I was very uncertain about the direction of travel for my assignment, which resulted in me making two attempts: One rather abstract one, and one very much in the other direction. Below are my attempts

Table of Contents

• Reflection
• Final Pieces
  • Cumberland Terrace
  • Kitchen View

Reflection

I reviewed my work to date in this unit and looking ahead to Assessment. I’m a little worried about what I’ll submit, and whether I’ll be happy with those submissions or if they will simply be ‘good enough’. Good enough isn’t, in general.

I need to remind myself to not let Perfect be the enemy of the Good. A mantra I use all the time in my day job to chase people away from boiling the ocean in search of some goal they set for themselves that is disconnected from actual need.

I want to finish covid mirror. I want to finish the portrait study of Christian. Maybe those will help me feel more confident here. Time keeps on ticking.

Cumberland Terrace

Toronto is a city of tunnels. The “Path Network” extends throughout the downtown core, connecting various office towers and food courts. The north section of the path is where some of Canada’s most expensive/luxury shopping resides. And also, Cumberland Terrace sits in the center of that. The building itself is slated for demolition and redevelopment, but the tunnels underneath are a vital corridor to the subway system. The food court, at the entrance to the subway, has stayed open years longer than any of the businesses above it — the building above is deserted, the stairwells and elevators blocked.

Hardly a vision of domesticity, and yet like many cities Toronto has a large unhoused population. Walk through the fading halls of Cumberland Terrace and you will see individuals seeking shelter here. sleeping. gathering all their worldly goods. This is their domesticity.

There is a haunting, faded quality to this space. Grey-blue ceiling, fading industrial greenish furniture. I took many reference photos. As I contemplated my composition, I realized that every photo had some reference to the individuals making their home here — I didn’t want to capture any people in my references, but I failed time and time again.

Via monoprint techniques, thick paint layering, and glazing, this tondo came to be. I tried to capture the grey of this space; the way the designers tried to suggest sky in the ceiling; and the odd colour choices, faded now but maybe tropical at some point. I let myself respond in just shape like I was painting a quilt, making a blanket out of paint and tissue for someone who might need it.

Successful? Maybe not, but an experience in and of itself.

Process

Kitchen View

A view out a fictionalized version of my kitchen window. Leveraging the planning techniques I’m learning in my mentorship, I moved objects around and changed the placement of my window. I avoided my need to pull out a ruler and make sure every line was straight, and just let brushwork and plan get wobbly.

It is a bit dreamlike. A view out of dreamland into a vision of my kitchen, perhaps. In that dreamland, my garden has grown riotous in layers of yellow and green glaze, coming forward through the window.

Process