The Week Past, the Week Ahead

Click here for a link to our Aug. 9th issue.
Lots of stuff happening this weekend too!

The Week Past, the Week Ahead

Here is a link to the July 26 Pipeline.

The Week Past, the Week Ahead

Click here for the July 5th issue.

The Week Past, the one Ahead

Here is a link to the June 21 Pipeline. There will be NO PIPELINE next week! We have to get the entire booklet to a printer by Thursday the 30th. We will still blog and update the new website though.

The Week Past, The Week Ahead

It makes me sad to neglect this blog, but the new virtual home is really cool. i am geeking out on it. i am also catsittng and thinking that the nice thing about watching a neighbor's cat when you live in an apartment building is that you can still wear your robe, and you do not have to worry about a neighbor seeing you in your ratty robe. and, it's nice to go on a vacation from your apartment.

Link to the June 14 Pipeline is Here. Sorry anyone had to read that sad preamble ramble. New site has room for lots and lots of contributors. i can add you and the stories come in through there. anyone interesred should register at wordpress.com and i will add you to the pipeline network.

It's a Vintage Shopping Weekend in Wicker Park

Ayy, where to blog these days?! I think I am suffering from virtual schizophrenia!

Um... Just posted a lil blurb on the new pipeline site about Venus Meets Vintage, a market descending upon the RGB Lounge this weekend, 6/11-12.

Details here, along with shout outs to other local vintage stops too.

We've got a New Website and I'm already freaking out about what I call Buttons, Banners, and "Blasts"

Well, it only took two or so years of covering the neighborhood, but the pipeline's website is up and running! Our home page features a farmer from the market, snapped a few summers back. In fact, there's farmers up the street right NOW as I type this, offering fresh produce and more. Ready. Set. Go. Read more here on our site, which looks a bit like this streets blog!

You can visit us at chicago-pipeline.com where things will be more centralized soon, once we get a grasp on which content we'd like to highlight. We still plan to send out the weekly newsletter, though we may cut back on what we include in the newsletter. So far, the newsletter seemed to be working, so I am a bit reluctant to switch to a web site. So much goes on behind the scenes that we work on, that to release stories one by one, and then send out a synopsis with headlines seems a bit too disjointed for our tastes. Also irking me to no end are the "button" advertisements on website!!!

Do you click on banners?

Do you click on menu items that I link to from somewhere else, because I personally read the menu items and found them to be interesting, and wanted to share?

That is the difference between traditional media and the pipeline. We want our partners to receive attention and interest in their products and services. We hope the small business owners in our neighborhood would thrive even more, if people knew that by supporting them they are contributing to a diverse and eclectic community.

There will be no buttons and banners. Not yet. Or, more aptly, there will be advertisers, but it won't look like buttons and banners and the differentiation between the two will be clearly noted, to appease the Gods of Journalistic Integrity.

Buttons and Banners- Boo! And while we're on this note, please don't get me started on the word "blast. Marking corporate types would call the newsletter we send out an email "blast," but we prefer it to just be proof that we were having a blast when we were developing the issue.

speaking of which, WICKER PARK FARMERS MARKET begins today, on park grounds, from 8AM to 2PM.

Dispatch from Saturday Pop In Excitement

This past Saturday we popped in at the Rogue Gallery on Western shortly after being truly bummed out by this sign on Plazzio's Pizza, [[CONFESSION: one of our favorite places for cheap pizza and greasy-but-good eggplant Parmesan sandwiches that have the best salty decadent fries rolled into the butcher paper. come back soon, plazzio's!!]].

Um, back to the "story," we couldn't help but notice a popcorn machine, and a few moviegoers chilling out inside the Rogue Gallery's makeshift movie theater. What could be happening? We wondered. Come along...

Turns out there was a fundraiser happening, for the Chicago chapter of Off the Street Kids, a non-profit mentoring program started by actress Gillan Anderson, best known as the smart and sassy female sidekick, Scully, to actor David Duchovny's Mulder, on the popular TV series, X-Files.

More specifics on the now-passed-event can be found here on this ChicagoNow blog by Andy Daglas.

Pictured is Melanie, in blue top, who earns the distinction of having traveled the furthest to participate on the fundraiser. Melanie reported that she drove into Chicago from Kalamazoo, Michigan after hearing about the daylong X-files marathon on a website community called IBG (note: Inspired by Gillian, but not affiliated with her, per this website.]

Though in an alternate reality we would've donated $10 and chilled out, like we witnessed one woman doing, who was knitting a blanket while watching X-files, we had a lot of neighborhood ground to cover- literally-since weekends are the only time we have to "pop in" these days, as well as interview people and solicit participation in our upcoming printed booklet. So, we could not help but find some cash to participate in the IDG raffle, in hopes of winning X-Files swag, and then, at the Rogue's gallery neighbor, Challengers, we purchased a $4 dose of reading therapy, a graphic novel called Castling by Logan Square's very own Sarah Becan, founder of Shortpantspress.com, which will be participating in free comic book day, per Patrick of Challenger's.

