Crawling in the park

Goin' Solo took a group trip to the Queen West art crawl last month to get a better feel for the DIY vibe.

Little white tents jam-packed Trinity Bellwoods Park at the outdoor art show and sale. Inside each tent, do-it-yourselfers exhibited their work.

Painters, potters, photographers, poutine and more. Oh yeah, Smoke's Poutinerie even had a cart set up.

From custom metalwork sculptures and glass art designs, to handmade jewelry and ceramic teapots, the event was full of creativity. Street artists AT.AW. added a unique flare to the show. They aim to randomly beautify the city, sometimes by putting natural elements in seemingly mundane places. So don't be too surprised if you stumble upon a lamppost covered in leaves or an ice sculpture in the shape of a hand protruding from a brick wall.

Among the various clothing designers were Awkward Stage, based out of Barrie, ON. They put heavy emphasis on being environmentally conscious by reusing fabrics. They strive to use as much of the fabric as possible, so whatever is left after making a shirt or dress, they will sew into a cute little purse or funky belt.

Visual artists seemed to dominate the event, but we found one photographic artist that really stood out. Corin Ford Forrester takes black and white images of people and blends them with landscapes. For instance, she took a photo of a smokestack and blended the image of an old woman covering her mouth amidst the smoke. Most of her work reflects the impact that humans have on the environment. It's a really cool idea with a strong message.

We tapped our feet to the bluegrass band and made faces at Francois behind his back. But we took photos of that and showed him the evidence, so we don't really feel too bad about it.

At one point, we bumped into George Stroumboulopoulos and chatted with him for a bit. He told us he's a big fan of supporting local artists, so we asked him a few questions. Stay tuned for the video of our interview with the Strombo!!

All in all, we had a successful crawl. We met several DIYers, found some inspiration for potential stories and one of us made a few modest purchases.

P.S. My Awkward Stage purse contains my digital voice recorder, a usb cable and spare batteries:-)