In June of 2015 I contacted fellow Ottawa illustrator Mawt Trood, asking if he would be interested in doing an outdoor sketching project revolving around exploring alleyways in Ottawa. I did not know Mawt personally at this point, but I knew of his work and many friends in the arts community knew him or had worked with him. I was also intrigued by him as he had the same fascination as I do with neighbourhood storefronts (or “Mom & Pop Shops” as he called them). He had been tirelessly working on illustrations which included corner stores, cafes and places of personal importance. His work also emphasized those forgotten details that make up a space: wires, poles, street signs. The “negative space” of a city as he called it. 

Over the winter I spent some time looking back through old work and colouring and making print-ready some sketches that warrant being out there. Notably, Barrymore's, The Mayflower, and Ada's Diner - all places which have changed since I sketched them in 2013. 

After almost a year of switching to a Squarespace website, the shop has been given an overhaul and update. It should be easier to find items, with detailed tags now. There are also a few new series in the shop, such as postcards of the Forgotten Spaces alleyway exploration, and also a series called Vacant Ottawa. 

In addition, I have made a few changes to some series, partly for organizational reasons. They are outlined below as follows, for the record: 

Over the summer of 2015, a group of artists have been touring various alleyways in central Ottawa, and creating art on location. Most artists worked in sketchbooks, with ink, pencil, or watercolour. Justin Nalepa, a video artist, joined us on four excursions and filmed a number of interviews with the artists, which has been turned into an 8 minute documentary. I'm very grateful Justin came out and not only helped explore the alleyway through a lens, but also produced this excellent documentary which I am happy to share below. 

he Raw Sugar cafe in Chinatown Ottawa closed it's doors over the weekend. Raw Sugar opened in fall 2008, right across from my favourite dim sum place. It was one of the first independently owned coffee shops, and, perhaps opened the doors in the city as a number of others arrived within a few years. In 2009 I held a solo exhibit (Gigafauna) at Raw Sugar, and 2010 held my first Confectionaries exhibit. For the past few years I've been participating in the annual holiday craft walk hosted by the Raw. The establishment was beloved by many across the city, but particularly in the Chinatown neighbourhood, which boasts many a restaurant, but no other cafes. The Raw Sugar was always the first place I would suggest for meetings or catching up with old friends, or bringing someone from out of town.