Election Fever? ... This Too Shall Pass ...

Original on Youtube -  here.

... nearly 26 million views ... 

hee

That was one heck of a GREAT weekend ...

Cold yes, with snow underfoot, but BRIGHT, with lots of spring warmth in that sun ...

Perigee 'Supermoon' over Burlington Bay, March 20th, 2011 & Vernal Equinox CELEBRATION -TOMORROW at SUNRISE

I have just learned that SUNRISE GALLERY will be
co-hosting an aboriginal Spring DRUM Celebration
at the beach. All drummers are welcome.

Be there before sunrise,
(around 6:30am), Monday, March 21st
(With this moon, it's going to be spectacular!)

For directions, locations, actual beach site -
get to the gallery first, walk around to the back,
walk the boardwalk down to the beach -


All welcome.

Drum UP in the Sun ... :)

...." The 8th Annual 8000 Sacred Drum Event,

which is  the spring equinox sunrise ceremony,

will be performed by

the local native Indian community,

tomorrow morning

starting before sunrise at 6:30 am,

here at Sunrise Gallery on the beach

for about an hour or so ..."

Early Spring: Lake Ice & Westfield Pioneer Village 2011

 

Two 'Must Attend' Events in the Hammer, February 2011

 From mlh's 'Bruce Trail' photo collage series

 

Friday night, Feb25th, 7pm

The Bay Area Restoration Council 

4th Annual 'Wine Tasting & Silent Auction'. 

 @ The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club

Enjoy an appetizing array of nibbles
and bid on their extensive auction items. 

Tickets $40.  

ALL Proceeds support Bay Area Restoration Council

and its work to restore & protect Hamilton Harbour 

(Note: Tickets CAN be purchased at the door )

More info here - www.hamiltonharbour.ca

And, Opening on
Sunday, February 27th, 2-5pm
 The Women's Art Association
of Hamilton - (WAAH)
115th Annual Juried Show 

Art Gallery of Hamilton, Fischer Gallery

123 King Street West, Hamilton, Ontario.
FREE ADMISSION
(Runs until May 15th, 2011)

Established in 1894 and formerly a branch of the Women's Art Association of Canada, the WAAH is one of the oldest cultural groups in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. The WAAH provides a venue for women artists and art-supporters to share their appreciation of visual arts and to further support the arts within Hamilton. This includes fundraising for scholarships, prizes, hosting lectures, and exhibits. More info here - www.womensartassociationofhamilton.com

 

'The Clearing' - oil on board, 2010 - by mlh

On display at AGH, until May 15th, 2011

'CANADADA: A Painter's Nature' . . . . . . . . . LAUNCH - Feb 17th, I pm - Fischer Gallery - Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

'CANADADA: A Painter's Nature' will be available for view & purchase after my Talk/Slide presentation at the Art Gallery of Hamilton on February 17th, 2011. There are ONLY 25 Numbered Copies in this COLLECTOR'S FIRST EDITION - 70 pages of 160 full colour illustrations of just my oil paintings. Hard cover, trim size: 9x11 inches.

Price: $130 

First Come - First Served.

(STax, S&H Extra)

"MLH is a wholly original 'canajun' artist who relentlessly toils for 
her beloved 'Canadada'. Painter of signature 'naive-surreal-folk-abstracts', her 
very personalized vision is often touchingly bitter-sweet. ... 
Maud Lewis Meets Doris McCarthy. These works make you think ...
A novel interpreter of long-standing Canadian themes & memes, 
this mid-career artist, born & raised in Southern Ontario, 
is a good one to add to any evolving global collection 
of contemporary fine art. Affordable now." 

A.J. Whyte, Art Critic & Collector

To RESERVE yours TODAY, please contact  'here'. 

Remember, there are ONLY 25 copies  

in this COLLECTOR'S FIRST EDITION.
Numbered & Signed by MLH: 1-25. That's it!

(NB: As of  June 2016, there are 7 copies left ... ) 
 ISBN/CISS: 978-0-9691362-7-9 


RECENT BOOK PRODUCTIONS - HERE

Art Gallery of Hamilton Talk & Slide Tour with mlh - February 17th, 2011

I have been invited to 'speak' about 'my life as an artist' after the Women's Art Association of Hamilton's meeting at the Art Gallery of Hamilton on Thursday, February 17th, 2011. 1 pm, for one hour. Free.

