JULY/AUGUST 2012 • Number 104 ESTABLISHED IN 1948 OLD TOWN ART FAIR UPDATE displayed this year. Our Blessed with warm weather and clear skies, the tree-lined email in-boxes have streets of Old Town Triangle once again attracted art lovers been flooded with from near and far. The 63rd Annual Old Town Art Fair had all the positive comments and anticipation, excitement, and glory of years past. From theFirst appreciative stories from Sight Friday Night to the Volunteer Thank You Party a week later, artists who made record the neighborhood renewed its love affair with this unique event. sales this year and can’t As always, the success of the OTAF is due to the generosity and wait to return. munificence of neighbors and volunteers who selflessly donate We came into 2012 as their time for three days of fun and festival. Enjoying the honor rookies, ready and willing of being General-Chair and Vice-Chair of this event, we had the to learn and learn we pleasure of working with everyone that lent a hand to make this did. We know there is year a fun and profitable venture. room for improvement First Sight Friday Night saw record-setting attendance, big and we have received no revenues, and a lively crowd. We took advantage of the new UP shortage of input on that Comedy Club made available through an in-kind discount from front, as well. We started our neighbors at Second City. UP allowed for a live auction and OTAF Chairs Debbie Day and John Knoche working on the 2013 donated artwork sold at a brisk pace in the large silent auction. OTAF on Monday, June 11, sitting down for donuts and debriefing A new venue at the Fair was introduced, the HOT Site VIP area with two artists nice enough to share their observations. We are with comfortable, shaded seating and a refreshment stand run already negotiating contracts for next year to make sure we get by OTAF volunteers. The Children’s Corner, as always, attracted the best possible terms for our hard earned dollars. Renewed large and appreciative crowds of parents and kids. A fresh, new efforts to find and attract the best artists possible have already logo was developed and fun new sail banners were acquired. commenced. Creative ways to promote and communicate the The Art Institute of Chicago had a booth and we found a new uniqueness of our Fair are a priority for next year. partner for food and beverages with a fine Chicago institution - Neighborhood, Art, Refreshment, Visitors – these are the legs Stefani Restaurant Group. our event stand on and the strength of our franchise. Thank you And then there was the ART! First-time visitors and veterans alike for allowing us to serve in the Chair positions and thank you for commented on the quality and diversity of the art that was supporting the Old Town Art Fair. Debbie Day and John Knoche MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Summer is here and according to the weatherman it appears The 2nd Annual Shed & Shred went that the 90˚ temperatures are going to be around for a while. well. Many people took advantage of If you have an elderly neighbor, check on them; if you haven’t selling no longer needed items and seen them for a while, call 311 for a well-being check. Check the shredder was a great hit. I think on your trees and give them a little water now and then, even it ran all day! the ones on the parkways. We had a good Art Fair! Debbie Day Safety Tip - Please put your address on and John Knoche and their committees worked tirelessly. They your garage or alley fence. If someone tried a few new venues, which we are now reviewing and will is breaking into the back of your home determine what changes we might want to make next year. All and you have notified the police, it will in all, it was great fun and the weather was perfect. The Events be difficult finding where you live if Committee, chaired by Kim Hitchcock, launched an outdoor there is no address. concert series called “Music in the Park”. For those of you who Have a terrific summer, enjoy all the great events the City missed “The Whiskey Hollow Band” (bluegrass) and “The Fred has to offer, check out the new sculptures throughout the Simon Trio” (jazz), it was a great way to spend an evening with neighborhood and don’t forget to check on your neighbor. family, friends and neighbors. Vi Daley, OTTA President WWW.OLDTOWNTRIANGLE.COM COMMITTEE NEWS CALENDAR NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE | Jeff Smith, Chairperson Thursday, August 2nd 2 DAY FIGURE WORKSHOP, DAY 1 (ART As the OTTA closes the books on the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the NIC Preserving Our Trees CLASS), 10A.M. - 2P.M. decided to spend the $13,000 left over from tree care to focus on caring for the “worst Thursday, August 9th case” trees in the Triangle. Jeff Smith and David Pfendler will be dealing with this project. 