Category Archives: Discovering Ottawa

A Day at The National Gallery of Canada

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After my trip to the Met last week, I realized that I hadn’t been to a museum or gallery in quite some time – probably since my school day field trips. So when my mom suggested going to our local art gallery – which also happens to be the National Gallery of Canada this weekend, I thought it was a great idea!

We made our way downtown in the late morning, and one thing I love about the gallery here in Ottawa is that even before you step inside, you are blown away by the paned glass building that houses the artwork, as well as this monumental, recognizable spider like statue which is becoming symbolic of this area of Ottawa.

Louise Bourgeois Maman Spider

The creator of this sculpture, Louise Bourgeois, passed away in 2010, and there is an exhibition on right now, Personages, that features some of her smaller scale works. We checked that out, marvelling at the carved wooden shapes resembling skinny totem pole people. She had also incorporated clothing into some of the pieces, twisting and shaping sweaters and garments to stretch along the steel and wood.

Since I had recently seen a lot of European work, I particularly wanted to have a look through the Canadian collections. It’s fun to browse through the art with my mom, who’s a painter and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and can recognize the artist of a painting by its style.

I’ve always loved the Group of Seven and Tom Thompson paintings and I was especially drawn to some of the ones today that reflect beautiful, rugged landscapes. Lawren Harris is probably my favourite, and his diverse works (some detailed, others abstract and simple) especially these stark, Arctic paintings, are great to see up close and in person.

Lawren Harris North Shore

Some of Tom Thompson’s pieces are beautiful to behold as well, and I can’t get enough of his fiery red trees, looping in and out of landscapes, especially at this time of year.

Tom Thompson Autumn Garland

And of course, one of my other favourites, Emily Carr, one of Canada’s best-known and most loved female artists – we saw quite a few of her greenly lush paintings, filled with totem poles and trees.

Emily Carr

I also recognized several artists who I had come across in my time working for the Canada Council’s Art Bank, including Jean Paul Riopelle, Gershon Iskowitz, and Jean McEwen. These works are a bit more recent, more abstract and filled with vibrant colors and shapes.

Jean Paul Riopelle

After a quick turn through the Indian carvings, the older European works, some pieces from Quebec at the turn of the century, and a bit of pop art including a stack of Brillo Soap Pads Boxes (by Andy Warhol), I was wiped out and ready to head out for a late lunch in the ByWard market. If you’re looking for something to do on a crisp fall day, I really recommend checking out the Art Gallery. The views from inside are glorious, overlooking the Parliament buildings and fall foliage – and then there’s all that stunning artwork to take in!

All images cc The National Gallery of Canada

Dog Days of Summer

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I just discovered 2 things recently. 1 – There is a small, rocky beach on the Ottawa river about a 5 minute drive from my house and 2 – my little, fluffy lap dog LOVES to swim.

My dad was actually the one to find this beach. His dog is a Nova Scotia Duck Toller and was bred to go in the water. He just adores swimming, fetching, and splashing around in any water at all.

My little dog, Herman, has been swimming a couple of times, usually a mucky pond or something, but when we took the two of them to this small beach on the end of a residential road, both were in and Herman was swimming like crazy! He looked like a little otter.

It’s pretty shallow, so after paddling around for a good 20 minutes, lunging up through the water when my dad tossed a rock nearby, he was able to stand, or even sit on the bottom and watch the fun. He’d get out for a minute, sniff around the shore, shake off water droplets.

And then rush back into the water to start swimming all over again.

And down went the stage

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The last day of Bluesfest 2011 sure went out with a bang!

I arrived around noon this past Sunday to the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, and pulled into the Lebreton Flats grounds. Tyler and I drove as close as we could to the Hard Rock Stage, then unloaded the gear: two keyboards, a stand and seat. We met up with Ben Cooper, a local songwriter with a rich, resonant voice, who Tyler has played with many times.

After saying hello, I worked on my laptop in the trailer for awhile and Tyler set up his equipment. Then we made our way over to the merch tent. I was crossing my fingers that we wouldn’t be presented with an unopened box of CDs – but to our surprise, Tyler had actually sold 10 CDs since his show! That’s not bad for a 2 year old CD (or a CD at all these days!)

