Exploring a Village Within the City

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. and getting an incredible amount of exercise doing it

Today was a perfect day in many ways. The sun was shining, it was somewhat warm, I got out for a walk/run with my husband and I got on my bicycle for the first time this year.

I always feel better when I move. Today I may have over done it. I started the day lifting a few weights. Then we snapped on Frances’ leash and headed out for our morning walk. When we got to the park I started to run but this time Frances started to follow me instead of K so I found myself backtracking to get her back to my husband. When she followed me a second time she headed straight for the pond, went for a swim and then ran through a field of burrs. She finally came back to me as I was heading back in K’s direction where she immediately found a huge puddle and splashed around in there for awhile.

We decided to put her back on the leash and I gave up on running and walked with the two of them instead. With all the backtracking, today’s walk/run totalled a distance of 3.8k.

Before we left for our walk my husband and I planned out some meals for the week and we decided to have fish for dinner tonight. After he prepared a hearty brunch for the two of us I suggested that we go out and buy some of the items on the list. K knew of a fish market on Roncesvalles Avenue and he suggested that we cycle there. This would be my first ride of the season.

K checked the bikes and got the panniers ready while I readied myself for the trip. The temperatures were a bit on the cool side so I put a scarf around my neck under my jacket and put on my leather gloves.

Roncesvalles Village is another vibrant community in the heart of Toronto. It is located east of High Park and north of the lake at Sunnyside. Roncesvalles Village is home to a diverse population of new families, seniors and numerous ethnic groups. It has everything you need at your doorstep; green grocers, coffee shops, flower shops, bars and pubs, a vintage movie theatre, grocery stores, clothing stores, gift shops, specialty shops for dogs, nail salons, hair salons, churches and a plethora of restaurants. My husband and I have often said that if we ever move, this is one neighbourhood that would be high on our list of places to consider.

The bike ride was a lot of fun. I was a little apprehensive about riding on the Lakeshore but it’s a very wide street and parts of it do have bike lanes. When you get to Sunnyside there are bike lanes all along the way. There were tons of people out today enjoying the beautiful weather, walking, running, roller bladding and riding their bikes.

After we crossed Lakeshore at Colborne to the Queensway there was another bike path that takes you all the way to St. Joe’s hospital and then we proceeded on the side streets over to Roncesvalles. We parked at the library and started to explore the retail neighbourhood. Our first destination was the bank because neither of us had any cash on us. We walked all the way up to Dundas only to discover that the bank we were looking for had been turned into a Starbucks over four years ago. Unfortunately it was still listed as being there when we did a Google search.

After asking someone on the street for the closest bank we walked a little bit south and found a bank on the west side of the street. Our next destination had to be a place where we could get something to drink. We didn’t think to pack any water for our trip so we were very thirsty after our long ride. We found a great little independent cafe where we ordered a pot of tea and an iced coffee. We also treated ourselves to two small French macaroons.

Roncy’s Bean

One of the things that I really like about this neighbourhood is that they support their local artists. In the cafe there were great paintings on display by Laura Hains. You can see more of her work on her website.

The street had a feeling of joy, as people shopped, sat in the outdoor cafes and stopped to talk to neighbours and listen to the street musicians. There were cute dogs everywhere. We found the fish market we were looking for and purchased a beautiful piece of lake trout. We didn’t want to buy the fish too early on our visit so we ended up doing a lot of walking to take in all the sights and sounds of the village within the city. When we were satisfied that we saw what we came for we backtracked to the fish market and then backtracked again to find our bikes.

The bike ride home was a little more difficult for me because of all the exercise I had already done today but I only had to stop once to give my knee a rest and then the rest of the ride was more comfortable and pain free.

When we got home I was curious to see how far we had travelled on the bikes and how much more walking we had done. I went to g-map pedometer and traced out the route. We thought the ride was longer but the whole trip on the bikes was 17 kilometres. The walk surprised us though. We walked an additional 4.7 k for a total of 8.5 k for the day. My husband thinks that we don’t need to get out for another walk tonight but Frances may have something to say about that. We’ll see. As for how I’m going to feel tomorrow, I’m thinking that I might be feeling a few twinges here and there. Hopefully not.

