The journal · Place & memory

Joliet Through Family Connections and City Landmarks

A familiar city near my childhood home became a larger drawing of local character.

In this story
  1. Details in the drawing
  2. See the finished mug
  3. A gift idea with a real place behind it

I grew up nearby in Plainfield, and family connections kept Joliet familiar to us. Its buildings and civic landmarks gave the mug a different scale from the smaller hometown designs around it.

Artist Ashley Ann’s hand-drawn process for The Joliet Mug
The Joliet drawing in progress.

Details in the drawing

The wraparound artwork includes Rialto Square Theatre, Old Joliet Prison, Route 66 and Joliet Union Station. Each is part of the place this mug was drawn to remember.

See the finished mug

Explore the artwork and find current shop information on The Joliet Mug page. The mug is carried through Tazza Coffee; please check the mug page or contact the shop before making a special trip.

A gift idea with a real place behind it

The family connection in this story makes Rialto Square Theatre and Old Joliet Prison more than a checklist of landmarks. If you are giving the mug to a relative or an old friend, name the particular memory that brought you to Joliet. That note can make a practical gift feel unmistakably theirs.

Soli Deo Gloria,Ashley Ann’s handwritten signature

Ashley Ann

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