surface & symbolSEPT/OCT/NOV 2011VOLUME 23, NUMBER 5

1859 Kingston Rd, Scarborough, ON416.698.7322

info@scarborougharts.comwww.scarborougharts.com

INSIDE

a scarborough arts summer: pg 1

did you know?: pg 4

odds n ends: pg 4

members gallery: pg 5

bernice rambert profile: pg 6

events/opportunities: pg 7

By Marianne Rellin

Summer season is, without a doubt, festival season. Once the weather starts to heat up and the days become longer, different events and celebrations pop up in and around the neighbourhood, bringing the community together.

For Scarborough Arts, there were two highlight events this summer: Art in the Park and the Subtext Multi-Arts Festival. Art in the Park was held July 16th at the beautiful Harrison Estate Grounds and featured 40 artists show-casing their work. This one-day art show and sale was enjoyed by all involved. In fact, artists are already trying to save their spots for next year!

Not long after Art in the Park, the hustling and bustling continued with preparations for the Subtext Multi-Arts Festival. Now in its second year, the festival presented a diverse pack of artists, performers and organizations.

Weeks of meticulous preparation paid off on the weekend of August 27/28th with a dynamic, two-day cel-ebration of art and community, packed with different activities that took place on top and underneath the Lawrence Avenue East Bridge.

The residents of the Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park Area particularly benefitted from the art intervention in their midst. What was once an isolated area under the bridge turned into a beehive of activity bursting with creative energy. Onstage on Saturday were Afro-Carribean Drummers and Dancers, the I Have A Dream Dance Crew, Mario TheRealVoyce Murray, poet Patrick Connors, and many others. The day ended with an explosive hip-hop per-formance by the magnificently talented youth from the Phase 2 Collective, who debuted their album, Devastating.

continued on page 2

A SA Summer

a scarborough arts summer: pp 2,3

bernice rambert: pg 6

Right: Soaring High by Nancy Howell

ALL ART IS AT ONCE BOTH SURFACE AND SYMBOL

surface & symbol Staff: Editor: Cindy Rozeboom

Contributors: Heather Barker, Galen Brown, Patrick Connors,

Susan Dimitrakopoulos, Jen Fabico, Nancy Howell, Marianne Rellin,

Eugenie Shehirian Distribution Volunteers:

Yvonne Balfour, Sofia Dendura, Margare Gleeson, Roseanne Hart,

Karen Harvey, Barb McEvoy, Sharon McGregor, Linda Murray

Nov/Dec deadline: October 15, 2011Logo Quotation: Oscar Wilde

surface & symbol is published six times a year. Material submitted is subject to selection and editing by the editor. Scarborough Arts is not

responsible for unsolicited material. Material printed is copyright and

may only be reprinted with permis-sion and credit to surface & symbol.

Opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of Scarbor-

ough Arts or its Board of Directors. Send material to: surface & symbol, Scarborough Arts, 1859 Kingston Rd,

Scarborough M1N 1T3Tel: 416-698-7322 Fax: 416-698-7972

news@scarborougharts.com www.scarborougharts.com

Scarborough Arts gratefully acknowledges the financial support

of Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of

Tourism, Culture and Recreation. OTF provides grants to eligible charitable

and not-for-profit organizations in the arts, culture, sports, recreation,

environment and social service sectors. Scarborough Arts gratefully

acknowledges the assistance of the City of Toronto, Ontario Arts Council,

Human Resources Development Canada and our corporate and

individual donors.

