{"id":2932,"date":"2017-04-13T17:07:21","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T17:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/?p=2932"},"modified":"2017-04-13T17:07:21","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T17:07:21","slug":"a-mixed-bag-of-reasons-to-love-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/a-mixed-bag-of-reasons-to-love-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"A Mixed Bag of Reasons to Love Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

First of all, were you aware\u00a0that\u00a0the name “Chicago” is derived from a French interpretation\u00a0of the Native American (Miami-Illinois language) word shikaakwa,<\/em>\u00a0a plant known to botanists as Allium ticoccum?<\/em>\u00a0More commonly referred to\u00a0as ramps\u00a0<\/em>by Vermonters, Allium ticoccum<\/em>\u00a0is a species of\u00a0wild onion with garlicky overtones that\u00a0is a spring specialty here, soon to be foraged and served\u00a0on\u00a0home and restaurant tables all over our state.<\/p>\n

\"Sunrise

Sunrise over Lake Michigan<\/p><\/div>\n

The genesis of the city’s name as we know it today appears to be French explorer Robert de LaSalle’s September 1687 journal, in which he noted, \u00a0“…we arrived at the said place called Chicagou<\/strong> which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.”\u00a0<\/em> Now that’s my kind of place!<\/p>\n

A decade ago our daughter moved to Chicago for school and never left, so at this point we’ve visited enough times that it has become comfortably familiar while still maintaining plenty of novel opportunities and sites to explore. Just back from a long spring weekend where the forsythia is already starting to bloom (but no ramp sightings), I’ve been thinking this week how great it is to have a place to visit just frequently\/infrequently enough to maintain\u00a0a list of\u00a0favorites\u00a0to\u00a0see time and again, which\u00a0still somehow always seem fresh.<\/p>\n

\"Gehry's

Millennium Park is a special place and easy to get to as it’s right next to the Art Institute. Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate<\/strong> may be the main attraction for most but, to me, Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavillion is the jewel in\u00a0the park’s crown.<\/p><\/div>\n

Marc Chagall’s large stained glass America Windows\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>at the Art Institute of Chicago<\/a> always take my breath away and are well-worth the hike to the farthest corner of the museum to see. Secular in theme, they bring together symbols of American history, the Chicago skyline, and a representation of the arts. Please save ten\u00a0minutes to watch this wonderful\u00a0video from the Art Institute<\/a> about the\u00a0history, creation, conservation and reinstallation of this treasure.<\/p>\n

\"Chagall

Marc Chagall, America Windows 1975-77; \u00a0 \u00a0 Left panel\u00a0representing Music and Painting<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Marc

Marc Chagall, America Windows 1975-77; \u00a0Middle panel representing Literature and Architecture<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Marc

Marc Chagall, America Windows, 1975-77; \u00a0 \u00a0 Right panel representing Theater and Dance<\/p><\/div>\n

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 *<\/em><\/strong> (Whistler’s Mother) by James McNeill Whistler has returned to Chicago\u00a0for the first time in 60 years. As I found was also true of the Mona Lisa<\/em><\/strong>, its subject appears warmer and lovelier in person. Contrary to the Mona Lisa,<\/em> which was much smaller than I’d expected, it was a\u00a0surprise that\u00a0Whistler’s Mother<\/em> is almost life-size.\u00a0\u00a0All that said, I was much more attracted to this relatively small painting of Whistler’s brother, appreciating it for its painterly brushstrokes and unconventional placement of the figure. The added bonus was I had it all to myself while everyone else crowded around Mrs. Whistler.<\/p>\n

\"William

Portrait of Dr. William McNeill Whistler<\/strong>, 1871\/73, Oil on panel, 43.7 x 34.8 cm (17 3\/16 x 13 11\/16 in.)<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s hard to resist a visit to Dick Blick<\/a>\u00a0even if just to wander the aisles, but I usually keep any purchases to a minimum because of the hefty Chicago 10.25% sales tax. I’ve been on the lookout for a larger format, soft-cover sketchbook that would open flat for a double spread, yet be thin and light enough to easily tuck into a carry-on. I found two\u00a0possibilities. The staplebound Fabriano EcoQua<\/a> is really meant for writing, but the paper is pretty similar to a Moleskine and takes the ink from a Micron pen without bleeding.<\/p>\n

\"Chairs

Hotel Chairs and Shadows<\/strong>, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a92017 Elizabeth Fram \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Fabriano EcoQua 12″x8″<\/p><\/div>\n

The other selection I brought home\u00a0is the 8.5″x11″\u00a0RendR Lay Flat sketchbook made by Crescent<\/a>. It boasts ‘no show thru’ paper, which was a\u00a0major attraction, and\u00a0I also liked the idea that it is supposed to accept all media. Despite\u00a0promising a lot, now that I’ve\u00a0had a chance to try it I don’t think it was worth the cost. Perhaps acrylics work better\u00a0than watercolors as a wet media, but\u00a0I found the paper tends to buckle and it’s\u00a0hard to move wet pigment around on the page. The paper is a nice weight, has a smooth surface for\u00a0pen or pencil, and doesn’t bleed. But\u00a0overall, I don’t think I would buy one\u00a0again.<\/p>\n

\"Rendr<\/p>\n

There wasn’t much time to sketch over the weekend – too many other fun things to see and do. But once back on the plane to fly\u00a0home, I could bring out\u00a0my trusty OPUS sketchbook<\/a>, purchased on another trip in another city, and\u00a0get back in the saddle.<\/p>\n

\"Flight

Flight #4717<\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a92017 Elizabeth Fram<\/p><\/div>\n

* Worth a read: 14 Things You Might Not Know About Whistler’s Mother<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First of all, were you aware\u00a0that\u00a0the name “Chicago” is derived from a French interpretation\u00a0of the Native American (Miami-Illinois language) word shikaakwa,\u00a0a plant known to botanists as Allium ticoccum?\u00a0More commonly referred to\u00a0as ramps\u00a0by Vermonters, Allium ticoccum\u00a0is a species of\u00a0wild onion with garlicky overtones that\u00a0is a spring specialty here, soon to be foraged and served\u00a0on\u00a0home and restaurant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[70,473],"tags":[494,488,487,489,224,491,492,490,495,92,493],"class_list":["post-2932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-supplies","category-travel","tag-america-windows","tag-art-institute","tag-chicago","tag-dick-blick","tag-frank-gehry","tag-james-mcneill-whistler","tag-marc-chagall","tag-millennium-park","tag-pritzker-pavillion","tag-sketchbooks","tag-whistlers-mother"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5kO5z-Li","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2932"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2962,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions\/2962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethfram.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}