Necessity of Life

Accesibilidad para todos is a striking mural in the community of Hintonburg by Nicaraguan artist Julio Cesar Moreno to raise awareness to the sheer necessity of clean-water access. It speaks of teamwork and of helping hands and of community working towards a common goal. Together with his assistant Peru Dyer and young aspiring artists from the area, Moreno's team spent four weeks creating this stunning work of art. I was admiring the mural when reality struck! A woman with a young child approached me, asking if I knew the neighbourhood, or knew where they could get some food. Apparently the Food Banks in the area are only open on Wednesdays and it was only Monday morning.

Yes, You Read Correctly...

This is a Tree Cozy! As part of the program this year, there was a call for knitters, crochet and fibre artists of all levels to participate in The Winterlude 2010 Urban Cozy Project: Spins & Needles. You might be interested to know that one of the artists, Carol Secord, has her own fibre arts shop – Wabi Sabi – in my favorite neighbourhood of Hintonburg. What I've photographed here is a small portion of a large scale public art installation that integrates current movements in urban art, craft and design with social media technologies. "Urban Cozies" have been submitted by artists not only from Canada but from all corners of the globe. The entries were wrapped around trees, lampposts, benches and other urban elements on the Winterlude festival grounds. But let me tell you, we were tempted to borrow a knitted cozy as the wind was so bitter and we forgot to bring our own!

The Happy Hintonburger

Halloween isn't typically a cheerful occasion, but it is a nice change to see a scene such as this. Especially with all the H1N1 talk these days. 'They' figure that the door-to-door visits will be down significantly in not only the Ottawa area but across North America. Hintonburg is a diverse and eclectic Ottawa community of artists, intellectuals, students and the hippy (obviously happy!) chic.

The Carleton Ugly Club

We had already eaten, but thanks!:) Well, everyone does need a good laugh once in a while. Discovered this funny mural when wandering through a new goldmine of imagery in an area once called Hintonburg. This show-stopper is on the side of a popular pub/eatery– The Carleton – where the charm is all because of the traditions, joviality and sense of community amongst the regular diners.