Scarborough Arts Board of Directors:Chair: Colin Hughes, Vice Chairs:

Ravinder Shawe, Christine HarrisTreasurer: Daniel Broome,

Secretary: Carolyn Kim, Members: Christine Amendola,

Councillor Gary Crawford, Hanifa Kassam, Christal Pshyk,

Sergei Petrov, Sathya Thillainathan

Scarborough Arts Staff: Executive Director: Tim Whalley;

Program Coordinator: Benedict Lopes; Office/Member Coordinator: Susan Dimitrakopoulos; Communications

Coordinator: Cindy Rozeboom, CARES Coordinator: Katherine Rizza;

Youth Program Coordinator: Jen Fabico

Members Emeritii: Lynne Atkinson, Tracey Bowen,

Karin Eaton, Sheila Ewing, Frances Celeste-Falconeri, Christa Graf,

June James, Allena Litherland, Joy MacFadyen, Kris Magidsohn, Peter

Marsh, David Masters, Marlena McCarthy, Myrna Miller-Tait, Brigitte Mueller, Doris Robinson, Lucy Roy, Val Russell, David Seidel, Eugenie

Shehirian, Randall Starr, Lin Whitman, Betty Zyvatkauskas.

The SA office and The Bluffs Gallery,at 1859 Kingston Road are open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm

Weller Publishing Co. Ltd. ISSN 0847 Mail Agreement 40037423

surface & symbol September/October 2011- 2 -

SA Summer continued from page 1

Sunday was more mellow and more intimate. The crowd was smaller and the space less busy, however, despite the mellowed-down vibe, the festival was still in full swing, and the artists were still full of enthusiasm. The performances required more participation from the audience: the Funk Fanatics led breakdancing workshops on the main stage and the Elevated Grounds performed and conducted a talkback session. Other performances

included an impressive showcase by the Indian Classical Music and Arts Society of Canada, poetry by the notable poet, bill bissett, and a bone-chilling reading by Honey Novick.

One of the most captivating elements of the festival was the activities of a handful of graffiti artists. Using the dull, intimidating concrete pillars of the bridge as their canvass, the artists quickly created a number of playful and colourful art pieces. These included an optimistic portrait of Jack Layton, with the caption “Pillar of the Community.”

In addition to the per-formances, ongoing activi-ties abounded: children had their faces painted , made masks, and dressed up for a photo shoot with Scabor-ough CARES. Families and teens designed heir own shirts with paint and stencils. Others took part in environmental activities led by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

Executive Director of Beatz to da Streetz, Mario TheReaLVoyce Murray, works the crowd. Photo: Galen Brown

Scarborough MPP Margaret Best welcomes the crowd while TC3 waits to perform. Photo: Galen Brown

Environmental art by Ben Hirsh at the festival entrance. Photo: Karin Eaton/Mural Routes

Subtext succeeded in bringing the com-munity together. Throughout the weekend, random bikers and joggers stopped and stared in amusement at the happenings in the space, and eventually gave in and took part in the celebrations. Residents from the surrounding apartments came out and eagerly joined in the fun. The youth, several local artists, different partner organizations and talented performers all contributed their talents and resources to make the festival a successful one.

For Scarborough Arts, and for all the people and organizations who took part in both Art in the Park and Subtext, it was truly a summer to remember.

surface & symbol September/October 2011- 3 -

IHAD members Sally Raghubeer, Emil Vialva, Stephanie Sing, Justin Sing, Samuel Phan-Nguyen perform. Photo: Jen Fabico.

L-R: Mask-making workshops. Danilo McCallum of Under The Radar paints a portrait of Jack Layton. Aspiring artists show off their work with Babli (crouched), coordinator of the Healthy Living Community Arts Project. Photos: Galen Brown

Subtext Partners: Mural Routes, East Scarborough Storefront, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, City of Toronto Cultural Services, Jumblies Theatre, Live Green Toronto, The Amazing Place.

Subtext Funders/Sponsors: Department of Canadian Heritage, Intact Financial Group, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, City of Toronto, Ontario Arts Council, Phillips Copy Centre.

Artist Li-Hill at work. Photo: Karin Eaton/Mural Routes

surface & symbol September/October 2011- 4 -

odds ‘n endsScarborough Arts Office / Membership Coordinator Susan Dimitrakopoulos shares some tips for exhibiting artists.

Promotion: There is so much that can be said about promoting your work. However, first and foremost, it is important that artists take some steps also. If you are having a solo exhibit, participating in an art or craft show or are part of an exhibit, let people know. Whether by email or phone to family and friends, post on Facebook or other social media, post notices in your neighborhood, church, community centre – it all helps draw visitors to your event. People appreciate knowing what events are going on and particularly if they hear it directly from the artist!

