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!

Visual Journaling...it's been too long.

These past few days, I've been feeling depleted, and a little defeated...hard to pinpoint why. One thing I do know is that when I feel like this, it usually coincides with a lengthy absence from my studio and creative time. I was fortunate that my sweet baby slept an entire 3 hours this morning. After getting one load of laundry started, I settled in and created via my typical process, layers upon layers of things that catch my eye or just happen to be within arm's reach.  

As I wrote on my page, I did have a vision of a plan...something that would start centrally and work its way out, like a mandala. When I feel the way I felt, I just need to cathartically purge, throw all the pieces together and see what evolves. I did have a note from my dear friend, Elon, that I came upon recently. It used to hang in my creative space, bringing both inspiration and humor to the atmosphere.  She is an inspiring woman, who exudes calming energy and wisdom; her note seemed the proper starting place for this entry.

I've been nibbling on too much of the best chocolate ever! Theo Fair Trade Chocolates, www.theochocolate.com , out of Seattle. We stock it at the store...Danger! Danger!

Layers upon layers. When the page was first covered, it was colorful, as most of my pages are, but too pristine, too neat. It just didn't feel right, it needed more stuff, more scraps, more layers. I have a variety of boxes and containers where I accumulate said scraps. I opened one in particular and it all just spoke too me. And this is the result.

Interestingly enough, as I was just finishing this page, I offered up a thank you, gratitude that B slept soundly for 3 hours. Just as I was attaching a mini thank you note, acknowledging that  perhaps a soothing energy surrounded B, the same energy that knew how vital it was for me to work in my journal today. I lifted my hand from the page, smile on my face, and, right on cue, B woke up. I need to get in that creative mode more often. 

You inspire me: circles, pattern and color

 My eye can't help but constantly be on the lookout for patterns, colors, and inspiration. I do this all the time in my familiar settings, but put me somewhere new, in this case, visiting family in Massachusetts, and it's a whole new world of, what I like to call, visual yum.

 

 This delicious detail is a decorative plate from Turkey that hangs in Yaya's kitchen.

For the past several weeks, at home in Chicago, I've walked by a coiled up garden hose (in the best shade of blue!)  Every time I see it, i want to take a photo; I am usually on my way to or from the store with my arms and hands loaded up with stuff, camera tucked somewhere inaccessible. But today, when I saw this lovely coiled up orange hose, I was already on a photography adventure. Now I just need to go back home and get a shot of my favorite blue garden hose.

Cascading, concentric circles of crystal. What more is there to say, really?

Backyard, Central Massachusets

Visiting family in Massachusetts, enjoying the temperate days and cool evenings, wandering through the backyard and enjoying the details.

 I just love the symmetry, and the layers of patina accumulated over the years.  Apparently a family of woodchucks makes their home beneath the shed; I saw a baby yesterday :)

Weathered hardware details = good stuff

Rusty details of the cellar door.

Growing up in Southern California, where we had attics, basements were always a huge novelty and mystery to me. The somewhat musty smell of my Grandmother's basement in Missouri is a olfactory memory that I hold dear from my childhood. I suspect it has greatly contributed to my love of antique shops filled to the brim with stuff...same smell. This basement talk brings me to cellars; are they even the same thing?  Cellars make me think of creaking, creepy doors that open wide to open a path to the depths and darkness below. Cellars also make me think of wine. We'll go with that.

Sunset reflection and some siding with serious character. Love it.

Intergalactic Street Art

I've been capturing lots of graffiti and street art around the city recently. This display is in Andersonville, on Clark just south of Bryn Mawr. I am not of fan of defacing public property or gang tags; this art makes reference to the business, which is accessed on the opposite side of the building. Therefore, I see it more as them decorating their business

instead of defacing a public structure.

 I am oddly obsessed with brain scans. Actually most any kind of scans and x-rays.

I don't know what this image means, if anything, but I dig it.

 Zodiac time?

 Stars and swirls and color, oh my!



Beauty All Around

Under my bathroom mirror hangs a little inspiration: "Do something creative every day." I must have found it years ago in a magazine, and I kinda laugh at myself that I still have this random scrap of paper taped to the cabinet. I have always loved photography, even had it as my undergrad major for a while (changed it due to the fact that things needed to be precise and mathematical...you know, before digital days...I switched over to ceramics and textiles where my loose and messy style could flourish a bit more. But I digress...)  These days, I may not have a chunk of time to sit down and journal, paint, collage etc...but I always have my iphone. And instagram. A die-hard photographer might call it all cheating, but I look at it as creating. And it gives me the opportunity to capture moments of 

inspiration in my daily life.  

 My brush jar for painting.

 Water lily pod and cockscomb from this amazing florist in my neighborhood.

www.margueritegardens.com

 Ranunculus mesmerize me.

I came home yesterday to find a pair of sweet birds trapped in the upper stairwell. I just needed to open the window to let them find their way to freedom. This one was sitting so sweetly on the window ledge, and I was able to hold him for a moment and snap a few pictures.  I was psyched with how clear the shot was. The only editing I did was to add a smudgy border. I opened the window and this little guy sat on my finger for a moment before heading 

back out into the world :)

Process

Since our son arrived a little over a month ago, I haven't had a chance to step into my art studio too much. Actually, I have had a few free moments where I could have been creative, but snuggling that little bundle of love won out! However I realized while he was snoozing one afternoon that, in addition to squeezing him to bits, my soul also needs art and creativity. I know this. I always know this. But sometimes I just need to remind myself.

 That particular afternoon was spent in "process"...no particular plan or direction. Just getting colors, lines, shapes, thoughts on paper...and awaiting the end result. I started with a gray-scale topographical map scrap and colored in some squares with colored-pencils.  

 I found a new favorite material: used dryer sheets from Seventh Generation. They're almost like a brown wax paper with a perforated surface. They crinkle and wrinkle in a lovely manner and leave a great texture to work on, when flattened.  I layered on paints, water color pastels, rubber stamps and writing. A little random stitching here and there, and I was pleased with that process session.

Different shots of the layers and textures I created. 

Everything goes into one of my many visual journals.