Walkabout: Ottawa

After the final exams and whatnot, the Mum and I drove back to Canada, for a little Walkabout, before packing my stuff at the Canada House and heading back south. Here we are, in front of Parliament.

Tank had been sad about not being included in the visit that the Moms had made back in June, so he required some Walkabout time of his own too. And naturally, Ynn came along. It was a good opportunity for Tank to sample some Canadian beers.

And to take in the Canadian sights.

I arranged a wide variety of fun activities in Ottawa. During the months in which this sort of activity would be practical, every morning at Parliament Hill there is an elaborate changing of the guard ceremony. It involves many soldiers in those large furry hats as well as a marching band and a pipe band.

There was also a good-will RCMP ambassador at Parliament Hill. Mountie and horse.

We went to see the locks on the Rideau Canal. Of course. Tank is taking a picture of the locks from the bridge above.

And we were especially lucky in that several boats wanted to pass through while we were there, so we got to see the locks in operation!

What glee!

A visit to the Cathedral of Notre Dame was also made. I really like the ceilings and the faux-finishes in these older Canadian churches.

Master of Science

WUDPAC 2009 - Masters of Science!

The next day after the talks, right after I passed the committee's oral exam. Graduated!

Happy Times

Nothing much has been shared recently, though much has occurred. I've been greatly occupied with Real Life (TM) and have recently become a Master of Science (in Art Conservation). This required not only the print portfolio (which UPS somehow managed to slightly crush on its way from Canada to America - but it is kind of alright - I guess - though somewhat embarrassing).

But anyway, as this was so happy, I'm sharing some of my favorite things: Soviet propaganda posters. I love the fonts, the stony-faced women, the cosmonauts, everything. I've also been contemplating doing a large mural on one of the walls in the Canada House in a similar style, as a gift to the Interlopers. The working title is, "The Triumph of the American Right".

Cosmonaut.

Threshing machine?

Cosmonaut.

Zepplins. Communist zepplins.

Love.

Final cosmonaut.

From the following, where you can translations of the text:

A Soviet Poster a Day

Soviet Lunar Christmas Cards - someday you all will receive one of these.

Untitled

It took one of the two interlopers (the one with the nose) two and one-half days to notice that I had reinstalled their artwork. Still waiting for comment from the skinny one.

(Benjamin has some fun at the other's expense.)

Interlopers

Some things in the Canada House have been different recently. Can you guess?

Hint: it has to do with the Canadian military.

So the Canada House has been for sale for quite some time. Which was obnoxious, as people would traipse through, checking things out (and flushing the toilets - weird). It was finally purchased, and instead of waiting one month for the current tenants (ie the International House of Pancakes Peeps) to move out, the new owner and a friend have moved in. Along with all of their stuff.

The new people are both dudes, military dudes, gay military dudes - Canada Steve, who is my authority on all things Canada, says that the Canadian military doesn't care about a soldier's sexuality, only his/her ability to kill things.

It is pretty uncomfortable. The whole dynamic of the house has altered. Flatmate Andrea and I are attempting to reclaim it: sitting downstairs working like usual.

There are two sets of living room furniture: the crappy grad student set and the fancy House Beautiful leather set. The house smells like Pottery Barn - that weird unnatural potpourri smell. (They also tried to put my tea kettle in the dish washer. As if! That gem is hand-wash only.)

What truly freaks me out about the new guys is twofold.

1). They have no books. How can I really judge somebody if there is nothing on a bookshelf? Andrea tried to be kind and said that maybe all of their books are in boxes. But their boxes are big, big enough that if they are full of books, attempting to pick one up would kill you (I know this from experience). And besides, they have no bookshelves.

Correction - they have four books. The one guy brought them with him. And they were the complete hardcover set of the Twilight books.

2). Their artwork freaks me out. I've never been in a real place where the art was selected in order to coordinate with the decor of the room. I don't want to get all judge-y regarding their paintings, so I've photographed the most remarkable and put them here, for you to judge. My introductory sentences are judge-y though: I can't help it. I'm a judger.

This has a surface texture that corresponds to nothing: I think it was applied as a plastic sheet afterwards.

Some poser's Albers Study. There are multiple of these in the house, the colors only in different arrangements.

I think this is the Sydney Opera House. But I'm not sure I want to commit to that statement.

I can't even begin to imagine where this will go. Or why it was acquired.

This painting of lemons is done in acrylic. I could recreate it exactly (if I wanted to) because there is a certificate of authenticity on the verso that lists which paints were used to make it. So if I choose to forge it, I know to purchase the Liquitex Acrylics as opposed to the Golden Acrylics...

Any way, it is currently hanging in the dining space off the kitchen. It has no hanging hardware - the strainer is simply resting on a nail in the wall. So I took the liberty of reinstalling it. Upside down. We'll see how long it takes for somebody to notice and adjust it.

Judge away.

Art Supply Flashback

Months ago, while in Toronto with the Francophones, I visited some large art supply stores. Who doesn't love a good art supply store?

Hye-Sung rummages through off-cuts at a shop that sold only paper. Love.

Experiments in Pie

I did make a post-portfolio pie, but it was not peach (though I appreciate the alliteration). It was lemon. I have a huge box of corn starch because it was only sold in size "set you up for life" and I would like to attempt to use at least some of it. Fortunately it had the lemon pie recipe on the back, and it turned out to be really excellent.