My current place of residence is on Toronto Island at an artist retreat space called Gibraltar Point run by an organization called Artscape. (http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/places-spaces/art)
I have been here for a week and feel very settled in my surroundings. It reminds me of universities days as everyone is living in a communal environment sharing thoughts, ideas and odd bits of food. My arrival was hectic as an impromptu storm surged and I was traveling with enough clothes, food, tools and materials (including rolls of paper) for a month. I had no option but to get soaked! By some small miracle the roll of paper survived the rain, which allowed me to start drawing as soon as I arrived. After the first two days of downpours, the summer seems to be back and I have spent the last couple of days continuing my mission of collecting sap. I can’t believe that I have found a material that requires me to partake in a past time that I enjoy so much – climbing trees.
Toronto Island is a green space that is generally used by Torontonians to escape the city and enjoy a picnic, the beach or one of the various recreational activities. It is apparently the largest urban car-free community in North America. Strangely today has been the first day that I have really encountered the tourism because for the last six weeks Toronto service workers have been on strike. This means no rubbish clearance and no regular ferries to the island apart from one for the Island residence. At first this seemed like it was going to be difficult but I was amazed how quickly I adjusted to the sparsely populated island and now that there are more people I feel like our little art community has been invaded.
Work is going well and I am doing a drawing every day and learning more and more about the techniques of refining sap. I have had a week of experimentation and reassessing ideas. Sometimes it’s so easy to forget the origin of your ideas and what you are trying to express. After many a distraction, I have begun to make moulds of small houses so I can begin to make a city with this beautiful amber coloured resin. I made my first Toronto Island house yesterday and became so excited that I ran out to the corridor, to accustom the first person I met with this satisfying little sculpture.