It is my intent to do a quick 'overview' of my 35 years of production with periodic digressions ...

Beginning with my typeface design, 'Lindsay', sold to Letraset England in 1980, I'll then move into the two decades of Canadian fine furniture design & construction, followed by an overview of my painterly evolution from the age of fourteen, and my later involvement with pinhole photography and most recently, photo-collage work and fractal design. Interspersed throughout will be side-bars to my published efforts, including the two books of poetry, 'Bush Chord' and 'On Top of Mount Nemo', and the novels, 'Economic Sex' and 'The Gilded Beaver by Anonymous'. (Possibly digression might include the experimental documentary, 'In the Eye of the Hunter'.) I also hope to 'launch' my latest book, 'CANADADA: A Painter's Nature' at that time.

It should be fun. As I am 'self-taught', I go at it all a bit differently then most. I will try to keep you entertained!

Location: Jean & Ross Fischer Gallery on the Main floor. Free. Hope to see you there!

Art Gallery of Hamilton
123 King Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

New Year - 2011

After an unfortunate 'start' to the New Year with a complete collapse of my phone/internet service, I'm now back, ready to go! I intend to start with some simple photos this year of a phenom that interests me: tracks. Footprints. In the snow. I like where this takes my mind in the consideration of OTHER species 'out there'. These marks are like minature signatures in and of Time. The imprint of activity that has long gone resonates with the 'background' notion that these critters are 'out there' still, and more importantly, that they are there at all times of the year. It is only during the hush of winter that many of our otherwise silent 'wild nieghbours' become visible ...

Whether it be rabbit, coyote, squirrel, field mice, deer, and/or predatory hawks (and many more unidentified prints, large & small) - all pass through this landscape on a regular basis. (I've even SEEN an elusive FOX near here...) Needless to say, it's lots of fun to track and explore in the bush ...

Time to go a wanderin' with camera. Will return with more WINTERSCAPES later ... :)

Annual Family Xmas Party - FUN, FUN, FUN!

As always, a krazy cast of characters (!!!), caricatures by the deft Pete Emslie, music by Burlington's own Michael Keys, with unique location this year at Burlington Golf & Country Club . Black tie (as per long-standing family tradition.) Dames danced, gents cajoled, shrimp wiggled, turkey clucked! From 16 to 94, GOOD TIME had by all. Dem bay lights were a'sparklin'!

Season's Greetings & Tribunal Decision

Dear friends, associates & other interested parties ...
to read my seasonal e-newsletter &
find out what has HAPPENED - link 'here'.

Fractal Star Dust

... and now for something completely different ... yup, I've been messing with fractals again, feeling the seasonal mood coming on ...

New City Park 'walk-about', Nov.14, 2010

Back tracking our walk, we did a 'circle' around the upper parkland area. The last shot shows an old tractor tire propped up against a tree, with the land graded for the artificial turf playing fields in the background ...


It was encouraging to see this bird nest in one of the NEWly planted trees along the brow's edge ...

View from the brow back out over Burlington & the lake. Yes, a bit 'gray', but it IS November and still, a great VIEW.

Tree plantings along the brow edge. Our gut feeling is that at least half these 'newlings' won't make their first winter. None are 'deer/rabbit wrapped', and though tethered, some have already been 'uprooted' by strong winds.


Moss covered OLD escarpment rock off the Bruce Trail. This 'untouched' area is the BEST part of the park at present. It affirms that this LAND has been here for a long, long, LONG time.

EdeG strolling on the Bruce Trail, along the brow edge ... near the 'catalpa' tree ...


We explored this karst/sink hole and were kind of surprised to see that for all the 'designing' going on around the upper parkland area, old farm debris, like a rusty decaying metal feed drum and ancient tires, are still embedded in this natural creviss. Why haven't they been taken out? What purpose does it serve to LEAVE this debris in here? We don't know.


Lots of gates/fences around the new plantings. Why? It effectively interrupts the 'open' feeling that this location once naturally gave ...

... more fences ...

The above shot gives a sense of the 'old' brow forest and the newly planted saplings - strategically placed.
The next three images indicate HOW the water will run off from the fake lake into the ESA - (ecologically sensitive area). Above is the 'unfiltered/uncontoured' drain-off that sort of 'drifts' off towards the woods ... It's all a bit hap-hazard at the moment. It doesn't anticipate HOW the run-off from the synthetic artificial turf will IMPACT this ground water and/or land ...

