Second Sunday Salon: Joe Rendon & Friends, Chicago Poets, Tigerlily Cross

The Second Sunday Salon-a chill hang with MUSIC, ART, POETRY and more. Poets invited to a post-performance reading. Come connect in person!

Second Sunday Salon • Poetry Month Celebration

Join us in person for the April 17th Second Sunday Salon! It's a chill gathering for MUSIC, WORDS & ART, where you can meet cool people, share ideas, and enjoy the good vibe. Whether you're into art, music, or just good conversation, this is the place to be. Don’t miss out on a relaxed evening of Chicago artists, ideas and connection!

The Second Sunday Salon is produced by True Muse Inc, an arts organization dedicated to the Democratization of the Arts - curated by Linda Solotaire - and presented in collaboration with COLVIN HOUSE.

MUSIC • JOE RENDON & FRIENDS

features

Kevin O'Connell - Piano, Jose Porcayo - Bass,
Jaime Claudio -Drums & Joe Rendon - Congas

JOE RENDON, Leader / Conga • Jose “Joe” Rendon is a versatile percussionist and master conguero with a career spanning pop, Latin jazz, salsa, classical, and commercial music. He has performed with legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Lalo Schifrin, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, and Tito Puente.

Joe has also recorded for radio and television and performed with top international salsa artists, bringing dynamic rhythm and energy to every stage.

​He leads "Joe Rendon & Friends" and performs under the banner "Joe Rendon Salsa Con Soul," bringing a blend of classic and soulful Latin rhythms to audiences.

WORDS • Lynn Fitzgerald, featured poet & curator

with special guest poets
Michael Ryan Chandler • Marcy Rae Henry • Thomas Holton
Moira Sullivan • Stephanie Sullivan

Lynn Fitzgerald, Poet & Curator • Lynn Fitzgerald’s latest chapbook, Her Dress Does a Flip (2025) is available from dancinggirlpress.com. Her awards include the Jane Hirschfield Award for the poem, “Stendhal Syndrome,” a Community Arts Assistance Grant for artistic merit and publication of a chapbook, Closer to the Earth, published by Moon Journal Press, three National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships, three Oppenheimer Awards, a Council for Basic Education Award, and University of Chicago and Newberry Library grants for scholarship.

She has taught in Kuwait, Lebanon, and China, where she served as an advisor for the Baccalaureate Program. She is a professor of literature, film, and writing for the Chicago City Colleges.

Michael Ryan Chandler is a poet and novelist who writes across various genres including: supernatural fiction, fantasy, and memoir. Michael has worked as a landscaper, server, teacher, actor, voice actor, textbook editor, and freelance magazine writer, among other professions. His many jobs have informed both his poetry and his worldview. Michael has lived in Korea, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia. He currently hosts a poetry open mic called Last Fridays Poetry.

Marcy Rae Henry, Poet is a Xicana artist and author of death is a mariachi, winner of the May Sarton Poetry Prize, when to go to the Taj Mahal, the body is where it all begins, dream life of night owls, and We Are Primary Colors. Awards include a Chicago Community Arts Assistance Grant, an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, four Pushcart nominations. MRae is senior editor for RHINO and has no social media accounts.

Thomas Holton, Poet is a Florida-born writer and poet based in Chicago. His poems and short stories have appeared in Red Ogre Review, hu the zine, Oyez Review, Ink in Thirds, WREATH, and Written On a Napkin. He writes the Substack newsletter, "Does it Swim?", and his debut poetry chapbook and short film, "Warm Numb, Jagged Spiral, Hey Teddy!" is available now.

Moira Sullivan, Poet is a retired translator and marketer for an international nonprofit. She has co-curated a community open mic at the former Café Express South in Evanston and
served as an associate editor at RHINO (2011-2014). Currently, she serves on the Off
Campus Writers’ Workshop Board. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in three
anthologies (Further Persons Imperfect, Turning Points, and Meaningful Conflicts) among
others.

Stephanie Sullivan, Poet is an actor with an MFA in Acting and over 25 years of experience performing on stage. She is also a painter who began a portrait business in 2014 creating custom portraits of people’s beloved pets. By day, she works as a real estate agent in the Chicago area. She’s also the proud mom of an amazing four-year-old who inspires much of the joy and perspective she brings to her creative work.

Visit the website for more on the artists. https://www.truemuseinc.com/salons

ART • TIGERLILY CROSS • Paintings

Artist Statement 2026 • I have been making and selling art for decades at venues such as art guilds, galleries, libraries, fairs, bars and nightclubs, annual Chicago art shows, the DP History Center, and most recently the Northbrook YMCA.

A self-taught painter, I first began mark-making—according to my mother—around the age of four. As an “Army brat,” I was rarely in one place for long, so I learned early how to entertain myself through art. Art became my friend, my everything—and it remains my lifeblood, my heart and soul, my source of stability.

Born in Long Beach, California, I spent my youth living in many states across the U.S. before my father moved us back to California. There, I met and married my spouse. Later, we moved to the islands of Hawaii, where I worked as a legal secretary in Honolulu before returning fully to art and jewelry-making on Maui and Oahu.

I opened a small shop and sold my art and jewelry to people from all over the world. I crafted shell and coral jewelry, created tropical paintings, and taught myself the art of sand painting, replicating authentic Hawaiian petroglyphs. These works were sold through the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Twenty years ago, the mainland called us back. After visiting Illinois—my husband’s birthplace—we chose to make it our home. We are very happy here and feel deeply connected to Midwestern values.

My artistic practice spans a wide range of mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and graphite. I have also worked in sculpture, wall-hanging weaving, ceramics, jewelry, painted jean jackets, and altered art clothing.

Currently, my work focuses on engaging the viewer—to look beyond the image and into a merging of meaning, an esoteric mood, a certain presence. Whether human, animal, or earth-based, I explore layers of atmosphere and emotional resonance—the feeling beneath what we see. An image can affect us far more deeply than its surface definition.

My aim is to create connection.

In a world where our devices are constantly in hand, I worry we are drifting away from what distinguishes us as human. Through painting, I seek to hold space for that connection—to gather complexity, emotion, and presence into something we can feel, together.

ONGOING • NON:OP'S Inventory of Lost Books is a four-room, multimedia, participatory installation that raises awareness about the growing wave of book banning in the U.S. Created by book artist Amanda Love and composer/sound artist Christophe Preissing, the project invites the public to record short readings from banned books, building a collective archive of voices representing suppressed stories.

The installation will be presented in the Chicago area and at the Cleveland Public Library from August 2026 through Spring 2027. The team aims to collect recordings from around 400 participants through neighborhood recording sessions and community partnerships. Anyone can participate—no performance experience required—and each recording takes just 5–10 minutes.

Together, these voices form a powerful, immersive experience that highlights the cultural impact of censorship and the importance of protecting diverse stories.