Shopping and Celebrating Local Art at The Shop Evanston Made Holiday Market

 

Shopping Locally Made Items While Admiring Art Experiences at The Shop Evanston Made Holiday Market

Evanston Made recently crafted a holiday market full of creativity, innovative spark and unique holiday gifts. I visited this week and was pretty impressed with how the market wove together a wide variety of local art for purchase with art experiences. Take a peek inside of this wonderland of inspiration:

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Engaging With Art: Playing a Round of Mini Golf Exploring the Back 9 at Elmhurst Art Museum

The Back 9 Treats to a Whimiscial and Experiential Mini Golf Art Exhibit at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Elmhurst, IL

**Disclosure: I attended a special preview event at Elmhurst Art Museum with complimentary admission. No other compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Par Excellence Redux: The Back 9 just opened at the Elmhurst Art Museum inviting the public to try their hands at a regional artist-designed miniature golf course with unique challenges. Par Excellence Redux pays homage to the original 1988 Par Excellence exhibit at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  The reimagined exhibit delights visitors with whimsical and inventive designs just as the original Par Excellence did.

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Celebrating Local Art and Local Business during Wheaton's "Love Where You Live" Window Art Event

 

Wheaton's "Love Where You Live" Window Art Event Celebrates Local During the Month of October

"Love Where You Live" creations add inspiring and whimsical window art in store fronts dotting downtown Wheaton. Each piece crafted by local artists encourages visitors to wander Wheaton discovering cheerful window art while exploring local businesses forming the fabric of the community.

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Connecting With Others Through Creativity Over Distances: Concepts to Bring Forward from Rae Luskin

Connecting With Others Through Creativity Over Distances: Concepts to Bring Forward from Rae Luskin

Rae Luskin Local Artist, Creative Activist, Speaker and Author of Art From My Heart and The Creative Activist reveled in a creative journey during our collective COVID journey. Rae is a leader in using creative expression to heal and nurture self-worth. I spoke to her last week about her discoveries and learned many creative concepts that we can all use while social distancing and even going forward.

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Critters and COVID Whimsical Yard Scenes: Western Suburban Artist Kathy Steere Shares Playfulness and Hope

Critters and COVID: A Western Suburban Artist Kathy Steere Adds Whimsy and Hope

Recently, I learned about Kathy Steere, a local fabric and mixed media artist, who has been spreading joy and hope in her West suburban neighborhood with whimsical ever-changing yard scenes. Initially when the shut down began, she started to sew masks and offered them free to the community. Soon after, she learned about a scavenger hunt idea in her area and was drawn to the concept of creating an ever-changing scene. I have been totally inspired by how Kathy has spread positivity, joy and community during this difficult time through her scenes and masks. I am so happy to share Kathy's story with you and we both hope this offers you some light during these times. Kathy wrote a beautiful piece about her playful critter scenes.  Learn a little more from the artist herself and don't forget to check out Kathy Steere's art and the prompt she has left for us:

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Creative Art Prompts from the Local Artists of Artistic Journeys

Creative Art Prompts from the Chicago Suburban Artists of Artistic Journeys


The combination between our time at home and the awakening and renewal of spring makes now a wonderful time to fuel our creative sides. Sometimes, though, getting start may prove to be a challenge. I am thrilled to share that I have a collection of art prompts from the talented artists of Artistic Journeys to help spark inspiration and your own artistic journey:

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Virtual Local Art Experiences While Social Distancing

Virtual Local Art Experiences While Social Distancing

Recently, I have been using our time social distancing to stretch myself in art. I followed artist Gail Diedrichsen's tutorial on sketching your pet found on the Collie Rescue of Greater Illinois' Facebook Page and found it fun, engaging and even therapeutic! I thought some more of you may need ideas to explore with art! I have collected some great local art experiences to check out. I will be adding to this list during this time as I discover more:

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Distillery District in Lexington, Kentucky Tempts with Bourbon, Craft Beer, Handcrafted Ice Cream and Entertainment

Distillery District in Lexington, Kentucky Tempts with Bourbon, Craft Beer, Handcrafted Ice Cream and Entertainment

Ice Cream, bourbon and beer, oh my! Distillery District in Lexington, Kentucky tempts visitors with all sorts of sights, flavors and experiences including our explorations of the day -- ice cream, beer and bourbon. However, the entertainment district is full with much more!

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Get Behind the Arts 2019 in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin: Immerse Yourself in the Arts

Get Behind the Arts 2019 in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin: Immerse Yourself in the Arts

Get Behind the Arts Weekend in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin invites the public to unique behind the scenes art experiences, one-on-one opportunities to meet artists, art demos and more. A number of the studios are not always open to the public. Other locations host a number of artists displaying their art as well as demonstrating their technique. The weekend furnishes adventures that touch the creative spirit, inspire with the senses and welcomes families to meet and learn from local artists.

