Markham Creates

Art Turbulence 3 - Justyn Warner

Artist Name: Justyn Warner Title: Art Turbulence 3 Medium: Oil/Mixed Artist Statement: My Quarantine Collection (11x14, papers) explores an elevated perspective to see possibility instead of pain. These abstracts are expressed on paper, with collaged scripture, hand-stitched textiles, and buttery oils through a minimal colour palette.

Midland Farm - Joy Fenske

Artist Name: Joy Fenske Title: Midland Farm Medium: Acrylic/WaterColour Artist Statement: I try to paint pictures of Africa to remind my grandchildren of their roots.

Les Tortues - April Mah

Artist Name: April Mah Title: Les Tortues Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: April is in elementary school and enjoys hiking, swimming, and biking. She is in grade 8 piano and has been studying piano for 7 years.

Comfort in Character - Casslie Wong

Artist Name: Casslie Wong Title: Part of a series "Comfort in Character" Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: I created these 3 pieces in part of a series called "Comfort in Character". The focus is to appreciate individual identity and self exploration. I made these pieces to celebrate my own Chinese culture. I mainly paint to show the beauty in everyday life.

Cotton Skies - Elaina Sabo

Artist Name: Elaina Sabo Title: Cotton Skies Medium: Acrylic Artist Statement: My name is Elaina Sabo and I am a young aspiring artist. I have been creating art ever since I can remember as a way to escape reality and bring images from my imagination into our reality. My usual work consists of pencil and marker illustrations.

Chloe Lee

Emma Zheng

This is my 4 year old daughter Emma drew her pet Teemo. Her idea was that inside Teemo’s body were things Teemo loves. Teemo loves watching others playing basketball outside. He loves his toys and collars and etc. Outside Teemo’s body are things that he doesn’t like. Teemo doesn’t like to take a bath. He doesn’t want to brush his teeth or go to training pad to pee and others. Markham is a pet friendly community and we often see people walking their dogs all around the parks and trails.

Dhara Bharanitharan

Wall of Art with Maple Leaves

Ananiya Narmathan — Mineral collection

For almost 2 years, I have collected numerous seashells, rocks, and minerals with my family. Each rock, mineral, and seashell have their own unique features and are all beautiful in their own way. I have used majority of the seashells I have collected for crafts so here are the minerals and rocks I have collected...

Joy Fenske - Collection of Bells

The collection of about 500 bells was started in 1993. (Reduced from about 800) The oldest dates back to 1902 commemorates the Coronation of King Edward VII

