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From Luxury to Necessity: A Weekend Recap

This weekend, I have felt things keenly.

Yesterday, it was a visit to Bluebird, and a conversation with a woman who has recently made her artistic endeavours her livelihood. We had a great chat about life and art. I wanted to buy out the store.

In the evening, I felt exhaustion come over me like a wave. Emotional, mental exhaustion. So I caught up on The Mentalist (and nearly cried, but that is a whole other topic) and went to bed.

This morning, I read a blog entry from the mother of a family I have never met, but am fascinated by (and slightly in awe of). She is asking many of the same questions that have been rattling around in my mind lately, despite our geographical, generational, and general differences.

I don't usually get teary-eyed at church. Today, I teared up no less than three times. Once was a photo and a song. Once was a story about death. And once was the beauty of rescue and redemption.

During an afternoon wander through The Distillery District galleries, I struck up a conversation with an employee about light and colour and serenity in a series of portraits. It was beautiful to talk about it all, even if I am untrained in the visual arts.

Just around the corner, I looked into an Art Market booth and recognized a print I'd nearly bought at Bluebird. A brief conversation with the artist made me decide to purchase work from her in the near future.

I craved time and space to create today. It didn't happen, which left me a little sad. But I know that it will happen. The more I expose myself to art, the more deeply it moves me and the more convinced I am that it is not a luxury, but a necessity in my life.

Two other necessities in my life that I used to consider luxuries:
1. "downtime/space/alone time" - whatever you want to call it. I need an afternoon or an evening free from tasks and free from company every week.
2. massage therapy. It has changed my life...literally. I need to find someone here in Toronto who will keep my body in better shape than I can.


These three artists are among those on display in the Distillery.
Go and look and be moved.
(Take me along, if you'd like.)
Nava Waxman
Tadeusz Biernot
and Marie-Josee Roy

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