Sunday’s fabulous finds will be had first down at Minto Park, where Ravenswing Arts and Music Fair will be having their seventh annual day o’ fun. They’ll have workshops and music, along with the expected arts and crafts. Take your love of crafty delights down to Little Italy after that – Idle Hands craft and vintage sale will take over St Anthony’s with a diverse selection of gifts, clothes, art and tiny treasures. Wrap it all up with a celebratory drink down at 8 Locks Flat, which opens this weekend down by the canal. The Dusty Drifters will be stopping by to play a few tunes there on Sunday night.

Theatre buffs have a few treats on hand. It’s your last chance to catch White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, a one-person play featuring a different actor for every performance – it wraps up on Saturday. On Sunday, you can catch three talented young women in Tenderhooks – these high schoolers have been receiving much acclaim for their piece.

Music-wise, tonight Rimbombante are celebrating the release of their new album at Mambo, while Delta Will and Claude Munson & the Storm Outside will land at Pressed for what’s sure to be a unique experience. Amanda Bon and the Outskirts will perform from their new album on Friday night, and The Richardson Band, The Old Salts, and The Matt Ferriers will be at Raw Sugar. Fevers will be at Ritual on Saturday, marking the release of a new single, and will have a few local musical friends popping by to help celebrate.

And for you foodies, find out a few tips from Chef Justin Scott at the Unrefined Olive on Saturday, or stop by the Hintonburg Public House on Sunday for Chef-Faced. This party will pit four chefs and four bartenders against each other, to come up with monthly specials – and, May is “Meat on a Stick” month. Yum!

What else is happening in your ‘hood this weekend, Ottawa?

Architecture and art intertwine seamlessly in Manual Báez’s life. From a young age he knew he wanted to become an architect. A chance encounter with his guidance counselor introduced him to a school in his hometown of New York, Cooper Union, which had an innovative architecture program. “Cooper Union made me change my goals as an architect. It made me see architecture from a very broad perspective. And it’s because of this experience that I’m doing what I do.”

He worked in NYC until receiving his license. Instead of committing to the “corporate architecture”  lifestyle, he decided to get his Master’s degree at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, which has an architecture program. That’s really where he got interested in replicating natural phenomena and patterns.

After a couple of part-time teaching gigs at Cooper Union and then the Rhode Island School of Design, Báez landed in Ottawa at Carleton University, where he had been invited numerous times for guest lectures. He’s now been in Ottawa for 12 years.

Báez considers art and architecture to be both very different and very similar. “Art allows me to investigate things without the concerns that would be architectural, like “is it going to be able to standup or withstand the weight?”. With architecture, you have to take into account a lot of other components, and there’s a clear purpose beyond art itself.” It’s important for Báez to have the practical outlet. “It’s nice to explore, he says, but eventually you have to put it out there, in a lasting way.”

Báez’ work draws from the natural world. He looks at natural systems to identify patterns that he models physically. It could be something like modeling the action of neurons or weather patterns, natural systems where you’d find natural structures in the way they are organized and function. There are patterns, and what’s interesting is that these patterns are not rigid – they are alive.

Manuel got linked to the HUB through Creative Mornings Ottawa, where he presented in June 2012.  The event was taking place at the HUB, and, following his presentation; HUB leadership approached Manuel to see if he was interested in doing an installation in the space. He came back with an idea two weeks later.

Resonant Currents is a woven structure that recalls a lot of the things you would put under the rubric of Canadian mosaic – aboriginal art, Arabic calligraphy and Celtic knotting come to mind. “It’s not trying to imitate”, qualifies Baez, ‘but in the way it’s put together, it recalls that. “

The 8-inch birch plywood used in the work is very malleable and allows for complex patterns. It will occupy the entire ceiling and include wiremesh highlights at several locations, such as at the central location of the main HUB reception table.Báez has worked with his students as part of his Crossings Workshop to create and build the structure. The students are Kaveh Baradaran, Ming Fu, Melhik Gebremichael, Arron Griffioen, Robin Woollacott, Macy Laporte, Mark Madera, Stephanie Murphy, Mateusz Nowacki, Maria Olmedo Franco, and Aigerim Shakanova.