2 DAY FIGURE WORKSHOP, DAY 2 (ART NIC has Treegators® are watering bags and are available for loan from the Triangle Center CLASS), 10A.M. - 2P.M. to water trees that are suffering from the heat and drought. The bags wrap around the Sunday, August 12th tree trunks and, after being filled with water, slowly soak the soil. The Treegators® were GALLERY RECEPTION 2P.M. - 5P.M. donated by The Care of Trees! Tuesday, August 14th BOARD MEETING, 7P.M. - 9P.M. The City’s War on Rats NIC, through Phil Graff, will begin working on a rat abatement Monday, August 20th program, put on hold in June until after the Old Town Art Fair. This program will involve a NIC, 7P.M. - 9P.M. cleaning program, new trash cans, community education and rat baiting. The program is Tuesday, August 21st being sponsored by the 43rd Ward Office. HDP&Z COMMITTEE, 7P.M. - 9P.M. COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE, 7P.M. Garbage Pickup Karen Pfendler, who has negotiated the contracts for garbage pickup of - 9P.M. cans throughout the Triangle, said there is a continuing problem with one garbage can at Monday, August 27th the corner of North Park and Eugenie. The committee voted to remove it because, even BYLAWS COMMITTEE, 7:15P.M. - 9P.M. with six-day pickup, the can continually overflows. There were two objections to removing September 1st , 2nd, 3rd - OFFICE CLOSED that can, but the majority of the committee voted to remove it until another location is Tuesday, September 11th BOARD MEETING, 7P.M. - 9P.M. found. Monday, September 17, 2012 Dogs at Ogden Park The discussion about dogs running off leash at Ogden Park led the NIC, 7P.M. - 9P.M. Triangle staff to call the Alderman’s office to order Leash Law signs for the park. Tuesday, September 18th HDP&Z COMMITTEE, 7P.M. - 9P.M. COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE, 7P.M. TRIANGLE ART CENTER Monday, September 24th TUESDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGES THE STORY OF BYLAWS COMMITTEE, 7:15 P.M. - 9P.M. COLLABORATION & GIVING | by Mary Morony (long time Triangle resident) what was on their square. Were there any restrictions on paint color? Absolutely not. The point was to paint the squares as each student saw them, but to follow the forms as closely as possible. And did the students collaborate? Of course they did. Over 10 weeks, the students became good friends who shared painting tips and critiqued each other’s paintings. When Marie assembled the squares for the first time, the students and the staff were astonished to see the results of the finished work. The small differences in painting style, in depth of color and even the lines of some of the figures create a charm that the original poster sorely lacks. Why? When Seurat originally completed the painting in 1886 at 27 years old, the reviews all mentioned the bright, vibrant colors. Art teacher Marie Kirk Burke and Janet Graff, assembling “engineer” Unfortunately, the paints of the day were made from untested, non- organic pigments that did not pass the test of time; the original has “After Georges Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of faded spots and some areas where the pigment has darkened. So La Grande Jatte” – that’s how the art world says it when you the Old Town Art Center version is far more traditional in its fresh, copy someone else’s painting. Twelve members of Marie colorful approach to a summer’s Sunday afternoon. Kirk Burke’s Tuesday oils class at the Triangle Art Center just completed such a work, piece by piece. First Marie took a While the project began as a student exercise, with some vague postcard of the Art Institute’s beloved centerpiece, trimmed a idea of donating the finished piece, the timing was perfect for the bit off the edges then divided the 6’10” x 10’1” painting into Art Fair’s Silent Auction atFirst Sight Friday Night, a great way to squares which were distributed randomly to the students who share the fun of the project while simultaneously helping to support had instructions to purchase 12 in x 12 in canvases and paint the art classes. Old Town Triangle Association Times 2 www.oldtowntriangle.com COMMITTEE NEWS EVENTS COMMITTEE | Kim Hitchcock, Chairperson “Music in the Park” Outdoor Concert Series A Success The 2nd Annual Shed & Shred Approximately 50 families participated in July’s neighborhood- wide yard sales and garage sale, featuring a professional shredding service which destroyed 3,200lbs of paper material for recycling.