This weekend, I was finally able to go out and get the chance to do something all artsy fartsy like I’ve been wanting to, and it was very exciting to be able to remember why I love art so much. It wasn’t something in the city like I might expect, but rather something out in what my roommate called out in bu-fu. Batavia, IL, to be exact. It is a bit out there, but WaTER STrEET StUDIOS was a very little discovery. I went with new photographer friend Tom, and the place is in an old mill-style limestone building, with a small but spacious gallery area and several artist studios on both levels of the two-story building. We had gone during their Second Saturday events, where the artists come in, open up their studios for people to see and chat it up with cake and boxed wine. The day we went was exceptionally nice, one of the first nice days of the summer to come, so there weren’t many artists in that Saturday, but we still had a chance to talk to them about the studio and their work, as well as (and this is my favourite part) get to look at the pieces.
I adore art galleries. I wish I could spend a chunk of time every day, in an art gallery, picking out a piece and just writing something, anything, inspired by that piece. Even if I don’t like the piece. If I go into an art gallery, I just feel this immediate sweep of inspiration and creativity, my own feeding off of what the artists have already put out and presented to the world. I dabble a little bit in sketching and painting here and there myself, but my talents lies in the written word. I do love having the option of moving my pencil in different ways to create a picture should my writing not be working out but I need to let out the creative energy some other way. Artists are always doing amazing things, too, and, even though I couldn’t exactly just sit in their gallery and write stories about their pieces at Water Street, they’re still in my head, and they’ll still be there.
Another great thing about Water Street was the old building it was in and how they use their space. I love, love, love something old turned into something new, and the building was a great example of that, too. If you’re ever out there at the very edge of the world (aka the Chicago suburbs), it’s definitely worth a look. Even Batavia itself was a beautiful little town. There’s a spectacular looking church out there….architecture. It’s like art right out there in plain sight.
And, to tie this in a bit with my Neil Gaiman quote from yesterday, I can only hope that, one day, I’ll be able to write descriptions of things as beautiful as these art pieces or these buildings, if not more so. Because, no matter how great a talent might be, it will never be able to compare to what your very own imagination may be capable of conceiving all on its own.
L.S. Engler 