"I've always seen beauty in natural things," says the artist and collector. [Cheryl] Seanor is also a rescuer of condemned or abandoned animals, a horticulturist, a naturalist, a bird keeper. And she is single mom to packs of pear-shaped squirrels who skitter around her back yard munching on a daily buffet of freshly made microwave popcorn.

"She combines a lot of unusual materials to make some really unique works of art," says Jim Marzuki, spokesman for the Park Forest Art Fair. Seanor has been an exhibitor at the annual event and at the Park Forest Art Center gallery.

Last fall they visited a mutual friend's ranch in Colorado. Seanor returned with the skull of a wild horse, portions of a deceased elk's skeleton, some dried sagebrush and other interesting stuff, so she counts the trip as a really good vacation. For Seanor, the hip bone of a long-dead elk is connected directly to her imagination.