Art in the Dark!

Still art journaling during Irene and in the aftermath - using daylight and a tiny little book light to work with at night :-) I cannot scan right now, no power since last Saturday mid-day, so forgive the quality of some of the pics, which are taken with my iPhone and might not show the detail I usually like to! I'll upload scans when I can :-) Happy journaling, all, and I want to remind you who live in the Hampton Roads area (provided you can read this, since 100s of 1000s are still w/o power!), to take care, the trees are still falling!! AND, that I will be teaching MULTI-MEDIA ART JOURNALING at the Williamsburg Art Education Center in September, starting the 15th. Just click on the link to the right, to sign up!

peace, y'all!

trl

Jacob's Ladder

I love this song - cannot get it out of my head - the version by Jane Siberry, aka Nissa. I know I used to know what this means . . . but for now I cannot recall. I did the majority of this page on 8-23, but went in this morning with a white pen and added some words. I think it's done now. peace, y'all - trl

Egyptian + Eye Candy

My first eye candy/breathing space pages are here. These pages are just women in art - lots and lots of women in art and design. I'm going to do more of these. It's a happy place in my journal. So far, I'm not gonna write on them. As much as I know you LUH-UH-UHVE my yammerin', I'm not writing on these . . . yet. That could change, but I like this spread just the way it is! As for the IMHO-tep page, I have always loved Egyptian stuff - but then, who doesn't? It's so odd and weird and strange. Not to be redundant er nuthin'. I think that's what we love about it - it's FOREVER interesting. The design, the culture, the art, the architecture, the politics . . . on and on!! I'm thinking Liz Taylor and Richard Burton (*sigh*) as we speak!! I worked with the kids this year doing hieroglyphics and Egyptian columns - and one permanent resident in my home, for going on 15 years now (?) is a tall-as-me inflatable mummy :-) sarcophagus. luv luv luv my mummy . . .

Anyway, here is my Egyptian page. I bought the papyrus roll at Plaza Art Supply in Richmond at VCU (btw,they have some awesome papers). The earrings are some of my favs. I taped them in here so I can wear them again, and then put them back. Anything for my art!!

So, we have red-zone air quality here today due to the fires in the Great Dismal Swamp. We had a 5.8 earthquake a couple of days ago, and we are bracing for Hurricane Irene here on the Virginia peninsula. Mother Nature, that big Earth Woman, she do make herself known!

peace, y'all, t

Jonesin' for a Latté

I confess - I like prissy coffee. By that I mean, enhanced coffee. Where you add a lotta milk, or some multi-syllabic syrup flavor. I think this started when I was a kid, at my grandma's house, having fried chicken for breakfast, and she would make us coffee-milk. Which was basically, coffee for the kids, mostly milk (this could have been to camouflage that fresh, very rich cow-milk, which wasn't my fav - I wanted "real milk!" My grandmama had no idea she was training me for Sbux!! Yep, I love me some grande sugar-free hazelnut soy lattés. *sigh* Salivating as I write this. Speaking of which, one day I was at Sbux, and this guy ordered a (and I quote! because I WROTE IT DOWN!) - he ordered an "iced-grande-breve-four-cups-of-ice-white-mocha." And I remember thinking, I don't wanna know THAT guy. He R high maintenance incarnate.

By now you know I save all kinds of trash - such as chopstick wrappers, train ticket stubs, and those little cardboard hand-protector-thingies you get when you buy coffee to go (when I don't have my huge travel "mug" with me!)

I'm working on creating pages from trash - so here's the first one I think I've published. You can tell how this page was made - with discarded cardboard-thingies (what ARE those things called?) which I taped together with clear packing tape. I added paper flowers and sewed them on with beads. I added grommets to the ends and used jewelry wire/hooks to add them to my spiral sketchbook. I still have not mastered the little grommet thingy, though.

The shape of this page is as you see it, just defined by the shape of the handholder-cardboard-thingies; the page you see peeking from behind it is part of a sheet of papyrus - working on an Egyptian page for later.

