March 2012
0 posts
GOOD LOVE
THE GOOD BIKE love continues at Yonge and Erskin!
February 2012
7 posts
THE GOOD PARTY
Two weeks ago, we were partying with friends and friendly strangers at our favourite bar, The Avro in Queen Street East. The cupcake-laden, beer-doused evening was organized to launch THE GOOD BIKE PROJECT publication and film, and to bring together everyone who helped us realize that city-wide neon vision. The publication is a self published wrap-up designed by the talented Andy Callahan....
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
TORONTO PORTRAITS
For Christmas, my brother Blake and I made a little film for my Dad, who is working to develop The Toronto Project. Some time ago, he was asked to write a book on the history of Toronto. As he wrote it, he realized that any book written on the history of a city is outdated as soon as it’s published. It occurred to him that a website could be a more dynamic platform for recording the...
A DAY OF WINTER
I think we can all agree that we’ve had a rather strange winter this year. Unlike most, this winter has been more or less free from the usual drudgery that comes with ice and snow. There have been few early mornings spent shoveling and scratching ice off the windshield; few complaints of frost bitten finger tips and cold, wet toes. There have been scarcely any opportunities to dust off...
Caroline in mid-cannonball this past summer, somewhere in the Quebec countryside…
Vanessa
January 2012
4 posts
The Good Bike Project is going out with a bang! Come celebrate the launch of our related publication and film at The Avro on February 9! The Good Bike Project publication includes write-ups on all of our bikes and an essay on our experiences liasing between The City and the city. The publication was lovingly designed by Andy Callahan. The film will serve as a book-end to our experience last...
AN ESSAY
Heavy, wet flakes of snow were falling outside, and Dundas Street looked all shades of brown and grey. Adding to the scene was an abandoned, rusted Raleigh bicycle, which we were pondering from the dry and relatively warm front room at the OCAD U Student Gallery where we are the Program Coordinators. Together we started considering ways to use it as a pseudo sign-board for the Gallery in the...
FERREIRA PHOTOGRAPHY
Since September, Caroline and I have been working to coordinate Do Design 2012, a design week event that turns storefronts on Dundas Street West (between Bathurst Street and Grace Street) into exhibition venues for local design objects. In our initial planning stages, the two of us took the time to introduce ourselves and the project to the street’s business owners. We were very excited to...
We well know that we’ve been on an extended hiatus ever since last early last summer. Starting in June, our GOOD ENERGY was completely consumed by GOOD BIKES; but with our related publication and film projects wrapping up early next week, we’re ready to resume our blogging activities! Please stay tuned for our current musings and discoveries re: THE GOOD. Lately we’ve been...
December 2011
7 posts
Some Polaroids taken inside MASSMoCA in North Adams. Vanessa and I made the pilgrimage this past summer and during our short stay south of the border we were fortunate enough to meet with with Denise Markonish. As one of only two curators at this sprawling and significant institution, Markonish has taken the lead on many exciting projects including the Sol LeWitt drawing retrospective. In...
THEY DON'T MAKE EM LIKE THEY USED TO...
Caroline
GOOD LOVE
Long ago, in the days of sunshine and short sleeves, the lovely lady Iva wrote us this …
Hello! // My name’s Iva, I’m a student at Humber College Lakeshore Campus. I live in Toronto, but commuting everyday through cement-filled and highway-crossed Etobicoke is not the most visually appealing of experiences. I was wondering, is there any chance we could work together to bring a good bike to...
BIG TIME CHRISTMAS WISH LIST
This is my dear friend Miles Gertler’s Christmas wish list circa ‘98. He was eight years old at the time. I was in tears when his sister, Isabel, showed it to me last night. You should know that Miles did end up getting a lazy boy chair and he does have a more attractive bathroom these days. Alas, he never got the jet pack or the teepee. Keep dreaming big Miles!
