Sunday, December 30, 2012

Celebrating New Horizons & SSG


Even though I am not calm about our Congress, part of me is at Peace because we finally have had some cold and SNOW! The horizon down at the lake was so dramatic the other day that I actually interrupted my peace and brought my phone on my walk again to photograph.
I thought this image was a fitting one to usher in the new beginning of the NPO I began two years ago. It's called Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala (SSG).


We have fabulous board members (Wesley, Melisa, Kristen, Greg, Paula and formerly: Stephen) to whom I am so grateful!
Our Mission: "We work with indigenous Mayan communities served by established organizations who share our vision and values to build working models across borders and cultures. These models promote and sustain social justice, education, agriculture, environment and health."
We are currently set up to support AFOPADI in Guatemala. Read more about us on our new website here: SSG. And if you want to donate: click here.

Meantime: since we will be celebrating the New Year quietly at home in Evanston, we went to hear the Roy Hargrove Quintet last night. You can take in more of their great performances through January 1, 2013 at Jazz Showcase in Chicago.
 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

New Deal Photographs of West Virginia, 1934 - 1943


I always joke about the end of the year as "the fabled down time" in my profession. I wish...

One of the many wonderful things I've been doing beyond work and my new non-profit (more about that soon) was hosting Betty Rivard from West Virginia. She just finished editing this book on New Deal Photographers in her state and it includes some images by my dad, Arthur Siegel, when he was in the OWI. I am learning so much from Betty's book, not just about the time and some of the same issues about poverty as there are now in our country, but more about my dad's history as well. Because info on my dad is hard to come by, Betty came to Chicago to do research on Arthur. She is doing a small show in W VA for the 100th anniversary of my dad's birth. All the photos from this time are available through the Library of Congress.

Born in Detroit and having gone to Berkeley, Betty was intent on staring at Lake Michigan before she returned to her mountain home.
 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Happy Chanukah & Merry Christmas!


Animal Menorah courtesy of my friend, Deet, in Antigua, Guatemala.








Christmas cactus photographed by my friend, Liz, in Boston, MA.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Lite Seasonal Fun


Every year during the holidays, I get a kick out of this yard down the block from my office in SW Evanston. Each year, it is very American in being bigger; this year I saw a multi-generational family installing these totems and the people also looked like they were enjoying themselves.  I feel very fortunate to have my work space in a residential neighborhood about a mile from my home. A bunch of us in a four block area have modern-day offices in what were formerly butcher, baker and perhaps candle-stick maker shops.