Category: Architecture & Design
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Capital Building: A View from Washington – Part 2
Click here for Capital Building: A View from Washington – Part 1 Having finally seen Washington, DC for myself this summer, it was great to connect with this presentation by Marcel Acosta, Executive Director of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the Federal Planning Agency for America’s Capital. In it he discusses how the city came to be shaped,… Read more
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Capital Building: A View from Washington – Part 1
In spite of the oppressive heat and humidity of August in Washington, D.C., I did what I like to do best: I walked around, looked at things and talked to people. This being my first trip to the capital, I focussed on the National Mall, exploring adjacent neighborhoods, and my relentless pursuit of Guastavino tile. In D.C., security is the conversational opener in the same… Read more
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Giving Grace to Utility
Excerpt: John Ruskin ~The Relation of Art to Use, 1870 Our subject of enquiry to-day, you will remember, is the mode in which fine art is founded upon, or may contribute to, the practical requirements of human life. Read more
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360° of Franc van Oort (Pt. 1)
For the two years I attended trade school at Algonquin College, Perth became my second home. Between classes I photographed the countryside, explored abandoned buildings, foraged in antique shops and became a regular visitor to Riverguild’s mezzanine, concocting a mental list of the works I would buy from artist Franc van Oort when I’d finished spending money on my greedy old… Read more
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360° of Franc van Oort (Pt. 2)
Note: There is now a Part 1 which can be found here. Don’t go looking for Part 1 of this piece because it has yet to be written. I am exercising my right to choose the cadence and order of storytelling; here the order is immaterial except for the lack of a formal introduction of artist Franc van Oort, and… Read more
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24 Sussex Drive is Falling Down
Contrary to opinions offered by former tenants of the building, reality television stars, CBC listeners, and social media commentators, there is no single right answer to the question: What should become of the Prime Minister’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive? In fact, it doesn’t matter whether the building is razed or retrofitted. Either way, there… Read more
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A Zibi Kind of Day
Sunshine. Twenty degrees. Light breeze. Birdsong out-gunning any human distractions. Views to the Ottawa river. And wildflowers, vines, bushes and trees in bloom everywhere. It was just another perfect day shooting the Domtar lands as part of the Workers History Museum cataloguing project. While the industrial buildings remain the focus, Mother Nature with her natural green roofs, biodiverse ‘gardens’… Read more
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Joyce Frances Devlin: Spring Show 2015
This afternoon I dragged my nose away from the grindstone long enough to bathe, swap my grubby work clothes for something more civilized and walk the short distance to Joyce Frances Devlin‘s home and studio. After the success of last year’s show, Joyce has been exhibiting her gorgeous new work over these past two weekends and the show remains… Read more
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Shooting the Domtar Lands – Part 2
Another glorious day working outside, this time photographing a series of attached buildings beginning on the corner of Rue Eddy & Boulevard Alexandre-Tache. The mostly stone buildings are encased in high chain link fencing, held tight by cross-wires and reinforced by steel posts and beams endeavouring to keep all the bits together. Bill worked the overview from across… Read more
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Joyce Frances Devlin: Painter & A Painted House
As part of the Jane’s Walk Burritt’s Rapids community festival, Ms. Devlin will be exhibiting select pieces in the main gallery space of the Burritt’s Rapids Community Hall on May 2nd & May 3rd, 2015. ********* If I had any sense, I would pound a wooden stake into my front lawn, attach a five kilometre length of string, and scribe… Read more