Caroline
FOR JENNA MORRISON
These photos were taken on the the memorial bike ride for Jenna Morrison, a wonderful woman recently killed in a tragic cycling accident on Toronto’s Sterling Rd. Hundreds of people came out at 7:30am on the morning of November 14 to ride for Jenna. It was incredibly touching and powerful to see such a collective outpouring of love and support for the fallen cyclist and her...
COREY AND CANDLES
This is our friend Corey Moranis, an all around creative genius. These beautiful candles are her latest and greatest. What’s not to love about mason jars, crystals, glitter and a flame? We love this girl’s energy and vision. She bakes, makes dolls, takes beautiful analog photographs and makes us laugh. Corey, will you be a GOOD ARTIST? Pretty please!?
Caroline
OTHER GOOD/NEON/BIKE PROJECTS
The Neon Dog Project by Dave Bedrich.
We found this locked up near the OCAD U Student Gallery. It’s maker remains unknown!
After reading about The Good Bike Project, some folks in Thessaloniki, Greece have started their own bike project called The Recycling Project. We are so thrilled!
Caroline
November 2011
8 posts
SUNDAY NIGHT IN CHINA TOWN
Caroline
THE GOOD ARTIST: ALEA DRAIN
Who are you? I’m Alea Drain and I’m a visual artist based in Toronto. I am a recent graduate of OCAD U and currently work in a medium that I developed during my final year in school. Using a sewing machine without thread, I free-motion embroider (draw) into large pieces of Washi paper, creating an image by backlighting the paper so the light shines through the holes. I also layer with colored...
COURAGE MY LOVE
Caroline
INTERVIEW WITH CECE SCRIVER OF COURAGE MY LOVE
Could you give me a brief explanation of how Courage came to be?
Well, it all started with my mom and dad. They were teachers but were both really into antiques. At some point they decided that it might be a good idea to start selling their antiques and so they opened a little store at 60 Cecil Street. It was in a coach house behind what was a KFC at the time, right besides Grossmans on...
Natty high waisted trousers, waist coat and watch fob. This is Michael Louis Johnson. He is a Toronto musician extrodinaire. Catch him play in the Lemon Bucket Orkestra and at the Communist’s Daughter, every Saturday at four.
Some graffiti I encountered on my walk to work. The first was tagged on my fence!
Caroline
MORE PARKING SPOTS
All but one of the abandoned bikes we painted on College Street (between Huron and Spadina) have been removed! We spray painted them so the City would see that they were abandoned and take them off of their bike posts. It took longer than expected, but finally there are more parking spots for cyclists in front of the Lilian Smith Library! Hooray!
Caroline
BIKE CLEAN-UP!
The day before our big good bike clean-up, I was approached by a local artist who wants to rescue the Good Bikes from scrap metal by turning them into a big sculpture. Vanessa and I loved the idea and so we agreed to drop our best Good Bikes at her Parkdale studio the next day.
As the pile of good bikes grew in the back of our U-haul, they began to resemble the very sculpture we...
October 2011
6 posts
GOOD FRIENDS
With our Good Bikes spread throughout the city, cleaning them up responsibly with little support from the City seemed a daunting task. That is, until Brian Platten came along.
After reading Ben Spurr’s latest article on the Good Bikes in NOW Magazine, Brian called us at the Gallery to offer us his U-haul, his tools and his weekend. We drove all around Toronto retrieving our bikes: Some...
C'EST NE PAS UNE "ART BIKE!"
Dear Vandal —- Don’t you realize that by writing “NOT ART” on our bikes, you’ve turned them into Duchampian objects? Love it! Thanks. —- Love, The Good Girls
COFFEE POCKET
A perfect macchiato from Coffee Pocket; Toronto’s teeniest café. The best things really do come in small sizes.
Caroline
GOOD FRIENDS
After reading a disappointing article about The Good Bike Project and replying to some rather nasty emails from Good Bike critics, Vanessa and I found this recording in our inbox. We gave it a listen and were so touched we just about cried. The recording is by Sam (age 7), Maeve (age 5) and their mom Alison. They have recently joined The Public Art Project, a collaborative project by...
