So this week’s Summer Camp is culminating this afternoon with a very special SCULPTURE SHOWCASE… a “gallery” showing of my summer campers’ large sculptures & ceramic birdhouses. If you’re anywhere near Lillstreet Art Center this afternoon, please feel free stop by Room 304 from 3:00-3:30pm to see the kid’s artworks! They’ve been working hard all week… it’s a great group of kids making some GREAT sculptures… and I’ll have plenty of photos to come!!!

Another beautiful blue sky day… perfect for pedaling along the lakefront. Getting the miles in & finding new sculptures along the way. I’ve seen the “darker” one several times on the north side during my sunrise rides… but never quite stopped to check it out. And who knew there was a “companion piece” down on the south side too?!

Crazy cool compilations of cast metal animals – stacked, bound, tethered and otherwise defying gravity. Take a moment to try and figure out which animals are in each!!! Both sculptures are by artist Nancy Rubins… thanks for sharing your work on the lakefront!

A few years ago, I went to Colfax with friends to meet sculptor Robert Cumpston at his home & tour his workshop. That was when I was “introduced” to his work… basically building life-sized animals out of rusty farm machinery parts & pieces… and you know how I LOVE rusty metal. \

While I now have quite a Cumpston collection at home, I thought I would pedal through “downtown” Colfax (one street, maybe a dozen buildings?) to see more of his work as I had heard that after his passing, a few of his pieces were donated to the town of Colfax to honor one of their most talented residents. I was hoping for more… as I only found a giraffe and a greyhound!

One of the many cool things about Route 66 is the number of wacky & crazy things you’ll find along the way… the Wigwam Hotel, Cadillac Ranch, and many more further out west. But yesterday I found THIS little bit of wackiness right in Lexington, Illinois. A large elephant sculpture made out a bunch of random parts & pieces! Sadly, there was no description or explanation… just a fun photo-shoot with an elephant! Now that doesn’t happen every day…

BLOG POST UPDATE :
So here’s a LINK… my friend Tracy found this tidbit.
Apparently Lexington artist Kasey Wells hauled this crazy-looking scrap metal elephant around the USA in 2020 in a failed attempt to become President of the United States.

Who knew?!

Today was a beautiful day for an other bike ride along the lakefront. Perfect for exploring some of the more hidden areas… and I found LA RONDA PARAKATA. A very cool structure up on a hill overlooking the lake just south of 31st Street Harbor. Designed to honor the monarch butterflies, and built as a “gathering space” along the Burnham Wildlife Corridor. Always fun when you get off the beaten path to explore & enjoy some newly-discovered treasures.

One of the best parts of a pottery studio tour is seeing all of the tools, kilns, supplies… and maybe just a couple little “mascots” hidden in amongst the rest. Like these little cuties that were hidden in Cory’s studio this weekend during the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR.

Fanciful butterflies flitting around on this large sculpture at the St. Louis Library. Pretty impressive as the late afternoon sun was still illuminating a few of the butterflies… err, mariposas!

Also part of the sculpture show in Evanston this weekend, was another one of My Talented Friends Darlys Ewoldt… who makes these crazy cool metal sculptures!!! Swirling dimensional sculptures with great patina colors that are simply amazing. I have no idea how she makes them!!! Crazy, right?!

Just some of the cool things you find along the concrete blocks that line portions of Chicago’s lakefront. Wonder how long some of these relief carvings took to create?? Carving into dried concrete blocks can’t be easy or fast!!!

Okay, so I’ve been a little busy… a little too busy to post sunrise photos on a timely basis… but NEVER too busy to pedal for the sunrise! Like this ride from yesterday morning… before the big storm clouds moved in later in the day!