What did you do on this beautiful ‘spring’ day? Love to hear from you.

Cheers!

Back on Track

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….at least with my eating

The temperature was sitting at zero celsius when I woke up this morning but the sun was shining and there was no wind. I made a great omelet with shallots, mushrooms and spinach. I didn’t have time to eat it so I packed it up and took it to school with me. We had a 7:40 soccer practice. Coach S and I were debating whether we should play outside or in the gym. The field was pretty wet from all the rain yesterday but it had warmed up a bit so we decided to do the drills on the field.

An hour after I made my breakfast I finally got to enjoy it. I filled up my sports bottle with water and took it back to the library and sipped on it all day. For lunch I had a big salad with chicken.

At the end of the school day the weather changed drastically. The temperature dropped again and the wind picked up. We went outside with the girls for Girls on the Run but I didn’t run with them tonight. It was too cold and windy for me and the ground was too soggy.

For dinner we ate the leftover vegetables from a couple of nights ago and we finished the chicken from last night. I had my pottery class tonight so we didn’t have time to prepare anything more elaborate. Luckily it turned out to be a pretty tasty meal.

When I arrived at the class the students and my instructor were still having their pot luck supper. The week before they had kindly invited me to join them but I knew that arriving earlier and with a dish to share would be very difficult with my tight schedule on Thursdays. Nonetheless they asked me to join them and offered me wine and dessert. I passed on both but I did sit with them and got to know them all a little bit better.

In my class tonight I cut the lid way from the pot and finished the edges. It is now sitting on the shelf waiting to be fired. I started a second project. D showed me a simple way to make a plate using a Chinette paper plate as a mold. I rolled out a slab and placed it on top of the plate and then gently pressed it to fit the shape of the plate. To add interest to the plate I stamped designs onto the rim of the plate and I etched a simple design in the middle of the plate. It now also sits on the shelf waiting to be fired.

All in all it wasn’t a bad day. I didn’t get to the gym because yesterday I forgot about my pottery class. Tomorrow we’re taking my daughter and her partner to the airport after we take them out for dinner so I won’t have time to get to the gym. I’ll have to make a point of getting there on the weekend. I did drink a litre of water and ate well today. More of the same tomorrow.

Cheers!

City of Crafts – Spring Show

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..a nice diversion on a cold ‘spring’ day

Yesterday, my youngest daughter and her friend, S, had a booth at the Spring City of Crafts show in downtown Toronto. The venue was at St. Paul’s Church and was considerably smaller than the venue for the Christmas show.

The girls displayed some of the products that they sell through their blogs and they set up a photobooth where people could choose from the props they brought and have their picture taken for free. On Monday they can go to G’s or S’s websites and download their photos. Uschi and Kay Have and Hold Design Becca Gilgan – Photographer

There were numerous vendors there selling anything and everything from dolls, clothing, pottery, soaps, bags and plants and everything in between. The thing that always stands out for me is how young the vendors are. Their wares tend to be very hip and trendy but there seems to be something there to suit a wide range of tastes. As you can see from my photos I tend to gravitate to hand crafted and sewn items. Some of the vendors were present at the Christmas show so I didn’t take pictures of those same items. Enjoy!

: Hand crocheted dolls

: 100% organic cotton rattle

: Dolls by Charlotte & Stewart

: Larger dolls by Charlotte & Stewart

: Disemboweled Doll (you can zip the bowels back into the doll)

I’m Okay, Crayon Prints on Fabric and Sure Signs of Spring

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….maybe I should have broken these topics into separate posts

After yesterdays post I’ve had people ask me all day if I was okay. I’m fine. I was literally, just tired. I need to get more sleep and it was after all an exceptionally busy day yesterday. The headache I complained about hasn’t returned and I feel much less stressed today. Now, the kids, on the other hand were more exhausting than usual and I wasn’t the only one complaining. Is there a full moon looming? I think it’s partially due to spring fever. We’ve had a couple of warm days and it is Friday as well.

I hope everyone enjoyed the those warm moments because the temperature is about to go down again. When I got home tonight my daffodils were in full bloom so I took a few pictures before the winds started. When I went out later I noticed that some of the flowers have already been knocked off the plant.

