December 10

i have been reflecting about December 6th this week. as i always do. the montreal massacre had a profound effect on me – partly because of the sheer overwhelming enormity of the violence.....but more because the violence enacted against those women paralleled the violence i had seen and was seeing against many different women in my life.

and that violence hasn’t stopped.

because this is a very public post, i am not going to go into any specifics but, even today, right now, there are women in my life who do not feel safe, who are not safe from the violence of men – even when they have done everything they can do and they have used all the ‘systems’ that society has in place to support them.

i know there aren’t any easy answers or easy solutions to end men’s violence against women. but i do know that seeing all women as victims and all men as abusers isn’t a solution. and i do know that there is a lot more we can do before we give up and abandon the dream of a world where women, girls and children can live without violence and fear.

as i was reflecting, as i always do on December 6th, i decided to make this week’s Artifact a reflection on the montreal massacre and the last 20 years of violence against the women in my life. it is a small thing. but it’s something.

http://www.thepreservationofshadowsandlight.com/

december 6th

i spent a few hours today in High Park again taking photos. i got some great shots, but i think the best moment was when i saw two big dogs chasing a squirrel.....then i realized they weren't dogs....they were foxes. big foxes. i a got a few shots, but none of them stunning.

it's December 6th today and i always reflect on the Montreal Massacre (usually i do something more active, but because it is on a Sunday this year, i just did things alone). i ended up writing a poem to use with a photo a took today in High Park to make this week's Artifact. all of the English parts of the poem are actual things i have actually done with women in my life. i wish those things were fiction. but they aren't.

the Artifact is here: http://www.thepreservationofshadowsandlight.com/

November 13 2009

ok, so i have been pretty delinquent with this whole ‘Curator’s Notes’ and blogging thing. my main problem is that i have these ideas of what to write, but then i feel like i need time to write it....right. then i wait until i have time....and i never really have time. so i am going to try a new tactic. i am going to try and post daily (or a reasonable facsimile) but i am going to limit myself to 60 words or less. here is today’s:

an interview with me is posted here, on the Toronto Etsy Street Team Blog page:
http://torontoetsystreetteam.blogspot.com/2009/11/test-interview-anotherangle.html

some cool coasters with another Etsyian are available:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34439080
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34438608
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34437840

and i am currently working on a massive Autumn Album of photos.

quickie

ok, so ever since i set this blog up....i stopped blogging!
this might be deeply symbolic of my personality.

anyways, things have been great. i have been taking photos every weekend and i will have an autumn album up soon. i will also have a large photo in the Line Art Auction at the AGO on Nov 29th.

m.

september 27

September 27

i can’t believe it’s almost October. but it’s been a good month, all in all. i should probably have taken more pictures, but that’s ok. i was plenty busy with my virtual presence and design stuff. so....this is what i have been up to the last few days

Toronto Etsy Street Team
as i wrote before, i was disappointed with the lack of an Etsy community in Toronto compared to other cities. maybe that’s because the Toronto art&craft community is so vast, quite connected and dynamic already, while in other places people feel more isolated and in need of developing online networks. either way, Etsy does seem like a good place for people who might be interested in my stuff to find me. it’s definitely generated more interest in my work from strangers than any other source (including my show). anyways, i have been organizing/coordinating a Toronto team. and anyone who does any craft, art or DIY goodness in Toronto is more than welcome to join. here are a few things you might want to check out:

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-Etsy-Team/142378951231?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TorontoEtsyST
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1245648@N23/

and if you want to join, send me a message on Etsy (i am anotherangle)

MySpace
i revamped my MySpace page. again, i am really only using it to connect with other artists (mostly musicians) that i admire or adore. but it does seem to be a good place to get a little attention. i measured, edited and planned and my final result looks pretty good; it ends up showcasing my Artifacts, which is kinda nice (there is one artifact here not yet posted, if you want a sneak peek). you can see what i’ve done here:
http://www.myspace.com/shadowsndlight

Artifacts
the style/design of the artifacts has been changing. i mostly love the last two. you can check them out HERE and HERE.

