The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada · 27

1 The Ottawa Citizea Canada receives artist's 'thumbs down' verdict VANCOUVER (CP) Ludwig Nickel, a young artist in fine metals, precious and semi-precious stones and metal sculpture, had it straight from Canadian immigration officials in his native Nuernburg: Canada is the land of golden opportunity. That was 12 years ago. Now, after 11 years spent in Winnipeg and four months in Vancouver, Mr. Nickel says he is convinced he has wasted his time in Canada and there is no future for an artist in this country. "Montreal is the only city in Canada that supports sculpture," he said. "In Winnipeg people would look at my work and say, 'It's marvellous. It's beautiful.' Then they would go somewhere else to buy manufactured jewelry." He said he found Vancouver just as unfriendly from an artistic standpoint as he did Winnipeg. The artist had just completed two years of intensive training in jewelry-making following an apprenticeship at the monastery of Mucnsterschwarzach in Bavaria when he made his inquiries about prospects in Canada. The immigration people advised him to head for Winnipeg because of his talent in ecclesiastical art an the heavy concentration of Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Ukrainian, Greek Orthodox and Protestant churches in the area. After 11 years in the Manitoba capital during which his works generated lots of controversy but lit tle cash, Mr. Nickel packed it up End headed for Vancouver. "Well, there's one consolation,", he said in his walk-up studio in a near-empty waterfront area building here. 'The climate is better in Vancouver than it was in Winnipeg." One of his sculptures shown last year at Expo 67 in Montreal was bought for the permanent exhibition at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown. Although the 33-year-old artist complains vociferously that the Winnipeg Art Gallery "wouldn't even look at me," he said he did get some commissions that rated headlines in the local press. The most controversial was a modernistic, $1,200 sculpture of Our Lady of Good Counsel for St. Ignatius Church. The representation of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child was executed in acid-dipped brass. Fired enamel rectangles in red and blue applied to the sculpture's surfaces suggested ancient mosaics. While there was a lot of favorable comment abort the work, many parishioners demanded it be removed from the church. At St. Paul's College on the, University of Manitoba campus, Mr. Nickel designed and executed a new tabernacle and candlesticks, a number of altar vessels, a processional cross, an enamelled mural and the main eight-foot doors in embossed copper. The artist said he hopes eventually to move to the United States when he can afford to. I I i v h v i mk i. , I r ' Ilk Ottawa sculptor's exhibition Ottawa sculptor Bruce Garner pictured above working on his latest project and graphic artist Gerald Humen are staging an exhibition of their work at Ottawa's Robertson Galleries. This is Garner's first two-man exhibition. A member of Academy Six, he organized the group's first Eastern Canada exhibition in Ottawa last year. Holland's Ottawa by Jeffery Holland Views of Jerusalem Citizen-LPI staff pliolo Jewish artist Lea Cheshin talks to the Charge d' Affaires of the Israeli Embassy, Sinai Rome, at the opening of her exhibition Views of Jerusalem at Ottawa's Jewish Centre. Born in Beirut, Lea studied at Bezalel in Jerusalem .and the Grande Chaumiere and Raspail Studio in Paris. Since 1961 she has exhibited oils, water colors and graphics in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Rome, Florence, London and New York. Design for living New venture in row housing By Barbara Lambert Now that legislation makes condominium-ownership possible in Ontario, various forms of multiple housing will be encouraged. Previously, it was impossible to find financial backing for individually owned multiple units for fear of legal complications. Condominium housing enables individuals to own separate units that make up a multiple housing development, whether it be row housing, multi-storey town housing, or high-rise apartments. (The first high-rise condominium apartment in Canada under the National Housing Act is being built in Nepean Township by Minto Construction Co. Ltd. The condominium arrangement gives the same legal ownership of a unit as applies to a detached home, but with added responsibilities for common areas of building and land, such as hallways and grounds maintenance. The chief difference between this and multiple-unit co-operatives is the right of the owner of a condominium unit to sell, mortgage or lease his property. With condominium a private developer can gel financing for a number of individual mortgages under one structure, something not previously available here. Conventional lenders are still hesitant about this, but as experience accumulates there is bound to be more interest. The method is widely used in other parts of the world, including the United Stales. Adaptable An interesting example of what could be done in private row housing (as opposed to developer projects) exists at Blackheath just outside London. England. Last year seven families built such homes for their own occupation, with private financing and no official help. There are no Canadian examples of this type of small, private town house projects, but the idea is adaptable to condominium ownership. The English group comprised a publisher, dentist, petroleum geologist, builder, architect, solicitor and writer. All had been living in a Span estate at Blackheath, corporalely-owned and controlled by a residents' society. They liked this partly collaborative living but needed larger homes. In spring 1964, writer Michael Frayn and architect Royston Summers decided to form a housing association. Upon finding a superb location overlooking Blackheath, solicitor James Dolman investigated ways to raise a mortgage. Co-op financing in England is usually achieved through government aid, but these families did not like the limitation on resale profit. When an occupier leaves the society his deposit is returned but he does not receive payment for capital appreciation on his part of the property until after five years. An added incentive was the need to purchase the