GOOD BIKE / SPRAY PAINTING MIX
Mix by Dave. Cover by Caroline.
September 2011
19 posts
PEDESTRIAN SUNDAY IN KENSINGTON MARKET
IDEAS WORTH SHARING
I have spent more time than I would like to admit YouTubing TED Talks, so naturally I was thrilled to be accepted as a delegate for this year’s TEDX Toronto event.
Redefinition was the theme of the day. The event’s speakers ranged from tech wizards to doctors to activists and teachers. Nicholas Shiefer, a grade twelve student, discussed his frustration with current search engines....
DRAWING CLASS AT CITY HALL
Last week, I attended a figurative drawing class at City Hall. The class took place before the ten o’clock Council meeting in which Ford’s proposed cuts to the Arts were to be debated. All unlookers were invited to draw the Counsellors as they debated the fate of the Arts. Those who submitted their drawings at the end of the meeting will be included in an art show called...
COLLAGE BARRAGE
Vanessa
COMING SOON
Toronto gal Eva Tolkin is setting shop for a limited time on Queen Street, where she’ll be selling covetable vintage items from an important Montreal collection. Think fall, fur fabulous! Her press release reads: For the first time Toronto will have access to an elusive house in Montréal that has provided the film, theatre, and music communities with vintage pieces for a half-century. The...
GOOD FRIENDS
A number of weeks ago, we were contacted by Iva, a student at Humber College (Lakeshore Campus). She expressed her frustration at drabness of the the school’s surround saying “commuting everyday through cement-filled and highway-crossed Etobicoke is not the most visually appealing of experiences.” Iva’s thought was to add colour to the area with a GOOD BIKE. Though we’d allocated spots...
ST JAMES TOWN BIKE REDUX
On August 27, we joined The Bicycle Commons and a number of other cycling community groups at the St. James Town Bike Redux, a free bicycle clinic that set-up shop at the Wellesley Community Centre. Mechanics from Bike Sauce, The Toronto Cyclists Union, Charlie’s Freewheels and a number of other organizations came together to tune-up, repair and teach. There was even a bicycle wash...
GALLERY HOPPING
This weekend is the Canadian Art Foundation’s annual Gallery Hop day! Last night the Foundation hosted the Gallery Hop Gala, which revolved around what look like ambitious, awesome installations by local artist Jon Sasaki (including a Northern Lights chandelier). On Saturday, tour guides will lead walks around the city’s various gallery districts including Kings Street West and...
BLUEBIRD
Bluebird Handmade on Bathurst Street is one of the loveliest shops in Toronto. Their window displays are always fabulous and their handmade goods outstanding. The last time I was there, I couldn’t help but giggle as I photographed the space. I kept thinking of Portandia’s “Put A Bird On It” video. It’s just so Bluebird appropriate!
Caroline
GOOD LOVE
I was messing around with a disposable camera the other day, and I took some photos of the good bikes while cycling near home. Here’s some of the pictures if you’d like to use them.
Anthony (Toronto)
GOOD FRIENDS
This project started with a trip to the Bomb Shelter on Spadina in May. What we thought would be a one-time shop-stop morphed quickly into something huge, and soon we were dropping by the Bomb Shelter every few days for more spray paint. Dolling out advice and nozzles from behind the counter was Jedi, a retired B-boy and serious cyclist who bikes in to town from Scarborough daily. Thank...
GOOD FRIENDS
An artist herself, Ananya has dedicated many days to our project that could have otherwise been spent making her own art. We first met Ananya at our painting event in Kensington Market. Although the sun was scorching and the masks we had to wear were suffocating, Ananya painted bike after bike, stopping only to hydrate herself and comment enthusiastically on the music selection. The next...
GOOD FRIENDS
Where would we be without Ray of The Bicycle Commons? Ray is our guardian angel. He showed up at our door one day to offer us bike locks and a helping hand, just when we needed both. Our confidence in the City was waning as it looked increasingly like their promise to offer up sponsors was an empty one. We were weeks into the project and had yet to get any of our good bikes out onto the street...
