My mother used to complain when I took life-drawing classes that the models were always naked. "Why can't you learn to draw people with some clothes on?" she'd beg. Well finally Toronto city artists and drawers will get their chance (er, if you consider pasties and tassels as cover-up) tonight when Dr. Sketchy's Toronto presents the beautiful burlesque dancer, Veronika, aka Pricilla Pussycat of the Shameless Dames, for their inaugural Anti-Art School life-drawing session in Toronto.

Brett Despotovich, co-founder with M'Lady deWinter and Katherine Piro of Dr. Sketchy's Toronto, notified me that this will be a regular event falling on the last Monday of each month. Despotovich described the event as "what happens when cabaret meets art school". While I personally am not interested in sketching the burlesque, I am looking forward to their future roster of "contortionists, mimes, the tattooed, the tattered and everything in between". But watch out for blogTO's own Japhet Bower, as he reviews the highlights of the evening in a future post. There's only seating for 35 artists so he'll have to be there early, and bring his own sketch pads and dry medium to work with as nothing messy is allowed.

True Story: When I was a kid, my grandpa showed me the emblem of the Montreal Canadians and with a solemnity said: "Do you see this "H"? It stands for "Hector". That's me. You see this "C"? It stands for "Cutforth". That's you. You see these colours? It stands for family. That's us."*

At least, that's what I tell people when I'm cornered in public about my hat in response to their gruff grilling, "Are you really a fan of Montreal?"

Now in Toronto the Good, I have yet to get a proper butt-kicking for wearing the enemy's colours on home-turf, like I would if I was traipsing around in Philadelphia; yet, I get many bewildered stares and some downright harrumphs sent my way by Leafs' fans . If looks could kill...

At first I didn't get why people were behaving so rudely to me on the subway or on the street. The truth of the matter is I don't watch hockey (my father being a rabid fan turned me off the game long ago). I just wear the hat because it keeps my head warm and was incidentally found within groping reach inside my closet. Take my advice: Don't be a hater, be a hatter.

*I took this talk to heart just like I also believed my grandpa when he told me he worked as a double secret agent.

Beloved Canadian art-star Michael Snow packed in a full house at the Ontario College of Art & Design for Performing Time: Michael Snow in Conversation with Bruce Elder, the latest instalment of OCAD's lecture series, Art Creates Change.

The audience was delighted to discover the titles, dates, dimensions and a little of the context of some of his famous works. Snow's nonchalant attitude set the tone for the event, which at least to me felt like a grandfather relating his gardening activities, only replace "and this is where I planted the peas" to "and this is where I glued Polaroid's to a mirror" and you get the idea, rather than an auteur revelling in his audience's reverence.

Photo: An homage to Michael Snow.

In a recent post I wrote titled, Get the Crack/Yuppies/Condos Outta the Neighbourhood, I had mentioned that XPACE, the cultural centre to many great events such as What The TTC Could Be, I Want To Go TO Africa and the Film School series to name a few, had been forced last October to move from Kensington Market. I was therefore pleased to find out that XPACE has finally found new digs @ 58 Ossington. Tonight I will be at the reopening shin-dig from 9-12pm, Make Your Own XPACE so keep watch of the blogTO flickr pool for my pic-snips.

I conferred with Megan Kotze, Director of XPACE, via email regarding the move, the past and their future. A condensed copy of our discussion follows below with my questions in bold:

I had been working on my exhibition at XPACE, when it was still in its Kensington Market Location, when a man burst in raving that the "Crack is killing the Market" and inviting us to a local business/residents meeting to work on resolving the issue, which is a "part health/safety" and "part business/real estate value" based concern (a genuine one as noted by the comments expressed by blogTO writers below in response to a recent Globe&Mail article). My first thought was "the Crack is killing the Market! - what a great title for a show" when my friend, artist Katherine Piro exclaimed, "Leave the crackheads alone! It's the Yuppies that are killing the Market." I understood her frustration as XPACE had been given no alternative but to move as their rental price had just skyrocketed.

You see us artists don't so mind displacing the poor... as long as we aren't displaced by condos and yuppies as evidenced by another article in the Globe&Mail this week.

A Space Gallery celebrates its 35th year this Thursday, January 18 at 8:30 pm @ Suite 110 - 401 Richmond St. W. Lisa Steele and Sandra Brewster will be there speaking about the history of A Space being "A Space for Art -- A Space for Activism".

Now that the Bata Shoe Museum has recovered its stolen golden mojari, its throwing its storage vault doors open to the public for Chronicles of Riches: Treasures from the Bata Shoe Museum, opening this Thursday, January 18 and running for the year. Don't miss this chance to get a glimpse of Napoleon's socks (they didn't call him Nappy for nothing!). And try not to steal on your way out. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors/ students and $4 for youths ages 5-17, but after 5 pm on Thursday admission is free. @ 327 Bloor Street West at St. George.