Somatic Installation

Somatic Installation
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Prairie Center of the Arts 2006 Summer Artist in Residence Michelle Acuff of Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., works on an installation piece, "Somatic Ghosts," which she is constructing with fellow artist Elizabeth Mead of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virg., at the Prairie Center of the Arts, 1506 SW Washington St. The piece will be finished in time for a reception on July 8 in Germantown Hills. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Somatic Installation

Somatic Installation
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Prairie Center of the Arts 2006 Summer Artist in Residence Elizabeth Mead of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virg., works on an installation piece, "Somatic Ghosts," which she is constructing with fellow artist Michelle Acuff of Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., at the Prairie Center of the Arts, 1506 SW Washington St. The piece will be finished in time for a reception on July 8 in Germantown Hills. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Signing Up

Signing Up
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Peorians Wes and Linda Read join many others in signing the last steel beam to put in place in the ongoing $55 million expansion project of the Peoria Civic Center downtown. The couple came to the Center's first concert by Kenny Rogers while they were just dating and were there in 1983 for the Center's first NBA game in which Michael Jordan played. Hundreds attended the gathering hosted by Peoria Civic Center officials to celebrate the construction milestone. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Hi Beams

Hi Beams
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Brothers Courtney, left, and Matt Wallace with AREA Erectors prepare for the placement of the final steel beam to mark the halfway point of the ongoing $55 million expansion project downtown. Peoria Civic Center officials hosted a gathering at the Civic Center to celebrate the milestone. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

House Boy

House Boy
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Adam Gerik, whom doctors have so far been unable to diagnose, gazes out at the big big world that exists beyond the safe confines of his home in Central Illinois. It is a world he'll never know but in the colorful daydreams that help him to while away the endless hours of the day.

Harvest

Harvest
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Only a fraction of the nearly 10,000 pounds of cherries growing on my cherry tree in the back yard.

Call Me Sasha

Call Me Sasha
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

2006 Olympic Silver Medalist Alexandra Pauline, aka Sasha, Cohen performs with Champions on Ice at Carver Arena in Peoria. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Tai Ji

Tai Ji
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Ben Prichard teaches Tai Ji for Life, a Peoria Park District recreation class, at the Hult Health Education Center on Monday, June 19. Tai Ji is an ancient Chinese art of meditative movement. Prichard says the people that attend his class are "usually professional people looking for that mode of relaxation to get them away from the daily grind." The class is offered Monday evenings. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Balance

Balance
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Tricia Brewer and others participate in Tai Ji for Life, a Peoria Park District recreation class taught by Ben Prichard, at the Hult Health Education Center on Monday, June 19. Tai Ji is an ancient Chinese art of meditative movement. Prichard says the people that attend his class are "usually professional people looking for that mode of relaxation to get them away from the daily grind." The class is offered Monday evenings. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Heads Up

Heads Up
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Baseball action from the IHSA Allstar game at O'Brien Field in Peoria. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Big Hunk O' Love

A Big Hunk O' Love
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Jim Potter performs as Elvis at a fundraiser for Alexis Walker-Cortez in East Peoria. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Hangin' with Dad

Hangin' with Dad
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Jeff Taylor of Peoria and his daughter Haille, 6, swing at Glen Oak Park on Father's Day after going to the Glen Oak Zoo. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis Walker-Cortez, 10, lays down to rest In the middle of a 2-hour check-up less than a week after being released from a 101-day hospital stay for a rare form of a nocardia infection she mysteriously contracted last November. Her ongoing battle is far from over and doctors are running out of methods to combat the disease - which has manifested itself as an abscess in her brain - as it has developed immunities to all but one remaining antibiotic. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis holds up a photo from healthier times the year before. A heavy combination of medicines during her long hospital stay caused hair loss. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis plays with her mother, Suzy Walker-Cortez, and younger sister Piper Cortez, at the home of her grandmother on the day she was released from a 101-day hospital stay to treat her nocardia. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis watches her grandmother, Janice Walker, as she learns to administer an antibiotic IV to be administered at home three times a day for an indefinite period of time. Having developed a resistance to several antibiotics, she is on the last one they know to be available. "I hate needles," Alexis says. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Released with only a week to go in the school year, Alexis attended school for half-days. Having missed much of the year, she will have to repeat the 4th grade. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis has fun with her family in East Peoria. "They missed me while I was in the hospital," she says of her younger sister Piper and older brother Dominic. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Only 2 weeks out of the hospital, Alexis's health takes a turn for the worse. Unable to keep food down and rapidly losing weight, it will only be days before she checks back into the hospital. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis is taken to an MRI after checking back into the hospital. The test showed progress on her abscess, but there is still a long way to go and few treatment options remain. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis is kissed by her father, Mike Cortez, before heading into an MRI. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis helps out at the reception counter in Children's Hospital the day she is once again released. Having spent so much time there, she appears to be right at home. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