THE DOMINION OF HERE: WATCHING IN MARKHAM THROUGH FIVE POEMS - Ken Wightman

ARTIST’S STATEMENT I have read and written poetry on and off for many years. At its roots, poetry is about the energy and excitement of being caught up in the music of language, and registering how life and world interact, in a way that gets the truth and zest of it. That is why I write: I want to capture in poetry what I watched and what it felt like and meant, candidly. Each of the five poems in the suite portrays diverse perspectives of my experience of Markham. They touch on this country, this city and especially sides of nature encountered in it. The Dominion of Here We are heading home To our place in Markham Much east of The Falls Past the rough of Buffalo To a country bred of order And moody scattered space Yes, the sad rubber-stamp malls The same fifty percent Off while it inevitably lasts But you have learned That up further, way up Much north of here Are multitudes of forests Tundra you have never seen and Excessive unrelieved ice Where absence is general It is this that shapes the rest, A part of its sense, the geist of it, That, and the smudged Little histories of workers Boats of beaten immigrants Encounters with incumbent Indians All sprinkled over too much space The big bossy south imposes Its dollared pull, but we will remain Up here, the dominion of us and this The dominion of here And so I think Of queens, boats and birds We have staged on coins Of specific streets where I have lived Of friends, of cities Of snow on cleft rock, of fluttery poplars Of brothers and sisters De nos belles provinces Of plains morose as seas This Canada, this Markham Our home, our home Park Near Toogood Pond Walking home in the park I looked up at An array of partly bright and billowed maples Their leaf domes taking in the intermittent wind Auxiliary breezes wafting and working the leaves Bobbing, sighing, fluttering, the eddies circulating Probing into their overlapped masses Seemingly released and then settled back Dazzling in their grand relaxed givenness As though integral to a broader scheme of merit Two women sat near a stump, having a slow smoke Talking, their gray dog sniffing for ground smells And dog-like not really lighting on one for long On the sunward side the trees glowed, on the other They were dark, secondary and almost still As though the disclosure nearby was in excess, and here Admitting only a portion of short-lived gloaming light The several dimensions resolving to a kind of whole: So much of the world was caught up here Over-determined swaying entangled and vast The distance from one opening to another not much Though in the gaps, room for birds and high passages How did one's imagining remake the ranks of trees? And how did the air of a June evening take up one Ascension-like to an amber-green cathedral of sense That expanded and ran out in sorties to an elevated kind Of knowing? Fall Sky Over Unionville on a Very Cold September Day in the Chinese Shih Style For Du Fu and Li Bai both part of an 8th century Tang Dynasty group of scholars called the “Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup” ****** Autumn sky in the coral morning Brilliance before etched November Spider-veined leaves play and flutter From trees in mourning, now departing ****** Plump geese on the reddened sky Ascend overhead in their squawking Fattened fields of corn still half-picked Snow moon is waiting for its entrance ****** Just before the midnight of this day Earth smells enter the snap of air The potion works, I am left sleepy Oaks softly rustle, leaves are raised ****** Through the woods past the field Apricot lights of houses flicker And I on this side under the sky Peering out on night descended Wetlands near Seven The flurry of starlings wheels in Banks left, dissolves to a fading plane In unity over the mass of marsh, snaps back Returns, blistering, brash and quick Swivels into a jaunty angle, explodes Breaks, then descends like burnt black Cinders, slowing up, settling, wings up Sifting, feathering down, melding Into their base and sanctuary The green-drenched reeds beckon and wave Until the birds dissolve themselves into The waiting palette below March Ice Come skate, says my son The ice is frozen good This may be the last game Of the season On the farmer's flooded field Over by Highway Seven Plankton and weeds are Sealed into the ice Bubbles of air are caught In mid-motion, close Up to the sharpened air, suspended In immobile chains of silver We shinny for a while In the harsh March wind This is the last for sure Snow is blowing in Men and boys leave We head around the ice Do a few snazzy passes Mix it up in the corners We're the only players left The sun is setting down The shadows assume a Sombre blue before the night The brief northern days Are miserly with the light Get this long one, son, get Ahead of it, move with it Keep your head up Remember what I told you His skates inscribe Interim lines on the surface His mother wants us home For dinner; we're late Play hard, guy, this Will all soon be gone

Dhara Bharanitharan - Marina

Marina - Written by Dhara It is a sunny morning and clock was ticking 6.00am. Lot of people going walking on road, lot of car, ambulance, police, fire trucks sounds, lot of kids playing sounds in the parks and all tall buildings. In one of the tallest building , on the 30th floor, there lived a girl named Marina. Marina lives in a tall apartment home located near Sheppard and Yonge intersection. She is 6 years old , studying in Grade 1 with her favourite colour as light pink. She is short, not tall and brings always smile in others face because she always keeps her mouth as smiling mouth. Marina is kind girl and loves her family very much. Her dad is fun and playful all the time. Her mommy is helpful and kindful but most of all she likes the hugs and kisses they both would give. Marina also has a baby brother and he is always naughty, fun to play with him. Marina loves to go school everyday without fail since she feels school is place to have learning with fun. Her teacher name is Ms.Lavender. Marina did her daily schedule at school itself. It is mentioned to have some reading. Marina lovers to read all types of genres but most liked ones are comics and funny stories. Her teacher told to read a non fiction book but sadly she did not know what a non-fiction book. so she asked her teacher and her teacher explained Marina about non fiction. On and On days passed by until on day there was an assembly, Marinas day and mommy were there. When the teacher announced the name of the people who are getting awards. Marinaʼs name was called out. Marina was happy and she had such a big smiling face. When Marina was holding the award, her mommy and daddy were happy and taking pictures. After which Marina was walking with her mommy and Daddy. Her mommy told that they have a surprise for her when they reach home. When they got home, Marinaʼs father told her that We are moving to new place. Marina was shocked, surprised, big smile and was so happy to see the new place but Marina would have to say but to her friends and teachers. Marina still wanted to know about new place so that she can tell her friends and Mommy told here that they are moving to Markham. So before the moving day, Marina made sweet cards and nice presents for her classmates and to her teacher. She still needed to ask her dad something else. Yes it is the same question in your mind. Why do we have to move ? Her daddy told that we have to move because then we will need more space as family is bigger now, study room for Marina, play area for baby brother. Ohh yea said Marina and she was thinking that when she moves then she needs to go to a new school. Marina moved to new place and she was excited about each & every thing. Markham because her exploring place since it had very close park, school, shops, good place to ride cycle, long walk near the lake, small running near the rail track. Marina enjoyed herself by exploring nature a lot in Markham. When Marina joined new school, she is now in Grade 2 and no friends. Marina entered the doors of her new school with the hope of making new friends and see what Markham school bring her with fun. She did not have any friends and slowly got use of it. Her teacher Ms.Posie showed her the school around a bit but suddenly a girl said “Hi..” I am Mia and asked me Whats your name ? Marina introduced her and that moment changed everything for her. Both of them are best friends till now. They played together, talked lot of things together, lot of teamwork fun plays were done with her. Marina was so happy since Markham showed her nature beauty , new experience and made new friends and her best friend Mia. Everything was happy until Mia told that she is moving to a new place. Marina felt very sad because Mia is her best friend but Marina understood that she is going to new place and will be happy there too. Marina Mommy explained about changes that will happen to everyone and we need to adapt quickly and easily. Marina made a friendship card and gave to Mia with big hug. She made new friends and they are also nice to Marina. But then came CoVid-19 virus and it made to be in home and only home. Marina did not go to school or to play outside in parks. Marina followed the rules to stay away from crowd but we wanted something to keep us busy so we started taking photos. We took so much photos and some of them were nature photos, some of them were crafty photos, some of them were insect photos and some of them were animal ones. The animal photos took forever because you can never get a great shot but we did. It was fun having a hobby. It was a great experience doing all these fun stuff and going out for tiny walks with my family. While she was walking then she saw a board and her mommy said about the competition on story writing. Marina shared all her stories from old place to new place, old friends to new friends, from new classroom to now new google classroom. Marina thought life is full of changes and lets make fun stuff with new new things. She completed the Marina book story and was waiting what this story book is going to bring change to Marina. ******************************* THE END********************************* Dhara - Grade 3, Markham Hi I am dhara and 8 years old an in grade three.I wanted to write this story because I really like writing stories and it was a very great topic . I also had a great time writing this story because I am like telling about what happened before day and I really liked thinking about what happened before this day .It reminds me of my friends and other stuff.

