Everything EXCEPT Lake Michigan

Believe it or not, there have been things going on in my life that don't involve worshipping at the shrine of Lake Michigan. Last night Rob drew my attention to the overwhelming dominance of pictures of the lake on my blog and, though all the evidence would point to the contrary, I have been taking (well...a few) photos of other things...promise! So in the spirit of a little healthy variety, I'll post a few of those other photos in today's blog.

I don't think I've even shown you what my little studio apartment looks like. Here is one of its features I appreciate most: having a nice view of trees and classy building facades...rather than of a decrepit alleyway that my neighbors across the hallway are stuck with...

The interior is small, but nice enough. On the other wall I have my keyboard and bookcase and I was standing in the tiny kitchen when I took this photo.

Next up...No! I promise this isn't Lake Michigan!


This lovely pond is located in the center-east area of campus...near L.M....in fact the mini waterfall at the bottom of this photo drains into a short channel leading to its larger neighbor. There is a great little system of walkways surrounding the pond that offer a picturesque stroll connecting the south of end of campus to the north. On one end there's a little overlook where people frequently gather to throw stale bread at its resident population of fish and any waterfowl that might be stopping by for the afternoon. I have no idea what kind of fish these are, but some are enormous!

Sometimes as I walk by I wonder how healthy it is for these creatures to be so dominantly eating old white bread and bits of bagel. I guess most bread products these days are highly enriched with vitamins and minerals, but is overly-processed people food really that good for wild animals? Judging by the size of the fish it's obvious that such a carb-heavy diet isn't exactly inhibiting physical growth...so maybe it's ok...I dunno.

Here is a view of the stage in NU's Pick Staiger concert Hall. This is where NUSO has been rehearsing the Bruckner and where many high-profile concerts by visiting artists are offered throughout the year.

So guess what?! I actually drew a picture the other day! My visual art endeavors have been so few and far between that even completing this little informal sketch felt like a major victory. I did challenge myself to put the central figure facing a different direction than is typical for me (as a right-handed artist, most of my people end up being drawn facing to the left), and I tried positioning her face, arms, and hands in such a way that I'd really have to work to get the angles and perspective right. By the way...for those of you who are occasionally disturbed by my frequent portrayal of female nudes I do apologize, but please understand that I find the body lovely to illustrate and I've made every effort to avoid creating images that could be viewed as pornographic.

Ok, so there ya go! I didn't gush about the lake once!