There's an exhibit currently at the Harold Washington Library Center, showing embroidery work by Connie Toebe; I got to see it the last time I was there to use the study rooms, and very much enjoyed it; she doesn't only do white-on-white work, but I found myself entranced by those pieces in particular. I did wish it was work that was up in an ordinary gallery somewhere, instead of a couple of cabinets and lightboxes in the entry lobby of the library's eighth floor.
I think the press about it is billing it as slightly more wildly fanciful than it is, but here are two of the more entertaining pieces -- the top one is a woman walking her pet iguana (I didn't note the title), and the bottom one is titled "Cat Woman in the Rain."
Toebe also has a website where you can view and purchase a lot of her work, so check her out!
[ID: Two images of white embroidery on white cotton fabric; both show women in high-waisted regency dresses and slippers. In the top image, the woman is in a garden, walking a large iguana on a leash; in the bottom image, the woman has the head of a cat, Egyptian-god style, and is using her shawl to keep the rain off her fur.]
