Art is everywhere, if you choose to look.
Lately, as the weather becomes a slightly more pleasurable each day, I am taking the opportunity to get back out on the streets of Toronto to observe what really happens here.
Last Thursday, on the way to an appointment, I was fortunate to notice something I had never seen before.
Just about any day you’ll find Ross Ward hunched over on Yonge Street tending to his art. The ‘Birdman of Toronto’ has been a fixture on these streets in various locations for well over a decade, and during each day he crafts, and sells, palm-sized birds.
Once only a hobby — this is now more than whittling — Ward carves out shapes of common birds from reclaimed wood. There is always a piece in progress, and always a small flock for sale on his concrete workspace.
Perhaps in our day-to-day journeys, we don’t look close enough at all the people. We don’t often observe enough to see art just happening here and there on our landscape. I’ve wandered this street how many times and only last week did I notice the man. I saw him again on the weekend.
Appreciating the beauty of his work, I bought a bird as a gift for someone . . . or maybe a souvenir for myself to one day remember my time in this city.
Couldn’t we all use more memorable hand-made art?
03/30/2024
Posted on March 30, 2024 by j.g.lewis
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It is National Pencil Day, an annual
event to honour one of history’s
greatest inventions.
Just think of all the things you can
do with a pencil. Your first complete
sentence was probably written with
a pencil. Yes, you may have learned
individual letters with a crayon,
but it was with a pencil that we all
practiced the art of basic written
communication.
How amazing is that!
A pencil is forgiving. It knows you
will make mistakes, and easily
accommodates. A pencil allows you
to make a mark, and to correct it
if you feel the need.
Write on.