i am a bunny and i live in a hollow tree...

 there is a season for everything and that especially means all things in the art and creative realm. my wonderful husband helped me realize this inclination that i had, and now it removes the "creative guilt" that sometimes overtakes me when i have left one endeavor for another. it also reminds me of my favorite book growing up as a kid, where the bunny basks in each picturesque setting of the seasons and describes each activity. i mirrored that style in regards to my creating seasons...

• in the summer i spend time sketching plans for the garden, getting my fingers in the soil and letting them be stained by the green of the grass and letting them dance over the grill or skillet as i saute fresh green beans or swiss chard. this season i let my inside passions go and walk barefoot.

• in the fall my mood changes to an energetic melancholy- what this looks like i can't explain. only that suddenly i want to read milan kundera, wear a skirt with a tweed blazer and walk the 'quad'. my canvas starts to look more like a real canvas with acrylic paint and charcoal on it. there is also a bounty of harvest and that leads me to milk all i can with the season's highlights. (i also learned to crochet and began to write more.)                        

• in the winter, for some odd reason becomes my deepest longing and need to experience a serious rendering of art. less in this time to i reach out for inspiration, but instead i dig deep and pour out. if i chronicle the past 5 years i see a history of this. standing out in my garage/studio with fingerless gloves huddling over the heat lamp, watching my breath as i sing at the top of my lungs a Bon Iver song (aptly named, too as it means 'Good Winter') and step back and sigh. it is in this season i received my first easel, showed my first pieces at a gallery and a festival, i sought out an amazingly talented encaustic mentor, and framed one of my biggest pieces to date. in this season, i come alive, i am ready- the cold brings out something in me. it affirms my hunch that cold cities produce true art and artists. (think Russia and Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Nabokov, think Seattle and all the amazing musicians, think Paris and A Movable Feast, painters and musicians alike, etc, etc, etc) this also becomes a cozy and perfect time to sew and create functional pieces for myself and loved ones.

• i like to lump spring in with winter somewhat in that we have a very non-distinct break from the storms and wet gray. but this is okay as the symbol of spring matters more to me and my art in that the birth and renewal of foliage reminds me of this life and how i am most alive when i have put to death the things of this world. ("for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." romans 8:13)

as always, here's some music that is inspiring me at the moment: the National

aprons pt. 2

the ruffled, tiered apron was finally finished at 2am christmas eve eve. whew! what a project! the most time consuming part was hemming each of the ruffles and then gathering them. i modeled it after an apron i already have by the brand name "funktion".

aprons pt.1

as a kid i used to call it "my maker" because, obviously, when you wear one, you are making something. whatever you call them, they are fun to wear, own, make and even look at. no wonder there is a resurgence of aprons in a rather funky and chic art form. i have been dying to make some and here are some of the results now that Christmas is on its way... (I named them after the soon-to-be-recipients of the presents)

the "Gracie"

 

the "Madi"



this one is mine- so, "untitled 1" ?

this one was made out of 3 men's shirts from Goodwill... go figure!

if you want any of the patterns or other details, let me know and i'd be happy to share... if i can make them, anyone can!

Crafts for Poor People

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

For someone who cracks me up, yet leaves me wondering just how off her rocker she is, her new book, “Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People,”  seems to hit home more than i'd like to admit. She did a little interview on PBS where she is asked what rich people craft like- while she didn't come up with a solid answer, she was full of hokey ideas for "poor people". Although its a little (or lot, you judge) satirical it also has much truth in it. Why else would there be such an inundation of "craft blogs" out there? Well, it resonated with me all too much this Christmas as there is less than a week left before D-Day and I still have 5 projects left to finish. New ones keep popping in my head every minute. (Including making a linen closet door before the guests arrive on Saturday. That brainstorm resulted in a google search: "painting plywood")

My final point on this subject of humble creativity? How do you know you are a poor crafter? Answer: The finished "vintage inspired" result bought at Target is just too expensive.

sugar sugar

we made sugar cookies the other day and decorated with meringue frosting. i had a hard time letting go and relinquishing control to my 3 year old when decorating. but after frosting and sprinking a few, he was more interested in eating rather than the work. yay! we got the best of both worlds- i could add my "finishing touches" and reed was able to be involved without me grabbing the piping bag from him each time.

we made this dough from the martha stewart "cookie" issue for sugar cutouts. recipe here. i am also big into versatile doughs- where you can make many "different" cookies from one dough- hence the addition of thumbprints below.

