Recent Sightings

I shoot with my iphone constantly. It's often the only creative outlet I can fit into a day, and it feels really good. An old High School friend wrote on my Facebook wall the other day "Too see things thru your eyes...all must be beautiful!" I was so touched by those words. I DO love to look at my surroundings constantly; finding shapes and lines and colors and patterns...that brings me huge joy!  I've been doing a little bit of everything recently, and feeling like I'm completing nothing :-/ 

A bit of visual journaling here, some random embroidery there, fulfilling custom requests, doodling etc...

When I find myself feeling disjointed, it feels good to collect some beauty and delightful experiences all in one place. And here's today's random assortment: 

My munchkin about a month ago. A chilly day, but with just the right layers, a perfect day for the swings!
I like the edit on this...feels timeless.

An oldie but a goodie, circa summer 2005. Reflected self-portrait at the Garfield Park Conservatory, just West of  downtown Chicago. There were beautiful, robust, mosaic-filled sculptures everywhere by artist  Niki de Saint Phalle.

Mindless, meditative embroidery. Sitting in my art room / sun room the other day,  staring at all my "stuff," I grabbed a small embroidery hoop, linen scraps, and this weird, flexible woven mesh material I've had forever.  Layered them in the hoop and started making knots. 

This wall advertisement was hidden for decades until the adjacent building was demolished.  It's  in Andersonville, a  neighborhood just North of downtown Chicago. I don't know what the plans are for the open land, but for now, it's a nostalgic piece of history that I get to see on a regular basis. If something is built on the empty lot, I think the structure should have a wall of windows so as not to hide this beauty.

Oh, textures and layers and all that good stuff. This is a section of wall I occasionally  photograph; sometimes it holds weird artwork, images of creepy clowns or Jesus have been known to hang there. It's in the old Calo Theater in Andersonville. The space currently houses the Howard Brown / Brown Elephant resale shop. The interior was left untouched, so the huge vaulted ceilings, dilapidated walls and so many layers of history are always a treat to behold.

My babe's sweet toes in the Spring grass. That is all. *love*

Silo at the Farm in the Zoo, part of the Lincoln Park Zoo. (Hipstamatic)

Signage, origami, silhouettes and reflections. On my walk to work, this restaurant window has a growing collection of what I can only call origami star spheres...they're so great! Edited this via Instagram the other day, and am loving the layers, shapes and colors!

Today, being a gorgeous, hot in the sun and chilly in the shade day, we took a family walk for nearly two hours throughout the neighborhood. Just across from our block and parked in front of The Coffee Studio, was the most cheerful little camper I had ever seen! Painted orange with white zigzags, its insides where overflowing with vintage beauty in the form of dresses, tops, skirts, purses and accessories. I had heard of mobile shops, but this was my first time seeing one up close and personal. SO. Awesome!

Check out Lost Girls Vintage

And last, but not least, these GAH-mazing! pink magnolias beckoned me across the street and into teh cemetery. They just had to be photographed. Not much to say other than they were so freaking stunning!