NEW ! " Forever Yonge "...from Lake Ontario to Bloor Street

Today I just completed my new mandala entitled " Forever Yonge ", which goes from Lake Ontario to Bloor Street.

It includes buildings from the past and present , such as, the original T. Eaton Company, the proposed Eaton's College Street tower, the Robert Simpson Store and the Imperial Bank of Canada.

Also, I have illustrated various nightclubs, now gone :  The Colonial Tavern, The Friar's Club, The Brown Derby, the Sapphire Tavern and The Golden Nugget.

There are swizzle sticks which I saved from some of these places drawn on the mandala.

Local entertainers such as Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins ( whom I also saw perform in Eaton's where I worked on the 5th floor donut counter during a March break show...he was so handsome ! ), Robbie Lane, and Jackie Shane, whom I saw perform at The Sapphire Tavern. I have also drawn Molly Johnson and have a piano around the circumference for Oscar Peterson.

As the mandala moves north on Yonge Street, you will see Santa Claus and Rudolph, Massey Hall, St. Michael the Archangel from the hospital, the new Dog Fountain in Berczy Park, the Beatles outside Maple Leaf Gardens, and the Allan Gardens Greenhouse, et cetera.

Stores on the mandala are :

The Cat's Cradle

Boot Master

Morningstar

Albert Britnell's Book Store

House of Lords

and others which I will add in the near future.

Elmer the Safety Elephant is there to state an important safety rule.

Just.so.much.more.on.this.mandala !!!

You will have a very busy time finding all the spots from the past and present along this route.

You have to see it !!!

For information, please contact :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

Kensington Market , Parkdale and The Junction with the Junction Triangle Colouring Books now completed !

After a detailed study of these 4 neighbourhoods, I now have my colouring books ready for the World of Toronto !

Each book is based on a mandala theme, with each page having 2 letters of the alphabet depicting the history and present day events beginning with those letters.
On the opposite page of each of those pages is a poem I have written about some of the pictures and events.

At the end of each book are suggested follow-up activities.

These books are available now.

( I am now working on 4 more Neighbourhoods of Toronto Colouring Books ! )

For info please contact :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

Willowdale Mandala Completed !

I have completed my Willowdale Mandala and it is now available.

It goes from York Mills up to Markham ( past the Willowdale border of Steeles ).  And so it also includes Thornhill and Richmond Hill.

From the West it goes from Bathurst over to Bayview.

Heritage buildings are included, such as Gibson House, Heintzman House, and C.W. Jeffries' Home.   Many more have been depicted, as well as our present day happenings are represented.
Mills dot the whole Mandala and Indigenous icons appear throughout.


I have  also completed the Bloor/Spadina/Mink Mile to the Prince Edward Viaduct mandala.
THIS Mandala has a Music-on-Bloor  theme which revives memories of the discos of '60's Yorkville and The Toronto Rock 'n Roll Revival at Varsity Stadium in August 1969 ( which I attended ) as 2 examples.

Stollery's,  the University and Uptown Theatres and the Golden Nugget Tavern are noted memories from the past.

The last 2 Mandalas bring my total Toronto Neighbourhood Mandalas to 41 + 1 New York City Mandala!


for info contact :
torontomandalas@gmail.com

Bloor Street - Spadina to the Prince Edward Viaduct

I have been working on my Bloor Street - Prince Edward Viaduct System and will have it completed  by April 9, 2016.


It includes The ROM, The Bata Shoe Museum, The Park Paza, The Royal Conservatory of Music,
3 churches, Manulife Insurance, Varsity Stadium, Philosopher's Walk, Bemelman's, Toby's Good Eats, The Medical Building, Stollery's, Yorkville, Mr. Bloore ( who founded Yorkville and for whom Bloor Street is named after - the " e" has been dropped ).


I have include much more from the past and present.....a loom of time for you in my mandala.


Also, in process is my Willowdale mandala...hope to complete by April's end.


I have also finished 2 neighbourhood colouring books....will be announced at the end of April....a launch to be happening then

Spadina Avenue/Road Mandala....UPdated November 20, 2015.

