In October 2015, news came that the current iteration of Mellos Diner would not have their lease renewed by the landlord. The landlord gave another tenant, neighbouring restaurant Ace Mercado, the option to take over the Mellos lease. They readily accepted, claiming they would maintain Mellos "as it is" while at the same time saying they would be knocking down a wall between the two restaurants, and "adding more seating" to Mellos. The public reaction was swift, and the #SaveMellos campaign was born. 

Regardless of the eventual outcome, a sketching mission to Mellos was necessary. I was joined by Cindi Foreman and Mawt Trood on one of the last nice afternoons in November and we made a few sketches of the iconic diner. 

Every year I design a seasonal holiday card, and 2015 is no exception. This years theme was inspired by my interest in sheds this past summer.

Over the summer of 2015 a group of artists met weekly in various alleyways around Ottawa and made art, often sketches, watercolours or photographs. On September 19, at Chinatown Remixed, the group put on an exhibit of this work, called Forgotten Spaces. The work was only a selection of the work produced over the summer by a group of talented artists, including Marc Adornato, Stephen Frew, Mawt Trood, Kristina Corre, Cindi Foreman, Anthony Parravano, Emma Cochrane, Chris Roussakis and myself. We decided to hold a show in an alleyway, and used doors scavenged from the sidewalk to display our work. 

Here are a few photographs from Forgotten Spaces - an exhibit of artwork inspired by Ottawa's alleyways. 

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, but we were joined by photographers & video artists join us on these excursions. Each week a different location was selected, usually spaces behind commercial areas (e.g., behind Barrymores) but sometimes the group ventured into more residential laneways (e.g. Hintonburg lanes). Each week between 5-10 people would come out for a few hours and make art and some of the results are being displayed at Chinatown Remixed. 

Over the weekend of July 11-12, the Rochester Pub & Eatery closed up, marking the end of a 10 year run under the current ownership. I was familiar with the place due to it being the monthly host of the excellent Kitchen Party, which will resurface in a new home. I heard about the closing a week before it happened, and was able to produce a sketch of the place while it was still operational. During the sketching a few people came to visit me after dining in the pub, including an artist who had done a watercolour of the place a few days before, and a family who had been going there for 13 years (the 7 year old son made his first visit when he was 4 days old!) With the closing of the Rochester on the same weekend as Mugshots marks the end of yet more venues in the city that once hosted legendary monthly dance parties. Here's hoping something similar will fill the void.