The Ben Cooper Band (Ben – lead guitar and vocals, Dan Joesph – bass, Dan Loach – drums, and Tyler Kealey – keyboards) hit the stage at 2:45 and played an energetic set.

Ben Cooper Ottawa Bluesfest 2011

It was SO hot out (42 degrees Celsius, with humidity) people were scrunched into every possible patch of shade to avoid the meltingly hot sun. Ben has such beautiful songs, luxurious melodies, and a self-assured stage presence that he is a treat to watch. I always enjoy listening to his songs, particularly “Typical” and “A Beautiful Place.” And of course, I always love watching Tyler play!

Tyler Kealey at Ottawa Bluesfest 2011

Peter Voith, another great local musician and founder of Jackson Miles, also came out on stage for a rocking version of “Superstition.”

Peter Voith at Ottawa Bluesfest

Another great local musician, Amanda Rheaume, was on the MBNA stage at just about at the same time, so I dashed over to catch a few of her tunes at the end of her set. With a new CD just released, Amanda was joined on stage by several other local favorites like Ana Muira, Tara Holloway, and Marc Charron, to join in the chorus for a powerful song that showcased her rootsy rock style.

Amanda Rheaume at Ottawa Bluesfest

After grabbing some food, I headed over to check out the Court Yard Hounds. They were amazing! Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, sisters from the band The Dixie Chicks, performed songs infused with tones of country and folk, belted out in clear harmonies, and accompanied by a great band, including Martie playing fiddle on most songs, and a female drummer. I had no idea that they were recording and touring as a band while the Dixie Chicks took a break – and I am a converted fan!

Emily Robison Court Yard Hounds

I especially liked their tune called “Ain’t No Son” and also enjoyed their “hoedown” number – furious instrument playing, clapping, and hundreds of people stomped along, dripping with sweat, to the infectious melody.

Martie Maguire Court Yard Hounds fiddle

Next stop we made was to the Subway stage to meet up with some more friends and re-apply sunscreen (for the 5th time). We stretched out on a blanket to listen to Tristan. Her pretty voice and sweet, slow tunes were catchy and nice to listen to, sort of a light folk-pop sound, very pleasant on a hot summer’s day.

We made it back over to the main stage at the beginning of Cheap Trick’s set. They sounded good, and I snapped a few shots of the band members singing and strutting around the stage.

Cheap Trick at Ottawa Bluesfest

As they launched into “I Want You To Want Me,” Tyler and Jeff started joking around and pointing out the dark clouds overhead. The clouds were moving faster, creeping across the sky and covering it like a grey carpet. A chill ran down my spine, and we agreed that getting the gear packed up in the car, now, was probably a good idea.

Ottawa Bluesfest storm clouds

We ran back over to Ben’s artist trailer and picked up a few things, then started walking through the crowds of people towards our car. It started to rain in big, fat drops, splashing down my neck and pelting my legs. The wind picked up quickly and in a heartbeat, branches began to fly past, people started shouting. I could barely see with the dirt and dust swirling into the air and filling my eyes. We sat in the car for a moment, until Dan the drummer came by and said he was running back for the rest, just in case. After a moment’s hesitation we jumped back out into the storm and made it to the trailer, our clothes plastered to us from the rain.

We waited out the storm in the trailer, watching the perimeter gates knock over, the river pulsing in whitecapped waves, until a volunteer came by and said everyone was being evacuated to the War Museum. We high-tailed it towards the cars instead, watching lightening crack through the sky. We ran into a breathless Ben and Katie, who told us that the big stage had collapsed in the storm, causing mass panic on the main festival grounds. The rain and wind had slowed a bit by this time, so we just packed up and went home.

I’m seeing reports on my social media feeds that while there were a few injuries, everyone is fine, thankfully. It’s very lucky that no one was seriously hurt, with the amount of people on that stage and nearby.
The remaining acts, including headliners Death Cab for Cutie, may have been cancelled, but Bluesfest 2011 went out on an interesting note nonetheless!