*just double the sugar cookie batch* roll some into little balls* dip in beaten egg yolk*  roll in chopped pecans* then squish a little chocolate disc or jam into the center... voila!*

 

here's the little treat bag for our friends and neighbors

tasty, healthy, but with a hint of unrefined crunch

pomegranate seeds, romaine lettuce, quinoa with balsamic vinegarette, plus a secret ingredient...

after a fabulous zumba workout, i came home famished and in need of some serious nutrients. it's in these moments i find i am at my weakest. if you put a plateful of anything in front of me- esp. fried, i'd dig right in. so, for my "appetizer" i decided to make a little salad with the following ingredients. turned out to be surprisingly satisfying! and- just in case you thought i was too hoity toity, i threw in something fried. mmm... just perfect. you might laugh at the surprise ingredient, french fried onions, but it was the perfect combo of sweet, salty, crunchy & tart.

why the church needs artists

an ever growing passion of mine is art and its role in the church. there are dozens of books i have yet to read on the topic, gazillions of artists yet to interview and be inspired by and more importantly, conversations between God and i on the subject that also remain untouched.

that being said, i have been blessed beyond words and exclamations from the following blog post found on The Gospel Coalition website. Here, Kristen Scharold articulates the necessity and impact that art has had in the Scriptures, the Church and artists themselves. She interviews artists as diverse as a rich tapestry, yet as passionate and driven as any artist you might see on the cover of PASTE magazine. (On that note, make sure you play the tracks scattered throughout the article) since i can't and won't regurgitate the whole article for you, i will give you the highlights and let you be inspired yourself- whether as a connoisseur, creator or supporter of beauty.

some quotes:

•  "The church has given considerable attention to Truth and Goodness, to theology and ethics. But too often beauty has escaped us, or we have tried to escape from it. This is partly because of its innovative, experimental aspect, its way of reaching for originality or a new way of expressing an old standard. In many Christian circles this is felt to be dangerous; the pursuit of beauty is seen merely as an option, and a seductive one at that, because beauty can be neither controlled nor programmed." -Luci Shaw
• "In truth, a very wise imagination, which is the presence of the Spirit of God, is the best guide that man or woman can have; for it is not the things we see the most clearly that influence us the most powerfully; undefined, yet vivid visions of something beyond, something which eye has not seen or ear heard, have far more influence than any logical sequences whereby the same things may be demonstrated to the intellect."-George MacDonald

•  “This practical modern world is prone to conceive beauty as an extraneous luxury,” “We do not think of it as an integral and inseparable element of our living, as did the Greeks; or as did the Christians for many centuries. . . . .Beauty is an indispensable and logical part of practice and worship in the religious life.”-Charles G. Osgood writes in “Poetry as a Means of Grace.”

• "... Anyone can submit to beauty and art by simply learning to appreciate it. Learn how to read a novel or a poem. Learn how to listen to music and experience a painting. Support the artists in your community not just spiritually but also financially. Seek out creative and unsolicited ways to do this..."-Kristen Scharold

some inspiring people:

• Hans Norlund- a local christian artist and founder of Tacoma Academy of Fine Art
• Aaron Youngren- now the lead pastor of The Line church in Lincoln Park
• Makoto Fujimura- as his website states "artist, writer, catalyst"

some books/articles to read or show to your pastor:

• A Letter To North American Churches by Fujimura
• Art for from and facing the church
• Christians In the Visual Arts
• For the Beauty of the Church: Casting A Vision for the Arts by W. David O. Taylor
• Visionaries Working to Redeem the Visual Arts Within the Church 

M.K.

put the lights on the tree

as i mentioned in a previous post, i promised homemade ornaments. i (sparingly) delivered. we will be vacuuming glitter from the carpets, walls and kids' hair for years to come, but the tree is sparkly and that is all that matters.

from some old book pages, clip art stencils, silver glitter and oyster shells, we fashioned the objects to hang on our homegrown tree from the backyard by the ckn coop. what a unique christmas tree year this has been.

i have included a video of Sufjan Steven's "Put the Lights on the Tree"- a funny little whimsical video.

adelaide's 1st birthday

  since everyone says that the first birthday is mostly for the mom, as the kid is so overwhelmed and tired by such an event, i decided to devote my time and energy to details that i liked. call me selfish, but when she's old enough to talk, she can tell me her favorite colors, but until then, i will let her borrow mine- of course turquoise.

