So it was not quite a straight line between the time when we decided, while we were living in Spain, that we were bound for Chicago.
We stretched out our return into with 6 flights (from Spain to Portugal, to Holland, to Denmark, to L.A, to San Francisco to Chicago) and we had 5 home exchanges (Spain, Portugal, Holland, Denmark and Chicago) along the way, and three family reunions.
But… We’re here!! ~ Back in Chicago, U.S.A
Welcome to our new neighborhood ~ Wicker Park.
Always a “hip” and happening place, 9 months ago we selected this neighborhood as the one we would most likely live in should we return to Chicago. We are here to launch our apartment search because, truth be told, it’s a search that is rather limited ~ to one building, one particular, iconic building ~ the Flat Iron Building.
The building is for artists only and is located at the “6 corner” meeting point where Damen Street, Milwaukee and North Avenues connect and is veritably buzzing with activity. It houses exactly the kind of space we are looking for… namely an open loft space, in an interesting compatable neighborhood.
Sitting at the “6 point” corner where three main avenues intersect, the building is triangular.
Years ago, and then again 9 months ago when we came through Chicago for a couple of weeks, we zeroed in on the Flat Iron Building – as it is a hub of artistic creativity and would be a desirable “nest” for us.
The Flat Iron Building opens its doors to the public once a month for a “First Friday at the Flat Iron” ~ when all resident artists are encouraged to open their art studios and let throngs of art lovers and or the curious public, through the cavernous building.
A phone call to the manager of the building reveals that there is indeed an art studio available… Navigating this building requires a personal GPS as there are so many twists and turns ~ great for a scavenger hunt!
Instructions are fairly straight forward: take the antique elevator up to the third floor, turn at the naked woman on the unstretched canvas…
Keep going, pass the wall of portraits…
When you see the red she-devil, turn right…
Go past some eyeballs…
Walk past the comic book store…
And here we are …
Studio #352 – available if we want it…
The beauty of a loft space ~ huge windows, original wooden floors (100 yrs old) and lots of space in an urban setting.
This is the current “kitchen”. Missing some key elements such as a sink with running water and counter tops.
Current ” bathroom” ~ definitely missing key elements…!
Yes, there is no bathroom and there is no running water in our loft as of now.
“Whaatttt???”
“Seriously???”
There IS however, a public bathroom as well as two third floor “private” bathrooms for third floor residents, down the hallway.
Okay so we have stayed in plenty places in the past two years where the bathroom was shared with others. We have washed many fruits and greens in bathroom sinks, for lack of kitchen facilities. Hmmm, not ideal for a longer term stay though and we do hope to have a toilet and running water in our loft asap. We are in the negotiating process with the building manager.
In order to construct counter tops for a basic kitchen and bathroom, we go searching for reclaimed wood and recycled building materials…
From an environmental ethical point of view, we would rather not use new materials, if we can find interesting and lower cost recycled ones. We both love old wood ~ the look of it, the feel of it, the overall aesthetic. And yes, with forest depletion being a huge problem, we would prefer to find something with a history and reuse it.
Chicago has a number of architectural salvage stores… our mission: to get pieces together that will build out our loft at a minimal cost, but with beautiful reclaimed items.
Ten minutes away from our loft, RX Rebuilding Exchange becomes our “playground”. It is a HUGE warehouse, gorgeous old building itself, which houses recycled, donated building materials, such as doors, windows, sinks, mid century wood and so much more….
These are the two pieces of mid century wood we select for use as a bathroom counter top for the basin. The wood comes from the floors of an old building which was torn down. (After sanding and varnishing these they will be gorgeous!)
This is another warehouse we find which houses architectural salvage items. This place however is more pricey, as the items have already been restored and “recreated” into pieces. We enjoy getting ideas and seeing what they have, but our budget is way more in line with RX warehouse where the inventory is made up of mostly materials, but not finished pieces. Still, great fun to cruise the aisles here…
The lockers in MY high school never looked like these! Painted bright colors, they make original, practical and fun storage for sure. (Pricey!)
RX warehouse is FULL of rows and rows of salvaged building materials. Piles of wood from an old barn floor, ready to be recycled into new creations.
SCORE! ! We find sections of brick glass in light turquoise… Dirt cheap!! We have lots of ideas of what we might use these for.
What more does one need than a strong girlfriend and a UHAUL van? Picking up boxes and packages left with friends and family, over the years. Hmmm, what IS in this package that we mailed from Jaipur, India? We don’t remember, but are eager to get it to the loft to open it. Hopefully we included some saris in there!
View of our loft from the street below. Our loft is on the third floor, on the right hand side. No one above us, no one to the left of us and currently the space next to us is empty as well.
Literally “jumping with joy” at our new digs!
The building we are moving into, the Flat Iron Buidling, is for artists. In addition to painters, it houses actors (3 small theaters) and musicians. The space is studio working space and many of the artists use the lofts as live/work space. The owner of the building, a huge benefactor of art in Chicago and the creative process, subsidizes the lofts (creating surprisingly low rent for this area).
