Well, you may be a new reader…..or you may be the tried and true friends who read this regularly….
Whomever you are…WELCOME - and thanks for joining me!
I wanna share some experiences from this last weekend at The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
For those of you weho don't know…….TOAE juries in about 350ish artists yearly from 1300 eager artist applicants! It is stiff competition - as it is the premier outdoor event in Toronto!
As one of the largest of its kind in Canada, the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition offers a fresh-air and free alternative to conventional art shows and galleries. Side by side, established artists, undiscovered talents and innovative students sell their work directly to the public and make lasting connections with art dealers and collectors.
Let's get into it……
DAY ONE - set up was a breeze!
Every year for the last 7 years, I have had to endure at LEAST one day of rain……..and the rest of the weekend is HOT AS H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICKS!
Yet this year….it was PERFECTION - honestly - I kept waiting for the terrible to happen --- and yet NO RAIN!!!!!!!
DAY 2: more loverly weather!!!
I DONT GET IT!!!! WHAT IS KEEPING PEOPLE AWAY…..
oh wait…..I think I know……
1) A series of road closures around Queen and University will take place on Saturday, July 5 to accommodate a parade that is part of the Lions Club International Convention.
2) Queen's Park/Queen's Park Crescent will be closed in both directions from Bloor Street to College Street.
3) University Avenue will be closed in both directions from Queen Street to Adelaide Street
4) The installation of race barriers and debris fences means that two lanes each westbound and eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed from Strachan Avenue to Ontario Drive.
5) In addition to the Honda Indy closures, one westbound lane will be occupied due to the replacement of power lines from Dowling Avenue to Parkside Drive, every day from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until July 18.
6) From Cherry Street to the Don Roadway, the eastbound and westbound centre and right lanes are occupied due to Gardiner Expressway repairs, every day from 11 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
7) Westbound and eastbound, Lake Shore will be down to one lane at a time between Yonge St. and Windermere Ave. and Westbound lanes from Park Lawn Road to Humber River will be occupied by construction
8) Until Sunday, Aug. 31, one lane eastbound and one lane westbound will be occupied due to TTC Leslie Street Connection Track Project, 24 hours a day.
9) The eastbound and westbound left shoulder and right shoulder lanes will be occupied by long-term construction from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, between Park Lawn Road and Humber River.
10) Union Station will be closed on Sunday, July 6. Trains are running between St. Andrew and King Stations, but won't stop at Union. On the Bloor-Danforth line, subway service won't start until noon on Sunday.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???????????????
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| My booth! |
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| My booth - again |
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| Inside my booth! Lots of $50 pieces for people to BUY BUY BUY! ;-) |
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| Very affordable pieces at the front - to entice buyers to COME IN!!!! |
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| I had a good location….it was right at the apron of City Hall…. HOWEVER…you'll notice there are not a lot of people around….. HMMMMMM…... |
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| Again…….not a lot of people……and yet the weather is PERFECT! |
Yet this year….it was PERFECTION - honestly - I kept waiting for the terrible to happen --- and yet NO RAIN!!!!!!!
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| And another benefit of this year? I got some shade too!!!! Nothing like it after 8 hours of sunniness! |
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| I rewarded myself at the end of a long day!!! Old Crazy-eyes-Croxford! |
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| This was mid day - when things USUALLY get busy!! |
oh wait…..I think I know……
1) A series of road closures around Queen and University will take place on Saturday, July 5 to accommodate a parade that is part of the Lions Club International Convention.
2) Queen's Park/Queen's Park Crescent will be closed in both directions from Bloor Street to College Street.
3) University Avenue will be closed in both directions from Queen Street to Adelaide Street
4) The installation of race barriers and debris fences means that two lanes each westbound and eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed from Strachan Avenue to Ontario Drive.
5) In addition to the Honda Indy closures, one westbound lane will be occupied due to the replacement of power lines from Dowling Avenue to Parkside Drive, every day from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until July 18.
