"Automythography" is a variation on the idea of an autobiography, introducing the realm of imagination and myth into the stories we know and tell about ourselves. Artist Mequitta Ahuja began each piece with a partial self-portrait. The group then worked together, not pre-planning the pieces but allowing abstract shape, color and texture to take form organically to represent the figure’s hair. Hair is significant for its many meanings for African-Americans. Historically styling of the hair has been symbolic of a range of positions from assimilation to defiance to black pride, embodying the personal is political and body politics of the feminist movement and socially determined as an indicator of class, consciousness and beauty. Working collaboratively on self-portraits challenges the very notion of a self-portrait and serves as a proposition that our visions of ourselves incorporate the values, ideas and identities of our community.

Student Artist
Iga Puchalski, Crystal Lake
Northern Illinois University

Nadia Bernal, Huntley
Ann Marie Burton, Wonder Lake
Simon Floeter, Cary
Daniel Heflin, Lake in the Hills
Jack Moore, Cary
Ann Treadwell, Crystal Lake
Rory Williamson, Lake in the Hills
Melissa Youngblood, McHenry

"Brood 13" is a series of daily, outdoor, site-specific performances inspired by the visions of McHenry County. We used the emergence of the 17-year cicadas known as "Brood XIII" as a metaphor for the work. We asked parents, staff, artists and youth participants of Blue Sky Project to envision what they want the world to be like in the year 2024 when the cicadas come back. Every day we chose intentions and made performative art work that embodied that vision.

Student Artist
Alex Fayer, Crystal Lake
Second City Improv

Erin Garceau, Huntley
Selena Lester, Crystal Lake
Lori Moore, Cary
Elizabeth Skalecki, Woodstock

To see the daily documentation of the Brood 13 project, please click here

"Sacred Spaces: Dreamtime" aims to create a private space to experience what is sacred within each one of us. As the audience lies on the bed of the constructed bedroom, he/she observes the video that is being projected on the ceiling right above his/her head. Through the video, the youth participants explore their personal identities and their ideal dream-selves with the audience. By watching the video in the intimate and private settings of a teenager’s bedroom, the audience is invited to take on a journey of exploring their own private identities and ideal dream-selves.

The idea of "Dreamtime" comes from a series of discussions that I’ve had with the youth participants during the Blue Sky program. Through the discussions, I've discovered that each participant has a very intuitive and unique relationship with the act of dreaming. As a result, I invited them to explore their dream states and their fantasy selves. I also asked them to use a video journal to document their thoughts and emotions. What arises out of the self-journaling experience is a safe platform for them to explore their sense of self-identity and the complex emotions that arise from moving toward adulthood.

"Dreamtime" provides a unique window into these young adults' psyche and their private world. By expressing and exploring their dream state and hidden desires, the youth participants are able to gain a greater self-awareness. Consequently, the audience reaches a deeper insight into the contradictions and the complexity of a teenager's life.

Student Artist
Michelle Cox, Crystal Lake
Columbia College

Nikita Chieco, Huntley
Caitlin Galasso, Cary
Julie Mussared, Richmond
Kelsey Reinker, Lakewood

"Nocturne (JeannetteElyseTereseAngelAmandaAlyssaSamuelNora)" is an installation composed of a large garden shed, eight individuals and the video projection of an animation sequence depicting the imaginary subjectivities of the group. The shed transforms into a private cinema for one individual. The individual's chest serves as the projection screen. During its exhibition, viewers peering through the doorway will be able to see the animated sequence that pictorially represents the mind as it experiences daydreaming. Nocturne… is a collective portrait of thought, primarily the daydreams of teenagers living in a county of Illinois that is undergoing the transformation from rural landscape to suburban sprawl. By undertaking the task of creating a collaborative artwork, unity and integration materialize to represent the simple fact that humanity and self-identification originate from our thoughts.

Student Artist
Elyse Lucas, Woodstock
Lawrence University

Terese Baciskaite, Wonder Lake
Angel Cress, Lake in the Hills
Amanda Palczynski, Huntley
Alyssa Secreto, Huntley
Samuel Sotelo, Woodstock
Nora Tipton, Woodstock

This story begins where another ends; in the small village of Avila where Ernest Hemingway bequeaths a tale of glory, brutality and ugly rebellion. Beneath the steeples where tolling bells call the faithful to pray, fascist are rounded up and held captive. The lingering townspeople are placed by their leader outside the church in two lines as they would be to watch the ending of a bicycle race with just enough room for the cyclists to pass between. Standing in the doorway the condemned face a narrowed corridor of villagers wielding flays, herdsmen’s clubs, ox goads, wooden pitchforks, broken bottles, sticks and reaping hooks. One by one the prisoners are forced through the doors at gun point and walking between the lines are consumed by a carnivalesque execution. Responsibility is shared. Blood drips. Bold as Love.

Student Artist
Emily Frierdich, Algonquin
Elgin Community College

Kady Creager, Lake in the Hills
Henry Krukowski Wonder Lake
Chris Moore, Cary
Lisa Walsh, Woodstock
Eric Wilson, Cary