Meet me at McCormick Place this weekend!

I am excited to announce that I will be a vendor at this year's American Library Association Conference & Exposition at McCormick Place! This is something I've been wanting to do since I published my novel 10 years ago, and this year things finally aligned. I'm still trying to get A Bitter Pill to Swallow into more libraries around the country, so if you know a librarian who's attending, tell them to stop by Booth 2152 in the Indie Authors Pavilion. And if you're a fellow author, stop by and say hello!

Alma Thomas at the Smart Museum

The Alma Thomas show at the Smart Museum of Art was like sunshine on a cloudy day, to quote the Temptations. Today is the first day of my staycation and I decided that it would be a good time to enjoy an indoor activity, so I decided to check out this show before it ends.

The Eclipse

I appreciate the way that the wall text put her work in the context of her interest in space exploration as well as in nature.

White Roses Sing and Sing

Her interest in music was also highlighted.

In fact, a few of her favorite albums were hung on the wall above an interactive mid-century modern vignette that invites viewers to make compositions of their own with Magna-Tiles.

And, of course, I really like her use of color.

Delightful Song by Red Dahlia

Celestial Fantasy

Elysian Fields

As a Black abstract painter who also created colorful acrylic paintings, Alma Thomas's work is particulary inspiring to me. If you want to see her work in person, go to the Smart Museum by July 5th. It's free!

Here are a couple things I saw in the Smart Museum's other galleries that I also liked:

Rose B. Simpson, Heights I

Theaster Gates, African Still Life #3: A Tribute to Patric McCoy and Marva Jolly

Finally, I can't mention the Smart Museum without also mentioning that I used to work there as a museum guard when I was in college. It was really cool to see that in the Beyond Boundaries retrospective, an exhibition that I guarded back when I first started working there in 1999 was mentioned. I hadn't realized the significance of Transience then, but it was pivotal for exhibiting experimental, contemporary Chinese art in the United States. Going back is always nostalgic because it was one of my favorite places to work, and it was crucial for my development as an artist. It's a hidden gem that I think more people should know about, and as I mentioned before, it's free!

The newest addition to my wearable art line: hair sticks

When I was in my early 20s, I worked in the accessories department at Nordstrom. Among the many items we sold in my department were hair sticks. They were very trendy in the early 2000s, and ours were refined, sophisticated, and made with semi-precious stones in muted colors. I had thought about making my own version, which would be colorful, whimsical, and fun. I bought some supplies and thought about how I would display and package them, made a trial pair for myself, but never got around to making any for other people. As was the case with my safety pin bracelets, the supplies languished in storage for years. I'm glad I kept them, because the phrase "they don't make them like that anymore" definitely applies to craft supplies. Since I've had some success with my jewelry, and since I keep seeing people on social media saying that they want more whimsy in their lives, this feels like the right time to introduce the latest addition to my Mixed Media wearable art collection.

Each pair is unique and is made with a combination of vintage, new, and handmade elements composed of glass, wood, silicone, and plastic.

Now that the weather is heating up, it feels good to put your hair up. What's great about hair sticks is that they work with many types of hair textures and styles, whether your hair is straight, curly, braided, or loc'd.

Here a hairstyle you can create with them:

Something I came up with when working at Nordstrom was pulling the hair back with an elastic hairpiece that goes on like a scrunchie, and then accentuating the style with hair sticks.

Not only did I double my sales with this concept, which was very important to my livelihood as a sales associate who got paid on commission, but it also made for a fun but sophisticated chignon. In fact, I am looking forward to wearing this style again myself!

The hair sticks in the photos above are the first seven pairs that I am offering for sale. They will be available for purchase exclusively at my open studio tonight. After that, I plan to add them to my Etsy shop as well. I have other designs in mind for the future, so stay tuned!

The 2026 NeoCon Trade Show

Every year, I look forward to attending NeoCon because it's always so inspiring. No pun intended, but this year the highlight of the show, for me, was the lighting. There was a focus on lighting and educating us about the importance of getting it right in our projects. They even had displays that demonstrated the 

difference that various types of fixtures and applications can make.

the same materials under different lights

wall wash vs. wall graze

I was impressed with the variety of lighting companies that were featured. There were many innovative designs. 

Stackabl

Astro

Numia

Secto Design

Hudson Valley Lighting Group

Ferroluce

Original BTC

Sunlight2

In addition to the informative displays, the Illuminate program also included Spotlight Sessions, talks given by lighting designers. There were also other talks throughout the show, many of which were recorded as podcasts. I look forward to listening to everything that I missed while checking out the showrooms.

The NeoCon Podcast Studio

My favorite showroom this year was Momentum. This year's featured designer collaboration is with architect Michael Ford, who cites hip-hop as an inspiration for his work. It was reflected in the music that was playing in the showroom. They even had a record player and crates of vinyl.

Another source of inspiration for Michael Ford is his young son Mason. His "Breakin'" wallcovering and fabric pattern is based on one of his drawings. The playful design was used for what might be one of this year's most coveted tote bags. Mine looks right at home in my studio.

Another Black designer I learned about at this year's show is Mark Grattan. He collaborated with HBF Textiles. 

As an artist, I always enjoy seeing artwork at NeoCon. This year, I learned about ArtLifting, an art consulting firm that represents artists with disabilities.

Art by Eliza Redmann

Sculptures: Eliza Redmann; Paintings: Quána Madison

Another artsy installation this year was this interactive one from Interior Design magazine.

I love seeing new sustainable products, and something I found out about this year that was really impressive is Flora Materials. Their arch of fresh tulips caught my eye, and I found out that they chose that particular flower because they are working on a new flooring product made from tulip bulbs!

I always enjoy retro designs, and the Takeform showroom was like a 1970s department store time capsule. They even had a payphone in the front.

And Armstrong had a fun diner concept.

But when it comes to dining experiences, you can't beat free food. The Thermador showroom generously offered the Bosch Bakery this year. They provided attendees with a delicious assortment of baked goods prepared in their ovens. There was even herbed butter for the bread.

And here are some other beautiful things I saw, in no particular order.

Stylex

SitOnIt

Sandler

ERG

Division Twelve

Zintra

Emeco

Prostoria

Haworth

Spoonflower

Schiavello

Associative Design - The Best of Portugal

Andreu World

Kettal

Airiia

VS

HBF

Source International

Falcon

Mayer Fabrics

Bernhardt

Tenjam

Memo Furniture

All this furniture is miniature.

And finally, my favorite floral arrangements. Okamura was doing the most this year with a bold, avant-garde display, so I will start with them.

This year's focus on lighting has made me aware of a significant improvement in the booths and showrooms over the years: better light fixtures. Since I take a lot of pictures, it's easy to notice when I use my photo editing tools. This year I hardly needed to make any adjustments to the color temperature of my pictures. The advancements in color rendering in newer light fixtures really make a difference. 

If you want to see even more of the pictures I took this year, they're all on Flickr.