By
Lauri Novak
Piece description from the artist
The Chicago Park District officially named this new park in honor of Mary Bartelme (1866 – 1954), the first woman judge in Illinois, who devoted her life to reforming the treatment of children and women in the court system. Born near Fulton and Halsted Streets, Bartelme was a Chicago Public School teacher who decided to become one of the city’s first women lawyers. Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1894, she was appointed as Public Guardian of Cook County three years later, and helped establish America’s first juvenile court in 1899. Sixteen years later, she was chosen to assist the presiding judge, allowing girls in the juvenile court system the opportunity to appear before a female judge for this first time. She went on to be elected as a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1923.
Bartelme donated her own house in Chicago to establish a “Mary’s Club,” a group home where girls could be safe and learn important life skills. In all, she established three “Mary’s Club” homes, including one for African-American girls. Nicknamed “Suitcase Mary,” she formed a program to provide suitcases filled with proper clothing and toiletries to young women coming out of the court system to help them establish as respectable life.
Lauri Novak is an award-winning fine art photographer, mentor and author based outside of Chicago. She has an eye for photographing architecture, traveling as much as possible and just wandering in nature with her camera.
Having grown up within an hour of one of the most architecturally rich cities sparked an interest in architecture early in her life that has been a recurring theme in her work over the years. The camera was ever-present in her life growing up in one form or another, including the many family vacation photos that were taken by her mother. Lauri received her first camera when she was ten. Since then the world has opened up to her through her view-finder and has brought into focus many of the details in life that are often overlooked.
Traveling was also a big part of her life. Her family went somewhere new every year which allowed Lauri to see different parts of the country, different cities and landscapes across the United States. This opened up so many opportunities for photographs and the wandering spirit which is part of who she is to this day. On her own, she traveled overseas and discovered different cultures, amazing historical architecture and the incredible beauty that is everywhere in this world. All the while capturing what she saw with her camera.
One of the questions Lauri is asked most often both by viewers of her work and other photographers is, “How did you see that?”. She works hard to show different perspectives, unique angles and the everyday details of a wide variety of subjects.
Lauri also has a passion for helping others, offers mentorships and runs an online SEE! Photography community for other photographers. She also shares her inspiration and motivational tips for photographers as an author at Photofocus.com.
Her work has been featured in Our USA Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Kane County Chronicle and on WGN-TV. She has had images in several galleries in Chicago, Minneapolis and as part of an international exhibition in Barcelona. Lauri’s work is displayed in hospitals, businesses and hotels around the world.
You can find more of her work at laurinovak.com
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