What shows
how little
we know?
What can be is
oft far less than
what we expect.
What is now
has never been
what it was.
07/25/2024 j.g.l.
value beyond
Simplicity.
Is there emotion in austerity?
Humanity?
What do you see when attempting
to define your limited visibility?
Minimalism, abstract impressionism
or incorporeal thought.
Less is more, but is it enough?
Texture, tone, and value beyond
your current scene. If you take it to an
extreme, you will question
what it means.
What is really there?
What line do you cross?
Can simplicity be complicated, or
should it even be attempted?
07/23/2024 j.g.l.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Things will not go as planned. Intentions will be disrupted, even overlooked, in the aftermath of an unexpected reality.
Where you are headed will not be the place you end up, undoubtedly or undeniably. No matter how hard you attempt to make each gesture, brushstroke, promise, prayer, or pastime as perfect as you believe it can be, many times you will not arrive at a perceived destination. All too often your endeavors never hit the mark; at times your work may be better than expected (celebrate those moments), but everything (even your judgement) is subjective.
You are not limited to, or by, the colours in your paintbox or progression of your process.
Imagination is as limited or expansive as you want it to be. Give it time to blossom; in certain instances, you may even have to reel it in. This is all about possibilities, no matter which media, method, or style you are beholden to.
You owe your art (or life) nothing but your presence; the value comes from the practice, as rudimentary or spontaneous as it is or will become.
07/22/2024 j.g.l.
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Few and Fewer Options
Posted on June 14, 2023 by j.g.lewis
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It is not the first time I have seen him ( or others like him) pressed into a cold corner in the bank’s vestibule, seeking some sort of shelter from the rain.
It’s early, and I have just left the eternal comfort of my cozy bed and am walking the 1,200 or so steps to a familiar coffee shop with a sturdy seat and hot, overpriced coffee. It is a luxury I can afford: I’ve got a handful of change or fresh bills in my wallet that allow me a bit of time with myself, my thoughts, and my journal.
Despite my personal issues, concerns, and ever-evolving difficulties, I’ve got it pretty good. I have a place to call home, a purpose, and what I would call a meaningful life.
Others are not as fortunate. I am keenly aware of the imbalance.
This morning’s display of a fellow human being splayed out on a convenient concrete floor is more than a subtle reminder that there are people suffering daily in this city and country.
It is a difficult world.
In my charitable ways, I make monthly donations to a local shelter. I occasionally, have spare pocket change for some of the many panhandlers who dot my landscape. It is not enough, obviously, but I feel I do what I can.
I could do more.
We all could do more (or most of us).
The problems here are not unique to Toronto.
We are in the midst of a mayoralty by-election in this city, the fourth largest in North America. There is a hole in the budget large enough to slip a lesser-sized city into. There are a lot of candidates listing a lot of solutions to what they see as top-end concerns. In neatly-packaged sound bites, they speak in general terms of what they would do to make this a better place to live, but so many politicians are short on specifics.
They talk about “affordable housing” and a need to address the over-priced, undernourished economy. The verbiage they offer is only noise.
When politicians speak of “affordable housing” they are talking about $250,000 condominiums in a city where the market average is $726,664.
They are talking above the heads, and budgets, of those who may never be able to afford their own home and can’t afford the historically high rents.
Clearly and consistently the politicians fail to address social housing, now more than a necessity as city shelter spaces are above capacity. Those turned away are forced to camp out in parks or find a corner by some bank machine to try and get a little shut eye.
There are few and fewer options in this city and even less of a response or the political will. Toronto is not facing a housing crisis as much as we are smack dab in the middle of a humanitarian crisis.
We simply are not, or cannot, take care of each other
Or we don’t even try.
©2023 j.g. lewis
