Delivering the Art

About an hour from my home in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, is a town named Decatur. It's not what you'd call an "arty" town; the main industries there are soy bean processing and the manufacturing of heavy equipment. But, as in many such towns, there is a loyal group of individuals who are dedicated to the arts (and crafts) and to providing art-related activities for the community.

     On a sunny, crisp day, a few days after Thanksgiving, we made a trip with a friend to "deliver the art." We were bringing a display board with earrings from Beaded Jewelry by Susan to be included in the Xmas ARTicles show that takes place during the month of December at the Madden Arts Center.

     For many years, we participated in the Arts in Central Park show sponsored by this same group, the Decatur Area Arts Council, as well as the holiday show. Since we have retired from doing outdoor shows, this is our continuing link to the folks in Decatur and we were happy to be able to bring something to the gallery.


     I took my camera with so I could share the trip with you, dear readers, and so here are pictures of David, my husband, in front of the Arts Center, and our friend Bob, who kindly drove.
    

     The display board was dropped off quickly and welcomed by the Arts Center staff. We will pick it up again at the beginning of the year. We sent along 25 pairs of earrings for holiday shoppers in Decatur. If you don't live near there and still want to shop for earrings for the holidays, just drop by the etsy shop online and select a pair from more than 250 unique, one-of-a-kind designs in a wide range of styles, colors, and materials.

  

  After dropping off the display, we decided to take advantage of being in Decatur to take a tour around Lake Decatur. Sadly, we don't have a lake in Champaign-Urbana.

It was almost sunset, but there was still enough light to take in the sight of gulls, mallards, some white domestic geese (duck/goose hybrids?), and some adorable coots (the black-and-white rails).

As the sun set, we decided to have a nice meal in the restaurant overlooking the lake before heading for home. The place was decorated for the holidays and featured an excellent pretzel-crusted chicken breast. And so we "delivered the art" and a good time was had by all.