....is now completed !
I am so happy to announce that I put the final details on this mandala on
August 30, 2015.
As mentioned in my last post, this mandala starts at Lake Ontario and continues straight up Spadina
, around Spadina Crescent and U of T Art Department Building ( formerly Knox College ) to Forest Hill.
On the way it passes:
Queen's Quay West ( The National Ballet, Yo Yo Ma's Music Garden, Le Centre de Francophone de Toronto ) ; Fort York Blvd.  ( Canoe Landing, The Globe and Mail ) ; King Street ( The Richardson House, TheFashion District with its giant thimble at Adelaide, and sculpture of manufacturing on the streetcar islands ) ; Queen Street ( The Mary Pickford Theatre, The Cameron House with its giant ant sculptures walking all over it, The Hero Sandwich Residence, The Horseshoe Tavern, The extinct Bamboo Club [ Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!! ] and the coal depot kitty corner ) ;  Dundas Street ( The Victory Burlesque Theatre, St. Elizabeth Church...originally an Anglican Church since the mid 1800's [ now Dragon City ] ; College, College, Bloor, Dupont, Davenport, St. Clair, and Eglinton.

******MUCH, much more, soon to be added, is on my mandala.

Many notable landmarks from the past and present are illustrated as your eyes follow Spadina up to Forest Hill. I will add a list of these spots soon.


Baseballs abound all over the mandala, having been home-runs hit by our mighty Blue Jays of 2015, out of Rogers Centre, also known by its previous and beloved Sky Dome name.  Encarnacion, Donaldson, Bautista, Smoak and Goins  are to name a few of the many home runners which have taken place this year.  And I must mention the hat trick by Encarnacion on August 30, 2015 !!!!!
What joy it brought to the city of TO !!!!

U of T is also noted very well with many buildings and symbols od that great Toronto institution.

As you look west from Dundas you will head to Kensington Market with numerous icons of places within.

**** TO BE ADDED SOON

The Denison estate mansion named Bellevue is there.  Bellevue Avenue is all that is left of it.

( I will add more to this blog describing this mandala very soon. )


Article in the Globe and Mail Newspaper by Dave LeBlanc, the Architourist featuring my work,
entitled " Signposts of a New Toronto Cool ":


 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article1734637/email/

Contact me at : torontomandalas@gmail.com

Spadina Avenue/Road Mandala is on the Way !!!

My Spadina Avenue/Road is on the way.
It is about 2/3 completed and should be finished by Friday, May 29, 2015.
It begins at Spadina and Lake Ontario and continues right up to Forest Hill at at Eglinton.
On the way north you will see new and old buildings, including the firehall on the lake, the Music Garden, the dome home of our Bluejays with bats and balls flying,  the Mary Pickford Theatre at Queen, Canoe Landing.
You will pass by the Victory Burlesque Theatre at Dundas, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church ( formerly a Methodist Church , which name I will add here soon....now Dragon City )  a Shopsy hot dog and corned beef sandwich at College, a quick shift over to Kensington Market.....and soooooooooooo much more !
I will post again soon as this organic mandala fills up with our Toronto heritage and present day.

You will feel " city rich proud " as you gaze upon my upcoming Spadina Mandala....I guarantee.

Completed !!!!!! Cedarvale/Eglinton/Scarlett Road/St. Clair/Humewood

After weeks and weeks of minute and painstaking research and detail, I have finally signed this mandala as complete.
 Mandala # 38  includes a bird's eye view of Cedarvale down to Humewood and St. Clair / along St. Clair to Scarlett Road/ up to Eglinton and back to Cedarvale.

It also incorporates Oakwood Village, Dufferin Street, Corso Italia, Earlscourt, Keele St., Weston Road, Rogers Road, Jane Street, and others which I will mention later.
This mandala is a compact look at how this area of Toronto has become an example of such continuous diverse change over the last 200 years beginning with First Nations of the New Mississauga Credit.  I hope I have presented to the the viewers an exciting and whimsical tapestry of this side of Toronto's story.
I discovered many interesting Toronto gems along the way, including info about John Scarlett's toll gates, his house called Runnymede, and the former City of York's time capsule to be opened in 2193, which will be Toronto's Quadricentennial.  Can you possibly imagine what Toronto will be like in 2193 ????
 York Memorial Collegiate, Vaughan Road Academy, the palm tree art sculpture at Oakwood and Eglinton, St. Hilda's Church at Dufferin and Eg, Oakwood Collegiate, Wychwood Library, the St. Clair, Mt. Dennis, Oakwood and Nortown movies theatres, and Humewood Public School are a few more of the buildings noted on this mandala.
This mandala depicts all the above...and more !  Tobogganing down the hills in Cedarvale Park, a giant frog,representing the park on Jane Street south of Eglinton, with his golden webbed digits stretched out with a magic touch to the central crystal ball !
And the squirrels and birds and ducks and dogs and cats and ladybugs...oh my !!!!
Many heritage buildings, such as Heyden House ( complete with former cupula ) , building # 9 of the Kodak compound and the little church on Scarlett Road which housed some who sought refuge during Hurricane Hazel in 1954.  I remember it well, as my father had to make sure the very heavy, back, storm door was secured on our little Victorian Style house on a little street in Brockton, so he could protect my mom and us 6 kids from imminent danger.  Oh, the sounds we heard...even our dog " Lady " hid under a bed.
I also remember my dad covering the coal chute to the cellar under the front window ( where many-a-time my job was to count the bags of coal [24] which the delivery man emptied down the chute and quickly report it to my mom or dad for 2 cents reward ) so the basement wouldn't get flooded.  Luckily we survived Hurricane Hazel.  : )))

