Creativity By Night

I got into the Byward Market during Nuit Blanche, another very busy spot, and came across artists in the midst of  work, something of a challenge given the winds that had picked up. This artist is Virginia Dupuis. She specializes in landscapes and floral art, and has in the last while moved her way of creative thinking into art telling a story. I'd met her last year during Nuit Blanche, as she was taking part in what is called the Human Library. She took part again this year, and we had a chat and looked over her work.

The Human Library is one of my favourite parts of Nuit Blanche (and here I didn't photograph anyone I spoke with!). The concept is to bring together artists, writers, photographers, and other creative minds. The public can book a half hour's time to chat with them, and I find the experience engaging and refreshing from the creative perspective. Aside from Virginia, I spoke with photographer Lois Siegel, whose work in the city is well established- she had a collection of her own work on hand, as well as samples of images she liked because of the light or the angle of the shot. We talked about the photographer's creative process. Katharine Fletcher was another creative spirit I spoke with. She's a writer and artist with specialties in travel, the environment, and nature. Katharine and I talked about changes in the creative life, and about her concept of artist's trading cards. And I sat down with Marie Bilodeau, a fantasy novelist. Marie and I chatted about the life of a writer and what goes into the genres we work in. All in all, the Human Library was such an enjoyable experience this year.

The artist working next to Virginia that evening was Maureen Rooney Mitchell. One of the enjoyable things about this evening is the chance to watch an artist at work. I see I wasn't the only one watching her brushstrokes.

There was another artist close by (I didn't get her name) working on a depiction of a shop across the sidewalk from here, which happens to be a new shoe store.

Something unusual to finish this post- Amelia Louis devised this concept, the Applause Choir. A small group of people cheering and applauding anyone passing by. The expressions on the faces of the choir and their passersby made the whole idea work.