An enormous thank you to all our supporters who helped us in our 100 days, 100 reasons fundraising campaign.

We also acknowledge the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council through the Arts Investment Fund program for supporting the 100/100 reasons campaign.

...and speaking of Susan....

A special thank you to everyone here at Scarborough Arts, my artist friends and groups for all your cards, phone calls, emails, FB messages, visits, over the past 3 months. Still recuperating, but I’ve started back to work. Watch out for those pine cones – they look innocent enough, but can cause a lot of damage if they’re in your path!

-- Susan Dimitrakopoulos

thank yous aplentyDID YOU KNOW...

...that you can make your own water-colours? All you need is baking soda, white vinegar, glycerin or light corn syrup, corn-starch, an egg carton, jam or baby food jars with lids, a mixing bowl, and food coloring for more intense colours you can use Kool-Aid.

Mix 2 tablespoons of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a mixing bowl. When the mixture no longer fizzes, add ¼ teaspoon glycerin or light corn syrup and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the mixture.

Pour the mixture into several egg carton cups or jars as each one will be used to make a separate colour. Fill the containers only halfway. Add 5 to 10 drops of food colouring to each container and mix thoroughly. Make sure to add lots of food colouring as waterco-lour paints lighten as they dry

Let the paint set overnight. Once the paint is hard, you can start painting!

By Heather Barker

Scarborough Arts’ Hip Hop project, Phase 2: Collective, completed another successful year with their Devastating EP and performance. This year’s album was recorded at Toronto’s top notch studio: Phase One Studios. Have a listen or download it at www.scarborougharts.com

Marita EngelMussarat BhattiMyrna Miller TaitNancy HowellPeter MarshPhyllis GainsQuin McColganRanjit SidhuRichard ThormanRobert CookScarborough Writer’s AssociationValerie RussellYorkshire Rose Quilter’s Guild

Anne McAllister Barbara LaplanteChristal PsyhrChristina DowellDianne JacksonEugenie Shehirian Grace McPhersonIstvan LendvayJane NovotnyJoanne DoughtyJoseph RoitnerKris KrasinskiLorna SchuelerLouanne Chan

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Phase 2 is DEVASTATING!

mem

bers gallery

surface & symbol September/October 2011- 5 -

By Eugenie Shehirian

Decades ago, on a Thursday morning I drove to work in spite of and excruciating pain in my mouth. Soon after I reached my desk, Marina, a colleague, started asking questions about my health. She had found it strange for me to be so quiet. I told her as best as I could that I hadn’t slept well the night before, and that my tongue and mouth in general, was still in pain. No doubt she was trying to be helpful.

“You must see a doctor,” she said. “There’s a doctor’s office only a block away. You can walk over, you know. I’ll take care of your desk.” A moment later she asked “Would you like me to get an appointment for you?” I nodded “yes”.

In the early afternoon during my usual lunch hour, I walked to the nearby clinic. In my mind the possibility of the pain being cancer-ous was depressing. When I entered the doctor’s office the clock indicate ten minutes after one. There were no patients in the waiting room. Soon I faced a middle aged man in a white coat whose nurse of secretary walked in carrying tea and biscuits on a small tray. While he enjoyed his break I tried to describe as best as I could the area of the pain in my mouth.

“As I understand, you have cankers in your mouth,” he con-cluded. He didn’t bother to get up and look at the source of my misery.

“Doctor, is there a medication to alleviate the pain?” I asked.

“I can’t think of any.” Then he ass, “My mother used to get them all the time. There’s no medication for it. Cankers appear and disappear by themselves.”

I paid his fee and left the clinic.

Gradually the pain eased, and

the cankers disappeared. These un-predictable canker pains appeared and disappeared for years. Being naïve and ignorant, I didn’t complain about the pain to my other doctor.

