a bridge through the physical world

The title of this post refers to a poster I saw this morning while walking to Dufferin station in Toronto.  It got me thinking about the purpose of art in my life, something that has been on my mind pretty steadily since I graduated and was released into the wilds of the art world.  Authenticity is of utmost importance to me in my artwork, which is a priority necessitating a considerable amount of self-reflection - a practice that, while essential (in my opinion) to one's well-being, can be exhausting as heck.  I think that the phrase on this poster I saw - printed in white sans serif on a bright red background, no doubt someone's installation-about-town - comes close to hitting the nail on the head for me.  Making art = a way to move through the world and a way to manage/express the intense examination of the world that is the way I see things. 

Today I spent the entire afternoon in one building:  401 Richmond.  If you've never been, I recommend you drop by the next time you're in Toronto.  It is an incredibly beautiful building full of gorgeous old rough-hewn beams, exposed brick, and handcrafted doors as well as galleries, public installations, a musical instrument museum/shop, a design bookstore I spent 1.5 hours in (true story), an aviary populated with colourful budgies & other birds, a rooftop garden, a great cafe, and lots of other things I didn't get to see in the hours I spent wandering around in there. 

Years ago a friend who was into aromatherapy told me that you can only smell three different scents in a row, and after that we have trouble distinguishing the scents & can get overwhelmed.  Today I was thinking that maybe that can happen with art as well.  I felt like I had overdosed a bit by the time I left the building, but there were a few highlights:
I had a wonderful tour of Open Studio, which is like heaven for printmakers;
the 'green monster' smoothie in the cafe;
the Gallery 44 members exhibit of alternative process photography;
finding a new Shaun Tan book in the bookstore;
and the work of Teri Donovan at the redhead gallery .

driftwood on Robinson's Island, PEI

It was good to 'overdose' a bit today - I've been in a seeing-art-everywhere-I-go state lately & today realized I'll need a bit of a break from visual art before I dive into 4 weeks of art-making.  Between a nice fluffy rom-com tonight, and then shoe shopping & a funk band tomorrow I think I'll be all set.  :)