This mandala is called " Crosstown Toronto " in reference to the future LRT.

If you scroll down a few posts you will find a link to an article about my mandalas published in the Globe and Mail and written by Dave LeBlanc, the Architourist .

torontomandalas@gmail.com

New Toronto/Long Branch/Alderwood Mandala !!!

This mandala was completed on May 22, 2014.

It includes many local businesses, heritage buildings, and historical notes about the area.

torontomandalas@gmail.com

A Day on the Long Branch Car...Winding Through New Toronto

.....from the Humber loop to the Long Branch loop.   Actually, it was a bus, due to guess what ?  Construction, of course !
So, riding up and down the 2 areas I discovered some interesting little shops, with creative names.  For example :
The Big Guys Little Coffee Shop, which features excellent coffee, a local artist's art show, board games and WiFi.
Sweet Olenka's , a wonderful chocolate shop with tons of Easter eggs, special occasion chocolates and many frozen delights with a seating area in the back where you can relax and enjoy your treat.
The Silver Lion Framing Shop offers
all kinds of beautiful frames for your treasured pieces.
I walked down to the lake only to find a beautiful view of Toronto's downtown landscape.  What a soothing, peaceful neighbourhood of Toronto....once settled by farmers.
The New Toronto section is called "Lakeview Village " by the locals, with sailboats on the lamp posts and a sailboat with a sunset on the street signs.
And what is a harbour without a lighthouse ?
Please follow along as I will have a lot more to add later in the week.

For info please contact :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

New Toronto/Long Branch/Alderwood Mandala Now On Its Way !

I am very pleased to say that I have begun work on my New Toronto/Long Branch/Alderwood Mandala and am working full speed ahead.  Several requests from some proud neighbourhood residents have inspired me to go forth and fulfill their wishes.  Please stand by for further information as work progresses.

For info please contact :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

Davenport Road ~ First Nations Trail Mandala Competed !

I am happy to announce that I have now completed this mandala with the toll keeper's cottage at the centre.  There were 4 toll keeper cottages from the Humber to the Don Rivers.  It was a privately owned road in the 1800's and travellers had to pay a toll to go along this trail.
I have also included bits of Seaton, Oakwood
, Bracondale, Earlscourt, and Carlton Villages.
This mandala celebrates  the many layers of peoples ( and a dinosaur ) who have walked this passage on the shore if Lake Iroquois.
You will be able to imagine that you are walking back and forth through the centuries on this mandala.

For further information :

torontomandalas@gmail.com


Also, check out my previous post here for a Globe and Mail article by Dave LeBlanc , Architourist.

Davenport Road First Nations Trail

I am 2/3 finished creating the Davenport Road First Nations Trail Mandala.  At the centre is The Toll Keeper's Cottage which is located at Davenport and Bathurst.  The mandala also includes some notations from Seaton Village, CarltonVillage, Earlscourt and Oakwood Villages.
Follow the moccasins around the mandala, stop at notable buildings which have been demolished, and imagine the day when this pathway was the shore of Lake Iroquois.
A lot to imagine, as you follow the footsteps of creatures of nature, First Nations Peoples and early pioneers.
From snowshoes to sleighs to horse-pulled wagons and transit  to cars and streetcars....and all within the last 250  years.  How young we are , my dear Toronto....a sweet , celebratory cake with so many layers.
I invite you to come and have a slice.
You will be magically engrossed in the history of Toronto....your home town.

Please read the post before this one for a list of all my completed mandalas
AND
Here is a link to a Globe and Mail article about my work, by Dave Leblanc...Architorist :

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article4327620/

Fort York Mandala !

I completed my Fort York Mandala on Thursday, November 6, 2013.

