The best of Guelph

[vaneramos]

Yesterday Danny and I saw most of the artists in Guelph Studio Tour that were located downtown. This afternoon we saw most of the rest. The circuit took us through Guelph's finest old neighbourhood, bounded by Norfolk Street, Paisley Road, Yorkshire Street and London Road. Queen Street hill may be grander, but it lacks homely appeal and the occasional whimsy that appears around old houses where artists and students reside.



More photos of sights along our tour can be seen behind the cut.

Among today's studios were the two I had looked forward to most. Melanie Gillis does outstanding black and white portrait photography. I knew her work from a recent show of tasteful erotica at the -bar. None of those portraits were included in her family-oriented studio tour display. She hopes to attract customers for Christmas, which is her busiest time of year. She did, however, give us the address of her ArtErotika. Don't miss the gentle homoerotic images in gallery 3. Her main web site is here: Melanie Gillis. Of course, one would expect a photographer to have a photogenic cat:



My favourite stop was the studio of Maggie Vanderweit. She doesn't have a web site, but you can see a sample of her luscious textile art by going to the studio tour site, clicking on "artist bios," and then clicking on Maggie's name near the bottom right. I have done little work with fabric or fibre, but she told me about some workshops that have whetted my appetite.

Two other shows that stood out for me were Vicki Beard's gourd sculptures, and Debbie Thompson Wilson's miniature paintings based on illuminations from Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. You can also find samples of their work by going to the artist bios page, but you can't get the impact of Wilson's minutely detailed work from the photograph.

Foot-weary from touring, Danny and I stopped for a good heart-to-heart over soup and a scone at The Bookshelf coffee shop, then headed home for one last snuggle. He left to catch the 7:30 bus back to Toronto. I look forward to our next visit, in Toronto, on Hallowe'en weekend.



Notice the two central windows below are painted onto the side of the house.

Comments

[danthered.livejournal.com]

Meow!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Purrrrr. Prrrumble.

[chrisglass.livejournal.com]

Great foliage, neat houses and a kitty. Some of my favorite things you've captured here, along with what appears to have been an excellent day.

:-)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Yes, this has been a delightful weekend. :-)

photogenic cats

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

All cats are photogenic. I can just hear the cat on the car thinking "Such worship is only my due, but I /wish/ they'd go about it in a more dignified manner! The clicking is distracting me from my meditation..."

Re: photogenic cats

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Actually it was a mean old cat, a tom I suspect, who flattened his ears and meowed threateningly. He didn't appreciate us invading his driveway, but he was not about to budge.

Re: photogenic cats

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

In that case, I appreciate the picture all the more; getting that kind of photograph of a cat with that kind of attitude is nothing short of Great Talent. My only regret is that our home computer is so wheezy that I can't properly appreciate the photographs, hence (tongue in cheek) running the risk of looking at work.

Re: photogenic cats

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Danny posted a closer photo of the cat here:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/djjo/8467.html

Just click on the link for the October visit, and the thumbnail for the cat is in the upper righthand corner of the gallery.

[cowchi.livejournal.com]

I am swooning with envy!! Fantastic photos. I love architecture shots. Used to take a lot of them myself 'bout 10 years back, usually in black & white. Oh, those were the days...

(I wouldn't mind petting the kitty, either.)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It's nice to look back at these photos. It was such a lovely day in many ways.