Soul of the Stone @ South Shore Cultural Center - South Shore Beach & Nature Sanctuary - Fall Colors 2026 - MyShadowProductions #234

Howdy everybody !! 

Time just seems to keep flying by and the 1 hour most of us “gained” by turning the clocks back (remember when that was an actual physical task?) is hardly a difference.

I am not complaining, just making an attempt to open this Post and get the “show on the road” :) Besides, if the saying is right about when time flies, I might be having a “good time” if I choose to allow it.

The “show” starts with my visit to the South Shore Cultural Center on the South Side of Chicago. As you will see in the Video the trip was altered a little because of some track work by Metra but a shuttle bus past the affected area added a little variety. 

I had two things in mind with visiting the Cultural Center, one was to see the Soul of the Stone exhibit and the second was to walk around the Beach and Nature Sanctuary areas.

Remember the Soul of the Stone sculptures that were on exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory (GPC)? The Cultural Center is another part of the overall exhibit. You can see my previous post and videos at GPC here.

Also, I visited the Cultural Center and Beach a couple of summers ago for the Chicago Park District Volunteer Appreciation Day, click here to refresh your memory.

Now for the latest videos :)

Click this Link for the Soul of the Stone exhibit at the South Shore Cultural Center.

One main question that kept going through my mind, other than “how do they do that?”, is with the Green Opal sculptures and why/how the rougher/lighter colored stone and the polished green opal sections. (Springstone too)

This is one explanation I found.

“The off-white, matte, or chalky parts on Shona green opal sculptures are achieved by leaving those specific sections of the stone unpolished and rough.

Shona master sculptors utilize a deliberate contrast technique based entirely on how the stone is finished:

• The Dark Green, Glossy Parts: To get the rich, translucent green color, the artist sands the stone smooth. They then heat the sculpture (using a blowtorch or open fire) to expand its microscopic pores and apply a clear natural wax (like beeswax). When buffed, this brings out the deep, saturated green hidden inside the mineral.
  
  
• The Off-White, Textured Parts: The raw, unpolished, and un-waxed state of Zimbabwean green opal stone naturally looks light green, greyish, or off-white. By using hand tools like chisels, rasps, or toothed chasing hammers and intentionally skipping the heating and waxing process on those areas, the stone retains its pale, chalky, and textured appearance.

This stark contrast between the "raw" off-white stone and the "cooked" polished green is a signature styling choice used to represent hair, clothing, or abstract textures.” (From a Google search)

There are also Soul of the Stone exhibits at the Chicago Cultural Center (where the Tiffany Domes are) and the Field Museum so I have those spots on my list for colder/wetter days.

For a walk around the South Shore Beach and Nature Sanctuary, click here.

Kind of like the natural areas at Montrose Beach in my last Post, I missed the color of the blooms but Nature still provides so many shades of color regardless of the season. This simple picture below had so many shades of color that changed as the intermittent clouds passed, my camera didn’t “capture” all that but it tried :)

I realized after Posting that I had this Picture earlier in the Post by mistake….so I added here too…..

The next Video that I want to share is created from my pictures mostly at Morton Arboretum and GPC and a few in Downtown Chicago and Aurora as Fall displayed its 2026 version of “Colors”.

CLICK HERE for Fall Colors 2026.

Finally, I have a little comment and question. I turned 71 the last day of September, hard to believe but it’s true :)

Did you happen to notice the number 71 “hiding” in plain sight in a few of the pictures in my Montrose Beach Area Video in my last Post??

Here’s the Video if you want to see??

Raise your hand if/when you find it ……. I will give you extra credit on the Final Exam :)

Guess what my next Post might be about ??

I know you have been on the edge of your seat waiting :)

FULL BLOOM AHEAD !!

Fall Creeps In Slowly - Montrose Beach Area - MyShadowProductions #233

Howdy everybody !!

I have been fussing over some videos for a week or so; are they too long?, not the right music?, I don’t have a “story” to tell, blah, blah, blah …….

