Arts Week Evanston 2008:

Inside Diane Thodos' Studio

"The Deceiver" by Diane Thodos

Drawing inspiration from individuals and events that affect and are emotionally real to her, she attempts to portray not objective reality but her subjective responses and emotions to objects and events. In recent years, Ms. Thodos said, "her work has become an intense and direct pathway to emotion." That is, she says, "It disposes of any intellectual or conceptual mediation between feeling and the creation of imagery."

 Many of her prints and paintings are filled with jagged arrays of color indicating the influence of German Impressionism.  The Sept. 11 attacks,  she said were a "turning point ... opening up a jar inside me." She said the attacks traumatized her in the way her parents' experiences affected them: her mother, during the Nazi occupation of (Konitsa) Greece, and her father, in the Great Depression.

"The Devouring Path" by Diane Thodos

Ms. Thodos talked about the major artistic influences in more than 20 years of study. As an undergraduate, she studied with printmaker and artist Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in 1984, in Paris, a time, she said, that was one of her most artistic experiences. 

In Paris she began to use the technique of spontaneous drawing called automatism, as well as abstract expressionism and surrealist printing techniques. "Loss" and "Touching Sadness" are among the works that illustrate the graphic power of the line.

Another strong influence on Ms. Thodos was art historian and critic Donald Kuspit, a champion and interpreter of German Expressionism at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where Ms. Thodos also studied. She said his ability to see the many contradictions in the world of contemporary art inspired her then and  continues to do so today. She said Mr. Kuspit's work was extremely influential in the development of her art criticism and other writing; she has published more than 50 essays and reviews.

Then, in 1992, while living in New York, Ms. Thodos discovered the German Expressionist collection of Marcia and Granvil Specks. Ms. Thodos said, "The prints ... were like opening a door in my mind that I had been seeking for so many years."  Ironically, Ms. Thodos discovered the collection at Northwestern University's Block Gallery and learned that the Specks were living only blocks from the Thodos family home. The Specks influenced her development as an artist and always encouraged her efforts as an artist. 

Ms. Thodos works  in a variety of mediums - oil-painting, printmaking, woodblocks, etching, charcoal and pastels - "keeps my creativity moving," she said.

Ms. Thodos's studio is filled with canvases that express her interpretation of figures, faces, actions objects and stories that need to be viewed and experienced to understand her work.  Standing in front of her work, a viewer can be transfixed and transported to places in the mind that evoke both joy and sadness.

The various mediums and the color palettes speak to the intensity and power of her work.

Ms. Thodos is an active member of the North Shore Art League, where professional artists produce works and interests and exchange news of the art world.

She is currently represented by the Thomas Master Gallery in Chicago, as well as in Mexico City and Paris. Her work is currently held in many collections, including the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the Smart Museum of Art and the Block Museum of Art in Evanston, as well as many other private collections in the United States and internationally.

The 2008 Arts Week Evanston will take place Oct. 10-19. There will be Open Artist Studios on Oct. 11 and 12. Ms. Thodos's Studio, 600 Hartrey Ave., (near the intersection of McCormick Boulevard and Oakton Street), will be open from noon until 5 p.m. on Oct. 11 and 12.
To see more artwork, visit www.dianethodos.com.

'Meals at Home' Celebrates 40 years

By Anne Bodine

Meals at Home board members Barbara Mark and Tom Lindsay describe their program to patrons of the Farmers' Market on Sept. 20.

When Tina Harlan knocks on the front door of a Meals at Home client to deliver a nutritious meal, she is overcome with a feeling of satisfaction. 

Ms. Harlan has been a volunteer driver for the past three-and-a-half years for Meals at Home, a not-for-profit organization that delivers meals to community members unable to provide for themselves. She says delivering food is rewarding because it offers an opportunity to connect with the people she is helping.