It includes the Fort York Neighbourhood which goes from Wellington Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the CNE to the West and the CN Tower to the east.

Historic Fort York, known originally as The Garrison at York , is of course at the centre of the mandala.
The shore of  Lake Ontario once reached Fort York where the attacks by the United States troops took place.   Landfill provides ground for the  `condo sprawl ` which is spreading like an octupus along our waterfront.

Art Deco architecture designs are fantastic delighful highlights on the Tip Top Tailor Building , the Black and Crosswell Building ( now Omni ), Loblaws ( originally The Loblaws warehouse in the 40's, then a food bank and now a building in transition with scaffolding around its base, hopefully soon to be a new Loblaws in the area ) ) and the now completely obliterated Maple Leaf Baseball Stadium ( where great ball players such as Reggie Smith, Sam Jethroe and Phil Roof once played ) .  Take a walk around this area and look up at the art deco work on the facades of  the  3 aforementioned buildings.
 The Toronto Maple Leaf baseball team was part of the Boston Red Sox organization and it was through this system that Al Riverso of Toronto , a hot corner player who played at Christie Pits ( on a team along with Ken Dryden of hockey fame and the author of the bestselling book " The Game " )  was signed with Boston and went on to play for the Greenville Red Sox for several years.
By the way, it was a great sight watching Riverso and Dryden and Trigiani and Fleury and so many others
play ball ( in those days that we thought would never end,  my friend ) , under the watchful eye of their dedicated coach,  Fred Fess.  And I will never forget the wonderful scene of Murrey Dryden, the father of Ken Dryden, always standing on the east hill watching his son play ball.  I remember those days at the Pits very well.

Stadium Road is all that is left of this stadium which was demolished in the late 60`s.  Most people who live in the area with whom I spoke had never even heard of Maple Leaf Stadium.  Why can't I find an historical plaque somewhere around or streets named after some of the Hall of Fame stars who played there ???  It was built and they came....but why was it torn down into a pile of rubble I implore ????

I will continue with this post soon...please keep in touch for the next page.

In the meantime, here is the article written in The Globe and Mail featuring a report
on my mandalas :


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article4327620/

Since September 2007, I have created 35 Toronto Neighbourhood Mandalas :

1.  Kensington Market

2.  West Queen West

3.  Downtown Core

4.  The Beach ( s)

5.  College Street

6.  Church/Wellesley Village

7.  Riverdale

8.  Roncesvalles/High Park/ Bloor West Village

9.  Etobicoke

10. St. Clair/Wychwood

11. St. Clair/Yonge..Deer Park/Moore Park/Davisville/Yonge&Eg to Balmoral

12. Summerhill/Rosedale

13. Yorkville

14. Leaside

16. Scarborough

17. Blordale/Bloorcourt

18. Dundas West..Yonge Street to Roncesvalles

19. The Annex

20. The Junction

21. Ossington Village...Queen to College

22. Downsview..aka The Downsview Flying Club

23. King Street East and West

24. Olde Olde Toronto New...from the Ice Age to The Town of York to Toronto Today

25. Forest Hill

26. Weston

27. Cabbagetown

28. The Toronto Islands/Harbourfront Centre

29. The Canadian National Exhibition..past and present

30. Parkdale

31. North Toronto

32. East York

33. Fort York...just completed on November 6, 2013 !

34. St. Lawrence Market...The Market Block

35. Leslieville

One more mandala which I have painted is New York City.....mainly Manhattan.

I have now finally begun working on Davenport Road First Nations Trail ( goal : November 22, 2013 ) which will be followed by Mt. Dennis/Jane Street/Scarlett Road...all north of St. Clair and South of Eglinton .

Fort York Area and Davenport First Nations Trail are On the Way!

I have changed the order of my mandala creations and am now completing the Fort York area and Davenport Road First Nations Trail, hopefully by October' s end.
I will then begin New Toronto followed byMt.Dennis/Lambton/Scarlett Road and areas and predict their completions by the beginning of December.

I have been out and about taking photos, sketching, and soaking in the atmosphere of each one.

I look forward to sharing these forthcoming mandalas with you and will announce their completions.

An article appeared in The Globe and Mail newspaper in the Real Estate Section on October 1, 2010 by the Architourist  Dave Leblanc.
It is entitled :
" Signposts of a New Toronto Cool "

Just Google this title if you wish to read the article.

Thank you.

East York Mandala Now Complete After In-Depth Study of the Area !!!!! : ))))) Now creating Mt. Dennis/Lambton/Scarlett Road AND New Toronto !

