art

Back Lane Café Collaboration

| drawandshoot

The Hintonburg area of Ottawa is crawling with hip new restaurants and one of the latest additions is the Back Lane Café. I got a chance to visit on the weekend and although it wasn’t for the food this trip,  I will definitely be making a culinary visit in the near future.

I was there to photograph an interior design collaboration initiated by the owner George Monsour who recently returned to Ottawa from 6 years in Paris. My friends over at Rusty Nail  Design were tasked with creating a charming time-worn interior in a completely stripped down shell.

“The intention with this restaurant was to combine the transparent and informal workings of a colonial bakery with the subtle sophistication of a classic Parisian cafe. These two elements were combined using original Canadian architectural items (see the facade over the bar). Recovered logs from the Rideau river milled for flooring, doors and iron work from turn of the century  Canadian houses and post & beams from local barns.”
There certainly is a Parisian feel to the café but it also has more contemporary elements that give it a bit of a fresh edge. The custom concrete counter at the bar for example was finished to give it a look somewhat like aged metal with a lovely rich surface.

On Sunday the Rusty Nail crew were busy installing a new element to the interior, designed to help improve the acoustics.

A sound dampening material was essentially hidden inside some reclaimed shuttered window frames and mounted to the wall. This cuts down significantly on the space previously showcasing artwork but solves an important problem.

Rusty Nail called in another person to collaborate on this project. Artist Heather Snow contributed curly ironwork mounted to the front of each window. There is other iron work dotted around the café pulling all the elements together. (I will confess here that Heather Snow is my sister! She has recently become a welder which brings up her coolness factor significantly in my books)

You can find out more about these innovative artist/designers here:
Rusty Nail Design
Heather Snow
The Back Lane Café is located at 1087 Wellington St. W.Ottawa, ON 613-695-2999 No website yet but they are on Twitter and the reviews are excellent! I also got a peek at the bright beautiful kitchen with lots of natural light and 2 specialty wood burning ovens. Can’t wait to try the food!

Thanks to everyone at The Back Lane Café, Rusty Nail Design and to Heather Snow! And thanks to Desire to Inspire for re-blogging my photos!

All images © Karen McRae

You Are Carried With Us

| drawandshoot

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

For Ilse 1917-2011
All images © Karen McRae

The Textural Beauty of the Canadian Shield

| drawandshoot

We spent an afternoon this weekend on a friend’s property that is a beautiful example of  the Canadian Shield  landscape. Rocky outcroppings covered in lichen and carpets of various  mosses in a mostly forested area. Gentle breezes rustling the  oak leaves, some of which seem to hold on for dear life all winter long. But it’s the mosses that completely captivate me. They are like little miniature forests  with an astounding array of colour and texture. (Click on images to enlarge)
All images © Karen McRae

goodbye

| drawandshoot

I admit I had some trepidation about posting these photographs. But I think the subject is beautiful, even in death. A family of  Robins are still occupying our yard. It seems late to me but it appears that the Robins had a late batch of babies and they are still here preparing for the migration. Except this little guy.  I found him yesterday and he had apparently flown into a window. I am a huge lover of birds and they are often a subject of my art (not usually in this way) so I find this little subject sad but compelling. Also, I was driving a couple of weeks ago and a huge bird sideswiped my car and perished. I feel a bit like an unwilling enemy, so this is meant in a loving way. A tribute to nature’s beauty and frailty and to all delicate living creatures. 

All images © Karen McRae

goodbye

Eerie

| drawandshoot

Sadly this beautiful neo-Gothic style church in Aylmer, Quebec was burned out over two years ago. It was suspected to be arson but no one was ever charged. The shell is still standing but  is slated to be torn down to make room for a new church. The parishioners were hoping to rebuild this 1862 landmark but couldn’t find the financial backing for such an expensive  project. I find the ruins of the church are still striking and beautiful. The pigeons call it home. (click on images to enlarge)
All images © Karen McRae

If you were a kid…

| drawandshoot

Wouldn’t you just be itching to explore these little structures?

I came across these little out-buildings when I was taking a “road less traveled” the other day. Maybe it’s because I spent many idyllic hours as a child in similar rickety old buildings that I find these so intriguing. Of course they don’t look very safe, but that’s part of the attraction.