The above shot shows the rock screening where the pipe leads out from the fake lake ...

The fake lake at New City Park. Wild canadian geese seem to like it ... so that's sort of good ... The current plan is that this water will be used to 'service' the artificial turf. All the water will drain directly back into the lake after it is used to 'wash off' the sanitizing chemicals, and 'cool' the heat islands of latex/rubber in the summer when they reach in excess of 120F.

Overall, it's an eco-disgrace, and that's why your VOTE is still needed. Federal & PanAm monies have 'hi-jacked' this PUBLIC park and will soon turn it into an 'exclusive use' tournament level soccer sport STADIUM facility. The money and this 'out of town' AMBITION is turning it into something it should NEVER be. Unless we do SPEAK OUT, we'll lose this Niagara Escarpment 'jewel' for good.

We want New City Park to be GREEN, from stem to stern, not fenced-in plastic turf with a half million dollar flood-lit stadium illuminating the landscape for miles around.

Give us back our park! Vote via this link -

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/Vote-NO-to-the-Pan-Am-Games-in-New-City-Park/

Last Stand ! New City Park-Tribunal Decision

Just completed this oil painting, 'Last Stand!'. It kind of encapsultes my recent thoughts about the recent 'developments' at New City Park, in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Wildlife is on the 'edge', literally & figuratively; it's 'stuck', habitat & food resources ever-diminishing.

As of today, we are still waiting on the 'decision' from the Tribunal to determine the fate and future of this park. Will it be just another 'major sports facility' with FIELDS of plastic grass and a domineering metal-rod flood-lit SOCCER STADIUM? an end-point 'sports toursim destination' as has been latterly proposed by the PanAm Org in conjunction with the City Staff/Council? OR, will it REMAIN as it was ORIGINALLY planned as an 'eco-friendly & sustainable' mixed-use 'recreational' NATURAL parkland area for ALL living things? The verdict is still out ... we wait.

In the interim, please join me for my final 'formal' Friends of City Park 'Meetup' on Sunday, November 14th, NOON, at New City Park. Meet at the front entrance of the Park on Kerns Road (at Dundas Street). Rain or Shine. Please be sure to wear warm clothes & good walking shoes/boots. All welcome.
This 'walk-about' should take about an hour. We'll likely have the Tribunal 'decision' by then, so, depending on that outcome, future 'strategic' plans will be considered/discussed. Your ideas, and continued help, are much appreciated.
Please join me to go 'a-wanderin' before the snow flies -
Hope to see you soon - Lindsay
p.s. New City Park doesn't have a 'website' or 'location' yet. Use Google MAPS, search for 'Burlington, Ontario L7P 4V9'.

Ooga Booga! - Hallowe'eeeeeen 2010

Have FUN!

Too Cute not to SHARE ...

I've just been sent these pics of a baby porcupine ... they are too cute not to share. I don't know who the original photographer is, or where the location is, but LOOK at that little critter and marvel for a moment at Nature's mighty mysteries ... :)

Thanksgiving 2010 - Roots are Essential

For those of you who follow this blog, you'll know that this summer has been a very interesting and demanding one. Not only did I have my second public gallery exhibition, ['Memory's Shadow: Pinhole & Photo Collage Photography' by yours truly, well received and reviewed btw], I also undertook a personal crusade effective of mid-July to save a new park on the Niagara Escarpment from ruin. The mis-guided introduction of three fields of artificial turf aka 'plastic grass' into what is otherwise one of the few remaining wildlife corridors in Southern Ontario is an eco-disgrace.

In many ways, it seems to me, the last minute 'development' of this parkland area since December 2009 to satisfy 'out of town' sporting interests (the PanAm Games) re-enacts a well worn 'attitude' that the dominant & domineering human culture has about 'the planet' - in general. Locally, it can be seen in the 'colonializing' intent to reshape a natural environment to fulfill the over-weening AMBITION of bureaucratic planners, designers and landscape 'architects' to IMPROVE what Nature has done well and quietly for centuries.

After publicly protesting this venture through a petition (yes, you can still vote on my previous post), and then standing up at an Environmental Hearing last week to be HEARD, we are now waiting for the Tribunal to decide this park's fate.

In many ways, it doesn't look good. Millions of dollars have been 'earmarked' for this park's development. We all know that money speaks louder then words. Even so, if anyone of 'import' IS listening, hopefully they will come to understand that what is currently being destroyed is an IRREPLACEABLE CONNECTION to THIS wholly unique land for all of US, here, in Southern Ontario.