Today we are getting air quality warnings due to the Great Dismal Swamp fires in North Carolina. We are getting ready for Hurricane Irene and recouping from the shock of a 5.8 earthquake yesterday. Who knew Virginia had all THAT goin' on? And you thought it was all tricorn hats, peanuts, and ham.

peace, y'all

trl

I heart the ocean . . . and other non-surprises :-)

If I could be any being, I would be a mermaid. With wings. You notice I don't say "mythical" being . . . One of my favorite things in life is swimming, and swimming in the ocean is a huge joy!!! My brother and my son had to keep me from jumping in with the dolphins when we were on the Gulf of Mexico last Sunday - we were out on a boat and I could barely resist - until they pointed out one of the humongous jellyfish also in the water. There were kabillions of little ones, too. And though we had my mom's jellyfish-sting treatment kit on board (rubbing alcohol and a razor to get the tentacle), I waited 'til we got to Shell Island to get in the water. Yep, being a mermaid would be totally fun.

I spent last week in Panama City Beach with my family, who live down there. I love it, and have since I was kid - when we would get down there once or twice a year, to visit other family, and when my church's youth group would always go there, each summer. Beautiful water, beautiful beaches, and, if you can avoid the sharks and jellyfish, awesome swimming!

Last week in Florida, I art-journaled almost non-stop (when I wasn't in or on the water)! So, I'm posting a few pages from last week, as well as this week's pages. :-) peace, trl

Click on the image to view a larger version :-)

Blue Period

I will be an empty nester in a year - am I having pre-emptive loneliness? Is this why we've decided to get a puppy? Am I thinking too hard about it? You let me know what you think. Meanwhile, I like to connect people - and work on my art journals and other artwork!

Don't Touch Your Eyeballs

I love to cook. I hate to clean up. I have watched my amazing professional chef friend, Doug Scott (Boulder, Colorado), cook genius meals, and keep the kitchen as clean as when he started, dancing around the kitchen like the pro he is - like some amazing ballerina! Or whatever you call guy ballerinas! He once whipped up some Grande Marnier crepes for us, just on a whim, and they were sooooo fine . . . and it was like he didn't even use a pan! The kitchen was clean before he finished!!! How does he do that?!

I watch Rocco's Dinner Party and Top Chef on Bravo, and even the sloppiest chefs keep their kitchens cleaner than I do as they cook. I have not mastered this art. (BTW, I am now Tweeting every Wednesday night during my watching of that show - follow RoccosDinnerParty on Twitter!) Which might explain why my kitchen is not clean yet . . .

I'm still cleaning up from last night's venture. Or, rather, procrastinating thinking about cleaning. Which IS an art I've mastered.

Okay, about the food: I live in a rural area, and the fresh veggies available are awesome - especially when your neighbors drop them off on your porch. My bud Alisa dropped off a huge bag of fresh-picked (you know 'cuz the dirt was still on 'em) veggies, and it was the perfect makins' for calabacitas. There was fresh eggplant (saved that for later), summer squash, zucchini, jalapeños, tomatoes, and some bigass ears of corn. I added cheese and cumin near the end - which made it über-yummy, to use a technical foodie term.

I actually wore gloves to handle the jalapeños for roasting and peeling - but of course, I then handled the knife handle with bare hands, so my hands stung a little anyway. I made it the whole evening without touching my eyeballs!! A minor (read: major) victory for me! I usually forget, rub my eyes with my peppery hands, and spend the evening looking like I'm weeping at previews for The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Last time I made my two-day mole, I didn't wear gloves. My hands were red and burning for three days. I touched my eyeballs many times, to wipe away the tears from touching my eyeballs the last time. I was a mess.

