July's Last Thursday & My Visit to the Art Institute of Chicago

It has been a long time since I posted, but so much has happened that I've wanted to share here. I finally vended at Last Thursdays on Alberta this summer, which was the first time in a year. Rather than vend with friends, I got to vend with family. My new cousin came out with me and sold her adorable hand painted rock paperweights (which have been quite a hit at Found on Fremont these days).

My cousin's hand painted rock garden decorations and strawberry paperweights!

Our small booth at Last Thursday on Alberta from July. 

I used a vintage suitcase this month to sell the last of my fabric bows (I think bows may have become a little last season) and debut my new fabric flower hair clips. 

My new fabric flower hair clips, hand sewn using my old bow fabric. 

I think they're patchwork cute and very 70's - ish. 

After July was over, I was spending most of my days working and looking forward to my trip to Chicago, where I got to visit my sweetheart and case out my future home city. Of course, the most amazing part of my trip was visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. I have never been so impressed by art as I was that day. We looked at every exhibit at the museum, totaling six hours of being starstruck by art! The special exhibit was 'Unthink,' which featured Rene Magritte's dadaist (they called it surrealist, but I consider him a dadaist more than anything) artwork from 1921-1929. I was so impressed, but it was the only exhibit where pictures weren't allowed. So... all the magic must simply stay in my mind as a wonderful memory. 

Here are a few of my museum moments that I was able to capture in photo: 

Me beaming next to Mary Cassatt's 'Woman Bathing Child'

Can't help but give a thumb's up to Grant Wood's 'American Gothic'

There was a room full of Monet's work and I couldn't decide which to photograph, so I just took a snapshot of a few and the group of onlookers.

I also worked on some new projects, but nothing is complete enough to post yet. I've been experimenting more with dried bones and bugs, working with old doll parts, and have been infinitely more inspired since my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.