Scout - Corrado Ferrara

scout i would scout the backroads out to the eastern reaches of the town trying to find my muse on 19th avenue the ‘79 malibu humming rattling over potholes the late spring green unraveling all around where would the next song be? would i find it in a ditch where the runoff had now slowed to a trickle? i looked to the trees as i passed 9th line who was speaking to me? where was i being drawn to? the tank was full and i was in no hurry i turned off the radio to hear the evening insects in the fields there were no other cars but still plenty of light to see the words dancing in the dust, in the gravel there was a bridge i favoured i was young then, romantic about water following these roads, stopping for a scribble when the words reached for me i would feel them brush the skin raising the hair on my arm that rested on the car door window open to the markham night i am forever grateful to those disappeared fields they brought a spirit out in me and i expect the haunting to stay

If The World Was A Movie: A Covid-19 Spoken Word Poem - Hannah Flores

https://youtu.be/Njbukm_qTng I am a 17-year-old spoken word poet and I hope to put smiles on my audience's faces in this era of uncertainty, changing the world one poem at a time. Watch in HD for the full experience! Winner of the 2020 Write the World Spoken Word Poetry Competition Selected as a feature film for the 2020 Lift-Off Global Network First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Changing Minds (Community Access Inc.) Film Festival 2020 Featured Film This was entirely filmed, written, produced, directed and voiced by me. I love to travel, and I am deeply saddened that I will be stuck at home for a while, so I incorporated some footage from my travels throughout the film. Being born in the height of the SARS outbreak, having lived through the Ebola crisis and now living in the Covid-19 pandemic has given me a unique perspective on human behaviour patterns in health-related epidemics. It has further fueled my passions for global health and neuroscience. Please enjoy, share, leave a like and subscribe! Turn on post notifications for new poems and films that I will be posting very soon! As Covid-19 continues to envelope the lives of people across the globe, we must not lose ourselves in the process. We need to practice social distancing, but we cannot socially distance ourselves from each other's humanity. Reach out to someone you know, strike up conversations and ask your neighbours and loved ones if there is anything that you could pick up for them at the store. Everyone must think outside of themselves, as this is a frightening and unprecedented moment in time where we are all in the same boat. It is difficult to stay grounded but do not lose hope, we will get past this together. Have faith in our medical personnel and emergency response teams around the world. Practice good hygiene, stay safe and stay positive. Life is never static. Life is always in motion.

Time Doesn’t Change — Spoken Poem

My name is Ananiya Narmathan and I enjoy writing poems to convey my thoughts and emotions. During this COVID-19 pandemic, I have felt a mix of emotions. I have wrote this spoken poem to open the jar of emotions Inside of me regarding the lockdown and how I feel living in Markham during the lock down. I hope you enjoy the poem and perhaps you may even connect to it. Stay safe everyone! This is the link to my spoken poem on YouTube... https://youtu.be/BPjJwT6q5ls