in toronto

as in any city

weird things can stop you up short

so on saturday morning i saw this

this was quite a surprise

why would anyone take off these "shoes"?
leave them on the edge
of walk and ride?

nearby

a black squirrel was

having a ridiculously delightful time

doing flips

questioning MY motives

and then:

there's the japanese paper place.
sigh!
77 brock
were the workshop was held.

(tim's exemplar)

working with master alchemist,

binder,

wonderer,

maker,

timothy ely.

i love these marks,

loved how he taught,

his use of language and respect for story,

felt challenged and heard.

the class was filled with very

very talented artists…

i learned more about a passel of concepts

which seem to be

knocking at my brain:

"pay attention, knock knock"!

so then the ride home was

an adventure

i just love union station

as messed up as it is

(just try to find your way

after a blue jay's game and a

city wide parade)

home, in my kitchen i found this

rock books

a drain strainer

empty jars

ink

so my sketchbook

taken out and examined
a few days later
after i'd gotten over the mistakes,
i had to forgive myself for those,

there are many.
but this little inlay is
a bit of paper decorated by tim
(it has sparkles in it)

and i played with paste and color

still unfinished, but i will slice the last
of the pages apart, paste up the corners,
endsheets,
and start using this thing.
the book WORKS so well,
it's a mechanical device for memory.
it opens flat and deliciously.
there are spare
marks and bits for me to
connect the day's notes drawings ideas paste-ins.
thank you tim.
amazing diving board for me.
and i like to swim.