Yesterday I told you about a new project that I started with my grade 2 students. I had these fabric crayons given to me many years ago and I wasn’t quite sure how I would use them. I knew that there were quite a few students in my grade 2/3 class that had finished the last project and the rest weren’t far behind. I packed up all the fabric I had along with the iron and ironing board and hoped for the best. I hadn’t even made a sample or tried out the crayons to see if they worked…..not always a wise move.

We took the rough copy paper we had used on the last project and on the unused side I instructed the students to make a drawing using the fabric crayons. I gave the dimensions they were to work in but I gave them free reign as far as the subject for their design went. I demonstrated how much crayon they needed to use in order to get a nice print and I suggested that if they didn’t want to draw something realistic they could draw a doodle design and fill in the spaces with lots of different colours. Away they went. Creativity at it’s best.

When people looked at what the grade 2s had done, many thought that I had drawn the design and they coloured it in. Not so. From start to finish the entire piece was their own creation. Through trial and error we discovered that we had to use quite a bit of pressure with the iron and if we went over the piece several times the print would become more intense. The other thing that we learned was that synthetic fabrics produce a more vibrant print compared to the cotton fabrics. I liked both. Each had it’s own special quality. When you see the examples, I included the original crayon drawing and then displayed the one or two prints next to it. Enjoy!

What is Art?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. is there an artist in all of us?

I really believe that there is an artist in all of us. The problem for most people is that when you say artist they think of a painter, illustrator,or sculptor. So often people tell me they can’t draw. Everybody can draw; it’s just that some people are better at it than others. Why is that?

Very few people are naturally good at art. It takes practice and perseverance. Those that are good at portraits have studied the human face and done countless drawings of eyes, noses, lips and other facial features and then put them together to create faces.

People develop their own style after copying and experimenting and taking inspiration from other artists. I’m not talking about replicating or making exact reproductions of famous paintings. For example, I like Picasso’s abstract portraits with misplaced features and sharp angles. I’ve experimented with his style and have created a couple of paintings of my own. One is done in acrylic and in the other I used a combination of watercolours and oil pastels.

I think you can be great artist and never be an accomplished illustrator. I think that’s why I like abstract art. I love the freedom of it gives me when using paints and other media and how it allows me to play with colour and texture. I like using the word play because when it stops being fun then I lose interest. Why on earth would I want to pursue anything that wasn’t enjoyable and fun to do?

Now I’ve talked mostly about visual artists, such as painters and sculptors, and using traditional artist materials such as paints, clay and oil pastels. My point, however, is that the quilters, knitters, sewers, photographers, writers, bloggers, toymakers, musicians, jewellery makers, weavers, dancers, actors, singers and gymnasts of this world are also artists in their own right. They create beauty and give pleasure to many but most importantly they find personal joy and satisfaction in the doing of their art. Photography has become my new personal art form. I love experimenting with the different features of the camera.

This is the view at the bottom of my street, looking south towards Lake Ontario.

None of these disciplines happen overnight. When you find what you like to do and work at it, you eventually get better. Did you knit a perfect scarf the first time around? Probably not. Are you a better cook today than you were in grade seven when you made your first macaroni and cheese? Hopefully. If you play the piano it’s more than likely that it involved hundreds of hours of practising scales that got you to where you are today.

The same is true for any visual art skill. Practice makes perfect or at least better. I know that if I took some life drawing classes my confidence and my ability to draw would improve. I’ve never met anybody that got worse at something after practising at it but I have a friend that believes only ‘perfect practice makes perfect’. I suppose that there is some truth to that as well.

For the last several weeks my grade 3 classes have been working on sewing quilt blocks and then decorating them with stitching, buttons and beads. It’s taking longer than I thought but their interest hasn’t waned and I hope I’ll be able to share some of their finished pieces in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I finished my example. I think working with the students has helped keep them motivated and inspired to move on the next step. They’re really excited about adding stitches and embellishments to their squares.

Not everything that you create as an artist will be to your liking. Sometimes your vision doesn’t make it onto the paper. Last Friday my friend L and I ‘played’ with my paints. I just started to add colour to my plates and moved the paint around with brushes and forks and then transferred the design onto paper. I kept adding more paint and water to the plates. I usually have a lot of success with mono printing but I can’t say that this is my best work. I did, however, have fun experimenting with the paints. It was therapeutic and great stress reliever.