Funds raised through the Indiegogo campaign will go to paying for materials, towards this amazing structure.

It’s a four track digital only release based on the story of Robin Van Helsum, or “Forest Boy” as he was dubbed by the press when he wandered out of the woods in Germany claiming to have lived in the woods for five years with his father. Aidan says he was reminded of the story when he saw a poster created for the band by fellow musician and friend of the band Reagan McLean.

“He tells all these authority figures that he’s all alone in the world. He doesn’t know who he is,” said Knight on the phone from London, Ontario last week. “He has this moment where he’s put in protective custody and he has this real chance to start his life over.”

The album is a creative solution to Knight’s situation and the album itself is fun to listen to.

It’s an entrepreneurial approach to the problem of making a living as an artist in Canada, something that Knight is thinking quite a bit about. “Going to shows in Victoria, a lot of it was do it yourself” said Knight. “When you would put on an all-ages show in a sweaty gymnasium you would essentially know all the people that were coming to the show and you’d be advertising to them directly and they would come to the show and support what you are doing.”

The newer models of crowdfunding still require support from the community, but that community has become more distributed and has moved online.

Knight has been able to raise the money he needed and the tour is in-progress, including a stop at the Blacksheep Inn on May 23rd.

Knight is no stranger to the Ottawa region. I, like many other Ottawans, first met Knight at the 2010 Ottawa Folk Fest where he played a great show and an impressive workshop. Knight has a new full-length album since that festival and he’s already toured much of Eastern Canada on this most recent venture off of Vancouver Island.

It should be a good show this week. Knight’s work is precise and impressive, offering up a fun mix of folky pop and intelligent lyrics.

You can download Telecommunicate (in any format you like) for six bucks on Aidan Knight’s Bandcamp page. Tickets to the show are available online. Doors open at 8:30 and tickets are $15 in advance.

The event is a great way to support the gallery, meet and connect with local artists and take home an original piece of art. With over 60 participating artists, the selection and range of work is sure to be diverse – there is something for everyone.

Some of the artists include Bear Witness, Pat Durr, Tony Fouhse, Jonathan Hobin, Manon Labrosse, Penny McCann, Ron Noganosh, Andrew and Deborah O’Malley, Colin Muir Dorward, Theo Pelmus, Leslie Reid, Norman Takeuchi, Laura Taler, Cara Tierney, Guillermo Trejo and Andrew Wright. Click here to see a full listing and samples of the work you can bid on.

As in years past, a panel of local experts have selected a few stand-out pieces, which will be announced the day before Le pARTy, at the Art Auction preview. This year’s critics are curator and art historian Diana Nemiroff, Nuit Blanche Ottawa + Gatineau curator Megan Smith, and Ottawa Magazine’s art critic Paul Gessell.

For a chance to win tickets to the event, let us know below which work you’d like to take home. Contest closes at noon on Friday, May 24.

Le pARTy gets underway at 6pm on Thursday, May 30 at the Ottawa Art Gallery (2 Daly Avenue). For more information, check the OAG website.

Scott H. Wilson

Photo by Scott H. Wilson

It has been said that photography is a picture painted by the sun.  If this is true, then a talented photographer is someone who can capture the solar “hand” of the sky as it paints its living masterpiece.

This thought crossed my mind while thinking about the gorgeous work of Scott Wilson.  Originally from the Toronto area, he moved to the National Capital Region about 1 ½ years ago to follow his girlfriend who is doing her PhD at the University of Ottawa.

Currently living in Hull, his popular tumblr blog contains a stunning collection of images that capture the natural landscape in our region.  For instance, consider these wonderful photos from a stroll in Gatineau Park, or these breathtaking shots from the Champlain Bridge on the Ottawa River.

Photo by Scott H. Wilson

“I want to get out and shoot every day in order to get better,” says Wilson, who takes a good portion of his photographs while walking his dog.  ”I try to pick a different spot (each day) to walk.”

Wilson says that he aims to tell a narrative in his shots, rather than surrendering the lens to a specific subject. “The photographers that I follow are like that,” he says.  ”They are not about pose shots or portraits, they tell a story.”