site quickly. A private limited company was formed and a mortgage raised. The capital sum required for development was borrowed from a building society and the site purchased through members' bank loans. Spaciousness The architect designed two blocks at right angles to one another, one of two and the other of five units. Each unit has a three-storey staircase well, structurally independent, which adds spaciousness to the interior. The south side overlooks a walled garden. The north facade is a restrained and sophisticated arrangement of glass and vertical glazing bars set between brick walls marking the house divisions. This window wall treatment enables any interior room to be subdivided at will, including bedrooms and living rooms. In Ottawa, knowledgeable people say that the financial saving would depend on the location of the site. In centre town the saving might be negligible because of inflated land costs. The major advantage would be in intangibles getting a particular environment in both house and landscape, sharing costs of recreational facilities like pools and gardens, being able to spend some months of the year away from home without worrying about caretak-ing, besides a sense of "group-belonging" which some people like. If a small group pooled their resources and bought a site closer to the periphery, perhaps on the canal or river bank or overlooking a park, it could quite likely be developed at lower cost than building individually. With an interesting architectural treatment and landscaping they could provide their own particular environment. Building your own as opposed to renting or buying a developer's town house means getting what you really want, rather than having to choose from what is available. I Ml RTeI fn I If Mil The East Block Looking northwest Ottawa facelift NCC cleaning up old bridge sites By Bill Neddow The abandoned truss bridge on the Rideau River just south of the Queens-way is ugly and dangerous. The three 150-foot long sections obviously were designed for efficiency, not beauty. The big triangulated beams might be acceptable in a hidden spot in an industrial area, but certainly not beside a major access road to the capital and in an area which is being rapidly upgraded. Besides that, old abandoned bridges of this type are an open invitation to exploring children. Thus, the decision of the NCC to demolish the old relic should be greeted with enthusiasm. Served It has served its purpose from the days when the old Montreal-Ottawa railway line crossed it until a few years ago when the railway tracks in the area were phased out. Demolition was slated to start on Wednesday. And it should be interesting to watch because the bridge presents problems not faced in similar demolition jobs on the Rideau River. Before, it was possible simply to knock the bridge into the river, then pull out the bits and pieces with a crane. But the water is too deep in this particular spot to try this which means the demolition crews are going to have to either build pontoon rig underneath or a bailey bridge beside it to get it down. To the NCC, this is simply part of a clean-up job on railway bridge sites. One other bridge on the Rideau River in the Mann Ave. area has already come down, as has the bridge on the Rideau Canal at the end of Dows Lake. 202 Bank Street 235-4300 - 09 Parking at Municipal Lot at Rear of Store Sat., Nov. 23, 1963 Page 27 Finishing touch important At the beginning of the 19th Century the Rockingham Works in Yorkshire produced a fine type of earthenware finished in a reddish brown or chocolate glaze. Other potters attempted to copy it until eventually the name came to signify the finish rather than the actual potter-. It is now taken to mean earthenware with a mottled yellow-brown glaze. In Bennington, Vermont, Rocking-l am ware was made in large quantities. Before research was done on Canadian potteries much Rockingham-type ware was labelled "Bennington" by antique dealers who considered it a more saleable name. Rockingham was advertised in Canada as such before 1860. Much of this Your antiques By Jack Jaraiesou early ware is unmarked. Thomas Sharpe is an exception. His pieces may appear with TS or THOMAS SHARPE or later. SHARPE BROS. & CO. Wedgwood also produced a similar ware impressed WEDGWOOD. Unlike Rockingham china, Rockingham pottery was intended for the kitchen and was extremely practical for cooking. "Brown Betty" teapots are still considered to produce the best cup of tea. In Canada, almost every pottery attempted Rockingham. The most prolific plant was in Rrantford, Ontario. It was established in 1849 and continued through various ups and downs until 1906. The Brantf ord pottery shipped right across the country. Only one piece marked Morton, Goold & Co. Brant-ford CW is known. Others will probably turn up. The single piece discovered is a salt-glaze churn, not Rockingham. The Brantford pottery was famous for its crocks which appear in all shapes and sizes in grey pottery, often with a blue decoration. The blue decoration is usually better oh earlier pieces and may be either a flower, stylized floral motif, a bird or very rarely an actual stencil. Very early items may have an incised design reminiscent of the 18th Century. In 1900, Rockingham bowls sold for 6c, tea pots for 9c. Most bowls now command $25. Teapots, if perfect, are likely to be more than $30, imperfect $10 and up. Copyright, l&Gfl. Toronto Star Syndicate ,xf f ( , 'Brown Betty" teapot For A Christmas Gift They'll Never Forget... give them an Everlasting Landscaping The work at the end of Dows Lake has involved considerable landscaping. In fact, it has now reached the point wlicre the old railway right-of-way beside the canal is becoming something of a beauty spot. Of course, it was never as bad as the Rideau River site now being tackled. Because of the proximity of the arboretum and the fact that the spot was in full view of Colonel By drive, it was always kept as nicely landscaped as possible. All the same, it is a prime example of what can be done on old railway rights-of-way. And it can only be hoped that in the future, it will be possble to look off the Queensway onto the banks of the Rideau River and see an area almost as beautiful. OIL PAINTING Drop In Now and Visit Our Newly Remodelled Gallery of Elegant CANADIAN PAINTINGS GALERIE GALLERIES