Is there an artist in you?

I see the artist in many of you whom I follow. I see it in your photography, in your writing, your paintings, your stories, your poems, your refashioned clothes, your DIY projects, your crafts, your recipes, your music and your inspirational quotes. Keep it up. Spread the joy.

The Pure Joy of Discovery

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…the expression on his face and the surprise in his voice made it all worthwhile

For the last week, and more I’ve been pulling prints with the grade 4s and 5s. Today all the 3s and 4s in the school were away on field trips and I had the luxury of working with the 12 grade 5 students that were left behind in one of the classes. This class has been particularly challenging just because of the shear size when combined with the grade 4s and because they are very social and chatty.

I decided to work with the chattiest of the bunch and those that were the furthest behind with their printmaking. Not surprising most of the six that I worked with were boys. I set up a printing station in the hallway and while I worked with small groups of 3 the remaining students were working on a drawing activity that required quite a bit of concentration.

This is the activity that kept the other half of the class busy while I worked with the printers.

This set up worked fairly well. The students that I worked with in the printing area were very excited about the whole printing process. My only regret is that I didn’t take pictures while they worked but I found I was very involved with the students and needed to keep a close eye on the their progress. The temptation to cover the walls, floor and each other with hand prints was too great. Luckily none of that happened.

My greatest joy came when I heard the oohs and aahs of the students as they pulled the plates away from the paper or their fabric. One boy in particular was especially surprised at how well his print turned out. It was probably the most focused he’s ever been in art class and it paid off. All the students today loved this activity so much that they gladly stayed behind to help me clean up and there is a lot of washing up when it comes to printing.

Sometimes, when an activity is messy and time consuming, teachers are reluctant to attempt it. The finished products, however, and the pride of accomplishment that the students feel make it all worthwhile.

Next week I’ll take some photographs of the finished projects and post them for your enjoyment.

These are similar projects, done by the grade 4s earlier in the week. The grade 5s designed Greek urns for their prints.

Trying Something New

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…just signed up for a 10 week pottery class

Four weeks ago one of our teachers went on maternity leave and a new teacher, DH took over her 1/2 class. I liked her immediately and soon discovered that before becoming a teacher she was a potter. She told me she still taught pottery classes from her studio in her home and that a new session was starting mid April.

Tonight was the first class and despite the forecast for round two of more bad weather I decided to chance the drive and make the commitment to 10 weeks of classes. I loved the easy going atmosphere of the class. There were only two of us there tonight so I got a lot of personal guidance and attention. I don’t have a lot of experience with clay and DH gave me a lot of good advice and hands on experience with this new medium.

DH’s other student has been taking classes for 5 years and was working on a teapot. It was interesting watching her make and assemble the spout and handle for her pot. I really liked the texture that she had carved into her pot.

DH gave me a demonstration on the potter’s wheel. It’s like magic watching the ball of clay transform into a vase.

Tonight I made two pinch pots and then combined them to create one vessel. Next week I will be cutting a lid from the top of the pot and carving a design into the clay. I know it doesn’t look like much now but I have great hopes for it. I’m also working on a texture plate for future projects.

I’ve included a couple of photos of DH’s finished teapots. I don’t think I’ll be making teapots in this session but I can see a couple of bowls and some mugs in the near future. Stay tuned.

Oh, by the way, the next round of freezing rain held off until I got home tonight.

Coming up on my One Year Anniversary

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for a whole year

When I started on this new journey I didn’t know exactly where I was going with this blog. It’s taken me in many directions. It’s been a weight loss journey,

My official ‘before’ picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

In February, 2013, 33 pounds lighter.

a site for reflecting on my past, an experiment with writing stories and prose, a place to share my new hobby of photography, a gallery for my art work and the work of my students, a cookbook of recipes and a journal to experience and share what makes me happy.

: Grade 3

: Grade 3

: Grade 2

: Grade 5

Blogging has kept me on track with my new fitness and eating journey. I’ve never felt better (not counting this cold I’m battling) and I think I look better. I’ve never been happier with myself than I am now. I feel that life has so much more to offer and for me to experience. I look forward to each new day and can’t wait to see where it takes me.

