A friend on a bench. Brushes in pockets.
Plants are smiling and I, well, I’m a little nervous about them.
September 3, 2017
Garfield Park Conservatory
Pools of pigment
little fingers and wandering eyes glide by
as we sit among the ferns
returning to the present
each mark an act of resistance
to the here and now
until we part
January 9, 2020
Garfield Park Conservatory
For four years I watered and cared for a gifted perennial to no avail. I became used to the plant as an unblooming specimen, acclimated to its bright green leaves and stems as the only color expected from the healthy and stubborn plant.
It lived with me and my two roommates, and when I decided to move out and into an apartment on my own in March of 2019, I left the bloomless flower behind, my attachment apparently not warranted without the promised blossom. Within two weeks of my departure from the apartment, twin blooms slowly began to develop, light pink buds darkening into blood red as their stamen pushed out like tongues from slowly parting lips.
I don’t remember what I painted with Leslie last March, but I do remember the curiosity of bustling onlookers within the humid Fern Room, her deft classification of the my stubborn and sudden bloom (amaryllis), and that we sat side-by-side on a bench dedicated to Ann Marie Pianka with the inscription “May Her Love Bloom Eternal.”
April 20, 2019
Garfield Park Conservatory
gold and orange and white and red beneath
transparent forest green water
luminescent yellowgreen aroids
reverberating with chitchat
February 6, 2019
Garfield Park Conservatory
November 7, 2020
Humboldt Park
He wore layers but knew his fingers would get cold.
He chose his hat carefully.
“These brushes are softer than those,” she said.
He always loved drawing trees.
October 23, 2019
Garfield Park Conservatory
Before I showed up to our painting date, I’d been feeling burnt out, out of practice, and disconnected from the art community in Chicago. Leslie’s kind words and sharing about our mutual experiences at the Glasgow School of Art brought back so many fond memories and left me feeling completely refreshed and re-invigorated with my work. I feel very grateful to have been a part of this project and hope to see it continue.
September 3, 2018
Garfield Park Conservatory
: dust, dirt, mud, air, heat, sun
February 20, 2020
Tucson Saguaro National Monument Arizona
What can be better than spending time with a friend, painting, in nature on a glorious
summer day
September 2, 2019
Humboldt Park
I’m so grateful that Leslie shared this meditative, creative and social practice with me! I’ve since moved to Los Angeles, but I love the idea of carrying on this tradition as a way to nurture imagination, build community – and of course stay connected to my thoughtful friend.
October 21, 2017
Humboldt Park