Meals at Home, originally called Evanston Meals at Home, will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this October. Lillian Fitz-Simmons, a dietician working with the City of Evanston who saw a need for meals to be delivered to homebound community members, founded the organization in 1968. Ms. Fitz-Simmons approached the Catholic nuns running St. Francis Hospital, and they agreed to provide the meals. About a decade later Meals at Home forged a partnership with Evanston Hospital as well.

Today, Meals at Home serves Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, east Glenview and east Northfield, although about 75 percent of its clients have consistently been from Evanston.

"We are unique among other Meals on Wheels programs because we are not federally funded," says executive director Patsy Carlson, who has dedicated 20 years of service to the organization.  

Meals at Home receives grants from the City of Evanston and New Trier Township, but gets funding primarily from individual donors. Because the program receives no Title III money there are no restrictions on who can receive the service. Meals are made available without regard to age or income of the recipients. Clients range from elderly people unable to shop or cook for themselves to anyone who needs help on a short-term basis after hospitalization or illness.

"We do not only serve seniors," says Ms. Carlson.  "We have younger clients who may be struggling with cancer, multiple sclerosis, a chronic issue or mental illness."

Two meals - lunch and dinner - are delivered Monday through Saturday and holidays by over 250 volunteers. Most volunteers deliver meals one day a month and usually work in pairs, with one driving and the other carrying the food to the door. 

"Volunteers are what make our program possible," says Ms. Carlson. "This winter was the roughest we've had in years. ... For weeks on end snowy, dangerous streets were a challenge, but our volunteers are resilient and dependable."

St. Francis Hospital, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and Three Crowns Park Retirement Community supply food. Some local restaurants provide food on a seasonal basis as well. Jilly's Café donates meals every Thursday and Capt'n Nemo's provides a popular soup-and-sandwich program during the winter months.

Meals at Home also offers a "Friendly Visit" program.  Volunteers are available to visit with clients either in-home or by telephone.

"Many people are so isolated and lonely," says Ms. Harlan, who also volunteers with the Friendly Visitors Program. "I once visited with a client whose electric power unexpectedly went off in her home. I was so happy to help this woman, who was physically unable to flip the switch in her basement to restore power."

In honor of the program's 40th birthday, an anniversary luncheon will take the place of the yearly volunteer luncheon on Oct. 15 at the Woman's Club of Evanston.

"This is a very important year for Meals at Home," says Ms. Carlson. "We continue to have a good working system with a terrific staff, an active board and dedicated volunteers." 

Anyone wishing to learn more about eligibility for meals or interested in volunteering may call Patsy Carlson, 847-251-6827.

'The Seamstress'

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

"The Seamstress," a first novel by Frances De Pontes Peebles, is an historical saga set in Brazil in the turbulent 1930s.

Orphans Emilia and Luzia Dos Santos are close despite their very different personalities, since they have only each other and the kind elderly aunt who is rearing them and teaching them her sewing skills.

Emilia, the older, is pretty, petite and determined to get away from the scrub backlands of Brazil. Luzia, tall and unattractive, has an arm that is contorted as a result of a childhood fall from a tree.

The townspeople call her Victrola, after the bent arm on the new machine. With her crippled arm and ungainly height, Luzia expects never to marry. But she is defiant and determined to survive.

While the residents of Brazilian cities are prospering, those living off the poor land in the backcountry are isolated and destitute. The countryside is run by warlords - colonels with little armies who force the peasants to comply with their rules. A band of "cangaceiros" has formed to combat them - hiding out in the hills, robbing the corrupt colonels and then sharing their wealth with those who pledge alliance to them.

The sisters' lives diverge when one of these men rides into the sisters' village, confronts Luzia for freeing a neighbor's bird - and decides he wants her. Luzia is 17 when she rides off with the bandit who will influence the course of her life.

Emilia, 19, regrets not rescuing her sister, her only kin since the death of their aunt. Then Degas, the son of a wealthy doctor, meets the seamstress Emilia at the local colonel's house, and they become friends. She is lonely, and Degas, for reasons of his own, wants to marry. He takes Emilia back to his parents' seaside home in Recife. There his mother is aghast at her country ways, and Emilia, always longing for her sister, finds herself trapped in the life she always thought she wanted.

