All posts by Maya

About Maya

Maya is an Information staff member at Vaughan Public Libraries. If she isn't scratching her head over the next sentence in her writing, she's making art and stretching her creative legs. She's a huge film buff and loves weird, fantastical fiction.  |  Meet the team

A Belated Celebration of Art for World Art Day

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Here’s a small fact about me: before I threw myself into the wide world of books, blogging, and binge reading there was one thing that had an iron grip around my off-school and off-work life: art. From the time little me could figure out how to hold a crayon with semi-proficiency I was art-ing on most things I could get my hands on (thankfully I was never a wall-drawer but unfortunately our kitchen chairs did not escape my creative eye). I spent my weekends in art classes and summers at arts camps, and when it was finally time to leave the trenches of high school, OCADU was where I went. While I don’t draw as much as I should anymore, I still enjoy dragging my friends and family to art museums and niche galleries to play my favorite game, Is It Art?, and I can still spout off random art history facts on command (which makes for an odd but sometimes useful party trick).

Now, why am I sharing all this with you? I might be a little late to the party, but it was World Art Day (on April 15th)! This UNESCO-recognized celebration aims to promote the development of art and spread it so that it can be enjoyed by everyone. Considering the recent string of post-secondary arts program cuts by “budget savvy” administrations and the concerning effects AI-generated imagery has had on art communities across the globe, I think it’s more important now than ever to highlight World Art Day and what makes this form of expression so special.

So, if you’re ready to reach into the untapped depths of your creativity or you just want to read some things about pretty pictures and the people who make them, I’m going to get on my little soapbox to hawk the good word of art, with some of my favorite artsy things you can pick up at your local VPL branch.

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“Beware the Ides of March…”

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Shakespeare’s plays are filled with curses. I don’t mean the Victorian dirty jokes and toilet humor, but the superstitions that have sprouted from some of his most famous plays. Besides never mentioning the Scottish Play during a show’s opening night, there’s only one that I can think of that matches its fame. Thankfully, as it’s a few days past March 15th, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all come out of one of the most literary cursed days unscathed and we don’t need to “beware the Ides of March”. Unless, of course, you happen to be named Julius Caesar. Then I might give it a few more days (like Caesar should have as he was warned that his life was in danger for 30 days, and not just the Ides of March, but I digress).

That being said, it got me thinking. What even are Ides? It’s not a word that I’ve heard anyone use, unless, of course, they’re quoting Mr. William. When I get thinking, it usually leads me to jump down a very fascinating rabbit hole. So, if I’ve given you a brain itch that needs to be scratched, come join me as we delve into the depths of Roman history, my musings, and some library-related goodies.

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Valentine’s Day Read/Watch Lists Are Like a Box of Chocolates…

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Full disclosure, I fear I don’t have a romantic bone in my body. I actively avoid picking up anything “spicy”, meet-cutey, or romantasy (which is all the rage right now), and romcoms tend to make me give the screen a very long stink eye. But to be fair to myself, before you judge me too harshly, it isn’t for lack of trying. Earlier last year I thought to myself “hey, maybe you’re being a little too picky, why not give romance another try”, and I ventured out of my carefully crafted book and film mountain to see what was out there to discover in the pink, red, and heart shaped world of romance. I gave it fifty pages before my instincts kicked in, so one spite-read book with a sadly squandered premise later, I returned to my mountain sure in the fact that the genre just wasn’t for me.

That’s all to say that maybe I’m not the best person to come up with a Valentine’s Day related post. But time’s ticking and it’s only two days away so here we are, you and me, in between a rock and a Hallmark card shaped place. So, I hope you’re ready for a very sincere, from the bottom of my heart, extremely unconventional Valentine’s Day book and movie review where the most overdone romance tropes are turned on their heads. And hey, if you, like me, are tired of the parade of overwrought lovey-doveyness that springs up like weeds at this time of year, maybe these picks will be right up your alley.

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