6) From Cherry Street to the Don Roadway, the eastbound and westbound centre and right lanes are occupied due to Gardiner Expressway repairs, every day from 11 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
7) Westbound and eastbound, Lake Shore will be down to one lane at a time between Yonge St. and Windermere Ave. and Westbound lanes from Park Lawn Road to Humber River will be occupied by construction
8) Until Sunday, Aug. 31, one lane eastbound and one lane westbound will be occupied due to TTC Leslie Street Connection Track Project, 24 hours a day.
9) The eastbound and westbound left shoulder and right shoulder lanes will be occupied by long-term construction from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, between Park Lawn Road and Humber River.
10) Union Station will be closed on Sunday, July 6. Trains are running between St. Andrew and King Stations, but won't stop at Union. On the Bloor-Danforth line, subway service won't start until noon on Sunday.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???????????????
So….sufficed to say all this closure and delay STOPPED traffic from getting to us.
It was really such a shame!
ANYWAYS….best not to dwell…..
Some more construction on the streets created from the following condo construction projects….this is just 3 that I could see just standing in my booth…..
SUNDAY……the last day!
AND THEN THERE WAS THIS…..
Nothing inspires art buying confidence - like a background soundtrack of gunshot and explosions!!!!
:-)
Ok….I know I have been sounding a bit of a Negative Nancy thus far…..don't get me wrong….
It was great weather…..and that is no small feat!
I AM TRUELY GRATEFUL FOR THAT!!!!
Also the TOAE staff were working hard - and they did such a great job on this event.
Perhaps one of the best organized events I have done in YEARS!
KUDOS to the TOAE staff!
Great job!!!
And yes, I sold a bunch of great stuff…….so NO…..I did not leave penniless and broken……..and I did give out a LOT of business cards…………..so I left feeling grateful. A little underwhelmed, but not freaking out! :-)
Although then there was this….
Yes….I got an email on Monday telling me my NEW business cards don't have my phone number on them!!!
OY!!!! The joys of being an artist!
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| I had blown through a LOT of little pieces, and even sold one on Facebook!!! So I brought in more mixed media pieces!!! |
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| Then there is this guy. HE STALKED ME THE WHOLE DAY…. I kept shoo-ing him away…..one horrible pigeon leads to… |
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| …..THIS!!!!!! And eventually to…... |
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| THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am I right? |
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| When the big hand hits the 6 and the little hand hits the 7…it's time to GO HOME!!!!! |
SUNDAY……the last day!
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| Look at the look of promise in my eyes!! (Thanks Debora for this picture!) |
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| OH NOOOO CLOUDS!! Thankfully all they did was hide the blazing sun for a while! THANK YOU MOTHER NATURE!!!! |
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| The last day I added some more robots to my booth! Who doesn't love a good robot? |
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| There was some foot traffic…..not a lot…..but a bit…… |
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| There was a film shoot on University (part of the road closures!) We were warned of "Explosions, police sirens, car crashes, and gun shots" REAAAALLLY??????????? |
:-)
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| Oh….and did I mention the wind? It was gusty - which is fine for me (as I am old timer pro) - but some other artists got a little screwed. |
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| The filmshoot also took all the good parking spots….. NOT THAT I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT TOO… But….film crews really do get the royal treatment! |
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| Here are some of the cars that were literally destroyed trot the film shoot! I would have gladly taken one of these new cars off their hands!!! |
It was great weather…..and that is no small feat!
I AM TRUELY GRATEFUL FOR THAT!!!!
Also the TOAE staff were working hard - and they did such a great job on this event.
Perhaps one of the best organized events I have done in YEARS!
KUDOS to the TOAE staff!
Great job!!!
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| Winnie Hill wasn't impressed with me!!! (That's Sir Winston Churchill to you!) |
Although then there was this….
Yes….I got an email on Monday telling me my NEW business cards don't have my phone number on them!!!
OY!!!! The joys of being an artist!
Well…that was my weekend!
How was yours???? Did you swing by? What did you think of the show????
;-)