In September of 1983 a member of the company’s accounting depart-ment, Liz Smith, informed me that she was asked to audit a few large accounts I was responsible for. She and I worked together at my desk for a few days. Once during lunch the topic of out conversation happened to be health related matters.

“Allergies,” she said, “may cause death, sometimes.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

She spoke about a few cases of death she had read about in the papers.

“You can test any food item on yourself, you own body.” Then she asked, “Have you ever heard of the book titled ‘YOUR BODY DOESN’T LIE” BY Dr. John Diamond

After my negative answer she joined her right-hand thumb and index fingers then challenged me to separate them. I tried, but couldn’t pull them apart.

“You’re pretty strong. Strange, you’re tiny like me. Why wasn’t I able to pull them apart?”

“No. I’m not any stronger than you. I’ll show you how to do it. Just watch me,” she said and took a little bit of white sugar from the container, deposited it on her tongue, and asked me again to separate her fingers. At first I hesitated, but tried again. Her fingers were separated without any effort.

“Surprised? Scared?” She asked me, and then joined her fingers again. This time in a mere touch, in spite of her extra effort to keep her fingers tight. Then smiling at me, she

said “Honestly I didn’t cheat. I didn’t need to. This behavior of our body has been researched and well ex-plained in the book I told you about. I’ve been tested by a professional.”

“OK I'm convinced.” I assured her.

“It’s simple. The test showed that I was allergic to sugar.”

“Who tested, and who told you the secret?”

“One of my classmates in the university. I studied accounting, she studied science and eventually became a doctor of naturopathic. She tested me on numerous food items, and told me to listen to my body. If I don’t listen, I suffer.”

“Would you give me her name and the address of her office?”

“I don’t have it with me, but I can bring the information tomorrow.”

Needless to say a few weeks later, I went to Liz’s friend, Dr. Verna Hunt for a complete session of food testing. If it were possible for me to write about my problems and the solutions of nature’s trick in the last twenty-four years, it would fill a book.

Now let me speak about the cankers which appear and disappear. The naturopathic doctor tested me on all kinds of nuts sold in the stores. My body rejected all of them, but if I listen to my body’ it can tolerate one or two almonds; otherwise I suffer from cankers in my mouth. The doctor I had consulted years before, didn’t know that an allergic reaction could cause cankers. This was very surprising to me his mother suffered from food allergies and he didn’t recognize the symptoms or didn’t know of a solution. A simple solution is moderation. There is a world of knowledge in ‘Nature’s Way’ which the medical profession seems to ignore.

Natures Way Scarborough A

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surface & symbol September/October 2011- 6 -

Story & Photos by Patrick Connors

Bernice Rambert is a multi-media artist versed in a variety of forms, includ-ing Chinese watercolor on rice paper, watercolor acrylic painting, pottery, woodworking, raku ukebana (japanese floral), a medium she studied in Singa-pore and Japan. Last Fall, she showed a variety of her works at the Bluffs Gallery, including Raku Bird With Fish (below).

“Raku is a normal firing like pottery,” Rambert told me. “You take it from greenware and then apply a special glaze, then put it in an outside kiln until red glowing hot. It is then placed in a metal container with sawdust, paper, leaves, rice, etc.

“The products of Raku cannot be exactly reproduced. It always comes out different unless you make an outline, but then the colour is still uncontrollable. When it comes out right, it is a real joy.”

More recently, Rambert had an exhibition at the Agincourt Library. There were no showcases for raku or similar works. But, with her virtuosity, she was able to go in a different direction. For this production, she featured a number of her recent paintings inspired by visits to New Zealand and Fiji.

“In Wellington, New Zealand, where the Cape Kidnappers mate, you can take an excursion to see them,” Ramber said. “In order to get there, you have to take a sort of trail vehicle, 60 people on each. You drive along the beach, for 20-25 minutes, then you have to walk up a mountain. The Gannets will come right up to you and are very loving.”

In the resplendent and celebratory Hoosay Festival, Rambert boldly shows what takes place in a religious festival held in her native Trinidad. “I love colour. You can give me two colours and I will turn it into 25. Watercolour acrylic painting lends itself to that blending and creating of colours.