Over the next five or six years, drought, depression and revolution befall Brazil, while the two girls lead the lives into which they have fallen. As Celestine Gomes rises to power, the novel brings to life the era when the world stands poised on the brink of World War II.

'Vaudeville and Vixens'

A Play Review By Brian Murphy

Vaudeville and Vixens

For "Vaudeville and Vixens," a winning combination of vaudeville comedy and burlesque numbers, the Piccolo Theatre in the Evanston Arts Depot, 600 Main St., has become a naughty nightclub begging for the smell of booze and the haze of cigarette smoke.

Piccolo artistic director and "V and V" co-director/scenic designer John Szostek has created a distinct, after-hours feel, from the round, candlelit tables near the stage to the burgundy curtains that imply much more than a hint of sexuality.

In a brief, preshow address, Mr. Szostek rattled preconceived notions, informing the audience that cell phones could be left on. "There is an emcee for tonight's show," he noted slyly, "and there's no guarantee what might happen to you [if your phone goes off]."

Not only has co-director and choreographer Vanessa Hughes (who knocked 'em dead as Ali Kazam in the Piccolo's "Sinbad") created sensual dance routines for her actresses, who include Deborah Craft ("Sinbad"), Amy Gorelow (Dottore in "Lust, Lies, and Marriage") Liz Larsen-Silva, Denita Linnertz (a glowing performance in "Lust, Lies, and Marriage"), Dori Scallet and Leeann Zahrt, but she herself delights with both voice and movement as Roxie.

While the males mostly serve as cogs on the comedy train, they are required to show off their dancing chops, as well. Actors Chris O. Biddle (who heckles the crowd, his co-actors and the performance itself as its emcee), Ryan Hutton, Dan Kennedy, Ryan Musil and Piccolo regulars Ken Raabe and David W.M. Kelch are thoroughly entertaining in a variety of roles.

Catcalls are encouraged, and audience members found it irresistible not to shout, "Yowsa, yowsa!" during the beautiful Dori Scallet's scandalous "Dixie and Her Wild West Undress," or "Hubba hubba!" during the sensuous Denita Linnertz's dangerous "Femme Fatale Flirtations With Moxie."

The art of burlesque lies solely in the art of the tease. While the women of "Vaudeville and Vixens" seduce through slow hip gyrations and languid body motion, salaciously removing their outer garments, there is no nudity here. That being said, I will advise that this is the first Piccolo show I have attended for which the intended audience is adults only. Even the bawdy humor is geared strictly toward a mature audience.

"Vaudeville and Vixens" is like watching a live episode of "The Benny Hill Show," except that the material is distinctly American. References to Chicago abound, and bits such as "Bugle Call Rag" and the wickedly funny "Come Home, Bill Bailey," about a two-timing husband, are Heartland, U.S.A., material.

Comedic skits such as "Doctor! Doctor!" and "The Court of Last Resort" are wildly successful. In the latter, Vanessa Hughes plays a vacuous widower under suspicion for the murder of her rich husband. The flirtatious woman and her large supply of cleavage leave a cop (Ryan Musil) in a tizzy. Ken Raabe's judge rolls his eyes and he tells the anxious man, "Yes, officer, you can go pound your beat." 

Costume designer Joshua Allard deserves a round of applause for his vast array of curvaceous corsets, lusty lingerie, sequined dresses, naughty nurse uniforms and (my favorite) the green, pink-polka-dotted cigarette-girl numbers with matching pink hats. The show would not have the same flair without his creative eye and never-ending supply of maddening outerwear for the women to remove and remove and remove ...

While some jokes elicit more groans than laughs, their rapid-fire succession and uncanny delivery points to a cast well-trained in various forms of acting and humor. And the women deserve praise for their willingness to seduce and bare nearly all in the intimate confines of the Piccolo Theatre. Hubba hubba!

