No Passing: Red, White and Blue
I created this painting titled "No Passing" at the Fields Project last month, I wrestled with theborder color...too much Red, White and Blue. By my own rule and aesthetic I've always stayed away from using primary colors together like this: Rule Broken...it seems appropriate to show this painting on the 4th of July... 
Chicago Dog Magazine Feature!
I'm very excited to be a featured Pet Portrait Artist in the premiere issue of Chicago Dog Magazine! My paintings of Oliver, Scruffles and Nel were the editor's picks...this is Oliver's second feature in a national dog magazine, he was also my featurted portrait in Modern Dog Magazine.
The Sunnier Side of the Weekend...
The weekend was not all devastation and destruction...I got to catch up with someof my wonderful customers and friends that I had not seen in awhile and I met manynew ones...not too mention several adorable canines...
This is Boomer with his new Anne Leuck Feldhaus Mounted Print!
And this is the very talented Katie Korroch of Katiedid Studio - it was so fun to meet her and her husband Bob in person...and she is the mother of the fabulous Kate Korroch...artist and art helper extraordinaire! I had the added pleasure of a studio visit from Kate & Katie today...(of course I forgot to snap a photo) I feel very lucky to have met these two fantastic artists and clever women with whom I happen to share a certain design aesthetic...we could have talked all day and night, and into the next week I'm sure!
This little gal is Zoe....her owner purchased this Box Print from me at the One of A Kind Show & Sale (last December) and brought her to the Evanston Art Fair so I could meet her...she was a little sweetie pie.
microburst....
PRE
They came around and told us a bad storm was coming and that we had about 10 minutes to get our tents and things secure before it hit.
4:19 PM
It was the scariest storm I've ever been through. I was very lucky my tent and work survived undamaged - 40 of the 220 booths at the show were either destroyed or damaged, people were injured and taken to the hospital. They say it was a microburst...I watched in horror (through a zippered opening as I held onto my tent with all my might) to see tents, tables, art and debris flying through the air tossed and tumbling out of control from the west on Chuch Street and then turning south onto Sherman wiping them out as well (I was 3 booths in on the north east side of Sherman).
Devastation
Picture 18
Several people I know lost their entire set ups and some their artwork as well.
We all tried to pitch in and help our friends clean up and find their things...my friend Kate Strong of
lost her tent but we were able to salvage much of her display and work.
Kate
5:02 PM
A short hour later the skies opened up again and this time the hail came! Eva & I had just finished helping Kate retrieve her display and hats and things and she had just covered them up with a tarp when round 2 started...this was like a picnic compared to the microburst! Kate bravely came back on Sunday with an old tent she said "I
decided it would be better to just get back on the horse" ...she is one tough chick!
Rich came up and rescued me, while walking to the car to come home, we came by Nancy & Andy of Circa Ceramics and Eva (again helping out her friends) packing up...they lost one shelf of product but other than that made it through safely...we all counted ourselves very lucky!
So I couldn't figure out why my arms were so sore yesterday...then I realized I had been hanging onto the steel pole of my awning for dear life for ? 17 minutes on Saturday...As I was writing this I received a phone call from Bob Seidenberg at the Evanston Review Newspaper who asked my for my take on the storm. And here's a link to a video newscast about the storm damage at the Evanston Fountain Square Art Festival.
Double Vision...
Picture 2
These cooling towers are the ever present landmarks in Ogle County...I * Dr. Seuss-ified
them. It's pretty bizarre, they creep their way into so many lovely vistas...and in spite of what they are and the way people feel about them..."it is what it is" so I chose to make peace with that fact and appreciate the beauty of the way they change color in different light and the way the steam undulates out of them depending on the direction of and the amount of wind.
* My style is surely inspired by Dr. Seuss...We had a
huge collection of his books (a garage sale gift from Nana &
Aunt Susie) ...some favorite memories are of my Dad reading me those
books at bedtime...he is a very good story teller. The first book I ever
Picture 3
read cover to cover was "Green Eggs and Ham"...and one of my favorites stories was about the Star-Bellied Sneetches.
Back from the farm...
Picture 32
And just like that it's over....was it a dream? A beautiful week of blue skies, big puffy white clouds, endless gorgeous hilly back country roads, cows, pigs, goats and corn. I wish I could hold on to this feeling of completeness and happiness. No tv, no computer, a lot of times no phone (my outdoor studio at Castle Rock State Park had no cell phone reception). But it wasn't all sunny skies for me. I had some very real creative challenges and no where to run away from them...I seriously considered driving back to Chicago one morning. But I stayed and battled it out with myself and am very happy with the few pieces that I finished...I think what I accomplished out there mentally in a week would have taken me 3 months here in my studio with all its distractions.
The other magic that happens as an artist at a program like this is you
are PRESENT the WHOLE time, I mean visually and creatively, MENTALLY
PRESENT. Everywhere I went and every road I traveled I was scanning the
amazing lush green vistas all around me...appreciating every field,
cow, pig and hay bale..stopping, sketching, taking photos.
The community and group of folks that make up this organization (The Fields Project) are so amazing, they are like a second family after my 3 different years of participation in the program. I also met a group of wonderful artists from around the country and a few right here in Chicago (I had this silly idea that I knew all the aritsts in Chicago!)
The field sculptures this year were so vivid and beautiful thanks to a new grass field and all the rain of the past few weeks. Another huge highlight was Cathi Bouzide & Danny Mansmith's collaboration on the wrapped corn bin. PHENOMENAL!
Picture 23
I'll post more photos and notes soon but in the mean time I did upload my photos to my FLICKR page so please check them out.
Green Thumbs...not yet but my fingers are crossed...
Picture 23
Well after 2 back to back weekends of art fairs and all the loose ends I need to tie up before heading to the Fields Project on Saturday, I have no business going out and buying flowers but I had to. Last year all I had on the deck was an azaela bush (which stopped flowering the week after I bought it). I need to see some color when I look out the window and the sooner I get these into pots and settled the sooner I have more color, right? (My thumbs are a fleshy shade of pink, no green in site). Mom, you know I wish you could snap your fingers and be here to guide me! My Mother and her husband Bill grow the most beautiful gardens around their home in the woods...I paint with acrylics, she paints with flowers. (...And Rich is taking care of the vegetable portion of our petite urban farm).
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