The building has a once a month OPEN house on the first Friday of each month. This is a time when artists open their studio spaces to throngs of art lovers and the “curious” public…
Our official move in date is May 1st, although we manage to get the keys on 4/20 and move in on the 27th. Yikes, we have a short of amount of time, to move in, organize our space, and hang a show so as to participate in OUR first “First Friday of the month” opening!!
We put our bags and boxes into the bathroom ~ which makes a great closet space for now… and get to hanging paintings. The important stuff FIRST!!
What will be the theme of Peta’s first studio/gallery opening?
Amongst what we had stored, were of course some of Peta’s paintings. We rediscover paintings which we haven’t seen in years! Bulls of Ometepe, Nicaragua. Most of this series sold very quickly, but a few remain…
A family portrait done in charcoal. Good paintings, but not enough to create a coherent “show” for the studio / gallery opening.
Peta’s paintings have always reflected our travels… It’s great to find some paintings from her PERU series. We were in Peru years ago, for a month and it was definitely a trip which had a huge impact on both of us.
But… Nicaragua remains after all an important part of our Green Global Trek and it is fitting for us to open up our Chicago chapter with an homage to Nicaragua’s Stray Dogs.
Many of the “Stray Dogs of Nicaragua” paintings sold over the years when we lived in Nicaragua, but those which were exhibited in galleries across the U.S. had been stored in L.A.. We are excited to get them back and put them up for the first studio/gallery opening.
Over the years, many people fell in love with this pooch. I wasn’t sure where I had left it…. Chicago, L.A. ? But here it is, and it’s up for grabs…
Paintings everywhere…. This abstract red and white painting was part of the traveling U.S. exhibition (before we left for Nicaragua.)
Another favorite…
This dog – “Coming and Going” is a fitting metaphor for our nomadic lifestyle!
The “Stray Dogs of Nicaragua” series was painted on large 5′ x 5′ un-stretched canvas. The result is “larger than life” renderings of stray dogs – depicting the individual personality of each dog.
So here we are — set up and ready to go for a first studio / gallery opening a mere 5 days after we move in! Loving the grittiness of our neighborhood.
At the top of the wall, Peta’s brochures indicate the way through the maze of theater and other artists, to Studio 352.
Stray dog paintings up in the hallway outside the entrance to Studio 352, and our move is complete!!
A wall of stray dog paintings ~ It feels like being with old friends from our neighborhood in Granada.
After almost TWO years “on the road” living nomadically, Peta’s backpack is taking a rest. Next to it are recycled coffee sacks we found at the architectural salvage store for 50 CENTS EACH! They will make great floor cushions and/or surfaces for painting.
Stay tuned for photos and updates of our new neighborhood ~ Wicker Park, Chicago.
Thank you everyone for the great feedback via email! For some reason? Our comment button has vanished…. Hopefully it will be up and running soon. Meantime we might just post your comments by way of cut n paste! Gracias!
(From Sharon) :
Just read your blog post but there wasn’t an option to comment. Too bad, I was blown away.
I’ve been wondering what you were up to.
Jeepers! I mean holy shit! First if all, the paintings look better than ever. You wound up with such a good set, and they look great in that space. It’s going to be so fun for you to be in that building, like urban Oxbow.
Congratulations on such a smooth landing.
Thanks Sharon!! Yes it really has been a smooth landing and we are pretty pleased with how things are working out so far.
Yup, I honestly did not realize how many good dog paintings were “grounded” in storage in L.A. and in Chicago! We unrolled and hung them before we unpacked our bags…which was pretty exciting too, but weird. First time I have unpacked my little red bag in almost two years!
Just like full time Ox-Bow yup! Haha 🙂
( Summer art camp in Michigan for adults)
(From Niki):
Wonderful!!
Must have been soooooo exciting to be able to lay out all your paintings and see them all together in all their glory.
I didn’t find anywhere to write a comment on the blog now, is it me or do you need to check the settings?
The dog paintings look insanely wonderful on your walls!
I recognize this building from long ago, you once took me there!!! we saw some exhibitions and I remember the vintage creative buzzing vibe.
So fun, so great to live in the heart of things!!
And……. So great not to have a lot of possessions!!!!
Thanks Niki!
It is great to have SO much wall space to hang the dogs! And am very happy with how they look.
Yes! So great we brought you here years ago and that you remember it! So now you really know where we live. It’s a trip!
(Sophie):
The building and loft look perfect for you two. Do you have a bed yet?
Perfect indeed!
We DO have a bed as a matter of fact. We got a “like new” futon from a nice young couple via Craigs List. Cost = nada.
(Lois):
I so enjoyed your latest adventure illustration studio 352 activities! I laughed and felt like I was journeying within maze of excitement and creativity.
Way to go P & B, life is never dull with you both near or far
love love
So glad you enjoyed this post so much! Thanks Lo. So glad we made you laugh and smile…
Life is definitely NOT dull! 🙂
Looking forward to your visit. Much love to you too!