I had been getting back in swing of regular posts last week until work came back and kicked me in the ass. I did have a few half written posts that I didn’t have the time or energy to get completed last week, so they are coming now.
On Thursday night, last week, I had a few friends opening some small photography shows for Contact, the Toronto Photography Festival. Both were in different venues, but only a few blocks apart and both within a twenty minute walk of my apartment. So, the plan was to grab some dinner with a friend and then hit both locations for some schmoozing with artist and friends.
Started the evening at a nice dinner at a little italian place in the area, Vesuvio’s Pizzeria & Spaghetti House, that my co-worker recommended. I had the linguini with clams & mussels and they were the best mussels I’ve had in quite a long time. In fact, the whole meal was pretty darn good. Not gourmet fare by any stretch, but a good, reasonably priced meal with great service. If it weren’t for the rain that prevented us from walking over from my apartment, it would have been great start to the evening.
Next stop was my co-workers art show. She had some great black and white photos. I particularly liked a couple of the stone architecture shots. But probably best were the glass studies that looked black and white, but actually proved to have a hint of color on closer examination. It was a great effect. But almost as good as the shots themselves was the amazing job Jen did printing and framing the pieces. She explained the process to me, but I can’t remember enough to describe it here. Suffice to say, it looked great. I was sorely tempted by a couple of the pictures, but right now my apartment has a particular decor, which might generally be described as “pop art” or more accurately as a few posters and some odds & ends, so I think I may wait until my eventual move before I start buying any art.
After that, we walked down the street to see the show put on by another friend, who happens to be the partner of another co-worker. Mary Ann actually reads my blog occasionally, when she can wade through all the poker talk. On top of some excellent pictures, she also had a few pet portraits that she has done, which you can probably see samples of if you visit her blog. Again I was tempted by a few of the pieces, but my earlier decision held up.
Another matter was altogether all the great furniture they had there. She was showing in a very large furniture store and they had some great stuff. Just down the road from me for the past couple years and I didn’t even know it was there. Probably for the best. And probably for the best if I can avoid visiting again, but I don’t think that’s terribly likely.
And as an example of the continued popularity of poker – yeah, you thought I was going to make a whole post without mentioning it – Mary Ann introduced me to one of the other guys showing at her venue, who had a great series of shots of B&W shots of Manhattan taken a few years ago. He actually has become a huge fan of the WPT, now that it’s being broadcast in Canada, and has been playing as much poker as he can manage. Mary Ann and Kirk had also mentioned the home poker game that I host to him and he seemed interested in finding a game. My blog was also brought up in conversation, but mostly with reference to the impenetrable poker lingo (sorry!). I told him he should come out some time, so I may see him again one of these weeks.
All in all, it was a great night. I’ve never really been to an art opening before, let alone one where I knew the artists. It proved to be a lot of fun to pretend to be cultured for a little while. Well, almost cultured.