomenal doll artists of today.

A Couple of Giveaways.....

Giveaways are so much fun to enter, and even more fun when you win!

The first giveaway that I found this week is offered by Nicole, of Mealy Monster Land. She is offering one of her monster mushroom men...........

Go to this post on Nicole's blog and follow her instructions. While
there, check out her other very cool, whimsical monster creations. Nicole has appealing creepy monster dolls, mini monsters, ornies and more!

The second giveaway is from Pamela of Catching the Moon: Weaving My Life. Pamela's blog offer is for a teeny, tiny horsehair basket. This is amazing in its minature perfection.

Her blog post is here, and all you have to do is follow her instructions.

Pamela is multi talented, which is quickly seen in a fast perusal of her Etsy site. She offers jewelry, minis, and the most fantastic sculpted baskets!

Have fun and enter blog giveaways! You always come out a winner, because you discover some wonderful art and bloggers along the way!