The Graduate Thesis Show of Janet Engel-Julian Opening reception on Dec. 2 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m To artist Janet Engel-Julian, a shoe print is more than just the product of a tread forming on the ground. The shoe prints, or in this case, ceramic tiles are the clues to life’s journey and form the basis for her master’s degree thesis art show, which opens Wednesday, November 30 with an opening reception on Friday, Dec. 2, at Governors State University Visual Arts Gallery. Engel-Julian, a Lake Bluff Middle School art teacher, says her family inspires her artwork, especially her mother’s family, who emigrated to the United States from a small town outside of Palermo, Sicily in 1962. “I think about the hardships and life-changing experiences my mother went through that make her the person she is today,” she says. “My family’s traditions and experiences and their influence on my life are what I use to inspire and influence me as I create my work.” The shoe-print cera...