"Vaudeville and Vixens" runs through Oct. 4 at the Piccolo Theatre, Evanston Arts Depot, 600 Main St.

'Faces of Evanston' Photo Contest Winners

The Kiwanis Club of Evanston announced the winners of its 2008 "Faces of Evanston" photo contest at a reception held on Sept. 11 at the Noyes Cultural Art Center.

Jill Norton Brazel, a former winner in the Faces of Evanston contest and one of this year's contest judges, said many of the 82 photographs submitted presented were photos of artwork and architecture." The presentations varied from snapshots to "some with very cool effects," Ms. Brazel said.

First prize went to Steve Dinelli and Andy Pakter for their photo titled "Perspective," second prize to Ryan Gac for his photo "South Blvd.," third prize to Hallie Redman for "Arts Center/Public Art/Message in Bottle," the special judges' award went to Kelly Sill for "Which Way on Ridge?" and Voice of the People award went to Lori Barrett for "Angel of Modernity." The winning photographs will be on display at First Bank & Trust, 820 Church St., through October. Pictured above are Stamata Blanas, who presented the awards on behalf of the Kiwanis, and Mr. Dinelli.

TREES aROUND TOWN

Introducing the Black Walnut

Only 20 black walnut trees grow on our public land. A scraggly black walnut grows between the Burger King and the parking lot on Clark Street.

Walnut is the common name given to approximately twenty species of deciduous trees in the genus Juglans, of which six species are native to the United States. Expert opinions vary on the native range of the black walnut (Juglans nigra), because today it is planted all over the U.S. It is probably native from Maine west to southern Nebraska and south to Texas and Georgia. The tree also goes by the names eastern black walnut and American walnut. Black walnut has a natural affinity for river bottomlands but will grow well even in pastures, meadows and yards where the soil is fertile. In appropriate habitat, it can reach a majestic 150 feet.

The Latin Juglans is derived from Jovis glans, which translates to Jupiter's or Jove's acorn, "a nut fit for a god." Nigra refers to its dark bark, which is deeply furrowed and ridged and often has a diamond pattern. "Walnut" comes from the old English word for "foreign nut," referring to a related species, the English walnut (Juglans regia). Regia refers to royalty, presumably real or mythic. It was introduced into Germany and England by the Romans, who prized it highly and imported it from its native Persia.

We know for certain that the black walnut is native to Virginia. William Strachey, an Englishman who was on the scene in Jamestown from 1610 to 1611, reported that the colony regularly exported walnut wood to England. Colonists and pioneers alike used black walnut for every conceivable purpose, from food, dye and ink to split rail fences. The wood was also used for solid furniture, though its beautiful, chocolate-brown color and arresting grain often went unappreciated and was painted over. It has even been used for railroad ties, since it is rot-resistant on the ground. Black walnut wood is easy to cut and work with, and today it is used for paneling, veneers, furniture, cabinets, musical instruments, carving and especially for gun stocks. The wood is so valuable that mature trees have been victims of tree-jacking.

Several species grow in the tropics. The National Academies' "Lost Crops of the Incas" (1989) proposes hybridizing tropical species with Juglans nigra to produce crops for "high-grade furniture-wood and fine quality nuts" to support native economies. (This e-book is worth reading for anyone interested in the natural history of the neotropics, the "new world" land between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.)

Black walnut leaves may grow up to a foot long. They are pinnately compound, meaning that the leaf consists of many individual leaflets. One leaf may have as many as 23 lance-shaped leaflets, each of which may be 3 ½ inches long and 1 ½ inches wide.

The tree is monecious, meaning that male and female flowers are borne on the same tree. Female flowers commonly appear first, around the same time as the leaves. They grow in clusters on short spikes at the end of new shoots. Male flowers are borne in abundant catkins that dangle attractively in long clusters from the previous year's branches. Pollen is carried by the wind.