I have spent the last few month doing a study of East York and have gathered enough information which I have included on my East York Mandala.  I am delighted to say that it is ready with a very sweet centre.  Can you guess what it might be ?  It has been a hidden treasure in east York for 43 years. 
And one of our Prime Ministers went to a schoolhouse there in his first 3 years of school.
So many little bits of info will have you reading and turning it around and around and around.

Completed May 16, 2013 !!!! North Toronto/Lawrence Park/Lytton Park/Teddington Park/Bedford Park Mandala Is Now Underway

I have been exploring these areas with a fine tooth comb and my sketch book.
There is so much to discover here, as there is all over our great City of Toronto.
Each neighbourhood is overflowing with memories of the past.  Take a journey
with me as I roam, stroll, breath in and "flaneurize " these miles throughout the area from Eg 'N Ave to Eg 'N Bay and Yonge 'N Eligible  to Yonge 'N York Mills.
A long spread, indeed !
So, I am sure that you can imagine how our forefathers toiled to settle the land.

I will mention many of them as I lay the foundation of this mandala.
Please stand by for its completion on March 15, 2013 when it will be ready for your curious eyes and hopefully intrigue you, my dear Toronto Neighbourhood Dwellers.

The Kingsway/Baby Point/Swansea/Lambton Mills/Humber Valley/Stonegate ( Sunnylea) Now Completed !!!!!!

I officially completed the The Kingsway/Baby Point/Swansea/Lambton Mills/Humber Valley/ Stonegate (Sunnylea) Mandala on November 16, 2012.
It encompasses quite a large area and I tried my best to incorporate most of the important buildings and other icons. I have written in many historical notes, ie., Hurricane Hazel ( 1954 ), Fort Toronto, the original
Baby Point aboriginal settlement, the mills up and down the Humber , to mention only a few.
The mandala is chock full of the rich past and present of that area.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I used to go on hikes with my Girl Guide group # 151 and we sang as we walked along during the more rustic days of the Humber , before Hurricane Hazel changed the whole look of its banks and eventually led to the forming of The Metropolitan Toronto Region Conservation Authority.
Those were the days, my friend.
But it' s never too late ! Now at the end of the Baby Point Peninsula is a long staircase leading down to a trail along the Humber, I hope you are able to take a walk along it some day soon and enjoy the beautiful nature of that area of Toronto.

I will be adding more about this mandala next week.

So moving forward, I will be working on The West Lakeshore mandala which will include Humber Bay, Mimico, New Toronto, Long Branch, and Port Credit.  My goal is to have it completed by December 20, 2012.
( I haven't forgotten Fort York....hopefully done by end of February, 2013 )

By the way, I have also completed a New York City mandala, which took me 120 hours to complete.
It is bursting with the adrenalin and hugeness of that great city !!!!
Besides Toronto mandalas, I have so many requests for other areas of the country and the world...Kleinberg definitely for the 2013 Binder Twine Festival next September !!!!

I am now also beginning a Montreal mandala.

If you wish to contact me about any of these mandalas, my email is :

torontomandalas@gmail.com

Fort York/War of 1812 Mandala Delayed

I haven' t completed this mandala yet and now have set a new goal and hope to have it done by October 1st.

I am still also working on the Baby Point/Kingsway/Swansea/Humber Valley mandala.

However, after 200 hours work, I am very happy to announce that 2 weeks ago, I completed a New York City mandala for a special request. 

Fort York/War of 1812 In My Mandalas

Fort York and The War of 1812 has been illustrated in 3 of my mandalas :

King Street West

Downtown Toronto

Olde, Olde Toronto New

On September 1, 2012 I will release my Fort York Mandala .


  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article1734637/email/

The Baby Point/Kingsway/Humber Valley Mandala Is Taking Form !!!

This mandala is jam-packed with rich details of its aboriginal past.
I am trying my best to carefully examine the strata as far back as has been recorded.
I am being careful not to omit significant information in that area which has changed the course of history for Toronto.
What was happening there during the War of 1812 ?
That relationship will be illustrated via my mandala.
Little did I know as a child , when I was a Girl Guide, that as I walked along the Humber riverside looking at nature, I was walking over thousands and thousands of years of footsteps.
What a deep, magic carpet lays below us in Toronto !

For further info :
torontomandalas@gmail.com

Dave LeBlanc , The Globe and Mail's Architourist, wrote about my mandalas in this article :

 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article1734637/email/