So what's in the works right now? Since you asked...

The tarp is finally off the "Eternal Indian" statue in Oregon, IL, and my After Effects tribute to Chicago-area sculptor Laredo Taft is due to be finished this weekend. ("Eternal Indian" not included -- he was under a tarp when I did most of the work on this project.) This animation is inspired by a quote from Taft dating to September 9, 1913, when he dedicated his "Fountain of the Great Lakes" at the Art Institute of Chicago. Where to post it when it's done (YouTube? Vimeo? Somewhere else?) is still undecided, but I'll put a link to it here when it happens. My next After Effects project won't require as much driving around.

Castles? In the Midwest? Yes, and I even have a WordPress blog about it. While the blog is currently online, I'm not saying much about it because I want to fix the image on the home page. I have a plan for this, but it will involve taking a trip to (and pictures of) Eagle Point Park Castle in Clinton, Iowa. It's a small, crude castle compared to some of the others (described as similar to a Norman ringfort), but it feels authentically medieval and may be what I need for the home page image. After that, I need to pick another castle to visit and continue my quest. I've only seen two castles so far, but it's already been pretty interesting... I'm hoping to see at least five before I start to identify trends or form conclusions. Since this item is likely to stay on this page until I get to all twenty-odd castles in the midwest, I will make the CotM logo shown on the left a link to the blog soon.

Meanwhile, I'm working on a Premiere video of scenes from the small wooded creek area and adjoining park around my apartment building. One of the perks of living where I do -- the variety of trees and wildlife (especially birds) is noteworthy.

With Halloween and Christmas just around the corner (as they always are), I've got plans for my annual cards. Since they will again be pop-up cards, the cutting and gluing will take some time, so I'm aiming to get the designs finished by the end of July, which is not far off now.