Steven Hillmann, AAPLD's Artist of the Month for January, captures the life in inanimate objects. Buildings and architecture; bustling or abandoned. Toys that appear to be posing for portraits. Even celestial objects, progressing through changes and phases we couldn't observe on our own.
The self-taught photographer says he loves the technical challenge of these subjects. See them for yourself this month, in the Adult Services Department at the Main Library on Harnish Drive.
Name: Michelle Marsh
Community: Wonder Lake
Preferred Medium: Photography
Background/training: I've had a camera in my hands ever since I was a kid playing with a Barbie camera. I also learned as much as possible from my grandmother, who loved photography. My current style has developed over years of experimentation and self-study.
Preferred subjects: My favorite subjects are wildlife and landscapes. Photography is my favorite way to capture the beautiful sights I see while out in nature.
What inspires her work: My mom told me adventure is where you find it. While I would prefer to travel the world to take photos of exotic locales, sometimes the backyard is the farthest I can travel. I like the challenge of making the everyday extraordinary.
Michelle's work is for sale, and she can be reached at michellemrsh@gmail.com, or instagram.com/compassroeadventures
AAPLD welcomes award-winning landscape photographer Cory Anne Cosman to the Art Wall at the Main Library. Cory's work captures the essence of nature. She loves traveling to National Parks, and her adventures have taken her to the Badlands of South Dakota, the Rocky Mountains, Moab, Utah, Bryce Canyon, Haleakala, Waimea Canyon, and Death Valley.
But much of her recent work focuses on the beauty of nature close to home. "I've spent much of my life exploring the beautiful properties of the McHenry County Conservation District, and the many parks across Illinois. This year, I'm excited to stay closer to home-- discovering new hidden gems throughout the Midwest to explore and share with my lens."
Her work has been exhibited at the Land Conservancy of McHenry County (2022 and
2023); the Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake's Fourth Fridays Art Event (2024 and 2025), Woodstock Public Library Artist Showcase (2025), and Kishwaukee Brewing Co., Woodstock (2025). In 2022, she was the 3rd place winner of the Land Conservancy's Amateur Photography Contest, and in 2024, she received the People's Choice Award from the Fourth Fridays Art Event at the Dole Mansion.
Follow her on Instagram @ccphotos2024
Simply More by Cynthia Erivo - Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing that those same lyrics would change her life. Ten years later, she has the chance to perform those songs on a world stage, showing us that there is always time to keep discovering ourselves, that the journey of becoming is not a finite one.
In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia Erivo reflects on the ways that she has grown as an actor and a person, the lessons she’s learned over years of performing, and how we are capable of so much more than we think.
Just as she had persevered through obstacles on the stage, working step by step, day by day, to align with music, lyrics and dialogue, so too did Cynthia fall in love with running. Through the simplicity of her steps and the beating of her heart, she found a way to fall into deeper sync with herself.
We all have hopes and dreams that we want to bring across the finish line, we all falter and take missteps, yet we keep moving forward towards that end goal. Cynthia is still running marathons, onstage and onscreen, in her work and in the city streets. Each challenge has allowed her to lean into the wisdom of her body, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go.
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not A Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz -After a lifetime as a dark sorcerer’s right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over—not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.
The quaint town of Dragon’s Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance—she’ll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.
Violet’s vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery—and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.
When a mysterious blight threatens every living plant in Dragon’s Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another to save their community. But with a figure from her past knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she’s worked so hard to grow, Violet can’t help but wonder…does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino - Eighteen months and eleven lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. Desperate to escape the cramped apartment she shares with her husband Ian—and in turn, get their marriage, plan to have a baby, and whole life back on track—Margo becomes obsessed with buying the house before it’s publicly listed and the masses descend (with unbeatable, all-cash offers in hand).
A little stalking? Harmless. A bit of trespassing? Necessary. As Margo infiltrates the homeowners’ lives, her tactics grow increasingly unhinged—but just when she thinks she’s won them over, she hits a snag in her plan. Undeterred, she'll prove again and again that there’s no boundary she won’t cross to seize the dream life she’s been chasing.