A Mysterious Infection

A Mysterious Infection
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Alexis was the first recipient of the "Hero of the Month" award at Children's for being a good patient for so long. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Gravity Storm

Gravity Storm
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Gravity Storm ride operator Andrew Manson releases Jasmine Howell, 6, after pulling down on her to put some extra spring in her jump as her mother, Jessica Linville, watches while attending the Steamboat Sports Festival at Riverfront Park on Thursday, June 15. The three-day festival continues through Sunday and features a variety of carnival rides, food, sporting events and entertainment. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Fun in the Fountain

Fun in the Fountain
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Joshua Gumm runs through the Gateway Fountain with his daughter Jannessa, 1, during the Steamboat Sports Festival at the Riverfront Festival Park on Thursday, June 15. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Steamboat Idol

Steamboat Idol
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Melissa Gordon, 25, belts out a rendition of "Black Horse & the Cherry Tree" as she competes in the Steamboat Idol contest during the Steamboat Sports Festival at the Riverfront Festival Park on Thursday, June 15. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

POY

POY
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Morton center-midfielder Ashley Repholz, 17, is the Journal Star Player of the Year. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Circus Queen

Circus Queen
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Christine Plunkett, co-owner of James Cristy Cole circus from Mabank, Texas, and her horse Sombrero wait for their introduction at the start of the Mohammed
Shriner Circus at Alpha Park in Bartonville. The Shriners have been putting on their annual circus in the Peoria area for over 50 years. The show was in Bartonville Friday through Sunday and will be moving on to Galesburg and Princeton throughout the week, ending in Bloomington next weekend. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Rudolph

Rudolph
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Sparko, a clown with the Mohammed Shriner Circus, puts his face on before the start of the evening show in a big top set up in Alpha Park in Bartonville on Sunday.

Showtime

Showtime
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Performers with the James Cristy Cole circus from Mabank, Texas, take the stage at the Mohammed Shriner Circus at Alpha Park in Bartonville on Sunday.

Stilt-walker

Stilt-walker
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

With a birds-eye view, Kaleb Gross, 12, stilt-walks through the Eagle Landing Fine Art Festival at Riverfront Park in East Peoria. Bad weather meant thin crowds for the festival. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Liquify

Liquify
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Apprentice glass blower Bart Grawey, 22, demonstrates his craft for a small crowd gathered in front of the Unbroken Glass Designs tent at the Eagle Landing Fine Art Festival at Riverfront Park in East Peoria. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Peoria Sky

Peoria Sky
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

A nice sky coming across the Illinois River on my way home Friday evening.

Pea Brain

Pea Brain
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Homer's MRI results, OSF Hospital MRI control room.

Hot Shoe

Hot Shoe
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

JR Schnabel flies through his qualifying round at the Hot Shoe Series TT Races on Sunday at the Peoria Motorcycle Club. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR

Daddy Long Legs

Daddy Long Legs
Originally uploaded by davidzentz.

Peorian Jim Dutton crosses a footbridge above the dangling feet of 11-year-old Kaige Quotskyva at the Peoria Motorcycle Club. Dutton has been coming to the races since 1947. DAVID ZENTZ/JOURNAL STAR