Upcoming Show and Other Stuff

I am going to be showing at a brand new gallery in River North called Effe Leven Gallery. It’s a beautiful space and it’s always been my dream to show in that neighborhood. The Director and staff are awesome and supportive. My work will be apart of their Women’s show, celebrating women's art in September.

So I’m done with Eat, Pray, Love and I’m kinda bummed that it’s all over. What an enjoyable read that was! I’m going through that sort of sad feeling you feel when a book you loved reading has come to an end. Now what? I happened to find some books at Transitions, which is apparently moving. I have been in this town a long time and I will miss this location. I hope they are really just moving and not closing shop. Anyway, I went to their sale over the weekend and everything was 50% off so I got one of Byron Katie’s books, A Thousand Words for Joy, which I am liking more than I thought I would. A friend of mine introduced me to her work and Katie sort of frightened me. Very tough love focused indeed. It’s not about them, it’s all about you and how you suck—“Paul doesn’t love you because you don’t love you”—A Thousand Words for Why I Suck. Now that I’ve gotten my rant out of the way, her work is actually very liberating and she is a loving person. I like the idea of loving who you are, where you are right now. And notice how I said—I like the “idea” of it. I’m still working on it (working on The Work, for those who are in the know). I have to say it’s a breath of fresh air compared to The Secret. I liked The Secret but let’s face it a lot of disappointment happens when life isn’t like going into a candy store and getting everything you want. Not only does it leave one feeling sad about the not getting part but also, it makes you feel like you failed because you weren’t good enough to attract your good.

Now for something completely different, a recipe, since I can’t do typical Rueben Sandwiches I make what I call a Rueben Salad. I've been eating this all summer. I just combine the following:

- A whole lot of greens, really any thing you like
- A Scoop of fermented veggies, kim-chi or kraut. I make my own fermented veggies using one of Sandor Katz’s recipes. My favorite mix is usually cabbage, diakon radish, carrots, and onions.
- I add Nasoya's soy-based Thousand Island dressing. Nasaya makes a line of really tasty soy dressings. Their dressing are not too much soy and or too many carbs either
- You can also add some proteins like hard boiled eggs or turkey breast

Just enjoying my summer . . .

I must admit summer makes me lose my ambition (but not my religion). It’s hard for me to be motivated to stay in and paint. What also has fuelled this lack of ambition is that my encaustic class was cancelled—a day before my first class. Argggh. I guess it’s just a sign from the universe that I should just enjoy my summer and I’m certainly doing that. Last Friday I had the best night after a really rough week at the ole day job. I saw a group of perfromers from Australia called Strange Fruit at Millennium Park. They climb these flexible high poles and do skits to music—it's all about love and loss, but isn't everything? They gracefully bend and sway in the air. I’ll never forget it. I’m a sucker for circus makeup and costumes and they did not disappoint. The ladies matched their red and purple hair with their skirts. After their moving performance, I walked through Millennium Park and dipped my feet into one of the cool poles of water and really took in the beautiful landscape. Then I got the most perfect latte at Intelligensia which has some of the best coffee in town. They make the lovely little leaf pattern swirls, I guess it went along with my nature theme! Ever since I started reading Eat, Pray, Live I have just been adoring coffee. I think it was the “Italy” chapters that did this to me. After my coffee I took the el to Southport and walked up and down the street all the way up to Foster. I haven’t been near there in ages. The el station was closed for at least a year. I lived near there years ago. It was “up and coming” then and bit more artsy now it’s where the loud sports fans hang. I did manage to find a non-noisy place to have a glass of wine as Iyanla Vanzant would say “with myself”. Then I went to Anthony’s Italian Ice and had a small mango ice sundae with hot fudge sauce. It was a beautiful night. I’ve been really enjoying MCA’s Jazz at the Terrace. It’s not too crowded and you can pack a lovely picnic. The music is always good. I wanted to make reservations to eat at an actual table at their dinner buffet but they are booked for the rest of the summer! Luckily, I still have time to go to the Garden Restaurant at the Art Institute on Thursday nights and hear live music whilst sitting/eating at an actual table.
The MCA is showing the work of controversial artist, Jeff Koons. I adore this show, even the sexy sexy photos of him and his ex-wife. I admit I have a little crush on Mr. Koons but he is happily remarried so I will let that dream go. For me the highlights are the Hulk Paintings (how one paints inflatable toys with such realism I will never know), the sculpture busts of himself and his ex-wife, the capadamante Michael Jackson sculpture and all of the “ballon” sculptures. Love, love, love this show! (I exclaim in full Diana Vreeland-style).

One non-enjoyable thing that happened recently was receiving my new lease. They raised my rent an extra $40.00 the most ever. In fact one year they decreased it. I even called and wanted to know about this misprint and my mgmt was like “nope no misprint, we just want to keep our valued tenants here”. How times have changed! After looking at many shitholes I decided to stay put. Even though it’s $40.00 more it’s still a lot better than what is out there. I still heart Lincoln Square and my summer of fun.