I have decided to let the pictures/videos “speak” for themselves and I am confident that all of you know how to fast forward or mute to your heart’s content :)

By the way, Happy Fall 2026.

The first video in this Post was created from my photos as I started to notice “fall things” happening right next door to “late summer stuff”. Nature gets along that way, your turn-my turn-plus some surprises.

Click Here for Fall Creeps In Slowly 2026

Speaking of nature and seasons, each new place I explore in the Chicago area has been interesting and yet I can’t help but think what it would be like in a different season, almost like each place becomes four if you follow.

The Montrose Beach area was just that way. I explored there 2 days in early October and saw the Natural Areas, the Dunes, the Beach, the Pier, the Harbor and the Lake with some really cool Chicago Skyline views. I missed the migrating birds (early morning is best?), the prairie flower blooms had passed (should be worth a visit next summer for sure!), large waves and ice and snow would be cool there and so on ……

Montrose Beach is located in the north end of Lincoln Park in the Uptown Neighborhood of Chicago.

This Video shows what I saw, it is over 10 minutes long (edited down from 16 :). A lot of colors and nature and thinking how did they construct that Pier? That would be a MyShadow video for AI to create if that’s possible?? :)

CLICK HERE for my Montrose Beach Area Video.

Here are some pictures of a very worn information sign in the Dunes area but I think it is interesting??

Cool part about the Plants reappearing on their own!

Ok, if you are still with me, check out this “find” at my Food Pantry volunteer shift:

LION’S MANE Mushroom

Google said it would taste a little like crab or lobster when sliced and cooked in a dry pan for a few minutes and then adding olive oil and garlic. I tried that, maybe texture of lobster but my cooking failed to deliver any noticeable “taste” but it was interesting I guess :)

CIAO for NOW !!

Monochromatic or With Color - Random Photos Stolp Island, Aurora, IL - MyShadowProductions #232

Hola amigos (just practicing:) !!

I hope September is agreeing with everyone? You know, cooler mornings and evenings, some Sun, some Clouds, some Rain, some Fog, all those things we have experienced before but the variety never stops, mother nature is hard to keep up with.

I have a question (as “they” say, there are no dumb questions:). In the “beginning” was everything (whatever everything was :) monochromatic (basically black and white), and was color created as an afterthought? Remember, flowers have only been around for the last three hundred thousand years or so (instead of millions). That seems like an afterthought by Mother Nature or just a very delayed part of the “original plan”, kind of like humans, :), we all learn to live with our decisions, Mother Nature included, lol.

I bring this up as an introduction to my latest use of the “filters” option when editing my iPhotos, the “Mono” filter. Here is an example:

Mono Filter applied                     Original      

CLICK HERE for my “Monochromatic or With Color” video created from my photos/short videos. (The “static” you may hear is part of the “music”)

For an overdue change of pace I want to share some photos from Stolp Island here in Aurora, IL since I usually focus on Garfield Park Conservatory and the Chicago area and places I sometimes travel to. 

Click Here for my Video - Random Photos September 2026 - Stolp Island, Aurora, IL.

Now, I think this may qualify as a “fun fact”?? In early Spring at Garfield Park Conservatory some of the glass roofs and windows are “sprayed” with a white mixture to filter some of the sun’s rays to prevent overheating the interior spaces and plants. The mixture slowly fades over the summer and begins to allow more light and warmth for fall and winter.

Here are some photos of some of the structures, the spraying equipment and empty buckets of the mixture:

The Desert House horticulturalist is named Ray, I imagine he might have a few of these buckets hidden away :)

FULL BLOOM AHEAD - WILL WE HAVE AN INDIAN SUMMER ?? 🌻🌻🌻

Rogers Park Chicago - Sensory Garden + at GPC -- MyShadowProductions #231

Howdy everyone and Happy September (it arrived just as expected, immediately after August :)

If you don’t mind - one quick reminder/suggestion. When I “create” my blog posts I use my iPad and in my opinion it is best to view the Blog and Videos on an iPad or laptop. In addition the “Web Version” has the “Subscribe/Follow” and “Comment” options. Ultimately, a little enjoyment for you as a viewer is the goal so whatever works for you is great!! THANKS!!

