Chicago

WOW what a great city! Chicago has great art and great food. We have had full days of both.



Wednesday, we checked into the Drake Hotel. It is very similar to the Sealbach in Louisville. An older plalce that has seen better days, but they have great bellservices and they try to anticipate your every need. Immediatly after check in, we went to Filene's basement where shopping ensued. We both made modest purchaces with the promise that we would return for more damage. We went to lunch at Ralph Lauren where we shared the Crab Louis and the Lobster Club both of which were well complimented by the champaigne. After lunch we returned to the room to drop off our wares and headed out again to find art, and boy did we ever.



We headed to the gallery district in the 300 block of Superior Street. We probably hit about a dozen galleries and saw art that ranged from amazing to just plain awful. Three places hit the high marks for me. Melanee Cooper Gallery at 740 North Frankin had an unusual artist who was using frescos with oil. A very interesting effect when you add a high gloss enamel on top. The intense colors and the simple designs gave me the inital impression of enamals. In the office off to the side I saw a few piceces from the previous show of Allen Bently. The first one that caught my eye was "Wire". It is a long thin piece with a bright red back ground and dancers viewed from the top. These are great fun and make me want to dance.



Some other highlights include the Habatat Galleries Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg pieces were wonderful uses of color light and line with use of glass balls heavy wire.

Gabriela Morawetz was another favorite. Her Egospheres were at maya polsky gallery. They were paintings with a