An excerpt from my new book, 'Make Something Real'

My goal is to publish an art book every 3 years, and since my last book, The Unforeseeable Future, came out in 2022, this is the year for my new release! The new book is entitled Make Something Real. Like all of my books from Imperfect Things onward, the title comes from one of the artworks I made during the time that the book covers. 2022 to 2024 was definitely an interesting time! The blurb and an excerpt are below:

Is a life put on hold still a life worth living? Torn between wanting to participate in art shows and not wanting to get exposed to COVID, I was haunted by the feeling that life was passing me by. I felt like I was living my life in captivity, missing all its forgone pleasures.  This wasn’t the future I wanted. This wasn’t the world I wanted to live in.  I wasn’t the woman I wanted to be. Being an artist was a leap of faith and I was getting tired of jumping. 

In a world of artifice and denial, what still mattered? The pursuit of normal at any cost had led to a culture of complacency and resignation, warnings unheeded, lessons unlearned. The aftermath of an ongoing crisis that most of the world deliberately ignored was a time of missed opportunities and impossible choices. Just when I needed them the most for publicity, the internet platforms I had come to rely on made it harder for my work to be seen, as tech disruption left upheaval and destruction in its wake. Would my newfound social media sites and online communities help me connect with a new audience, or would my participation in them only further tech oligarchs’ nefarious goals? 

Though making art is my escape, this book is also about what I was trying to escape from. Finding solace in creating art in a world on the precipice of disaster, I have made this book an archive of three years of art, grief and grievances. 

Celebrating 15 years at the Fine Arts Building

It's amazing to think that it's been 15 years since I first got my studio in the Fine Arts Building. Over the years, it's been a place where I've been able to continue the bodies of work I originated in grad school while adding new processes.

It's been a place where I can write as well.

It's been a place where I could let my imagination run wild. A place that invites my inner child to come out and play.

It hasn't always been easy. In fact, having a studio has been a great sacrifice. It's why I don't travel. I can't afford to. But I keep going because there's nothing else I want to do but be an artist.

It's been an interior design laboratory where I've been able to try out new ideas.

Even when I'm away from the building, I'm happy to see reminders of it.

A model of the Fine Arts Building at the Lego store in Schaumburg

It's been a privilege to have a space that I could open for public events and offer refreshments for my guests, whether it was Halloween candy, Valentine's Day treats, or even a slice of my birthday cake.

And since the pandemic began, a place where I can give away free masks.

It's been a place where I've received some visitors who are dear to my heart, including friends and family members.

My late Aunt Joyce at my studio in 2012

So much has changed in the 15 years since I first moved into my studio at the Fine Arts Building. I'm grateful that in spite of it all, I've been able to hold on to the space that has become my second home.

Tonight I will be celebrating with a special open studio and you're welcome to join me.

Friday, August 8th

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

The Fine Arts Building

410 S. Michigan

Studio 632F

Chicago, IL 60605

And if you can't make it but still want to support the arts, you're welcome to do that here and here. I appreciate everyone who has supported me on the meandering path that has been my artistic journey.

A little exchange program

Since 2020, I've been making collages at home in addition to my studio. I have saved magazines, catalogs, and other ephemeral papers in both locations. During that time, I've made a few collages that are still works in progress because they're missing something and I don't know what. So I decided to put my long-time unfinished pieces in an exchange program, swapping the ones at home with the ones at the studio, and vice versa.

Collages started at home, brought to the studio

Collages started at the studio, brought home

My efforts led to the creation of 7 new mini collages that I sold at 2 pop-up shows in neighboring office buildings downtown.

Before I sold my pieces, I scanned them and made new print-on-demand products with them for my Zazzle store.

The items in the photo above are just a fraction of what's available. And as always, you can customize everything to suit your particular preferences. 

Magenta Crush

Magenta Crush | acrylic and ink on recycled paper and wood | 10"x8"

 

I made this painting for a pop-up show. I see it as part of the lineage of Fuchsia Sublime, Infra-Pink Inferno, and Fluminous Pink.

I don't feel like resting

I don't feel like resting | cut paper on canvas panel | 5" x 7" | 2025

"We are resting," They've said. And I get it. There is psychological exhaustion, trauma, fatigue. Recovery takes as long as it takes. It was presumptuous and cruel of anyone to demand Black activism without acknowledging the devastation of the election and asserting the right to rest was essential.

But then, "we are resting" became the standard response to anyone Black who wanted to protest. Where there had once been an understanding that some might sit out because they were tired while those of us who still wanted to be part of various actions would do so, now "we are resting" became an order. And then, "we are resting" became a refrain of shame directed at any Black person on social media who opposed their monolithic thinking.  But I never asked to be included in the "we" who was resting. Why should I rest when I'm not tired?

When I was growing up, there was a gospel song the choir at my church would sing that had a repetitive chorus of "I'm not tired yet," and it often came to mind when I was being told to take naps when I wasn't sleepy. I've been thinking about that song and have re-experienced that same long-ago frustration many times over the past few months. 

