Art & Culture, Seasons and Holidays
Bug Fest opens tonight, and appreciating dragonflies
May and June were abuzz with dragonflies, which has inspired me for new projects.
I love the blues, such as this Northern Bluet Damselfly
and the Twelve-spotted Skimmer.
You can appreciate all kinds of insects this weekend and through September 21, at the BUGS!!! Exhibit. Tonight marks the first evening of Bug Fest—a tribute in the form of paintings, drawings, photography, performance and music to all the creepy crawly creatures of the earth—hosted by the Kinzie Corridor Community Association in conjunction with the Arts of Life at 2010 west Carrol Avenue, Chicago IL. This is the Chicago location of the Arts of Life, which is another spacious studio providing an artistic outlet to people with and without disabilities, like the Glenview studio I had been to this spring.
Tonight’s (August 3) free admission show, starting at 6 p.m., includes performances by Spider to the Fly, Andy Ortmann, and an 8 p.m. Open Mic session. I look forward to being introduced to avant-electronic dance music and eclectic electronic experimental music by the headliners.
The August 4 festivities begin at 7 p.m. with the DayMoths from Minneapolis and El Circo Cheapo (just the name makes me smile), which will have a ticket price of $10-15.
Throughout Bug Fest the Kinzie Corridor gallery will be open for viewing as well as the purchasing of all work, with a portion benefiting the Arts of Life (donations are accepted as well). The BUGS!!! show includes photography, painting, assemblage, and other art work by Christopher Iith, Debbie Vasquez, Jean Wilson, Jim Newberry, Jon Walz, Laura Krause, Maike van Wijk (that’s me!), Marta Sytniewski, and Mike Kaskel.
All work pays tribute to the bugs that inhabit the earth that we live in, and the beauty that they provide to the world around us. My four encaustic collages feature the butterflies I love so much. BUGS!!! will be on view from August 3 through September 21, with the gallery open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Damselflies have longer bodies than dragonflies, and fold their wings when resting. Both dragonflies and damselflies metamorphose from waternymphs to creatures of the air. I learned a lot about them through Hilda Simon’s Dragonflies book.
Green Darner
