Signal box by Natalie Very B

Location: Lakeshore at Thirty Seventh Street

Date photo taken: 10 July 2021

Image #20 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

In honour of International Women's Day this Friday, here's one of Natalie Very B's gorgeous everyday goddesses. She painted it in 2020 as part of that year's crop of signal boxes prettied up through the city's Outside the Box program. Her boldly beautiful depictions of body positivity and self-love caught the attention of CBC and in 2020 they commissioned her to create a CBC Arts logo for Women's History Month. You can check out that logo, and read the article and interview here.

Ship in a bottle

 

Location: Marie Curtis Park

Date photo taken: 5 September 2021

There's a small building tucked away in a corner of Marie Curtis Park, near the Lake Promenade entrance. Once upon a time it probably blended into the scenery, but now its hard to miss thanks to four large, vibrant murals created by local graffiti artist Luvsumone in 2016. All four images draw inspiration from the lakeside location and I just love the twist put on this one. For me, the dark silhouette of the ship is almost ominous, but then the colours pull me back to happy.

Bell Box - Long Branch Public Library

 

Location: Thirty Second Street at Lakeshore

Date photo taken: 10 July 2021 

Image #15 in the Bellbox Series

The mural on this Bell Box is an ode to books and to the Long Branch Public Library, which it sits just beside. This branch was opened on May 26, 1955 by the Village of Long Branch. In 1967 it was taken over by the Etobicoke Public Library Board when the Village amalgamated with the Township of Etobicoke, and in 1998 it became part of the Toronto Public Library system. The branch is home to the Long Branch Historical Society Local History Collection as well as a large collection of materials in Polish, and an art exhibition space. 

The mural is the work of Naz Nahidi and was painted as part of the Bell Box Murals Project in 2020.

Speaking for the trees

 

Location: James Street

Date photo taken: 5 September 2021

For those of you not familiar with Dr. Seuss, this is the Lorax, an environmental spokesthing from the 1971 book of the same name. In that story, the Lorax spoke up to protect the trees. On a walk in Long Branch this weekend this Lorax, along with a multitude of more generic but informative lawn signs, alerted me to a similar battle currently going on in this west end neighbourhood. Residents are campaigning to save the Black Barn Maple which is under threat due to a development proposal. At 160 years old, this maple is one of the oldest surviving trees in this part of the city and it is still healthy and going strong. Residents hope to keep it that way but so far the City has not moved to protect the tree. I personally hope they will, or that the builder will get creative and find a way to work around the maple. Heritage trees can be a powerful symbol and any mature urban tree is a valuable asset. 

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."