Meet the Grey Crowned Crane from the International Crane Foundation. This lovely female is on exhibit near the Visitor's Center, a place that she proudly occupies due to her unique circumstances. As the guide explained, she imprinted on humans instead of on her fellow Grey Crowned Cranes, and now she thinks she is a human and wants nothing to do with those other birds.  

On my recent visit to the Center with fellow photographer Noriko Buckles, the Grey Crowned happily strutted her stuff, and fluffed a few feathers at the group of school children that came to visit.

Her golden crown was backlit by the sun, but the grid of the wire fence surely detracted from the ability to capture her in her full beauty. I took several photos anyway, and with a little Photoshop editing to remove the distractions of her pen, her elegance shines through.

Exploring the Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois on Monday October 26. The weekend crowds were gone, and I shared my early morning adventure with a coyote, a deer, a few other early-bird photographers, and a scattering of hardy hikers. The colors were spectacular; amazing how yellow everything was in the East Side forests; and my camera wanted to make them even yellower.

These shots are both panoramas: the vertical image from the East Side of the Arb is stitched together from 6 horizontal shots, and the horizontal image from the West Side is 6 vertical shots stitched together; both processed in Lightroom 2015 CC.

Enough of the cold and snow - it is time to get out of the house for something fun! 

The Bloomingdale Park District Museum's exhibit "Let There Be Light" opened today, but the best time to see the exhibit will be Friday night, January 16, 2015 from 6 - 8 pm.  That is when the complimentary Artists Reception will be held - plenty of food, drink, entertainment, beaming photographers, and wonderful photographic artwork will be in abundance.  Juror Richard Ainsworth will be there to hand out ribbons and talk about his selections.

The photo above is a sneak peak of me checking out the exhibit this morning; shown with entries from my light-painting photography collection, right next to some of my favorite works from photographer friend Tammy Caltagirone. Throughout the two galleries, I was delighted to see entries from many other friends as well, including Al DaValle and Jim Hojnacki; MAPS members Mary Mehl, Diana Chrisman, Tim Rex, and Cora Jacobs; and fellow fotoMuses Noriko Buckles, Anne Frantzen, Janice Henry, and Judy Kinal. 

I hope to see you there, Friday night. It is close, it is warm, it will be friendly and fun. The Museum is located at 108 2nd Street, Bloomingdale, IL 60108. Click here for a map and directions.

p.s. When you are there, don't forget to check the Bin for matted/unframed works by the many of the photographers in the exhibit. There are a few of my "Delicate Beauty" pieces, including my newest "Preening Egret." 

As you navigate the Holiday Season, be sure to save some time to do some 'fun' things. No pressure, just enjoy. Read on for some exciting events coming up next week.

To give you some background, I recently joined a vibrant and dynamic group of artists who make up the Arts in Bartlett organization. In October, they (we) moved into a larger space,  which has an awesome Gallery, studios, and performance space. I am honored to be part of the inaugural art exhibit, which includes drawings, paintings, photography, jewelry, and ceramics from local artists. Several of my pieces from "Delicate Beauty" (formerly known as "Ink on Unryu") are included in this exhibit, as is my canvas print "Victorian Roses."  Throughout December, there is a Holiday Boutique, with hand-made ornaments and gift items.

And now, for the Events: The official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new location will be held at 5:30 on Tuesday, December 9, with open house and tours following. The Village President and other dignitaries will be there to officiate and join in the festivities. Music and food will round out the experience. 

If you can't make it to the ribbon cutting, there is an open house on December 11, from 4 - 6, followed by a holiday dinner for members and guests (rsvp required for the dinner).

For more details about the Arts in Bartlett Center, the Gallery and December events, see the online story in the Daily Herald. Arts in Bartlett is located at 215 S. Main Street, which is in Bartlett's Town Center, across the street and south of the Metra Train Station. 

If you are unable to make either of the above events and would like to see the Gallery, please let me know. I will be in the Gallery on Wednesday, December 17 from 3 - 7 pm.


Thanks to my brother, Tom, for the photo; taken in November at a family gathering and visit to the gallery.

Regards,
~ Joanne

I am so excited to have been included in the October 2014 issue of The Hand magazine. Per its mission statement, "The Hand Magazine is dedicated to being the world’s premier forum for innovative and experimental uses of reproduction-based media." What makes this special for me is that I love experimenting and hearing about what others are doing. In this issue, I  am in good company with my former COD instructor S. Gayle Stevens and fellow student Becky Jane Davis, among many others. Check out the cover page and our images below - of course you would have to purchase the magazine to get the full effect and read the interviews and articles. My favorite is "Intersecting Methods: Science & Print Collaboration" by Matthew McLaughlin.  

Earlier this summer, I was selected to participate in an upcoming exhibit at Latitude Chicago featuring Recent BFA Graduates. It is truly an honor to represent the College of DuPage as a recent graduate in this exhibit; and a wonderful opportunity to display one of the pieces from my Ink on Unryu project. This invitation included an introduction to Latitude; the opportunity to experience their high-end digital media lab; and to learn about their opportunities, programs, and events for emerging photographic artists in the Chicagoland area. 

The Exhibit is being hung today, and will open for viewing just in time for tomorrow night's Event "Artist's Convo: New Landscapes" featuring Allison Grant and Anastasia Samoylova.  What a great opportunity to see this group exhibit, to meet the other artists, and to participate in the Artist Convo discussion. Unfortunately, this is where world's collide for me, meaning I will not be able to attend.

These days, my outside world revolves around 1) my photographic art world, which includes membership in several groups, participation in  Art Fairs, solo and group exhibits (my own and others); and 2) my Service work, which means primarily the Roselle Lions, and the Eastern Region of District 1-J to which we belong. So, Wednesday, August 20 represents the collision of those worlds, and the reason that I will miss the Event at Latitude as well as Frank Jackowiak's Pop-Up Show "Illumination" at the Cleve Carney Art Gallery at the College of DuPage McAninch Center. 

No, this will not be an Art Night or Photography Night for me. This will be a Service Night, the District 1-J Lions Eastern Region Meeting at Elmhurst Hospital; where the Elmhurst Lions will be kicking off a significant fundraiser for the Hospital's proposed Diabetes Outreach Center. For one night, the art world will have to wait.