While most of Wilson’s work focuses on nature, he does shoot urban landscapes, such as the photo above.  You can see more of his urban images here and here.  If you want to know more about his work and/or hire him for a shoot, you can go to his professional web site or follow him on Twitter.

In the meantime, here are more examples of his fantastic work: these winter photos are so vivid you can feel the snow; the fiery colours of autumn sparkle here; the joy of summer is alive here.

Chris Vanderwees (Street Photography and Other Snaps)

Photo by Chris Vanderwees

The soul of a city can be found in its music halls, restaurants, art galleries and bedrooms.  If you want to see a city’s face, however, then you can turn to the street, which is arguably the only place in society where all classes, ages, ethnic groups and personalities cross paths.

Chris Vanderwees’ wonderful photo-blog is like a mirror reflecting Ottawa’s visage.  In his fantastic collection of street shots, he captures the full palette of personalities that traverse through the Glebe, Centretown, Golden Triangle and Rideau Street neighbourhoods.

“I see people from all walks of life,” says Vanderwees, who is a PhD candidate in Carleton University’s English Department.  ”There are people who are pretty poor to people who are well off.  Different ages and different professions.”

Photo by Chris Vanderwees

Having first received a camera at the age of ten, the 29-year-old decided to chronicle the various characters that he saw while walking in the street after working on his thesis.

His images range from the touching (see the two women embracing and kissing on the cheek above), to the quirky/hip (see man with the glasses on the left), to the disturbing (see anti-abortion protestor below).

Photo by Chris Vanderwees

When asked how people respond to his camera, he replies that it varies.  ”The spectrum of reaction is interesting,” he tells me.  ”Some people are indifferent, while others will have the patience to let me take a half-a-roll of film.”

While observing his work, I felt as if I was becoming better acquainted with my fellow Ottawa residents. Whether it’s drug users, hipsters, the homeless, business owners, buskers, lovers or friends, his photos make you feel like you are strutting beside him, interacting with the wide range of personalities in the city.  The non-judgmental tone of the pictures also appeals to me, as they allow the subjects to be who they are, with their unvarnished glory and faults.

While Vanderwees’ blog is a labour of love, he says it might be possible to put out a photography book with a small publisher in the future.  For the time being, however, he is content to continue chronicling the city’s inhabitants as they live their day-to-day lives.

Brian Brooks

Photo of heavy horse show, Carp Fair, by Brian Brooks

It’s tempting when writing about art to pigeonhole people into distinct categories.  In the case of photography, one can classify images as landscapes, portraits, abstract shots, street photography or countless other genres.

If we resist the urge to define, however, and let photographs speak for themselves, we can sometimes discover that a single person can cover a lot of ground with a camera lens.  As a case in point, consider the tumbler site of photographer Brian Brooks, whose wide ranging work cannot be described in a single category.

Photo by Brian Brooks

Originally from Texas, the longtime Ottawa resident shoots everything from thoughtful profiles (see here), to intriguing rock formations (see here), to artistic shots that turn mundane objects into abstract forms (see left), to interesting urban landscapes (see discussion of Texas below). The location of his pictures also vary, as he has taken shots from such places as Mexico, Australia, Texas, Montreal and Ottawa.

“For a lot of the abstract stuff I walk down the street and it just happens,” says Brooks, when asked how he tackles different subject matters.  ”When it comes to portraits it’s planned.”

One of the things that I particularly love about his work is a series of recent photos that he took while travelling in his native Texas.  These photos include beautiful images, such as his shot of the the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth Texas, which can be seen below (original here), to haunting shots of small towns in Texas that have been hard hit by the recession.

Photo by Brian Brooks

“You could see the impact of the economic downturn,” says Brooks, as he recalls his Texas trip.  ”Many stores on the main streets where closed down.”

While reflecting on his voyage to the Lone Star State, he made reference to a photograph of a church parking lot (see here for photo).  In the image, there is a parking spot that is labelled “handicapped” and which lies below three crosses.  The parking spot for the pastor, in contrast, is located a bit to the side.

This image, says Brooks, represents for him the religious idea that the weakest members of society should be looked after, a thought that comes to mind when thinking of the brutal economic impact that many regions in the United States have recently suffered.  This analysis, however, is unusual for Brooks, as he normally shies away from defining his photographs.

