I ventured out to the Queen West Art Crawl this weekend to take in local art, and find an excuse to stuff my face with delicate French pastries, all in the name of courageous and intrepid reporting. That's just the kind of person I am. I sacrifice.

My first stop was Made You Look, a jewelry shop boasting the works of over 100 local artists. The listing promised a studio tour, and the owner was on hand to show me around the studio. Made You Look isn't just a retail store but a one-stop-shop for serious jewelery designers, where they have access to many resources like photo studios, meeting spaces, and 24/7 access to rented workspace. Unfortunately during my visit, the work stools sat empty. It was still cool to see what goes into making really neat, one of a kind pieces.

Next, I popped into the Gladstone where on the second floor the gallery space was showcasing numerous artists, one in particular catching my eye. I spotted Joanna Strong's striking and quirky-fun paintings at last years One of a Kind show.

I could stare at her rubber band paintings for hours. There's something about the depth, detail and bright, fun colours that really appeals to me.

Further along at the Drake, Mr. LetsPaintTV was giving a street corner demonstration of painting techniques while cooking a "Drake Burger" and running on a treadmill.

Moving eastward, I found myself at Median Contemporary Gallery, where Rui Pimenta and his solo show 'Living Within the Means of Existence" was located. I'm a big fan of Rui's mesmerizing Plexiglas and resin works. I was glad to find him here, though not all that surprising since he is a co-founder of this artist owned and operated space.

He explained to me the process of creating the moving piece in the front window. He even let me touch it - something I always have to restrain myself from doing in galleries.

Walking down Queen, the crowds grew thicker as I approached Trinity-Bellwoods, where the outdoor art show was located. Along the way, a number of sidewalk/rummage sales had people stopping and poring over the random objet d'art, vintage telephones and glass wares.

Last stop on my route was Nadège a strikingly modernist/minimalist space at the corner of Queen and Gore Vale. Nadège was cafe on the first floor and gallery on the second. Owner Nadège was on hand overseeing the late-day crowd, and was concerned about the lack of treats in the display case as I snapped away, wondering if it would be a poor representation of her stores offerings. She need not worry, as what was there was artfully displayed in a mouthwatering fashion, with many customers lined up, cooing at the decadent and unique art-pastries.

I couldn't resist a latte and two small, cream filled rose cookies that were incredibly delicate. I savored every bite of the tiny pink treats, a tasty and artistic end to my afternoon exploring new art on familiar turf.