“Have fun. Pace yourself. Chicago can be a 24 hour party.”
It’s Super Tuesday. The rest of the country is out voting. Today, I passed a police barricade set up for ‘Obama’s rally.’ We’ll see what happens tonight. Jaz just called: could I come down and take some photos of the installation? They’re torching and spraying - and the paintings are magnificent. Some kind of storm is pelting my window, I hope it's snow.
Let’s just preface today’s blog with one of the recent words from Doctor Dictionary: magniloquent: lofty or grandiose in speech.
First of all, the paintings. You'll see them here in various stages of freezing -- from frosty to glassy. The frosty - suggestive of ice bergs melting into the ocean -- and the glassy = good enough to eat. Remember, temperatures went from very freezing to a balmy 45 degrees, to snow to rain to sleet to slush, and ice responds differently to those conditions.
Overheard at the opening itself, "Where's the artist’s signature? And Adrian Goldberg, who created the lighting, said, “If you’re the only person in the world who’s doing this, there’s no need to sign it.”
Colleen Duke, Academic and Cultural Affairs Officer at the Canadian Consulate woke us up, the morning after: “Well, are you basking in the media’s love affair with Paintings Below Zero?”
“It’s the coolest thing going on in the city,” said Todd Stablein, the Concierge at Hard Rock Hotel (whose favorite band is Poi Dog Pondering). “It’s the most amazing thing to have in your backyard.“ Here’s Todd & Gord with The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times, on Feb 1st, when the full page, full color stories were printed in both papers.
We received congratulatory emails from all over the country: Patrick Firpo in San Francisco, my sisters, Gord’s brothers, even a long lost relative on the McLellan side in Michigan, among others.
“Congratulations. Wow! The wall looks awesome!” Debbie Hicks, Phoenix, Arizona.
“Congrats on a wonderful installation. You have every reason to be proud.” Mary Hicks, San Diego, California
"Congratulations!!!! Your work is beautiful (said warmly from our California home in front of a fire!!!) Hugs!" Bernie Milbury, Chino Hills, California
From New York: “The project looks fantastic. It’s even worth a trip to Chicago BRRRRRR in February.” Marilyn Meyerson.
From J.C. in B.C.: "Hey Gord, Congratulations!!!!!! Looks FANTASTIC!!!" (Photo credits, above: Colleen Duke)
“I am in awe at the depth of mastery going into every segment (of the painting). There are many here watching in complete amazement at how fine this project is.” - Katherine Denham, the dancer who changed River’s life.(see River’s bio on the right for more info on that). (Next 2 photos: Patrick Pyszka).
“Out of this world! A fantastic, colossal job.” Al Burns, Roberts Creek, British Columbia, Canada.
From Chicago: “The city seems to think it can lift our cold, broken spirits by taking the sould-crushing Chicago winter and adding the word “festival”. (The city would be right).“ Emily Withrow (flavorpill.com)
“Please pass my congrats to Gord and Caitlin. This looks absolutely stunning and I wish I could be there. The residents and visitors of Chicago are indeed lucky to have the installation.” Jane Fernyhough, City of Richmond. B.C., Canada.
“It looks fabulous!” Marielle Camozzi, Vancouver (Former intern with PBZ).
Here are a few of the Canadian Women’s Club of Chicago who hosted me at a lunch the day after -- and posed in front of a frosty painting. Photo by Susanna Doolin.
News was that the restaurant on the park was dead-of-winter-quiet -- and after opening, jammed to the rafters, busy, busy, busy. Over 12,000 visitors came to see the site on Saturday and Sunday. Gord didn’t get near it, but Jaz, Ari, and Tim kept it going over the weekend.
We had a delicious lunch at Vong's with River’s parents and his cousin, Jeremy.
We did pizza in the suite for Super Bowl.
We had dinner with Colleen Duke and her chef husband Kieran, an absolutely yummy affair which had us in a real home for a few hours. They brought out their best wines -- including Inniskillin ice wine.
We did a tour of the Chicago Art Institute - what a fabulous collection of impressionistic paintings! And it’s free to the public in February!
We said goodbye to River, and this morning, to Erik.
Last photo: Colleen Duke; all others not credited: Caitlin Hicks
The new recruit. An interdisciplinary artist with a passion for art, music and mystery, Ari also has production skills. Fascinated by spirals, fractals and other patterns of growth, Ari loves watching ice crystals form... and of course, lugging around refrigeration plates. He's our guide to Chicago and has managed to fix up a previously mangled bicycle, which he rides everywhere.
Katie has a BA in Fine Art from University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She has passion for creating ceramic sculpture and enjoys oil painting, traveling and yoga, as well as Chicago's "offerings of art & culture." Although she answers whenever anyone calls "Katie" (there are 3 interns names Katie) she's an enthusiastic worker, and a welcome addition to 
Matt is an artist, bicyclist, disc jockey, self-taught keyboardist and photographer who likes to write. This is his first 
Katelyn recently moved to Chicago from Michigan, and works as a paintings assistant for artist Tim Lowly. She has a BFA in Painting, & a BA in Art Education (Western Michigan University). An artist who paints, Katie also plays violin with a number of groups in the Chicago area. She's new to 
Katie Louise Williams really likes ice. She grew up making ice rinks in her yard, playing hockey, staring at frosty grass, and, eventually, driving a Zamboni. The project has been one of her favorite experiences with both ice and Canadians. She rides her bike everywhere. When its warmer she's a vegetable farmer.
Technical crew. Laura is new to 
This is Jaz’s third installation with Paintings Below Zero. Jaz brings a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design from Emily Carr College to the project. A fanatic of typefaces, Jaz designed & produced the artbook on the Italy installation, created the flash web site from scratch: paintingsbelowzero.com, designed a full page ad in Modern Painters (Feb 2008 ) & numerous smaller design projects for 
Raised in Calgary, Winnipeg, Nairobi, and Boston, Erik is an artist and graphic designer, (Bachelor of Design Emily Carr, 2005), who has cultivated a distinct visual art practice informed by design and international travel. Following his studies with voyages to Honduras, Italy, London, England, Toronto, and Harlem, New York, Olson returned to his native Calgary to open IDEAL, a contemporary art space. www.erikolson.ca
River grew up in Northern California and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture) from UC Santa Cruz. His wild, youthful days of travel ended abruptly when he fell in love with a dancer. Now he's married, with 3 kids, a house, 2 cars and a dog living in semi-rural British Columbia as a stone mason. He relishes 
Originally from the U.K., Nancy is now based in Toronto. With a background in art education, she first worked with 
Adrian has worked in the Broadcast, Film and Live Production fields for the past 28 years and is presently Lighting Consultant to the CTV Television Network, TSN and Rogers Sportsnet. He also counts amongst his clientele the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, for whom he is the Lighting and Set Designer for their worldwide festivals.
Art spends most of his time continent hopping with Accent Refrigeration in the cool quest to design and install the perfect system. His favorite gig is Paintings Below Zero - and will continue to be until hell freezes over. He calls home Victoria, British Columbia with his wife and 4 daughters.
This is JC’s fourth installation with 
Nancy has worked with Gordon and Caitlin with PBZ since the 2005 Italy installation. She’s the go-to person behind the scenes. Nancy is responsible to have everything in place before the crew hits the location. She brings 21 years of event management experience to this gig, and she is inspired by the work. 
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