other stuff
i saw Diamond Rings on thursday night. wow. he embodied the term ‘Next Big Thing’. there is only one song on his MySpace page and it’s not even my favourite. the page is HERE. keep an eye out for him.

i also ran across this video with Final Fantasy / Owen Pallet that i had never seen. it gave me chills and maybe, just maybe brought a tear to my eye. see it HERE.

next weekend is Nuit Blanche. love it. gonna be lots of photo opportunities for sure.

september 21

September 21

the queen street west Art Crawl was both inspiring and disheartening.
it was inspiring to see all the stunning, exciting and dynamic work that is out there. i kinda loved the vibe and my senses were totally and truly overwhelmed by the sheer quality and quantity of work. and there was lots of stuff i probably would have never seen if i hadn’t gone there.
but it was also disheartening for a couple of reasons. the first was that i saw what ‘real’ photographers are doing with their work and some of it made me speechless. i knew/know i have a long way to go, but seeing their work made me realized more concretely the calibre and skill that is out there. but i am not taking photos to compete, i am taking them for pleasure and craft. it’s just that, as a Capricorn, it’s hard when i am not the best at something. i often tend to give up, but with photography i am trying to do something because it matters to me, not because i will achieve some status as predetermined by an external system that is out of my control. but still, their work left me amazed and more than a little bit jealous.
the second reason it was disheartening was that it seemed pretty clear that, like, pretty much no one can make a living being an artist. sales seemed few and far between for most people. and most of the prices were quite high, and rightfully so, but waaaaaay out of the income bracket of most people i know. it just reinforced the gap between talent/vision and who actually gets to make a real wage off of their creativity.

and now some links....
i grabbed cards from all the booths that caught my attention or imagination. here are a few of my faves. i will post some more tomorrow....

http://apjproductions.blogspot.com/
(i bought one of his T-shirts!)

http://petitfolio.evilsmile.net/
(this rocks n rolls)

http://www.bethfrey.com/
(sweetness)

http://spulos.net/
(i ADORE his site design)

http://photos.istvandesign.com/
(this photography is magical)

http://www.doublecrossed.ca/
(something about these photos i like)

http://vintagelove.ca/
(bought a great light switch plate from her. very high quality!)

september 13

September 13
i posted a new gallery of photos, all taking around or behind my Beppe's house. you can check it out HERE.

and one of the free neighbourhood newspapers is probably going to do a story on my photography...the only trick is i needed to write a 'bio'. hard. i mean, i could easily write a bio about my teaching or activism or even my love life....but photography? but, in the end, i had to write something, so here it is:

"Michael Erickson was born in Ottawa, Ontario but has lived in Toronto for 15 years; for the last 2 years he has called Parkdale his home, after living for 10 years in the Annex.

Currently a high school teacher at Harbord C.I., Michael has never contained his creativity to one field or focus. Creative writing, specifically poetry, has been his most consistent media. Michael’s commitment to social justice and human rights permeates both his paid and unpaid work. Many people know him as a dedicated community organizer, with a focus on youth issues as well as identity-based oppressions.

Michael’s love and craft of photography grew from taking pictures while traveling across South America, West Africa, Europe, Canada and the U.S. It has only been in this last year that he has turned the camera on his home: Toronto.

Michael sees his photography as craft rather than art. In the tradition of D.I.Y. craft, Michael is self-taught, using the materials and subjects around him. He gets pleasure from experimenting, playing and learning-by-doing. He is trying not to let traditional or contemporary notions of ‘Art’ affect his work; he neither defines himself in opposition to these things nor does he strive to fit into them. He often jokes that “moms love my photos” and that “sometimes i just want to make something pretty”; he hopes his work is accessible without being cheesy or overdone.

This summer, Michael built and launched a website that combines his photography and poetry. An unique component of the site is what he refers to as ‘Artifacts’. An ‘Artifact’ matches up a new photograph with an old fragment of poetry. He plans on adding a new ‘Artifact’ each week. He named the website The Preservation of Shadows and Light. "