The rest advocates never seem to consider how cathartic protesting can be. To take justified hatred of injustice and oppression and direct righteous indignation like a laser, to be surrounded by other people who feel the same way, to take a stand in public—all of these things are so much better than having to hide anger, misdirecting it, or turning it inwards.

The alternatives to protesting almost always seem to require extra time or money that I don't have at my disposal right now, as well as spending extended periods of time in crowded indoor spaces with volunteers whose idealism never seems to include wearing masks and providing air purifiers. Protests have become the only place where masking is still fairly common. 

Anyway, if you are resting, I respect that. It's not my job to tell anyone what to do or how to feel. Go ahead and keep resting, but stop trying to force me to rest when I don't feel like it.

The 2025 NeoCon trade show

The NeoCon trade show at the Merchandise Mart is something that I look forward to attending every summer. It's a constant source of inspiration for me, and has been for over 20 years. As usual, I immersed myself in design and took a whole lot of pictures.

I'd like to start with the Rewritten installation created by Jon Strassner and Jenn Chen. The focus is on sustainability in interior design.

One of the highlights was the office furniture recycling program featured in it. I learned about the Office Furniture Center in Cicero where pre-owned and refurbished office furniture is being sold.

Fabric from the Momentum Idyllwild collection was a popular motif at this year's show. I was happy to get my hands one one of the reusable tote bags made with it. Different furniture companies incorporated it into their products and gave it their own twist.

Momentum Showroom

Spec

SitOnIt

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I love miniatures. Having a dollhouse as a girl is what got me interested in interior design in the first place. So of course I really loved seeing little 3D-printed models of the furniture in the show.

Configura

Spacestor

My favorite of these displays was part of Interior Design magazine's space, where the interactive Lightplay installation allowed visitors to customize light fixtures by combining components made in different shapes. Each component was 3D-printed, and we got to see the process up close.

The mirrored wall behind the alcove for the miniature models reflected the rest of the installation, blurring the lines between real and diorama. I think the models were 1:6 scale, which is just the right size for a Barbie, and I wish I had brought Interior Designer Barbie with me for a photo shoot!

I loved these displays for their use of disco balls.

Indiana Furniture

Hightower

I think this was Spoonflower's first year at NeoCon, and they made a big statement with their immersive lounge areas featuring wallpaper and upholstery from their extensive collection.

Another first-time appearance from a brand I'm familiar with from the internet was Schoolhouse, which has a trade program now.

Snowsound and Arcadia's showrooms are proof that you can't go wrong with a classic primary color scheme.

Snowsound

This isn't the first time that Arcadia has used this color scheme. I loved it back in 2012 as well. And anyone who's ever been to my studio knows that I am a big fan of primary color schemes. The simple red yellow and blue combination invites my inner child to come out and play, and the basic colors are the fundamental building blocks of all other hues, which is why I chose it for my creative workspace.

Speaking of color schemes, I think it's great that Livette's Wallpaper allows designers to customize the colors in its products. 

Livette's Wallpaper

Here are some other products and displays that I liked this year.

Sisyphus Industries

Spacestor

Kwalu

Extremis

Martin Brattrud

Momentum

Brocoloco

Hightower

Leland and RightAngle

Green Hides

Isomi

Mannington

Mountain Lumber

Global

Billiani

9to5

Loft Wall

Wolf-Gordon

Ethnicraft

Haworth

Prostoria

Source International

Ferroluce

Nienkämper

ERG International

Stylex

Andreu World

Corston

Arc-Com

Via Seating

Patcraft

More and more of the big name furniture showrooms that used to be in the Merchandise Mart have moved all the way over to Fulton Market. I don't spend a lot of time in that area and decided to take the complimentary shuttle there from the Mart since it's fairly unfamiliar to me. Unfortunately, the coach bus broke down a few blocks away from our destination. And it was hot.

Eventually, after an unintentional detour that took me away from the furniture stores and into the blocks of side-by-side restaurants, I found what I was looking for. There were some pop-up shops as well as permanent locations. I didn't see all of the showrooms because it was hot, (see, that's the advantage of having a location inside a large air-conditioned building!) but here are a few Fulton Market finds.

Tuft Stuff

OFS

Now that I know how to get to Fulton Market from the Merchandise Mart, I plan to make sure to allow time in my schedule to see more showrooms over there next year.

Before I close out this portion of this post with my favorite floral arrangements of this year's show, I would like to mention this creative use of dried plants from Slalom Acoustics in their Bloom acoustic panels. They even have little flowers in them!

And now I present the floral arrangement portion of this post:

I am grateful for the opportunity to see so much beauty over the past few days. It makes me excited about whatever projects I will get to work on next.

In the midst of our current upheaval, chaos, and uncertainty, it almost felt a bit frivolous and self-indulgent to spend so much time contemplating design this week. But then I thought about the purpose of design itself, which is problem-solving. Good design is a testament to the possibilities our human ingenuity can unleash, and a reminder that we can change things. When you think about it, design itself is imbued with optimism. As designers, we create alternatives. We can renovate, revitalize, and repurpose. We make what we want to see. The world can be such an ugly place, but it doesn't have to be. Another world is possible.