Bronzeville To Harlem

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on November 16, 2025
Posted in: Art, Travel. Tagged: , , . 10 Comments

One of the most outstanding exhibits at the Riverfront Museum in Peoria was ‘Bronzeville to Harlem: An American Story’ and we almost missed it. We were walking down a corridor past some large, dark-tinted glass doors and assumed it was either a lecture or meeting room but being nosey I decided to peek inside and discovered this amazing work by Preston Jackson.

It took the artist thirty years to complete this creation which is comprised of hundreds of bronze figures and steel relief sculptures and represents The Black Renaissance in places like Peoria, Bronzeville in Chicago, and Harlem in the 1920’s

One of the things that I especially liked about this exhibit was that the pieces weren’t in glass cases. It always makes photography so difficult, trying to avoid annoying reflections. But here, you could walk around and get a clear view of everything from all angles.

Preston Jackson was born in Decatur, Illinois and began his career as a professor of art at Western Illinois University. He later took up a position as professor of sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago and was appointed chair of the Sculpture Department from 1994 to 1996. In 1998 he was named the Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and received the Order of Lincoln Medallion.

‘Bronzeville to Harlem’ seems to come to life with period jazz music playing in the background and audio narrations by actors and the artist himself. This was such a fascinating exhibit, and I can highly recommend a visit to the Riverfront Museum to see it if you happen to be in the area. I’m not sure whether it’s a permanent exhibit or not, so check with the Museum website to make sure it’s still there before you go.

Riverfront Museum

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on November 5, 2025
Posted in: Art. Tagged: , , . 11 Comments

During our brief visit to Peoria a couple of weeks ago, we stopped in at the Riverfront Museum located right next door to the Caterpillar Visitors Center. Although not a large museum, it had an interesting mix of exhibits, with a planetarium and movie theater included in the price of admission.

After looking around a special exhibit about the Titanic which didn’t really provide any real opportunity for photography, we moved on to a display of Illinois-made woven Jacquard coverlets from the Glick Collection, the largest collection of its kind in the country.

Although the Museum seemed to be mostly dedicated to arts and crafts, there was a nice collection of seashells, fossils, crystals and the like.

We then stopped in at the Planetarium to watch a 30-minute show about the search for life on other planets.

After the show we took a look a display of folk art that included quilts, a hand-carved horse made of pine and a miniature doll house built entirely out of corn stalks, husks, kernels and silk. The quilt with all the tiny pieces, Noragi 1000 Tsugi, was made by Tomie Nagano.

Other artwork in the Museum included a piece called Beethoven’s Trumpet by John Baldesarri, Reverend Howard Finster’s version of the Mona Lisa created with paint, plexiglass and mirrors, and a 10 x 7ft painting called Our Greatest Inheritance by Atlanta- based artist Alfred Conteh.

I was quite surprised to find, almost hidden downstairs in the lower level of the museum, a sculpture by Rodin. Originally, the marble study of Danaide was meant for a larger work but was not used and was later cast in bronze as a separate piece.

In an upcoming post, I’ll show you another of the exhibits at the Riverfront Museum, the one that really caught my eye and one that we almost missed.

Caterpillar In Peoria

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on October 31, 2025
Posted in: Travel. Tagged: , . 15 Comments

Recently, while visiting our daughter and her family in Delavan, we spent an afternoon in Peoria, Illinois. Since we had a limited time to explore, we opted to visit the Riverfront area and found a couple of places of interest.

The Caterpillar Visitors Center is, as you would expect, all about the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. The company is currently celebrating its centennial despite a turbulent history of near bankruptcy, strikes, legal issues, violations and various other controversies.

The tour began with a video presentation as we took a virtual ride in a gigantic two-and-a-half story CAT 797F Mining Truck that served as the auditorium. Accompanied by sounds and vibrations we visited some of the sites where the famous Caterpillar equipment is being used, with an emphasis on environmental sustainability which, given its history, was viewed by me with a certain amount of skepticism.

Although I don’t understand the intricacies of all this machinery, I always enjoy the challenge of taking pictures that detail some of the things I’ve seen.

There is plenty to do at the Center as you can design your own CAT machine, test your skill as an operator on a simulator, try out the new construction technologies game room or climb into the cab of one of these giant earth movers.