Anyway, mijo Andrew made Navajo fry bread to go with the calabacitas, and it was awesome! This meal was kinda inspired by my visit to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian with some of my art students (thanks to a Target grant, and am I being too tangential and parenthetical?). More specifically, and less parenthetically, our visit to the CAFETERIA of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Awesome Native American  foods, and I spent part of the time salivating (not literally, because that grosses out middle-schoolers) over some of the kids' choices: fiddle fern salad, fry bread tacos, and the exotic delicacy known as "chicken fingers." Okay, so I didn't salivate over that. But only one kid opted for the typical fast-food fare - all the others went experimental - and they LOVED it!

Anyway, we had an awesome meal last night. Calabacitas, fry bread, no eyeball touching . . . what's not to love?

peace and good food, y'all,

trl

Food Matters

I am a total foodie. And I love all those foodie shows.

"Destiny . . . Destiny . . . no escaping, that's for ME!!" (Ms. Lakshmi! Gordon Ramsey!! Top Chef! Iron Chef! That's for ME!!)

I gotta cook. And I gotta eat. Last night I made a fine Turkish dish. It was egg on sauteéd spinach. Matter of fact, I think that's what it was called, "Egg on Sauteéd Spinach." I'm sure it's losing something in the translation. But it was delicious. You sauteé (am I putting that accent on the right "e"?)  - or the quotes in the right place for that matter - or those dashes . . . geez, I'm OCD. Where were we? Oh yeah, spinach. You sauteé the spinach in olive oil and onions, throw in feta cheese, salt and pepper it, and steam/cook an egg on top. It's awesome and low calorie. Salivating yet?

When I watch Martha and Emeril, I get appliance envy.

These food shows are responsible for my buying tongs, a garlic press, and a nutmeg grater. (Once-a-year use: pumpkin pie.)

Not to mention the chef clogs. I bought those first. They are SHOES, after all. Hey, I’m not made of stone. Speaking of stone, isn't Curtis Stone a TOTAL DOLLFACE? You gotta love those Aussies. And, when they can cook, why, they're double yummy.

But now I’m becoming a downright diva: “I need a meringue torch and I need it now! Why can I not find a spatula which matches my dishes? I cannot go another moment without an egg separator!!!”

…………………………………..

“I buy vintage cookbooks too. It’s really stepping back into a different era. Wow, I didn’t have a clue you could use lard to make macaroni and cheese.”

……………………………………

“I really DO love to cook. You know this because I own tongs . . . and I USE them. And I use the term “lemon zest” in daily conversation:

“Why, this could use a little lemon zest!”

“That wouldn’t have happened if you had added a little lemon zest!”

“I wish we could all be as happy as lemon zest!”

I also know my garnishes rather well. You’ve got your easy things – your lemon twist, your little radish rose-wanna-be’s. And don’t forget your capers.

I’m lovin’ the capers. Capers work hard. They’re like the Oompa Loompas. You may not notice them, but they don’t care. They’re green, modest, camouflaged, really, but they still do their work. They salt it up, honey. They pack a punch. Not like those freeloader garnishes. Paprika. Parsley. Pimiento. (Why are they all “P” words? Pretty pathetic.)

I mean by this, that pimientos are self-centered little additions. They are not contributing. They just sort of shout, “Look at me! Look at me!” Can you tell me what a pimiento event tastes like? I didn’t think so. They’re showy, shallow, and they do NOTHING. They are the Paris Hiltons of the food world. (Another “P” word!) Because I think we all know that the cheese is the one doing all the work in pimiento cheese. But who’s getting first billing? Yeah.”

BONUS BLOGGY WOG RECIPE:

Teresa’s Deviled Eggs with Capers, or “The Garnish’s Revenge”

1 doz. eggs, boiled

¾ c. mayonnaise or ranch dressing

1 t. Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Dill pickle relish to taste

Paprika (oh, well)

Capers to garnish (!), about 36-40 small

Halve eggs. Mash yolks. Add mayonnaise, relish, salt and pepper, and Dijon mustard. Stir together. Spoon into egg halves. Garnish with paprika (oh, well), and three capers per egg! These are delish. The little capers are hard at work for you on this one.

Stay hungry, my friends :-)