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| My Daily Sketch: Abiwin Co-Op: 267 Somerset West (Oct. 2017; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
Co-op Week 2017 takes place from October 15-21 in Canada.
"Co-op Week appears to be a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. In the US, October is Co-op Month, and the International Co-operative Alliance and United Nations have an International Day of Co-operatives on the first Saturday in July."(Source: Canada's Emerging Co-operators (CEC))
I love to sketch the
Abiwin Co-op in downtown Ottawa which is part of
The Co-operative Housing Association of Eastern Ontario (CHASEO)
The Abiwin Co-Op has such an interesting history!
Abiwin is a non-profit housing cooperative in Ottawa. As a project it was initiated in 1984, with the purchase of old residential buildings on Somerset Street West and O'Connor Street in Ottawa's center core.
The acquisition was headed by Peter Trotscha of the Ottawa Federation of Housing Cooperatives. The buildings were heavily renovated with the help of the Ottawa Mortgage and Housing Cooperation.
The first residents moved in in 1985.
The Board of Directors intended Abiwin to be a place of residence free from discrimination based on sexual orientation. This mandate was later expanded to all forms of discrimination.(Source: Carleton University: Fonds AHC)
In January 2015, I blogged about the Abiwin here:
Ottawa's Heritage Buildings No.2: The Abiwin: 283 Somerset St West . I did the sketch below based on a beautiful photograph (with permission) taken by
Christopher Ryan (
The History Nerd)
I was also thrilled to have famous artist Robert Bateman critique this painting at Culture Days in Brantford, Ontario (More about that here:
My Full Circle Moment - Being Critiqued by Robert Bateman )
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| My Daily Sketch: Abiwin Co-Op: 283 Somerset West (Dec. 2014; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
Not many folks know that the Abiwin Co-Op is more than just Somerset St. West and extends to a beautiful heritage home on Cooper St. as well. I love the old porch on this building! (see
2015 Daily Sketch)
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| My Daily Sketch: Abiwin Co-Op: 330 Cooper St. (Dec. 2014; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
Because I walk my dog in this neighborhood every day, I am struck by the way early morning light hits the beautiful brick and glass of these buildings and that was the inspiration for this next Daily Sketch:
My Daily Sketch - Abiwin Morning Light
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| My Daily Sketch: Abiwin Co-Op: 263 Somerset West (Mar. 2016; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
In the fall, the large Honey Locust trees along Somerset Street West turn bright yellow in front of the Abiwin Co-Op and that is what inspired this sketch below:
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| My Daily Sketch: Abiwin Co-Op: 299, 287, 285 and 283 Somerset West (Oct. 2016; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
I am also inspired by the gardens at the Abiwin that are cared for by the great folks on the Landscaping Committee. In early spring, I sketched the beautiful flowers waiting to be planted in the gardens: (see
My June Report)
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| Abiwin First Snowfall" |
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| My Daily Sketch: Abiwin Co-Op: Garden Sketch (Jun. 2017; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
I also have sketches in my Nature Journal that have the Abiwin as a backdrop, like this one from March 2017 about the return of the sea gulls to downtown Ottawa. (see
"Keeping A Nature Journal in Ottawa" and "
April: I'm Distracted By Spring"
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| My Nature Journal: Abiwin Co-Op: 330 Cooper St.- Gulls Overhead (Mar. 2017; Watercolour, graphite and ink) |
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| "Abiwin Playground" |
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| Stages in painting "The Abiwin Big Melt" |
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| "The Abiwin Big Melt" |
It was really fun to look back on my sketch books and revisit some of my Abiwin Co-Op sketches and what better time to do it than Co-Op Week 2017!
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