Last weekend was the
Junction Arts Festival. It's kind of a strange event.
A few years ago this part of town started to get a lot more interesting but even then, I never woulda believed the Junction would have transformed into what it is now. Heck, just this summer a
New York Times profile of the Junction made me sputter my spicy chai. Anywho, a while back the annual arts festival featured, well...art. The past few years, not so much. Lately it just seems like an excuse for the shops along Dundas Street West to spill their wares out onto the sidewalk (don't get me wrong, with all the vintage and antique salvage shops in the area, this makes for some really great shopping), and featuring lots of vendors selling imported Kashmiri shawls, knitted, rainbow-striped Guatemalan leg-warmers (you know the ones I mean), and roasted corn. None of these things are bad, but it kinda feels more Flea Market than arts festival, especially given the reputation the 'hood has recently earned for going from "skid row to hip." Nevertheless, I check it out every year and each time, something (or rather, someone) surprises me and this year was no exception. I guess I've been living under a rock because up until last weekend
I had never heard of
Karli Strohschein and her squeal-inducing sculptures. Her hand-built clay forms and crazy firing techniques make for the most magical, beguiling little creatures (raku sculptures) I've ever seen, I had to take home a handful.
These will hopefully become part of a terrarium sometime soon (c'mon, all the cool kids are making 'em). Then I had to check her out again on Sunday to grab some of her
barnacle-like sculptures that I hope to hang on my wall and will share some photos once they're up. So, while the festival might not be
all that (yet, anyway), there are some very special things to be seen there every once in a while, kinda like the 'hood itself.
A few years ago this part of town started to get a lot more interesting but even then, I never woulda believed the Junction would have transformed into what it is now. Heck, just this summer a New York Times profile of the Junction made me sputter my spicy chai. Anywho, a while back the annual arts festival featured, well...art. The past few years, not so much. Lately it just seems like an excuse for the shops along Dundas Street West to spill their wares out onto the sidewalk (don't get me wrong, with all the vintage and antique salvage shops in the area, this makes for some really great shopping), and featuring lots of vendors selling imported Kashmiri shawls, knitted, rainbow-striped Guatemalan leg-warmers (you know the ones I mean), and roasted corn. None of these things are bad, but it kinda feels more Flea Market than arts festival, especially given the reputation the 'hood has recently earned for going from "skid row to hip." Nevertheless, I check it out every year and each time, something (or rather, someone) surprises me and this year was no exception. I guess I've been living under a rock because up until last weekend I had never heard of Karli Strohschein and her squeal-inducing sculptures. Her hand-built clay forms and crazy firing techniques make for the most magical, beguiling little creatures (raku sculptures) I've ever seen, I had to take home a handful.
1 comment:
whoa! those are amazing lil' sculptures!!! me like
Post a Comment