Ottawa School Of Art

 Nuit Blanche was a big part of the bicentennial party in the downtown core, taking place in the Byward Market. The dusk to dawn arts festival has been back with a preview last fall, after getting interrupted by Covid, and I particularly wanted to see this. I stopped in at one of the participating sites, the Ottawa School of Art. The school is a non-profit art school serving the community in a variety of ways, and this is one of two locations, the other being out in Orleans. The place was busy.

I headed upstairs, finding a cartooning workshop where guests could have a go at things.

Another workshop was busy, this one working with clay.

Moving along, I came into one studio where a small band was playing. I noticed this work on a sheet, looking vaguely human. It drew my eye.

And the music drew my ear.

Another studio, with multiple easels. Instructors were working with guests, who were painting their own interpretations of a cottage in a meadow scene projected onto the wall.

Back downstairs, there is a gallery space where the visitor can buy art made here in the school.

Back outside, and a look up at the building. The school has roots going back nearly 150 years now, and remains a vibrant part of the city.

Ends And Odds In The Capital

 We begin today with the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park at night. This is unique, the last surviving example of late 19th century exhibition hall architecture of its type in the country. Late last month, work began around the perimeter for some rehabilitation, coinciding with the work elsewhere on the property. The roof needs some work, which requires closing the building off with scaffolding.

Elsewhere on the property, also at night. At the east end of the property, I took this shot, with the constellation Orion rising above the southern horizon. This stays in the skies for months before disappearing in the spring. A sure sign of the end of summer.

I've shown this as a work in progress. This mural downtown was finished off. I spoke with the artist, and gave him my compliments on how well it looked.

Taken from home. I liked the moody skies and the last bits of light of the day showing themselves.

I was heading to an event one day in the first half of September when I noticed this panel on a wall in Little Italy, and photographed it.

Coming back, I was on the north-south LRT line as it crossed a bridge over the Rideau River between Vincent Massey Park and Carleton University. A number of years ago, a parallel pedestrian bridge was added here.

The waters are relatively shallow here, but swift.

On another late afternoon in the Glebe, the look of these clouds caught my eye.

Attending another event, I found that a rescue organization was present. The group saves exotic animals, and makes use of them for educational purposes. This is the marginated tortoise, which is normally found in dry environments around Italy, Greece, and the south Balkans.

And this is a ball python. Yes, of course I touched it. I wonder what it was thinking.

One morning in the second half of September, I came by Lansdowne to photograph some early fall colours. The rising sun illuminating the east side of the Aberdeen Pavilion required photographing.

As did the Horticulture Building, which is nearby. This regularly hosts a variety of events, and will be hosting those events that are normally held in the Pavilion during the rehabilitation project.

Odds And Ends In The Capital

 I have some odds and ends from recent weeks today. In the second half of August, I was coming home late in the day, and these moody skies caught my eye.

St. Matthew's Anglican Church is in the Glebe, and regularly features here.

The Bank of Canada is Canada's central bank, a government Crown corporation, and lies across from Parliament Hill. The older building is partially wrapped up in the modern new building, an interesting visual mix.

Sunflowers grow well here in the later summer; these are found in the Glebe, where early in the morning I found bees at work.

I attended a CFL game at the end of August at Lansdowne Park, with the Redblacks hosting. The team has had an abysmal year, to say the least. I took this shot while walking about before the game, from the east staircase of the South Stands. The moody skies didn't end up in rain.

Down a flight of stairs and turning to the northeast gives us a view of the work in progress. The North Stands will get torn down in the second stage of this project and rebuilt. The arena, which is currently beneath the North Stands and still hosting hockey, basketball, and concerts, is being rebuilt here at the east side of the stadium. Things are coming along, with the rink taking shape, and the main concourse starting to form. There will be another level added over this, and the new building is expected to be done in the late fall of 2028. At that point the North Stands will be demolished, replaced by a tiered structure taking up less of a footprint. That's expected to go into 2030, with two condo towers going up behind the new stands.

Elsewhere in the Glebe, this relatively new mural caught my eye one evening.

On another night, close to Lansdowne, I was passing by on the pathway beside Queen Elizabeth Drive. I noticed a skunk busily digging in the grass between me and the construction perimeter on the property.

Odds And Ends In The Capital City

I have some odds and ends from the last few weeks today and tomorrow. We start back on Canada Day. I stopped briefly by the Museum of Nature that day, and as I was leaving the property, these ominous clouds were presenting themselves. Within minutes, the first rain began, falling hard. 

A little while later, and a bus ride away, I took this photograph downtown up at the sky. Another round of rain would soon fall, and when I got home, the worst storm of the day came down late in the afternoon.

On another day, close to home. This sweet cat spends a good part of the day napping in front of her house.

Another furry critter. I've probably photographed this rabbit before; this is in the front yard of St. Matthew Anglican Church in the Glebe.

In Major's Park stands this work of art. Twist 1.5 is by Alex Wyse and Ken Guild, done in wood.

Back in the Glebe, this church is one I don't photograph often. Blessed Sacrament Parish is a Catholic church in the south side of the neighbourhood.

The Supreme Court of Canada late in the day- a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture.

One day when I went into Gatineau, I stopped to photograph these flowerboxes alongside the street. You may remember the tulips being in them. After the tulips are done blooming, they get replaced by flowers lasting the season into October.

Once more in the Glebe. The stump of an old tree is hidden beneath all this greenery.

One morning at Lansdowne Park I noticed this squirrel, who noticed me.

For today, I finish here downtown. This is a work in progress, a large mural on a building. It's since been completed, and looks beautiful.