As a footnote, I just read that Caterpillar was one of the donors that funded the demolition of the White House’s East Wing this year. If it’s true and had I known at the time, I probably would not have visited the Center. As it is, I begrudge having contributed to this desecration by paying the entrance fee.

Patterned By Nature – Part 2

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on September 1, 2025
Posted in: photography. Tagged: , . 8 Comments

The theme, Patterned by Nature, at the Chicago Botanic Garden this summer included special exhibits relating to fashion and the use of natural resources.

The garments were created by students from Columbia College Chicago’s School of fashion during a five-week workshop following a trip to the Botanic Garden. They used materials left over from previous exhibits including canvas banners, vinyl posters, wires and plastic plant pots.

Alexandra Abbott, Tommie Anderson, Brandon Barrera, Ciara Brophy, Lucy Conway, Hidequel Gonzale, Sungwon Kim, Madison Metcalf, David Navarro, Mihir Patel, Logan Reilly, and Nat Sass did a great job of utilizing these upcycled items to create some unique designs.

Kristin Field, from Chicago, is a natural dyer and gardener. Some of the techniques she uses to natural dye her creations are stitched shibori and ecoprinting, using a combination of indigo, coreopsis, gallnut and alum acetate.

If you haven’t done so already, you might like to check out some more pictures of the Garden during the Patterned by Nature theme, at my other blog The Nature of Things.

Busted In The Park

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on July 4, 2025
Posted in: Art. Tagged: , , , . 13 Comments

And before you ask, no, I wasn’t done for smoking weed in the gardens. Apart from all the amazing pieces of artwork scattered around Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park, there is also a special exhibition, Busted, now on view in the Welcome Center.

These three pieces by Michael Ferris Jr look eerily life-like. They are portraits of the artist’s friends, Jo, Nora and Steve. Born in Chicago, Ferris now lives and works in the Bronx. His work is largely inspired by intarsia woodworking from his Middle Eastern heritage; the pieces made of reclaimed wood are decorated with pigmented grout. The inlaid patterns remind me of Maori tattoos, and I almost expected that last one to start talking, he looked so real.

The installation Rough Edges by Elise Siegal is a different kind of creepy. These ceramic portrait busts, although not exactly life-like, look as though they could, all of a sudden, start talking amongst themselves. I wouldn’t want to be in there with them alone at night.

I much prefer pieces like Hester Diamond by artist Barry X Ball, made of translucent pink Iranian onyx. And I’ve always been in awe of the ability of sculptors to make a solid piece of stone look transparent as in Ball’s Purity, made of Belgian black marble, and the skillful artistry of works like I Know You Are But What Am I? made of cast glass, by artist Dean Allison.

Some of the pieces were quite bizarre, a sculpture, Space Cactus by Salvadore Jimenez-Flores being one of them, along with Gold Butter Dog 1, Guggenheim Crown, Silicon by artist Paul McCarthy, and two busts by Jessica Stoller in porcelain, china paint and lustre.

Two pieces by artist Layo Bright were particularly eye catching. The last two sculptures are Apollo, in green Rameggiato marble by Sanford Biggers and Please Hold in ceramic and twine by Rose B. Simpson.

These were just a few of the busts in this exhibition, which is open through September 20, 2025, and if you’d like to see more, I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the Grand Rapids area. The park is part of the Chicago Botanic Garden reciprocal program so if you’re a member, entry to the park is free.

Seeing The Sights

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on June 25, 2025
Posted in: Travel. Tagged: , , , . 10 Comments

We arrived in Grand Rapids just after 3pm and after checking into the hotel and getting some coffee, we decided to take a walk around the town, stopping first at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. This two-story triangular museum was built at a cost of $11 million and was dedicated in 1981. Since it was getting near to closing time, we didn’t go inside, preferring to stay outdoors while the weather was a little cooler.

Just opposite the hotel is a sculpture by Spanish artist and sculptor Jaume Plensa entitled The Four Elements. We were to see more of his work the next day at Meijer Sculpture Gardens. Just behind it, you can catch a glimpse of a restaurant called Real Seafood Company, that I can highly recommend.

The camera club that I recently rejoined, had given us a scavenger hunt list for the summer, and one of the items on it was a clock. The one in the next picture didn’t have a lot going for it aesthetically but I took a shot anyway and later discovered that it had an interesting history. It stands outside what is now the Kent County Courthouse. Before that, it was the site of the old City Hall. After much protest, the building was demolished along with its iconic clock tower in 1969. Although the clock tower is long gone, the clock itself was rescued and once again stands at the corner of Ottawa Avenue and Lyon Street.