“I don’t want to tell you want it means,” he says when asked to comment on his work.  ”I don’t want to ruin it for you.”  This is another thing I like about his photos, namely, that he completely trusts his audience to make their own judgements.

On the second floor of her home, in a room filled with guitars, books and walls smeared with colourful brushstrokes, Manon Labrosse creates her intriguing abstract paintings.

For several years, her practice combined abstract forms with images of telephone poles or power lines, such as the painting below (one of my favourite pieces by her).  Inspired by memories of road trips to a family farm in Northern Ontario, the colour tone in these paintings is dark – to the point that one can imagine being on the side of a highway at dusk, looking at electrical lines.

In contrast, her most recent work contains much brighter colours and has as its theme tree logs, an idea inspired by the former tree farm that her father owned for many years.

“I didn’t appreciate what I had,” recalls Labrosse, as she reflects on her teenage years, while growing up in the small francophone community of Hearst.  “I didn’t take advantage of [the tree farm].”

If you look at the top of this post,  you will see the progress on her current series of paintings called Thaw, which combine abstract techniques with log images (the latter being based on two photographs taped to the wall).

With her earlier work, Labrosse says that she ended up feeling constrained by the darkness of the colours and painting style.  In a quest for more artistic freedom, she started experimenting with lighter colours, as well as the intriguing technique of letting drops of paint roll down the canvas in order to leave clear lines.

“Now I want to relax more and be more messy,” says Labrosse, who has lived in Ottawa since 1998.  ”I just like the drips and I added more colours, added more white.”

My initial reaction when I saw the drip lines was to think of teardrops or rain drops.  These lines, however, can also symbolise an awakening, such as in her Thaw series, where the drips can be seen as the melting of snow and ice.

As for her style of combining abstraction with images of a specific “real-world” objects, she says that this comes from inspiration during her student days.

“I started in university,” says Labrosse, who graduated with a B.F.A. from the University of Ottawa in 2002.  “At the time I was obsessed with Radiohead.  The guy who did their album covers was Stanley Donwood, who works with symbols.”  This interest in symbols lead her to create themes inside otherwise abstract paintings.

While Labrosse has no plans to exhibit this year (her focus is to finish the Thaw series), she hopes to participate in this year’s Nuit Blanche with a video project.

As well, her work will be on display at the Le pARTy yearly auction at the Ottawa Art Gallery (stay tuned for a ticket giveaway contest next week).  The fundraiser at 2 Daly Avenue is scheduled for May 30, and is a great opportunity to buy art from local artists.

In the meantime, her paintings can be found at Galerie St-Laurent + Hill.  For specific examples of her work at the gallery website click here.

After viewing the very funny and intriguing production of In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), I can report that, yes, a play about vibrators can be great theatre, as well as being a fun evening out with a parent.

Written by U.S.-born playwright Sarah Ruhl, In the Next Room is set around the 1880s in a town outside of New York City.  The play, which received three Tony award nominations in 2010, focuses on the medical practice of Dr. Givings, played by David Whiteley, who uses an electrical vibrator to treat women for “hysteria”.  (Science and electricity are recurring themes as the story is set during the dawn of electricity).

At the opening of the play, Dr. Givings begins treatment on a woman named Sabrina Daldry, played by Ottawa-native Sarah Finn, who complains of being too sensitive to light and cold, as well as being unable to play her beloved piano.  In reality, Mr. Daldry is sexually frustrated with her husband, played by David Frisch, and is delighted when she starts experiencing orgasms with the electrical machine.  The vibrating sessions are administered by Dr. Givings and her assistant Annie, played by Ottawa Theatre School graduate Michelle LeBlanc.

Dr. Givings wife Catherine, meanwhile, can’t help but notice all the moaning in her husband’s office, and soon discovers the pleasure of the electrical machine herself.  Unlike Mrs. Daldry, however, who is happy to reach climax in the doctor’s office and then return to a boring home life, Mrs. Givings demands more passion from life in general, and her husband in particular.

In her quest for joie de vivre, Mrs. Givings, who is played by Sascha Cole,  falls in love “a little” with a painter named Leo Irving, who is one of her husbands rare male patients.  Played by Robin Toller, who attended Canterbury High School’s drama program before moving to the United Kingdom to study at the The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, the artistic Leo captivates Mrs. Givings with tales of Italy, love and beauty.  As a new born mother, Mrs. Givings also struggles with motherhood and breastfeeding, with the latter issue leading her to hire a wet nurse named Elizabeth, played by Ottawa Theatre School graduate Dilys Ayafor.

While the plays’s subject matter may raise some eyebrows, the show is performed in a completely tasteful, albeit hilarious, fashion.  For me, the characters almost childlike discovery of the vibrator, coupled with genuine tender moments like the beautiful ending, make this production a lot of fun to watch.  So if you have a free evening in the next two-and-a half weeks, do yourself a favour and see this show, and don’t be shy about inviting a spouse, family member or friend.

In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) is directed by Bronwyn Steinberg and is playing at The Gladstone at 910 Gladstone Avenue until June 1.  Shows take place Tuesday to Saturday (see schedule here), and tickets range from $23 for students to $39 for adult, tax included.

Kicking things off, we’ve got Chinatown Remixed all day Saturday. From jellyfish in cafe windows to a main stage o’ fun, you’ll want to be wandering Somerset Street from dawn til dusk. Don’t fret too much if you can’t make it – the exhibits will continue on for the next month.

Tonight, Shannon Rose and the Thorns are out at the Black Sheep, with Whitebrow stopping by to play some tunes from their new album. Saturday night, it’s the Ottawa Rock Lottery – your chance to see Ottawa’s best musicians get shaken up and stirred together, resulting in creative new songs and possibly the next big music group. Also that night, the Glorious Moonrockets are having an album release party, with Dagger Eyes and Brabazon joining the fun. Sunday? Groove to the spins of DJ Sweetcheeks down at the Hintonburg Public House, which is also the evening that Siach HaSadeh will be playing traditional Chassidic melodies down at Umi Cafe. Want to be part of a giant jam session? Head to Parc Moussette in Gatineau from 4-6pm on Sunday. A new concert series also kicks off on Sunday, with Nationless Nights: Edition Zero happening at the Rainbow Bistro.

Vaudeville and burlesque come together courtesy the Mansfield Brothers, who are presenting A Vaudelesque Revue tonight at Maxwell’s.

And if you’re a lady and love to code, there’s a mobile development workshop happening at Shopify this weekend – and don’t worry if you have no coding experience at all. They’ll teach you everything you need to know about the interweb!

The Tulip Festival wraps up this weekend, with Lucky Ron and the Dusty Drifters playing Friday night and Ukrainia! on stage Saturday evening. There’s also fireworks, folk dances and of course, flowers. The Croatian Folklore Festival, in its 39th year, is also happening down at the NAC on Sunday.

And finally: get out and dance it up in celebration of spring with the Timekode DJs Friday night.

What else are you up to this weekend, Ottawa?

Yogawoman is an award winning documentary that tells the inspiring stories of women whose lives have been changed by yoga. Why just women? Although you’d never guess going into a studio here in North America, traditionally yoga was developed for men. It was brought to the western world from India by male teachers. Now women have turned yoga into a multi-billion dollar industry, and this is the story of why.

The film details how women have used yoga to ease the pain surrounding conditions like breast cancer or infertility. It tells of women who have used yoga to work through anxiety and depression. Revealing stories from Manhattan to Kenya, from prisons to cancer wards, “Yogawoman” is nothing short of inspirational.

The exceptional part of this premiere is the chance to talk to Ottawa’s own yoga women. At the opening screening there will be a special Q + A period with four Ottawa women who can relate the powerful effect yoga has had on their lives first hand. Kathy Smart from Live The Smart Way, Tara Porter from Restorative Yoga, Megan Campbell from Journey of the Yogini and Jennifer Steers are all experienced, certified yoga teachers. Come let them inspire you to get on the mat.

The premiere of “Yogawoman” with Q+A is this Friday, May 17th Theatre., 5:30 pm at the Mayfair.