Finding a new view: What am I missing here?
I’ve always been drawn to the unique architecture that emerges from a mix of ancestry, religion, design, and history. After spending a few years in downtown Toronto—surrounded by towering glass and cold concrete—I found a new appreciation for the smaller, older homes scattered across the small town of Peterborough. As minimalism reshapes cities around the world, there’s something grounding about the distinctive character built into each historical frame laid down in the early 1900s (and long before).
There’s a simple promise in most homes: sunlight streaming through panes of glass, offering a view from within. Windows are curious things. They offer tiny insights into the lives of neighbours and strangers alike. They tell stories through design, reveal slivers of personality, and act as transparent lids to the containers of people’s histories. At the same time, they give us space to look outward—to pause, reflect, and take in the world beyond our walls.
This project was inspired by José Guizar and his visual journey through New York’s brilliant architectural history. His work sparked a question in me: What am I missing here? The answer came in the form of the small, quiet details I had overlooked in my own city.
After years of moving past them without thought, I began to see the buildings around me in a new light. I noticed their shapes, their stories, their significance. What once seemed ordinary now feels deeply personal. That’s where this journey began—and where it continues—as I travel across the valley, documenting these windows one frame at a time.
About the Artist
Aaron Robitaille is a graphic designer and visual artist with over a decade of experience as a creative problem-solver. A graduate of both the Ontario College of Art & Design and Fleming College, she uniquely merges traditional and digital techniques. Her work covers a wide scope-including mixed media painting, large-scale murals, sculpture and installations to the graphic design realm of developing visual identities and brands, digital illustration, website design and more.