“For the festival they build houses in the Indian style; a lot of glass, glitter, very large. At the end, they take the whole thing and dump it in the river. I think of all the movement which goes into that, and spent a lot of time trying to get the movement just right.

“Then, in Fiji, I was fascinated with the Pacific Ocean by how shallow the water was. People could walk from island to island to go to work. I took a boat to Castaway Island, 30-45 minutes from Manolo where I was staying. A Bure is a house in the water. People came every day to clean and bring fresh water.”

Bernice Rambert has a unique way of looking at the world which she captures in many ways. She is a great example of what Scarborough Arts has to offer.

Hoosay FestivalBure/Fiji

Bernice Rambert: A Flair of Her Own

Gannets Cape Kidnappers G

On now to September 30. Drawing, prints and watercolours by Janos Buda Works on paper from the artist’s estate. North York Central Library, 2nd floor Gallery, 5120 Yonge Street (see below).On now to October 24. Pencil Madness, solo exhibit by Nancy Howell (this month’s s&s cover artist). McLeans Community Center, 95 McGill Drive Ajax ON. You can also find Ms Howell’s work at Image Craft-ers Salon & Spa Whitby ON. www.icspa.ca

September 19th, October 17th, Novem-ber 21st, 2011. Malvern Heights Writers’ Group. 7 pm - 8:30 pm at the Malvern Li-brary. All writers and aspiring writers are welcome to come for support and encour-agement. Bring two pages to share. More info, call John @ 416-208-3469October 6: ArtSide Out The University of Toronto Scarborough’s largest multidisci-plinary arts festival. www.artsideout.caOctober 15-16. Rouge Valley Quilters Guild Quilt Show. Merchants‘ Mall, Dis-play, Silent/Miniature Auction, Guild Shop, Bake Table, Tea-room. Ajax Community Centre, 75 Centennial Road, Ajax. www.rougevalleyquiltersguild.comOctober 16 & 17. Scarborough Theatre Guild Auditions for Affections of May by Norm Foster. Auditions: Sunday Oct 16, 7:30pm–10pm, Monday, Oct 17, 7:30pm-10pm. Auditions & rehearsals at Scarbor-

ough Theatre Guild Rehearsal Unit 2105 Midland Avenue, Unit 16, Scarborough. Performances scheduled January 12 - 28th, 2012. All auditionees should prepare a short, light or comedic monologue. For information or to book an audition time, please call Alison Overinton at 416 839-9549.Non-Paying. Non-Equity. http://the-atrescarborough.comOctober 28 - 30. 14th National Mural Symposium 2011, presented by Mural Routes. Oct 28 at Toronto City Hall. Oct 29 - 30 at Warden Woods Community Centre, Scarborough. Featuring keynote speaker: Charles Johnston, C5 Artworks. www.muralroutes.com/symposium14.htm For information, contact Mural Routes. 416-698-7995, karin@muralroutes.com. www.muralroutes.com Please register by Octo-ber 20, 2011.

events/opportunities

surface & symbol September/October 2011- 7 -

Heaven On Earth by Nancy Howell

Buda work at North York Central LibraryJanos Buda was born in Hungary in

1919 and was classically schooled in art before serving in the Hungarian military. After living in both Germany and England, he emigrating to Canada in 1955. Buda ex-hibited with Douglas Duncan’s Picture Loan Society, an early champion of Canadian art and artists. He exhibited internationally and continued to draw and paint until his death in 2004.

Janos was a lover of music and art, at-tending concerts and exhibitions with his sketchbook in hand. He drew portraits of the likes of Oscar Peterson, Glenn Gould and Louis Armstrong, and faithfully col-lected their signatures in the corner of his drawings. He was equally fascinated with those around him, capturing the daily lives of people in the streets. Janos showed us who

we are, whether we lived in 1950s Manchester or Toronto in the 1990s.