The fruit, borne on trees at least a dozen years old, is encased in a hard shell, is yellow-green when ripe, and is, literally, a tough nut to crack. Recommendations for cracking include scattering them on a driveway and driving back and forth over them! Opening shells by hand without gloves is not recommended, because the black dye from the husks leaves indelible stains on the skin. The nutritious nuts are packed with protein and oils. Squirrels love them, and we have seen a single greedy animal trying to transport three at once. Black walnuts tend to have a pungent flavor, and they are often used as an ingredient in confections containing sugar.

In the phenomenon called allelopathy, plants secrete chemicals that inhibit the germination or growth of competitors. Black walnut, which exudes the chemical juglans, is often cited as its premier example. Pliny the Elder, of Rome, noted in his "Natural History," written in 77 A.D.: "Even woods and the wilder aspects of Nature furnish medicines ... although at every point there occur amazing examples of incompatibility. Thus the oak-tree and the olive are at odds as a result of a long-lasting hatred, so that if the one is planted in the hole from which the other has been dug out, it dies. The oak also dies if planted near a walnut." He was referring to Juglans regia, the walnut native to Persia and the source of most of the walnuts on which we snack.

"Allelopathy" was coined in German in 1937 from the Greek alleloi meaning "of each other," and pathos which means "to suffer." Apparently, certain plant species suffer under certain conditions and others do not. Tomatoes are said to be particularly susceptible. Still others return the favor and are toxic to black walnut. Recent scientific inquiries, however, suggest that what might be taken for allelopathy may, in fact, have other causes, such as animals feeding on nearby seedlings or plant competition for light, water and nutrients.

The champion black walnut tree in the United States is on the banks of the Columbia River on bucolic Sauvie Island, 20 minutes north of Portland, Ore. This breathtaking specimen is 112 feet high, with a circumference of 36.5 feet and a crown spread of 144 feet. Only Kentucky blue grass grows underneath, but right next to the canopy is a thriving vegetable garden that includes, yes, tomatoes. The jury is out on allelopathy.

Evanston does not plant black walnut trees because the few nurseries that grow them charge an exorbitant price for a decent-sized sapling. Only 20 black walnut trees grow on our public land. A scraggly black walnut grows between the Burger King and the parking lot on Clark Street.

News From Evanston's Farmers' Markets

West Side Market

Together with Vivian McFarland, center in photo below these artists have come to the market since its opening.

 

Fresh produce has taken second place to locally made crafts at the West Side Market, which takes place Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Evanston Township High School parking lot at Church Street and Dodge Avenue.

Tomatoes, peppers, squash and other vegetables that herald the end of the season are available in the center tent, offering fresh food to those who cannot or do not wish to travel to the downtown market.

Left to right in photo above, Al Gardner (face painting), Anique Colbert (MarkeTs) and Khriste Peoples (Grounded) display their wares at the West Side Market.

The craft booths offer sustainability of another type - cloth recycled into other practical uses. Anique Colbert, who lives in the Brummel Park area, creates market bags from old T-shirts.

These bags, called MarkeTs, have reinforced bottoms. Hand-held or slipped over the shoulder, a MarkeT can be used to hold groceries, books or lunch, says Ms. Colbert. Khriste Peoples's "Grounded" line offers rugs and other "funky, fresh" wares recycled from sheets, pillowcases and other used items, she says. She says people can bring their cloth pieces for her to custom-create a rug.

Saving paper, Hal Gardner of Evanston offers designs on faces, arms and wrists to patrons of the market.

Vivian McFarland may be the doyenne of the market craftspeople. Some of her quilts are made from used clothing, such as her blue-jean quilt; other, newly made items include baby quilts and Christmas stockings. Although Ms. McFarland lives in Wheeling, she has roots in Evanston. She told the RoundTable, "My grandfather was one of the first black milkmen in Evanston."

Market manager Renee Black praised the loyalty of Ms. Colbert and Ms. McFarland, who have been at the market since its opening earlier this summer.

Representatives from Evanston Community Development Corporation, which helps sponsor the market, also have a tent at the market each week. 

Market manager Renee Black (left) poses; and Fifth Ward Alderman Delores Holmes (right) praised the craftspeople for their loyalty to the market.

