Unexpected connection over star stickers

A stranger walked up to our table at Buona Beef last week and asked if she could give something to our two lovely girls. She pulled out a plastic bag full of foam star stickers and asked the girls if they’d like silver, gold, blue, red, or green. One of my daughters chose gold. The other chose blue. The kind woman explained that she likes giving them out because a few years ago she came across a sticker that said, “You are beautiful.” A friend of hers at the Elmhurst library knows the artist personally. So now she spreads shiny stars to people as a little act of encouragement. I told her I was familiar with the artist, Matthew Hoffman, and that he’s been making larger sculptures these days. I actually attended his 10-year anniversary show back in 2013 for the “You are beautiful” project. Here’s one of my photos from the show. Fan mail Hoffman had received regarding the “You are beautiful” project. She headed back to her table to start her dinner. But before we left the restaurant, I…