The Janos Buda Memorial Association is a volunteer group of family and friends who have been exhibiting works from the artist’s estate in his memory. To date, they have donated most of Buda’s journals, albums, sketchbooks and drawings to the City of Toronto Archives and City art collection.

Janos Buda was buried in an unmarked grave in Scarborough’s St. Margaret’s in the Pines Cemetery. Sales of his work will help fund future exhibitions, and a headstone that honours Buda’s life in art and contribution to the cultural life in this city.

Walter Hall by Janos Buda

More changes to surface & symbol

We are continuing to make changes to our communicatios mate-rials, aiming to serve you better. The latest change is that surface & symbol will be switching from a bi-monthly to a quarterly format. That means you can expect the winter issue of s&s this December!

What happened to the calendar & artery listings?

In order to provide the most up-to-date information, we are moving our calendar and artery online. You can now find event listings and details about artist opportunities such as calls for submission, contests, and more at: www.scarborougharts.com

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS and would like to continue to receive a printed copy of the artery & calendar listings with your surface & symbol, please call or email us at 416-698-7322 / info@scarborougharts.com.

G A L L E R Y L I S T I N G S

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905-250-9754 ▪ Artist Owned & OperatedVisit: www.giclee.ca

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Bluffs Gallery 1859 Kingston Rd, Scarborough, M-F 9am-5pm Autumn Members Exhibition. Sept 2 - 19. u Impressionist Landscapes,Community and the Familiar by Jennifer Smithwell. Oct 4 - 30.

Cliffcrest Library Gallery 3017 Kingston Rd, Scarborough

v Early Explorations by Emmie VanDerKooi. Sept 27 - Nov 29 emmievanderkooi.blogspot.comw Stitched With Threads by Mary Lee Chisholm. Nov 29 - Jan 31 (2012)

Agincourt Library Gallery 155 Bonis Ave, Scarboroughx Sneh Thakore. July 25 - September 26y Different Surroundings by Malcolm Leach. Sept 26 - November 28 - September 26

Vitali Zelinski Studio 416-519-1069wix.com/vitalizelinski/studio

Unique Decorative Abstract Paintings Acrylic or Oil mediums Commisions Accepted

Art for SaleArt for Sale

Scarborough Arts AGM & Showcase 2011Tuesday, October 18, 6:00pm

Scarborough Civic Centre, Council Chambers, 150 Borough Drive

Scarborough Arts members, participants and members of the community welcome are welcome to attend our annual general meeting. We’ll be presenting video footage of our 2010-11 programs. For RSVPs and more information, contact us at 416-698-7322 or ed@scarborougharts.com.

SA MEMBERS CALL Scarborough Arts members are invited to contribute works for our Holiday Dreams show which will show December 1-23 @ The Bluffs Gallery. What does the holiday season mean to you? SA members may submit up to two pieces. First come first served. Artist drop off : 9am to 5pm, Mon-Fri, from November 14 - 18 and 21 - 25. Pieces must be ready to hang. Details at www.scarborougharts.com Contact us to reserve your spot: 416.698.7322, programs@scarborougharts.com.

Scarborough Arts Meet UpsA series of spontaneous get-togethers

for artists and the community

Scarborough Arts is hosting a series of creative community meet-ups open to all. If you feel a creative spark and want to meet like-minded people in a relaxed setting, these are for you! All meet-ups are FREE and run from 6 – 8pm at Scarborough Arts, 1859 Kingston Road.

Photography Scavenger HuntThursday, September 22, 6–8pmNo experience necessary. Bring your camera or phone cam.

PoetryWednesday, October 5, 6–8pmA chance to pick up tips from fellow poets and spoken word artists.

Reading Your Written WorkThursday, October 20, 6–8pmPractice reading your poetry, spoken word pieces and short works.

Visual Arts CritiqueThursday, November 3, 6–8pm Bring your artwork and constructive critiques.

Collaborative Art NightThursday, November 17, 6–8pmHelp make a collaborative art piece. Sketching, collage-making, anything goes!

To RSVP your spot, please contact us at info@scarborougharts.com/416-698-7322.