The haiku selection was a fairly quick process for me! This haiku was the first on the list, and I immediately knew I wanted to include one of the lamps in Franklin Square. I drive by them almost every day and I love how unique they are!

The process of illustrating usually involves taking reference photos. I honestly couldn't wait to get a closer look at them. The flower detail around the top is my favorite. I looked for any clues to find who made them, but didn't have any luck. That brought me to the Onondaga Historical Association. I had never been there before, so it was amazing to see so many old photos of Syracuse. Unfortunately, all I was able to find about lamps is that they were not always there. They were installed during the restoration in the 80's.

I would still like to satisfy my curiosity, so I'm sure another trip to the OHA is in the cards for me!

For me being from Syracuse going to the Dome has always been something exciting even when you're a kid. I was trying to find a haiku that was about my hometown, but also my university. I like basketball. I like the atmosphere of the games. They're fun!

It's an exciting environment to be in—all the people. It's kind of intense to see everybody to come together.

I wanted to focus on the architecture here because I think that's something very interesting about Syracuse. I used some of the buildings that I think are most iconic on the campus and had a hill leading up to the dome.

The architecture here is amazing if you take time to look around Syracuse, downtown or on campus, there's some really cool stuff on the buildings. All you have to do is look up.