Castling was devoured later that day, where we enjoyed every page and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast and innovative read! The plot is simple yet universal-- a teenager estranged from her father gets slowly closer to him, as they realize that they swapped dreams on the very same night. When the coincidence ends up affecting reality, and the father's premonition from a dream plot line comes true, the teenager responds by wondering if this man-who-wants-to-be-called-Dad but doesn't deserve to be, should be someone who should be in her life. Not to ruin anything else, but we found the teen's simple, "I...I don't have your number" and her father's response of "Got a pen?" to be brilliant and simple and poignant and even eye misting since we were feeling kind of hormonal anyway.









For whatever reason, in times of stress I always find myself reading graphic novels more so than literary ones. Anything to quiet the mind.

Pictured is Castling, along with a grilled vegetable sandwich enjoyed on the serene back patio of Yuca Cafe, one of the best kept al fresco secrets around. The sandwich was amazing, along with the fries. Not Plazzio's, but close.

Art Opening, Fri. March 11: Irena Saparnis at Jackson Junge Gallery

SILK LIGHT

The Luminous Art of Silk Batik – Irena Saparnis

“Silk Light,” a collection of batik art by Irena Saparnis will be on display at the Jackson Junge Gallery, 1389 N. Milwaukee Ave., from Friday, March 11, through Sunday, May 1, 2011. An opening reception with the artist will be held from 6pm – 9pm on March 11th. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Per a press release from the gallery, Irena Saparnis is renowned for her distinct style and unusual art form.

While most batik artists work with cotton, Saparnis’ fabric of choice is silk. Painting on silk is relatively common especially in Asian cultures, but its role in batik is somewhat unique.

“Early on I began experimenting with fabrics and fell in love with the results I could produce on silk,” says Saparnis. “The material itself has a luminescence that brings a whole new quality to the final composition. Light bounces off silk creating a look you could never achieve with the dense fiber of cotton.”

In addition, silk absorbs dyes differently than cotton. Saparnis says she can produce more brilliant colors with the fabric. Her work seems to cast a glow; people often ask if she has them lit from behind.

“Silk Light” focuses on three composition themes; Floral, City Scenes and Abstract.

Floral (PICTURED): Saparnis is widely known for her floral compositions. A signature trademark of her work includes the exquisite “poppies” created in numerous iterations. Common to all of them is a vibrant, ruby red hue that is rare to find and difficult to achieve in batik. “Silk Light” includes representation of the artist’s popular still-life bouquets as well as more current work.

Among the latter is “Flying Flowers"(PICTURED): Like many of the artist’s recent compositions this piece features blossoms, petals, stems and leaves in a cascading free fall, introducing a whole new dimension of energy and vitality.

"City Scenes": Irena Saparnis enjoyed an early career in architectural design. Today, that interest is reflected in her work. Her city scenes focus on mundane civic structures; her mission is to infuse them with new spirit and coax out the character she knows lurks within.

The piece titled “Confetti,” PICTURED, shows a lack-luster city street in Chicago’s Loop. The elevated train tracks cast a shadow over buildings and pavement. Brightly colored confetti, inspired by the Blackhawks ice hockey championship win, transforms the scene into one of joy and celebration.

To create the city scenes, Saparnis transfers original photographs to the fabric. Through the dye and waxing process of batik, she adds her enhancements. Some of the pieces are further embellished with hand embroidery or by applying pieces of lace and other materials.

Abstract Design: Saparnis confesses that her abstract pieces are primarily an exercise in learning and experimentation. “I’m not an abstract person,” the artist claims. “Florals, city scenes and human figures are the common subjects of my work.

Despite her caveats, Saparnis’ abstracts are delightful to behold and often showcase an intensity of color it is hard to believe can be realized through the variable process of dye and wax. Many of these works incorporate design elements from plant life or building grids. The pieces allow her to test new techniques.

“Batik has been a part of my life for so long I am able to lose myself in it” says Saparnis. “I’m constantly discovering through trial and error. What I love most about my art is the unpredictability. You can only manipulate the dye and wax to a degree. The process has a life of its own and you never know what that might lead to. It is that element of surprise that keeps me so engaged and challenged.”

Irena Saparnis, a native of Lithuania, currently resides in Willow Springs, Illinois. Her batik art has been featured in numerous exhibitions and shows through the United States and abroad. While her work is represented at the Jackson Junge Gallery year-round, “Silk Light” marks her first solo exhibit at the venue.

The Jackson Junge Gallery features the work of Laura Lee Junge and other contemporary artists in Chicago. The gallery is open Monday thru Saturday from 11am – 8pm, Sunday from noon to 5pm, closed on Monday.

The Week Past, the One Ahead

Another Pipeline put to bed.

It was way too long.

If anyone actually reads this blog, tell me what I need to do to make it better.
And don't say typos. I was working so fast yesterday morning I could barely breathe, didn't even have time for coffee, flew out the door to the bus, or as much as i can fly with this damn sciatica shooting pain. Typos are what you get when you don't have time or luxury of a full operation. Plus, they mostly occurred in the political stuff and I'm not too concerned.

Happy Thursday.