A gentleman and a scholar….

My surprise meeting at the Toronto Film Festival.

Josie Matera, lawyer for the City of Stratford will finally be able to give her final reply on Wednesday, Jan. 27th starting at 9 a.m. at the Ontario Municipal Board offices 655 Bay St. at Elm St. in Toronto. Come and support her if you can.

Final arguments are being presented to OMB Chairman Colin Hefferon  Jan. 4 to 8 and 11 to 15. The City of Stratford lawyer, Ms. Josie Matera, completed her final argument on Wed. Jan. 6th. She was clear, concise, logical, measured, effective and fair. Stratford’s right to determine our own future growth and development, to create a balanced and strong commercial structure and protect the crucial vitality of our rare and precious downtown core hang in the balance. If the OMB does not uphold our democratic and council endorsed OPA 10 then we will have a corporate growth structure imposed upon us by powers beyond our community and our country.

I will be presenting as a citizen participant before the Ontario Municipal Board on Tuesday, November 24th at 11 a.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall in Stratford. The issue is the protection of Stratford’s downtown core. The city conducted a fair and open democratic process in regards to this issue. A number of public meetings convinced council to vote to uphold the city’s official plan amendment (OPA 10) requiring all new commercial development that can not be accommodated in the downtown core be directed to the west end of the city where new residential development is expected to be built in the future and not the east end that is already over heavy with malls and sprawl. avonwood, the developer for walmart is asking the OMB to enforce a corporate written official amendment that will allow them to locate in the east end and change industrial land use to commercial. This site specific corporate version of the amendment will negatively affect the city’s future development for years and will be, in my opinion,  devastating for the heart of our city, the down town core and the whole character of Stratford. If you are in Stratford come out and show the support for OPA 10 to OMB on Nov. 24th and during that week as members of the City Centre Committee give their important evidence.

Democracy and a community’s right to self-determination or corporate rule?

This is Alex’s sculpture chosen as part of the Lawson Killer Juried Exhibit at Gallery Stratford.

The full length photo was taken when it was part of an art show in the Great Hall at OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) in Toronto Spring 2009.

The mask can be taken off the frame and worn. The ‘body’ is made from band saw blades.

‘Mask’ close-up

From my ELEMENTAL SERIES ‘Clear Wing’ was chosen for the annual Lawson Killer Juried Exhibit at Gallery Stratford. It is 24″ x 36″ and printed on canvas. It is a very soothing and peaceful photo. I spent a long time with the winged one as it emerged from it’s chrysalis last summer. Magical nature.

Mother and son both have work in this exhibit. See next blog for Alex’s sculpture.

June Flamenco performances in Kitchener at The Registry Theatre and the Multicultural Festival. Thanks to Kim Green for all the work teaching and organizing. I enjoyed the challenge and accomplishment of performing four dances. Our iguana didn’t dance..

Gallery 96 is having a fundraiser on Saturday, May 30 at Factory 163 (163 King St.) in Stratford from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come celebrate spring and support our artist run gallery. Artwork, plants and more available to purchase. See you there!

Maya Fair now has a new blogspot. Check it out:

mayafairart.blogspot.com

GREEN MAN

This photograph was taken at The Cloisters in New York where The Unicorn Tapestries hang. Looking through the lens, he was looking back at me.

To see my store front on ETSY go to 

mayafair.etsy.com

I have notecards of some of my photographs currently for sale.