One of the things that I enjoy exploring when I’m in a new place, apart from gardens, is old churches. This one is St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. The building was completed in 1848, making it the oldest surviving public building in Grand Rapids.

Two statues that we came across during our walk through downtown Grand Rapids were those of Rosa Parks, famous for her courageous stance on equal rights, and Arthur H. Vandenberg, a United States Senator best known for leading the Republican Party towards a policy of internationalism.

Another item on my scavenger hunt list was murals and these two caught our attention. The first was by Chicago artist Jeff Zimmermann. The second, titled “Seeking a Pleasant Peninsula” is by artist Maddison Chafer.

I hope you will join me on my other blog The Nature of Things for an upcoming post when I visit Meijer Sculpture Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A Grand Time In Grand Rapids

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on June 23, 2025
Posted in: Travel. Tagged: , , . 10 Comments

This past weekend, my daughter invited me to go with her on a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was more than happy to accompany her. I knew if she was booking the hotel, it would be something amazing and much swankier than the places I’m used to staying at. I wasn’t disappointed. Welcome to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel!

Our room, on the 22nd floor had an awesome view, from the floor to ceiling windows, of the Grand River, and overlooking the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.

The Grand Plaza has quite a history. Once known as the Pantlind Hotel, the original building was constructed in 1913. Ten years later, a 189-room addition was made to the hotel and in 1983, the 29-story tower was completed, becoming the city’s tallest building.

Many famous celebrities have stayed at the Grand Plaza including Margaret Thatcher, Queen Noor of Jordan, James Earl Jones, Faye Dunaway and Jerry Seinfeld, to name but a few.

We spent some time walking around the hotel and being rather curious as to what was behind the locked doors to the Gerald R. and Betty Ford Presidential Ballroom and the Imperial Ballroom, we tried to peek in. A very nice lady who worked in the hotel came by and asked us if we would like to see inside. She very kindly let us in, and we were able to take some pictures while she told us a little bit about the rooms. The Imperial Ballroom originally housed the Old National Bank. Both of these beautiful rooms are available for special functions.

We checked out every facet of the hotel from the pool and spa to the skywalk that connects the Plaza to the DeVos Place Convention Center and the Van Andel Arena, an interesting way to see the city without venturing outside in the heat. But we did go outside eventually and discovered some more interesting sights in Grand Rapids. So more to come in the next post.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Books

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on June 6, 2025
Posted in: literature, photography. Tagged: , . 18 Comments

Photographer Ritva Sillanmaki has chosen Books as the theme for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. If you haven’t already visited her site, I would urge you to do so as she does awesome work with the camera.

As some of you will probably have guessed, this theme was an opportunity too good to pass up. While we were staying in London last summer, we visited the Reading Room at the British Museum. As an avid reader, this place has always held a special place in my heart, especially when it contained so many original manuscripts, most of which I believe have now been moved to a different location.

While it’s not exactly the British Museum, my first book The Eternal Song is on the ‘Local Authors’ shelf at our local library and is also registered with the Library of Congress.

I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read this book and its sequel, Smoke. I’m now working on the third story, Dreams in The Connections Series which I hope to have ready by this time next year.

Lens-Artists Challenge – Seen On My Last Outing

Posted by Sue (Mac's Girl) on April 12, 2025
Posted in: Challenges. Tagged: , , , . 19 Comments

I haven’t done one of these photo challenges for a while, but when I saw Ann-Christine’s Lens-Artists Challenge this week, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some pictures that I captured while I was in Bloomington Illinois, recently.

After visiting the David Davis Mansion, we had some time to spare so we stopped in at the McLean County Museum of History.

Whenever I see things like this on display, I wonder if I couldn’t start my own museum. Goodness knows, I have enough outdated items laying around in the basement.

One of the items that I found most interesting was William Brigham’s Scrapbook. This 19 x 19 scrapbook contains notes, photographs and hand-drawn district maps and was the working manuscript for Brigham’s 1951 book project, The Story of McLean County and its Schools.

Once a visiting school group had left, we seemed to have the museum to ourselves, and it was eerily quiet. This room served as the Circuit Courtroom from 1903 to 1976.