Speaking of August, on August 15th I ventured out to Rogers Park, the northernmost community area in Chicago. Chicago has 77 distinct “community areas” which include 100’s of smaller unique neighborhoods. My trip was to the Rogers Park neighborhood within the “community” which is considered a “vibrant, bohemian lakeside enclave” boasting over 60 languages spoken and a “mile of murals”, etc.

After the Metra from Aurora to Union Station I walked about 20 minutes to the Monroe Station on the Red Line “EL”. At Monroe it is a subway line and continues that way north, under the Chicago River to just south of Armitage on the North Side using a portal located near Willow Street where it is elevated the rest of its way north. I got off at the Morse Stop and was immediately in the “action” of the Glenwood Ave Arts Fest. The area was pretty crowded and it just didn’t work for me to get photos of any of the art being displayed, I find that they kind of frown on that anyway (:( ??) but luckily there was plenty of “street art” to catch my attention. An extra bonus for me was that Lake Michigan was about a 20 minute walk east (even stopped for an ice cream cone :) and the long Beaches were totally accessible to the public (not always the case).

Luckily for you I took a lot of pictures and a few short videos so I could create a Video that will better portray the day than my verbiage. CLICK HERE for my ROGERS PARK Video. (I slipped in a street photo from a different day, can you spot it?)

There are plenty of things to make a return trip for in the future: Jarvis Square, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, variety of global foods like Caribbean, Turkish, Smack Dab Breakfast, etc., Howard St and the huge CTA rail “turnaround” (my word:) for the Red line and also continuations of the Yellow and Purple lines.

Somebody designed that !!

Yellow and Purple and Red Lines, FYI

In the next portion of this Post I want to share about a section of the Garfield Park Conservatory (GPC) that has “reopened” with some fresh features. This area is the Sensory Garden which had been closed since at least summer of 2024 ??.. I was fortunate to help with some of the “cleanup” and the area brings its own style of “color” to the outside gardens, along with a Labrynth that draws a lot of attention. Just this week a new Sculpture exhibit has opened in the Sensory Garden. It is called “Soul of the Stone” and features sculptures from the Shona people in Zimbabwe, Africa. The artists use locally found hard stones from the Great Dyke region, such as serpentine, dolomite, springstone, cobalt, butter jade, verdite and leopard rock to name a few.

Click Here for details of the journey to acquire the sculptures by Andre and Frances Guichard, owners of Gallery Guichard. (Click on “About” under the heading)

There were similar exhibits back in 2003 called the Chapunga Exhibition at GPC and other USA sites.

Denver was one of the sites and it so happens that one of my favorite spots in the Denver Botanic Gardens features a Shona Stone Sculpture - “So Proud of My Children”:

The exhibit also reminded me of a couple of sculptures I saw in Savannah, Georgia (click for those posts), they aren’t Shona Stone from what I can tell, but similar I think. If you check out the old Posts the Denver Shona Sculpture coincidentally shows up :)

I created a Video from my pictures in the Sensory Garden since March 2024 to the present and a few other “bonus” pictures from GPC in general, if you want to explore Here It Is !!

Also, the demolition near the Green Line Clinton Station is nearing completion and soon it will most likely be a “temporary” parking lot until negotiations with the Dunkin Donuts building are successful, then who knows, hopefully an interesting new structure to “watch” as it is constructed :)

September 5, 2026

Fair warning, I am working on a Video of the demolition sequence, start to finish :)

FULL BLOOM AHEAD !! 

Summer isn’t over yet :)

I tackled this web of dead and live Creeping Juniper branches on Saturday at GPC, sadly I made one mistake and cut a living branch - I never could have been a good surgeon !!

Dead Branches trimmed and the “mistake”

Looks like the crabapple tree shade was the culprit.


This is Cool !! Bananas in Horticulture Hall !!