Queen West Art Crawl

Last weekend I took advantage of the beautiful Fall weather and went to Trinity Bellwoods Park with a few friends to see the Queen West Art Crawl. The park was full of little booths of great local artists, as well as those who traveled in from all over Canada.

The leaves were just starting to change in the park, so it was a beautiful backdrop for the festivities.

There were many wonderful exhibits, including these glass vessels.

 Local Ontario artist Lisa McLaughlin Larose had a booth set up with a variety of her works on display.

 

I love how she uses texture so much.

 

There was a real eclectic mix of styles, with something that interested everybody.

There were also plenty of great gift ideas too, like this fun wooden jewelry.

One of my favorite booths was full of great pieces made with reused wool garments.

 

Fiona Bailey makes fantastic pieces that I would love to add to every room in my apartment. Be sure to not only check out her website, but visit her blog too. It full of fantastic photos of things that inspire her..

 

These pillows were what really did me in. I love the autumn colours and the texture of the wool

 

The same pattern looks great on this vintage sweater that Fiona has made into a piece of art unto itself. Cozy yet inspiring. A good combination.

 

There were many interesting artists from all over Canada, including this talented man from Newfoundland (I misplaced his business card, but if I find it, I'll put up the link!)

One day I would love to go to the East Coast and see all the great little villages and buildings out there. For now, I'm happy to look at the great paintings by the artists who call it home.

Art doesn't always come in the form of a painting or a sculpture...some times it is as simple as artisan chocolate. These decadent chocolates by Jacqueline Chau almost looked too good to eat.

Roasted cocoa nib. Cayenne Pepper. Sicilian Sea Salt. Japanese Matcha. Coconut Cream. Black Sesame. Be still my heart.

Another part of this event that went straight to my heart....the plethora of pottery.

I loved the use of glaze, colour and texture.

Even the shapes were creative and fun.

If I had any more storage space, I would have taken home quite a few pieces that caught my eye.

Including these sweet little dishes with the swirl inside.

And this great jug. The swirling greens and blues are mesmerizing.

An exhibit that caught my eye right away were these quirky dolls by Amanda Ho.

In particular, this spunky little bat. I think its the button eyes that really did me in.

How great are these little guys? You can email her for more information at denture_thief@hotmail.com. I know that she was in the One of a Kind Show last year, so hopefully she'll be making an appearance there again this Fall.

It wasn't long before we were walking around and started smelling something amazing.

It turned out to be Jamie's Cracked Corn. And Jamie himself was there to help out.

I'd never had kettle corn before, so this was a real treat.

It was great to see them go through the whole process of making it and hearing the corn pop.

Here it gets poured out of the vat onto a big station to be salted.

I wish that it was possible to convey smells through the internet, because this smelled amazing. Sweet and salty at the same time.

The group of us shared a ginormous bag, that was gone in no time. I left the bag in my purse for the afternoon and whenever I opened it, I smelt delicious sweetness. In other words, for my first experience with kettle corn, I've become addicted now!

This was the perfect weekend afternoon - getting out and exploring my city with some great friends. I encourage you to do the same! Call up some friends, go walk around to a few art galleries, check out a local exhibit at your museum, or take advantage of outdoor venues while the weather is still nice! And most of all, have a great weekend :)