: Trillium

: Seed Heads

: Sunset at Christian Island

: August: Niagara Falls, ON

I’ve met the nicest people from all over the world. Thank you to all of you who have liked and commented on my posts. You have no idea how much joy I get from hearing from you. You lift me up when I’m not feeling well or when I’m down in the dumps and you honour me with your compliments and awards. I hope some day to be able to meet some of you when I start to travel more after I retire and I hope if you come to Toronto you’ll look me up and we can meet for coffee or share a meal.

Before the end of the month I hope to reach 10 000 views. The month has started off slowly but that is my own fault. I haven’t had much energy or interesting things to blog about because of my cold but starting today I’m going to try to publish every day. There are 23 days left so that means I need about 30 views a day to reach my goal. Last month I averaged 42 views a day so 30 I think is very doable.

I’m delighted with how many people are following me on mamacormier. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that so many people would want to read what I have to say. Just before the New Year I put out a plea to reach 200 followers and a few kind people made that dream come true. Since then I’ve been steadily getting new followers and am currently sitting at 281. Before the end of the month I’d love to reach 300. Any takers?

So where do I go from here? Well, I’m definitely going to continue with my weight loss and fitness journey. One thing that I’ve learned is that this journey is and will be a life long commitment. I want to live a long and healthy life. I don’t want to live my last 10 years as a statistic and be a burden on society. I have too much I want to do and accomplish in life.

: Abstract monoprint 5×7

: Abstract monoprint

: Three of my 6 prints, plus the wood block. I started with the orange but wasn’t happy with the colour so I switched to the blue.

: Frances guarding the tomatoes for Sunday’s sauce.

: August: Celebrating my 60th birthday.

I love the challenges that wordpress and other bloggers put out there so I know that I will continue to participate in some of them, especially the photography ones. I’ll also continue to share the art that my students create and hopefully I’ll find more time to create more of my own art. Who knows, maybe something new will cross my path and I’ll share that with you as well. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing so I tend to do it all. That’s just the way I am. I wouldn’t be happy any other way.

Cheers!

Day 11

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..here are 3 pieces of art that I finished today

Doing art puts in me in a zen state of mind. I’m totally into what I’m doing and I lose all sense of time. I like to create examples of art that I can share with my students or leave for supply teachers to use when they have to cover one of my art classes. There have been times when I’ve gone to school despite being sick because the art project we were working on was too complicated or too messy for an occasional teacher to have to deal with.

Lately I’ve across some interesting, fun and very doable projects that I can leave for a supply teacher. Here are the samples I’ve been working on. The first one I’m actually doing with some of my classes right now. It’s a still life that the students outline in crayon and then fill in with watercolour. The wax crayon creates a resist which prevents the paints from running into one another. The idea came from Be Creative Mary.

The next two projects are perfectly suited for a supply teacher. Both ideas came from Artisan des Arts

If you need instructions for any of these projects check out the blogs where I got therm from. Cheers to creating art!

Grade Two Masterpieces

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..children’s art always puts me in a happy mood

Happiness File – Day 10

Today in my grade 2/3 art class we critiqued the art work done by the grade 2s. You may recall seeing some of the finished monochromatic abstract art pieces that I posted a couple of weeks ago. We discussed what worked and where some of the pieces could use some tweaking to make them better. Many of the students took their pieces back and added some more detail and then signed their work. Here are some more of their masterpieces.

Two of my happy moments happened today in my art class. The first was how willingly my students listened to the critiques and then actually took some of the suggestions to heart. The second moment was watching my students tackle the drawing assignment I assigned. Some found it difficult but after showing them some simple techniques they started to create some very beautiful designs. I’m really looking forward to their finished still life paintings.

Tonight I had book club and we discussed the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I love the time spent with good friends. We don’t always agree on how much we enjoy a book but the discussions are always lively and friendly as we defend our positions. I enjoy the circus and I really liked the book so I tended to give it a higher rating than some of my fellow book club members who don’t like the circus and weren’t as enamoured with the book as I was.