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Posts Tagged ‘Visual Arts’
Annual Exhibition of Works by Visual Arts Graduates
Mark your calendar! The graduating students of the University of Ottawa’s Department of Visual Arts are pleased to invite you to the opening ceremony of their annual exhibition called “Index“.
Opening ceremony: Friday, April 23, 2010, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (reception at 7:30 p.m.)
Exhibition: April 24 to April 30, 2010, 9 a.m.to 6 p.m.
Location: Department of Visual Arts, 100 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa. Map
This exhibition allows the public to share with graduates their passion for
artistic creation in the visual arts. A collection of media, painting, photography and sculpture.
For a preview, visit http://uottawagradshow.com/
Christmas Cheer from L’Arche Ottawa Seniors
I had an unexpected and wonderful surprise this morning.
Just yesterday I’d been feeling a wee bit of the holiday blues…the darker days and cold weather tends to get to me this time of year. I was feeling a real sense of “bah humbug”. This surprise couldn’t have come at a better time.
The doorbell rang and I was greeted by one of my newest friends, Louise. She is a member of the seniors’ group at L’Arche Ottawa, a community organization for people with developmental disabilities. I first met Louise back in November when we went down to do a story on the community as they prepared for a holiday art show. You can check out that story here.
Louise had a broad smile on her face, said a cheery “Merry Christmas!”, and proudly handed me this beautiful, hand-crafted, one of a kind wooden sign:
“Bobby did the wood burning and I did the colours,” she told me. I was totally blown away. “Merry Christmas!” she exclaimed, blew me a kiss, and walked away.
We tend to get pretty stressed this time of year. We shop too much, spend too much, eat too much, and over-commit. Hustle and bustle becomes treacherous grind. We just want it to be over, so we can finally eat our turkey leftovers and relax for a few days.
But sometimes, the real spirit of Christmas sort of just bonks you over the head. When someone takes the time to do something really special, that they have poured their heart into, just because they want to show their appreciation…THAT is what this season is all about.
Thank you, Louise, Bobby, Dorothy, and Olivette, for living from the heart and for reminding us what Christmas is all about. And thank you, Rebecca Happy, for the good work you do and for caring so much.
Merry Christmas!
Dave Cooper’s latest inspiration
When a pomegranate isn’t just a pomegranate
Painter and illustrator Dave Cooper might very well be Ottawa’s best known visual artist whose international reputation seems to, sadly for Ottawa, overshadow his local rep. His paintings of pillowy women that are, at once, erotic, innocent and can veer into the mildly disturbing, sell in New York, Los Angeles and Paris while his current hiatus from the graphic novel world is also mourned internationally.
In “Nice Ottawa”, his work is occasionally on display in “one-night stand” format at Ottawa’s black sheep of the visual arts scene, Galerie La Petite Mort or recently at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
But perhaps his latest series will be found to be more palatable to the more conservative in Ottawa.
When a pomegranate isn’t just a pomegranate
Cooper’s latest mini-series could loosely be termed as “the erotic innocence of fruit”. Pomegranate A (below), B (left) and C (top) were originally conceived as a triptych with “A” being unabashedly lush, B” a balance of age and vitality and “C”, a literal balance of opposites.
Luckily for me, “Pomegranate C” is snapped up. (Yes, I’m the culprit. It was an extravagant birthday gift paid in sweat, paint and affection.)
Still, it’s worth following Dave Cooper’s visual arts site and sniff around the galleries in town to see if Dave will explore this new concept further or return to his “pillowy girls”.
Dave Cooper is accepting commissions. You can contact him at dave [at] davegraphics [dot] com.
Images all © Dave Cooper. Republishing available with permission.
