verb : to passion

There's a reason why the word passion requires the preface "to be" when activated as a verb - because passion is not something we do, it is something we are. Jeffrey and Jamie should indeed be considered gurus of passion. They live in the triumvirate artist-teacher-student and have inspired others to do the same.

In this house, there are no labels for artists. Anyone can be anything and their home is a museum of their philosophy. Their paintings adorn the walls, instruments lay poised for the picking, craft supplies collect on the window sill (as we speak an impressive collection of bag fasteners are awaiting their creative fate at Jamie's hand), a new soundtrack plays in the background of every visit, a Lego city sprawls across the garage - the house is teeming with creative passion. And the girls are bustling bees that even mom and dad have trouble keeping up with.  

                  

With the announcement of pajama time two sets of little feet skip up the stairs and passion of a different kind unveils itself. 

Without a doubt, love is itself an art. 

an interactive art of sharing, finding and generating passion

 that requires you to know your subject if you are to improve. So many of us forget that to be good at what we do we have to practice. If we try hard enough we become what we practice.

 

If that eye could talk - I think that's what it would say.

   

Lorne & Hazel

Lorne and Hazel are two of Baker Street's finest gems. That's saying a great deal considering Baker Street is home to a number of exceptional folks - This mid century lane is lined with artists, activists and innovators. If you ever move onto the south end of the street you will surely get a visit from these loving neighbours whose home is teeming with the creative energy and whose doors are always open to visitors.

Just as one is not born but becomes a woman, one is not born but becomes an artist. Lorne and Hazel are artists who have emerged from their own lives with wisdom and light that only art could hope to capture. And their art comes in endless shapes and sizes. 

Lorne is a deep well of innovation, creativity and fearlessness. There is nothing he will not tackle. He's carved a staircase, rebuilt a grandfather clock, painted the landscapes of a morphing Stouffville, engineered his own telescope, written poetry... there is no end to his list of creative work. If you want to see one of Lorne's more recent creations, Sleepy Hollow Golf Course is adorned with a bridge designed and built by Lorne's hands with local stones. 

A visit to their home also reveals Hazel's gifts as an artist. As a writer, weaver, gardener, scrapbooker Hazel shares her passion for celebrating life and expressing the awe and depth of our existence. She writes from a place of humble joyfulness for the full life she has lived thus far. If you hang out around main street you've witnessed Hazel weaving in and out of shops spreading hugs and her particular brand of good cheer.

Lorne and Hazel are simply inspiring. They laugh. They give. They create. They nap in the afternoon and then wake up and do it all again. They are tireless.

Local artist Paul Plett celebrated Lorne's work in a documentary a couple years ago that captured the profound passion Lorne and Hazel both possess for creating, being creative and making sense of life and god as two people who have truly lived many lives. 

Many of their greatest gifts however are invisible but here are a few you can see.