Traffic Signal Box - Smile

 

Location: Bathurst at Elderwood Drive

Date photo taken: 23 November 2019

Image #18 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

Smile. It's good advice. This is courtesy of Bareket Kezwer and it's a common theme in her art. As are bright colours and positivity, which is why I love that her work is showing up more and more places around the city.

Recycling Staples

 

Location: Staples store, Richmond west of Parliament

Date photo taken: 2022-03-31

This installation adorns the wall of the new Staples location at Richmond and Parliament. If you could read the tiny writing curving along the bottom of the piece, you would know that it was made from bits and pieces of pens and electronics which had been dropped off at Staples stores for recycling. Beneath the piece are four drop boxes, each for a different type of material that can be brought in to store for recycling. This includes batteries, ink and toner cartridges, electronics and writing tools like old pens and highlighters - all things not accepted in Toronto's blue bins. Staples works with partners like TerraCycle, Call2Recycle and eCycle Solutions to ensure that materials are recycled properly and in 2020 they helped Canadians divert more than 136,000 kilograms of batteries and two million kilograms of electronics from the waste stream. So the next time your highlighter dies, don't toss it in the trash. Toss it in your bag instead and let it live again as a piece of playground equipment.

Crocus

Location: Everywhere

Date photo taken: 12 April 2022

You know that spring is officially here and making a stand when gardens begin to sport splashes of purple and yellow. I have always thought of crocuses as the quintessential sign of spring in southern Ontario so I was a little surprised to learn that they aren't native to North America. Their ability to tolerate extremes of hot and cold make them ideal for our climate however, and their perennial nature, early blooming and glorious colours make them popular for gardens. 

Fun fact: The prairie crocus, which is the provincial flower of Manitoba, isn't actually a crocus. It's an an anemone, belonging to the buttercup family.

New Toronto Toad

 

Location: Laneway between Fifth and Sixth streets in New Toronto

Date photo taken: 24 April 2022

Walking in New Toronto recently I was drawn down an alley by a riot of colour. Among the murals was this handsome fellow. The work of cruz1 and Zegar, it was part of a Wallnoize project in 2021.