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Interview with Local Artist Cheryl Rausch

Interview with Local Illustrator and Photographer Cheryl Rausch

Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Chicago suburban artist Cheryl Rausch. Cheryl works with a variety of visual arts including illustration and photography. When I met Cheryl, she was giving children hands-on experience with illustration. Her joy for art and creation truly came through. Over the past year, I have been following her on her Cheryl Rausch.Art Facebook Page and watching her experiment with different methods and seeing her creations come to life has been amazing! I find that seeing this process inspires shows that special heart and magic that goes into the Cheryl Rausch art in your home. To me, local art is so special because you often do know more about the heart that went into that piece. I have been fortunate enough to put together this interview with Cheryl Rausch so you can also learn about her and her art:

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Waves, Tide Pools and Relaxation at Cannon Beach in Oregon

We drove up the Oregon shore to Cannon Beach from Tillamook along US Route 101. The route hugs points on the coast and has some great views of the Pacific Ocean as well as coastal communities. We enjoyed the drive so much that we managed to fit it twice into our visit! How can you resist views like this:

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Interview with Local Artist Carol Foster of Foster Moments

Artists Carol Foster and Lisa Riedl at Crabtree Nature Center's art display.

I am happy to introduce you to an amazing local artist here in the Chicago suburban area, Carol Foster! Carol Foster is a talented painter and also helps organize and facilitate public art programs and events throughout the suburbs. Carol and I met through our mutual passion for all things local and support of small business and local artisans. Please meet Carol Foster of Foster Moments and Artistic Journeys. Please enjoy my interview with Carol:

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Get Behind The Arts Weekend Celebrating Local Art in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin

**Disclosure: Thank you to Visit Kenosha for accommodating my stay in order to bring a detailed review of Get Behind the Arts to my readers. Views are 100% my own.

Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin are nestled along the mesmerizing shores of Lake Michigan both having vibrant local art communities. Local artists breathe quite a bit of spirit into the community and serve as a vital part of the fabric making the area unique. Together, Kenosha and Racine invite the public each year to meet their artists, learn about their methods and even peek into their studios during the Get Behind the Arts weekend. We spent last weekend immersed in Get Behind the Arts and left with new appreciation of the creative forces in Kenosha and Racine. The weekend was full of creativity, ingenuity and inspiration!

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Coquelicot Gallery and Cafe Home to Artisan Finds and Light Bites in Palatine

Coquelicot Gallery and Cafe is a new addition to the Chicago suburbs supporting independent artisans and providing an elegant space where the public can enjoy coffee, tea, light bites and art. I must admit the first two things that drew me to Coquelicot Gallery was the allure of loose leaf tea and the ability to peruse art including locally made items. When you enter Coquelicot, you feel that you are in a refined yet welcoming space.

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Get Behind The Arts 2018 in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin April 27-29

Up close art experience at the 2017 Get Behind The Arts Event photo by Barb Thompson Photography

Get Behind The Arts is an INCREDIBLE weekend adventure in nearby Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin welcoming the community into local art studios, galleries and museums. The self-guided tour gives visitors an unparalleled view of the creative and innovative processes of local artists in their own work spaces. Over the course of the weekend, over 100 creatives at 27 locations will introduce the community to their art and ignite the creative spirit in all of us. The weekend is a fabulous time to appreciate the talent of local artists and their contributions to our community, appreciate their artistry and foster our own artistic passion. Can you tell I am excited about the event?

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Elmhurst Art Museum

Last Friday, my husband and I took advantage of the Elmhurst Art Museum's Free First Fridays to explore the suburban museum's current exhibitions. On our visit, we were fortunate to enjoy the Hebru Brantley exhibit "Forced Field" towards the end of its run. "Forced Field" centered around Brantley's character Flyboy so it really spoke to children as well as adults.

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Inspiration at the Racine Art Museum

Racine Art Museum located footsteps away from Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin holds a truly impressive amount of art. We capitalized on a recent gray day to explore the museum. Since this was our second visit, we were quite surprised by how many different pieces from the museum's collections were on display. The museum was entirely transformed and ready to inspire us! We were fortunate to visit during the holiday season, so did enjoy the treat of viewing the tree!

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Working with Glass at Patterson Glassworks in Mundelein, Illinois

Patterson Glassworks in Mundelein, Illinois offers hands-on experiences creating glass art. The hot glass studio offers classes, open houses and team building. Of course, the local artists create fabulous glass art as well! The studio provides the community with an incredible opportunity to understand how glass art is made not only by seeing it in action but trying it as well.

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Bucktown Center for the Arts and Artists in the Quad Cities {NOW CLOSED}

While exploring the the Quad Cities, we encountered a vibrant artist community. For those with a passion for local art or those curious about creative processes, a visit to the Bucktown Center for the Arts is a must. The Bucktown Center for the Arts is an artist collective where up and coming artists can rent space to create and sell their pieces. (Unfortunately, the center is now closed.)

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The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh

On our road trips east to New Jersey, we often find ourselves spending a little time in Pittsburgh. The city has quickly become one our favorite cities to explore. The city itself is striking especially from a perch upon Mount Washington where you can soak up the skyline surrounded by rivers and bridges.

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