This leads me to the topic of this post - ROOTS. They connect us to each other by blood. And they ultimately and intimately connect us to the planet in our need for water, air and land. Without them, we flounder, fail and lose our bearings. Roots are essential for personal well-being and growth.

New City Park offers us, and generations to come, a chance to re-connect to the land and our vital living roots in ways that plastic grass never can. Without REAL roots, we are lost.

Roots assist us to define, refine and become who we singularly are. We all have them. We all need them. I am 'canajun' from HERE, Southern Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment, born & bred. To destory that, to smother it with toxic non-biodegradable crude, is an insult to all living things who thrive and survive at this point on the globe. Imported 'carpets' of synthetic grass are anathema to the spirit of this place. By using this product to cover the Living Earth, we are admitting our dominating dis-respect, dis-connect and dis-regard for ALL that sustains us daily.

Giving thanks during the harvest months is the antithesis of this superior 'attitude'. Giving thanks recognizes that we ARE a part OF Nature, not apart from it. Giving thanks expresses our gratitude for ALL living things that make OUR roots to this place deep and vibrant.

One such person who embodies this 'thankfulness' is Annie B. Her family lived and farmed what will become New City Park for nearly a century. Annie grew up on this escarpment land.

When Annie learned of the proposed 'changes' to the Park, she flew in from British Colombia earlier this summer to visit, one last time, what the land had always given her. her planetary ROOTS. The following photo of her shows a little hobbit-like creature meandering through the woods ... It may mean nothing to you, but to me, this shot embodies the solace and harmony that this landscape can bring. Annie is HOME here. And for that, she is most thankful.


Further to these thoughts, I've added a few images of the paintings & general 'messing about' I've been doing at my lakeside studio this summer ... And yes, I am most blessed. I too give thanks.

May you all have a warm and fulfilling Thanksgiving with your family, friends and loved ones. Thanks be too to the natural world that has - through its Life-Giviing Bounty - given us the bedrock- and benefits - so that we may all have a FULL life ....

New City Park - MLH Presentation to the Hearing

Here is the link to my presentation before the Environmental Review Tribunal, scheduled for October 5th, 2010, at Burlington City Hall, in Ontario, Canada. In it, I argue the reasons WHY 'synthetic grass' aka 'artificial turf' aka 'plastic grass' does not BELONG in New City Park, a 'new' park protected by the Niagara Escarpment Plan, and thus, now a part too of the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

It's a long dissertation, so, you might want to get a cuppa before you settle in ... link - here.

(For those who follow my 'other life', kindly note, that after this is over, I will be posting new summer work, so please come 'visit' again soon ... thanks. mlh)

Grass Roots Petition now on global CARE2 Petition Site

VOTE NOW - NO to the Pan Am Games in New City Park

A Grass Roots PETITION - Vote NO to the Pan Am Games in Burlington City Park!

... a vital and alive natural landscape ...

A Grass Roots PETITION has just begun -
Vote NO to the Pan Am Games in Burlington City Park

We have so little time to get this message 'up' and 'out' - venues are being finalized, monies are being spent - yet, we MUST TRY to be HEARD before it really is TOO LATE. Please -
Vote NO to the Pan Am Games in Burlington City Park

The 'new' Burlington City Park, the largest park in Burlington, is currently 'under construction' at Kerns Road and Dundas Street.. The Bruce Trail runs along its brow edge and Kerncliff Park is already there, in its south-western 'corner'. Located primarily on TOP of the Niagara Escarpment, it is home & haven to a wide variety of species - including wandering & wondering nature-loving humans ...

Most of this rural park land, though in the political boundary of Ward 1, butts up against Ward 3 and Ward 15 on top of the Niagara escarpment. This petition has been created to draw attention to the FACT that most Burlingtonians - let alone citizens all over the Golden Horseshoe region - have had little to no say about the impact this Pan Am 'venture' will have on THEIR park. It's not simply the park that's underway, it's the sneaky way the City has 'slipped' in the Pan Am Games ONTO the development of this PUBLIC land space.

After the rejection of Sherwood Forest Park in the urban core as the 'soccer' venue for the Games, by local residents, City Staff put forward the "remote" new 'City Park' to Burlington City Council.. Before the City could get the Pan Am 'bid' they had to convince and get the Niagara Escarpment Commission's 'approval'. This entire escarpment zone is locally known as unique, in many ways it remains 'untouched' and, as such, falls under the NEC mandate to preserve and protect it from inappropriate development.

