EA Dot M, Autumn 2006
Mirrored, Autumn 2006
© Leslie Hossack
These two images are from a grouping called Airstream Abstracts. The photographs in this series were taken over the course of an entire year. In 2007, they were part of my solo exhibition entitled The Four Seasons.
When the old stone church next door was sold in 2003, our new neighbour installed an Airstream trailer to live in during renovations. And so began my love affair with a travel trailer. This vintage icon appears to be an Airstream International Sovereign Land Yacht built in the early 1970s.
In the beginning, the Airstream was parked in the open churchyard. There it mirrored the blues of the sky and the greens of the grass throughout the long summer days. Later in September, as the days grew shorter, the trailer was moved into the trees behind the church where it reflected the reds and golds of autumn, the sparkling whites of winter, and the tender yellow-greens of spring.
The very first Airstream was built in 1930 by Wally Byam; his dream was to produce a perfect trailer that would move like a stream of air. The body, which is made of lightweight aluminum, is held together by an average of more than 2,500 rivets.
Airstream trailers are designer-label expensive, costing two to three times more than comparable trailers. The signature shape of an Airstream is recognized around the world.
HAUTE VITRINE 
Of all the Airstream abstracts , these two are my favourites, especially EA Dot M.
Will be interesting to see the Ampersand works develop. Am off to Enriched Bread this afternoon, and it has been most enjoyable to follow all the wealth of creativity in ‘my own backyard’ i.e. Ottawa rather than Berlin this fall. Thanks to you and your colleagues in Studio 255, the whole new realm of photography is there to explore.
You are right – there is a wealth of creativity in Ottawa, especially in fine art photography. This may be due in part to the positive impact of the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, now six years old.
I was in New York for two days earlier this week and spent a morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There I visited two special exhibitions: Photographic Treasures from the Collection of Alfred Stieglitz, and Stieglitz and his Artists: Matisse to O’Keeffe. The latter is a dynamite show. As you noted, Ottawa is great, but I must say that Berlin and New York are over the top when it comes to opportunities for viewing art.