ART in Black & White

June 5, 2013

Imac picked this week's Headbanger's theme.  We are looking for "ART in Black & White"  Check out my  pals for their interpretations on this theme: Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac and Lew.

The image in my header comes from a dragon sculpture on top of the Formosa Café in Woodrige.
 

Driving Cattle at LongHorn

Dusk Riders at LongHorn

The Musician

Heading Downtown

The Picasso at Daley Plaza

Christmas in the Square

Header Challenge: Christmas in the Square

December 12, 2012

Lew provided this week's theme for the Headbangers.  This was tricky for me, and I'm eager to see how my pals did.  Generally speaking, I like the idea of a town square, but don't have a real-life reference that matches what I have imagined from stories I've read. Please see the posts submitted by my friends Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Sandy and Lew.

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Last year, two friends took my wife and me downtown to see a play and check out the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, which is the closest Chicago has to a proper town square.  From the back seat of their minivan, I set the camera on my lap and snapped up this silhouette "street photographer style" as we drove through the decorated streets.

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Clockwise from the upper left: Puppet theater on a bicycle (which I found to be strange and annoying), the famous Picasso sculpture, a clock at Macy's (it used to be Marshall Field's), and the Eternal Flame war memorial flanked by pigeon sentries.

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The plaza at the Daley center was jam packed with masses of visitors and densely constructed shops selling food and knick-knacks German artisans.  But somehow, they made room for a large, life-size manger scene.  Why is there a Cuitlaxochitl in front of the lambs?  Don't eat that.

This header was carefully selected, not for any artistic merit per se, but because of the trolley's seductive blank side panel, which I shamelessly exploited for flagrant self promotion.

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The shops on Main Street in Galena had live Christmas displays in their windows.  I like the idea, especially if their people have fun with it.

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a Sunday afternoon stroll

Mrs. Craver and I double-dated last Sunday. This was all a gift from the other couple. After church, we dined at the Olive Garden in Bolingbrook. I ordered the Venetian Apricot Chicken. That tasted so amazing, it should be on your bucket list!

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Then we drove into downtown Chicago to see The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey at the Provision Theater. It was a feel-good event, for sure!

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Finally, we parked close to Daley Plaza and walked through the crowded, chilly streets for an outdoor display called Christkindlmarket. That's when I took out the camera and "went to town." (Yes, that pun was totally intended.)

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What's in this collage? Clockwise from top left:

1. the Picasso at Daley Plaza
2. the Channel 2 (CBS) newsroom
3. pigeons huddling around the Eternal Flame memorial
4. the wonderful Mrs. Craver next to the happiest man in the world
5. a peek at the Sears (Willis) Tower from the inside of the minivan
6. one of my favorite landmarks--the clock at Marshal Fields (Macy's)
7. an amusing, blue, light sculpture, and
8. some of the German crafts from Christkindl Market