When the City originally proposed the idea to the NEC in February of 2010, the NEC turned them down. The City's 'plan' encompassed 10,000 spectators, with seating for 8,500 plus all the necessary food, security, garbage, restroom and media/power facilties to accommodate such a large soccer-minded crowd. The NEC was rightly concerned that the size and scope of this kind of event would upset the natural equilibrium of the park. So, the City went away, and sharpened their pencils. On June 17th, they came back with 'revised' numbers for the NEC: Suddenly projected attendance had dropped from 10,000 to 5000 that only necessitated 'temporary' seating for 3500 with NO on-site parking for spectators. The crowds would be shuttled in by a 'temporary' transit system. They also said that when the Games were done, the whole 'event' would be dismantled and cleaned up. The NEC gave them the go-ahead.

HOWEVER, things just aren't adding up, and this should be of GREAT CONCERN to all those interested in maintaining ANY wonderful natural park on or near the magnificient Niagara Escarpment. During the City's June presentation to the NEC, City officials maintained that there had been numerous public consultations - including an 'Open House' in Ward 1, specifically about the Games, and that the "vast majority" there of "over 30 people" had voted in favour of the Pan Am Games. 30 people does not a 'majority' make! Meetings have been held about the PARK, not the Pan Am Games IN the park, and that's where something is starting to stink ...

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the City does not want another 'citizen rejection' of their big-ticket Pan Am scheme. The City has seemingly used the 'cloak' of public consultations about the PARK, not the GAMES, to inflate their 'public approval' numbers to the NEC, the media and the organizers of the Games. If people really HAD been properly informed and consulted about the IMPACT these games would have altogether, it is very unlikely that they would want them any more then did sensible residents of Sherwood Forest Park.

All Wards butting onto the park - Ward 1, Ward 3 and Ward 15 of Hamilton - should be better informed about this 'Over the Top' SPORTS SHOW that will be running for the summer of 2015.

City Park, as originally conceived, is, yes, IN PART, a recreational sports park, but increasingly it is being 'modified' and 'reshaped' to accomodate the mega-million dollar 'branding' ambitions of the Pan Am Games. This is NOT - when understood in full scope - what people ' pro the park' had bargained for.

In short, 'we' were not adequately informed or consulted, and 'we' are now being 'railroaded' into 'accepting' it, like it or not. Well, I, for one, am NOT accepting it. The need to accomodate so many - 5,000 or 10,000 or even 15,000 - will move the park so far away - conceptually - from what it SHOULD be, and what it was originally SOLD to us as, that it does now warrant this GRASS ROOTS 'citizen's protest'.

Please join with me andVote NO to the Pan Am Games in Burlington City Park

The new Burlington City Park is INAPPROPRIATE for the Pan Am Games.

Sign the PETITION -
Vote NO to the Pan Am Games in Burlington City Park

Thank you.
Margaret Lindsay Holton
A FRIEND of City Park
Golden Horseshoe Artist & Author

.. now a barren, scoured 'lot' ready for 'artificial grass' ...

Press Links:

http://thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/815278
Activist Artist wants Pan Am soocer stadium Venue Changed

http://www.insidehalton.com/news/article/853369--petition-aims-to-take-pan-am-games-out-of-new-city-park

http://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/letters/article/857531--put-pan-am-soccer-at-bayview-park-resident

Note: We held off the assault for ten months, but as of April 7th, 2011, we've 'lost'. The Ministry of Natural Resources has given City the 'go ahead', albeit with certain conditions. It's over. Plastic Grass is going into this park forever. For more info, and Spring Newsletter, link here -

The Hamilton Spectator Review of MEMORY'S SHADOW: The Exhibit

Jef Mahoney, Art Critic at The Hamilton Spectator newspaper, had this to say about my current pinhole & photo-collage photography show in the Perry Gallery at the Burlington Art Centre ... (He TOTALLY 'gets it'!)

http://canadadaphotography.blogspot.ca/p/press.html 

For directions to the BAC, link 'here'

To purchase THE BOOK, go the tab at the top of this blog, under 'MLH BOOKS' , or contact me directly at lyn holton @ gmail dot com . There are ONLY 50 in the 'Collector's First Edition'. When they are gone, that's it. Nada mas.