Fifth Ward Alderman Delores Holmes said most of the market's produce comes from vendors in the downtown market. "We lost our original vendor" to equipment trouble, she said. Some produce comes from the Talking Farm, which has a demonstration plot at Twiggs Park.

"Our hope is to have all or most of the produce from the Talking Farm - locally grown produce for sale right here [just a few blocks away]." She also said ECDC hopes to have a winter presence in the area, "maybe in the form of an inside market at BooCoo," the community center across the street from the market.

 

Evanston's Agora: The Downtown Farmers' Market

Judy Kemp, vice president of the ECF board; Kendall Gladish, board chair and Becca Cacayuran, assistant director of development; display the many facets of the foundation.

More than 30 vendors and hundreds of patrons shop weekly at the City's oldest and busiest farmers' market, the downtown market.

Fresh produce and locally baked goods - and, four times each summer, home-grown art - abound in the open square at Oak Avenue and University Place.

Not only a regular shopping stop, it has become a meeting place and a Saturday focal point for many Evanstonians. Sept. 20 brought the might of Evanston's not-for-profit organizations to the sunshine of summer's final Saturday. University Place was lined with tables for such venerable institutions as Rotary International, Meals at Home, the McGaw YMCA and Evanston Community Foundation, as well as relative newcomers such as the Music Institute of Chicago. The market continues through Nov. 1.

Judy Kemp, vice president of the ECF board; Kendall Gladish, board chair and Becca Cacayuran, assistant director of development; display the many facets of the foundation.

 

Midweek Market  at Ridgeville 

A customer studies bright fall produce from Shady Hill Farms at the Ridgeville Farmers' Market.

Now in its second year, the Wednesday Ridgeville Farmers' Market is the community's only weekday market.

The market features fresh produce from two farms - Shady Hill Farms in Illinois and Lyons Fruit Market in Michigan - fresh bread from Red Hen Bread and muffins and other baked goods from the Heartland Café in Rogers Park.

Market manager Alison Witt-Janssen, left, discusses Red Hen breads with customer L. Pratt.
 

 On the last Wednesday of each month, volunteers from the Recyclery fix bicycles for ride-ins.
 
 Market manager Alison Witt-Janssen said she believes the market "improves the quality of life in south Evanston." Popular as the market is with the community, Ms. Witt-Janssen says she is finding that traffic, distance and possibly gasoline prices are discouraging farmers from making the trek to Evanston. "There is a lot of desire for fresh food, but some farmers are thinking twice about making the long drive here," she said. Nonetheless, after the market closes for the season today, Ridgeville plans to re-open it next year.

Young Evanston

Home-Schooled Students Gym

Starting Oct. 2, a new open/drop-in gym program for home-schooled students will be offered at the Chandler-Newberger Center, 1028 Central St. The gym will be open noon to 2 p.m. every Thursday through March. One side of the gym will have climbing blocks and play equipment for younger children. The other side will have equipment for older children to play basketball, soccer, floor hockey and dodgeball. Parents must stay and supervise their children, as no staff will be on duty in the gym. For more details, call 847-448-8252.

 

Celebrate Evanston Youth

YJC clients greet guests as they arrive at the Evanston Art Center.

The Evanston Art Center and the Youth Job Center jointly hosted "Celebrating Evanston Youth" at the Art Center on Sept. 12. The event showcased artwork of the community's youth and several clients of the Youth Job Center. Mayor Lorraine Morton gave a speech that the young people among the event's about 100 attendees said motivated and energized them.

 

Park School

On Sep. 26, at 9:15 a.m. Park School students were joined by Air Force Master Sergeant Chris Miller for their morning flag-raising ceremony. Park School students began the flag-raising ceremony this year under the guidance of their teacher, Dan McAndrew.  Heather Shaffer, adaptive PE teacher at Park, invited Master Sergeant Miller to come and participate in this demonstration of citizenship and spirit for country and school. Park School is located at 828 Main St.