My Trip to Chi-Town

I flew out of XNA on November 9 in the morning. One of my students whom I've been carpooling with, used to work for the airlines and graciously gave me one of her buddy passes AND drove me to the airport, AND loaned me her cell phone for the trip. She'll never know how grateful I am. My flight to Atlanta, and then to Chicago was uneventful.

Once I got my rental car, I was reminded anew how similar the Chicago highway system is similar to St. Louis's (my hometown). So, Chicago is always somewhat familiar to me even though I don't spend much time there.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by my cousin's wife and four year old daughter. She calls me "Aunt Steph" even though we are really second cousins--because her dad is really like a brother to me. However, she didn't recognize me right away--four year old memories being what they are. Later that afternoon at the dinner table, she leaned in and said, "So. My dad says that your a good artist." I said, "Hey! I thought you didn't know who I was!" She laughed. I said, "Some think so." She said, "My grandpa's a good artist too." This brief discussion was basically par for the course between me and Maddie during this trip. We spent loads of time playing pretend games and drawing too. It was also the first time I met my new little cousin Kayla.

I drove downtown the day of the reception and arrived about 3 hours before the event so I could wander around. I first went to find the gallery, and when I got there, I took photos of the art on the walls while the room was empty. After leaving the gallery, I found this novelty and poster store and spent most of my time there, killing time. Then, I grabbed a bite to eat a few blocks away from the gallery. I had this strange waiter who kept looking at me like he knew me--or at least like I had another eye in the middle of my forehead. It was rather strange. I asked if there were any discarded papers and he brought me one, so I parused that and tried the crossword.

It was about 15 minutes until five when I walked down to the gallery. People were already there, even though the snacks and drinks weren't ready yet. I immediately met with Karen Egerer, the organizer of the event/exhibition through Heartland International. Karen introduced me to Michael Ensdorf, the Director of the Gage Gallery at Roosevelt University, and Gregory G. Knight, the Director of Visual Arts at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and Chief Curator of Exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center. Susan Aurinko, Director of FLATFILE Galleries and also the third juror, was unable to attend.

I spent some time talking about my piece with Michael. He had an interesting interpretation on it. Interesting, not because I can't see his point, but because I didn't really have the particular issue in mind when I made the image. We talked about how the multiplicity of interpretations is an asset and not a liability and opens dialogue. As the evening progressed, I found out that not only did we have similar jobs, but also similar philosophies--just in two different places in the country.

As the evening progressed, I met artists who were in the exhibition with me as well as other artists who often engaged in some conspicous self-marketing. I admired their moxy and walked away with several of their cards. I spent most of the evening talking to a financial planner from Mass Mutual, of all places. He had some intriguing ideas about politics and was planning to write a novel at some time in the future. He and I also chatted at length with one of the other artists and her daughter about the state of the world and politics.

After the reception was over, Michael invited me to go to dinner with he and his wife's friends at the Park Cafe. We all had great philosophical discussions about art, education, creativity, motivation and all the other deep things artists, arts educators, and arts administrators talk about when they are together. The ambience of the restaurant was also very nice and the food was nearly perfect. After dinner, Michael made sure I made it safely to my car in the parking garage and I dropped him off at his car.

The rest of the time I was in Chicago, I went to Ikea with my cousin-in-law and we had lunch. I had Swedish meatballs for the first time in forever. We wandered the store for the afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed all the efficient Swedish (and Scandinavian, to be honest) domestic engineering. That evening we had some yummy pizza and I spent some time with my cousin.

The next afternoon, I flew back to Arkansas.


Here are some artists who presented me with their cards:

Roland Kulla
Andrea Harris
Andrea Harris also promoted BettyAnn Mocek.
Renee McGinnis

Finally, here are some images from the gallery: