Brandace Cloud is a professional artist based in Wilsonville. She has a studio there and in Staunton. Cloud works in a variety of media, but specializes in photography and clay.

ILI: How long have you been an artist or when did you start? Was there a single incident or moment when you realized this was your passion?
BC: I have been making [art] most of my life, although I never realized that making [art] could be a living. My dad always encouraged me to work hard and make lots of money. But he also, through his actions and through his words, told me to find something I love to do. He worked hard his whole life working jobs he never really loved, so that our family could have a big fancy house and lots of things. While going through college I went through several different career choices. I tried for electrical engineering, computer programing, business, and then graphic design. I received my associate’s degree in Graphic Design from Lewis and Clark Community College and was still trying to make lots of money, but found that art was what I really loved to do. I continued on to Webster University, where I figured I could still make money while taking photographs. I continued on that path until my final year when I took a clay class. The first day of class, I realized THIS was my calling. I was a potter. I was meant to play with dirt and fire. I have been a potter for six years now, and I’ve never looked back… never again doubted what I wanted to be.

ILI: Illinois has been factored into your work in the past. What does being able to live and work in Illinois mean to you?
BC: Illinois is a major factor in my work through the images I put on my pots. I live in rural Illinois, where my “natural” landscape is plowed fields and stray trees. When I wondered what to decorate my pots with, it was intuitive to adorn my pots with images inspired by this landscape. In my tiny town of 600, my house sits on a dead-end street where owls live and play. These creatures also make their way onto my pots, but now have been abstracted to those parts of the animals that intrigue me the most – their eyes, their ever-searching, seeking eyes. What I learned from Webster was that as an artist I need to always be paying attention, always looking, always searching. Now the owl eyes float in a field of color, ever-searching, looking, wondering. My work would not be this, if not for my home in rural Illinois.

ILI: What do you like about Illinois?
BC: The thing that I love most about Illinois is the landscape that inspires me.

ILI: What is your favorite medium to work in?
BC: I am a potter at heart. Although I can work in other materials, clay is my passion.

ILI: What artist inspires you and why?
BC: I am inspired by the artists around me. I feed off the creativity of my friends and those that make [art] around me, including my students! I teach art to kids as young as two years old, all the way through adults. The kids that I teach are unafraid of working, of creating. They are fearless. They make art for themselves. That is an inspiration.
If there is one professional artist that truly inspires me, it is Susan Bostwick, an artist that I admire and work closely with. She is a fellow potter, and Susan has taught me so much about how to be a successful artist through her optimism and joyful approach to art. Her work can be found at https://susanbostwickceramics.net/.

ILI: Where can people view or purchase your work?
BC: They can find it online on my website, www.brandacecloud.com, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cloudstudios/ and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BrandaceCloudStudios.

With a length of 390 miles from north to south and an ideal climate for deciduous trees, Illinois is one of the most uniquely-situated places to view fall foliage.

Because the state is so long from north to south, fall comes to Illinois several times. It first comes to the northern part of the state in mid-September and works its way gradually south as the weather cools and each region hits its “peak” fall colors at a different time. In northern Illinois, leaves have already begun to change color and will soon reach their peak, turning otherwise mundane vistas into breathtaking, picturesque landscapes.

One of the best ways to experience fall in northern Illinois is to visit the Cemetery Hill Trail at Cook County Forest Preserve’s Paw Paw Woods.

Paw Paw Woods sits along the southern bank of the Des Plaines River in unincorporated Willow Springs, not far from the DuPage and Will County lines. It is adjacent to several other woods and nature preserves in the Cook County Forest Preserve District’s Palos Region. One of the greatest natural attractions found in the woods of southern Cook County is the Cemetery Hill Trail.

The trail is a two-mile-long, single-track dirt loop with an elevation gain of 100 feet. It can be used for mountain biking, trail running and hiking. While the trail is open year round, there is perhaps no better time to visit than early fall. The density of the woods allows users of the trail to immerse themselves in the changing colors and the temperate fall weather makes it more pleasant than ever to spend a day exploring the forest.

The Palos Region of the Cook County Forest Preserve District is unique in that it is a peaceful, relatively untouched oasis easily accessible to and located in the most densely populated area of the state. The forest preserve is only a 30 minute drive from Chicago’s city center and 1.5 miles from the Willow Springs Metra station. The entrance to the trail and Paw Paw Woods can be found at 9102 Archer Ave, Willow Springs, IL 60480.

Fall colors are expected to peak in late September or early October. There is no better time to bike, hike and run to the Palos Region of the Cook County Forest Preserve District and enjoy the spectacle.Click here to download a PDF map of the Palos Region.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is launching a Zika virus awareness campaign with actor Brian Tee, known as Dr. Ethan Choi on the television series Chicago Med.

Tee, who recently welcomed a new baby girl into his family, is hoping to raise awareness on the public health concerns of Zika virus and what people can do to prevent the infection of unborn babies who may suffer birth defects.

First identified in Africa in 1947, Zika virus is a mosquito-borne infection that has spread significantly across the world since the first reported case in Brazil in 2015. For most people, Zika is a very mild infection and isn’t harmful. However, Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Consequently, infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects.

Inspired by his role as a doctor on Chicago Med, and as a new parent, Tee will star in television and radio commercials with information on preventing Zika-related birth defects and the importance of preparing for and having a healthy pregnancy.

The Zika virus education campaign will air the commercials statewide in cooperation with the Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA) Public Education Partnership program. They will broadcast on more than 200 radio stations and IBA member television stations.

For more information on Zika virus, go to www.dph.illinois.gov.

When dog owner Todd Agosto struggled to find a dog park in the south side of Chicago, rather than traveling to a different neighborhood, he built one instead.

Created on a series of abandoned tennis courts in the Jackson Park neighborhood, Jackson Bark has become the third largest dog park in Chicago and the only dog-friendly area in the far south side of the city.

Agosto, who is the proud owner of a pit bull and a German shepherd, first started building the community dog park in 2014. He used his own funds and did most of the work to help create the dog agility and obstacle course.

More than 90 percent of the materials Agosto used for the dog course were salvaged from leftover construction projects in the surrounding neighborhoods. For instance, Jackson Bark’s handmade agility equipment includes recycled tires built into steps that dogs can climb.

The park also boasts two separate play areas, 100 pieces of equipment and a wide variety of toys. Additionally, because it’s equipped with lights, Jackson Bark is one of the only places in Chicago where dogs are welcome after dark.

Although Jackson Bark is not officially recognized by the Chicago Park District, the informal site has become beloved by residents and dog owners all throughout the south side. It is completely run and maintained by Agosto and volunteers from the community.

Jackson Bark recently celebrated its third anniversary on August 26, which also happens to be International Dog Day.