Prairie Fairies at Northerly Island

Magical, mystical bronze sculptures on Northerly Island along the waterfront of Chicago are the subject for this piece, painted in watercolors and oil pastels on paper. I was there in Chicago with friends at the end of summer. It was a happy time, filled with singing, laughter, jalopy riding past Adler Planetarium and Soldier Field (i.e. quadracycling--not recommended for the faint of heart, but you can rent these at navy pier if you feel like putting your life in danger one day,) and the joy of celebrating a friend's recovered health. This work started off being airy, light, mysterious, detailed, filled with blue skies and bright wild flowers. As the day went on, I just couldn't stand it. The gray and brown pastels jumped out of the box onto the paper. The lead fairy conjured up a storm over Lake Michigan, and my heart turned cold with the chill in the air. I was not satisfied until the clouds set in, and the sun was completely blotted out. I can almost hear the fairy in the background saying, "Not this again. Cousin, why can you never be content with a sunny afternoon?"

Of course I love the happy memory that inspired the original idea, but I am intensely drawn to the eerie, enchanted, mischievous, anything can change in an instant feeling that came out in the end. It also gives me hope. If enchantment can be found in the old Meigs Field airstrip that Mayor Daley,in the name of homeland security, had torn up in the middle of one fateful night in 2003, it must be possible for some magic to be uncovered in the mountains around Salt Lake City.