as i posted before, i saw these adorable flags at a botique here in Port Orchard and then on this blog. since that, i've been obsessed and am finally satisfied now that i made them. i am pretty sure that i almost finished them while chatting on the phone with a friend. it was also nice to not have to pull out my tension-challenged sewing machine. all that was needed was tacky glue slapped between the flags. the letters were pulled from Martha Stewart's clip art. the scraps from the flags i was able to "tie" in on the tutu. (as the tulle and fabric are basically just tied onto the elastic- so easy)

a little turquoise frosting topping carrot cakes (she's my little red-headed carrot cake), some coordinating pink and blue candies from the local candy shop, and then a scrumptious family style chard &mushroom quiche (from none other than dec. '10 issue of martha) and voila! first birthday complete!

now, i am having a hard time comprehending that i no longer have a baby. i'll be ok.

eat pray [i] think

in honor of this month's cover article on Christianity Today- "Eat, Pray, Think" by Leslie Leyland Fields, addressing CAFOs, an issue that i have been passionate about, i wanted to suggest to you a few books that are must reads on the subject of food and it's ugly truth.

the first book i read on this "conspiracy of the truth about our food" was Animal Vegetable Miracle, where Barbara Kinsolver questioned everything i knew to be true about food. whether it was the Ed Hume seed packets i bought every spring (warning, they will self-destruct) or the little perfect "mini-carrots" that are so meticulously shaped unlike nature's true shape.

however, i think both Kinsolver and Pollan in Omnivore's Dillema address a more shocking and sobering picture and that is of the animal industry. no longer should they be called farms (although the package of bacon, eggs, or other meat product has such a pretty landscape picture of such) but instead these CAFOs should be called something much more horrific. the restrictions (or lack thereof) that "farmers" have in regards to the animal's cancerous, virus ridden, antibiotic filled bodies and what they can get away with slapping a "USDA prime" sticker and feeding it to the general public. ok, ok, without me going on and on about the issues of where and how chicken nuggets are made, why we are so lackadaisical about when we buy watermelon (really? in middle of december is it such a must?) or other out of season foods imported from chile or some other 3rd world country, i will just direct you to a few sources so you can become as much of a raving lunatic like me.

who knows, maybe you will have a little bit more insight into where your food comes from and at what cost it is to other human beings, the environment and animals- all who were created by God for us to respect and steward in such a way that is not always coherent with this nation's addiction to cheap & manufactured food and it's toxic byproducts.

glitterfy

this year i have resolved not to buy anymore ornaments that break and shatter- as pretty as they are. i plan to print out clip art and glitter the heck out of them. did i mention that i love glitter? i know that the house will be covered head-to-toe with the flecks of mica, but its a risk i am willing to take.

serenity brownies. its not just about baking.

i sit here still licking the last of the batter off the spoon like i did when i was little. waiting as the windstorm's force is threatening to call off this whole brownie making process and make me sit in the dark with a bowl of half melted chocolate and a belly aching for ooey gooey goodness. but, i think i might be safe. with the brownies in their right place (in a 350 degree oven nestled in a perfect cradle of parchment paper and pyrex) and the smells wafting, i think i accomplished my goal. true, the obvious eventual goal is to indulge a late night craving of double chocolate heaven, but as is the joy of baking for me most of the time is that i was able to... go away. some may call it their "happy place", some refer to it as "me time"... whatever it may be to you, it was a place where bills & budget spreadsheets dared not enter, a place where little fingers were not licking every surface that they may think would be sugar (but they wind up dissapointed, but not detered when they find its only baking soda) and a place where i can just be. my mind thinks about the texture of the pecans, the velvety river, no- placid lake of butter and semisweet baking chips melting into eachother and the beautiful way that dark cocoa powder incorporates with stark white flour. made me think about whipping cream with cocoa powder in it- taking it from plain to rich. "hmmm... i think i will make a double chocolate cream pie- complete with chocolate whipping cream for our church's agape feast..." anyway, back to my serenity brownies. i kept thinking about that during the baking process- what movie is that from: "serenity now."? well, i found it. with the timer due to beep in just a few mins, i finally found what i was looking for at the end of a long day. where i used to pick up a paint brush to a canvas to escape to a thoughtful place, now, my tools are a bit more readily available in short small windows now that i am a mom to two precious little ones. a kitchen aid, some quality baking chocolate and lots and lots of butter (yes, Julia, you are so right) i am free to make a creation even if it won't last till morning.

*here's the recipe. i added pecans instead of walnuts and 1tsp of instant espresso powder to enhance the wonderful cocoa taste. enjoy, and hopefully you can tap into your "happy place" whether in eating them, or making them.

imago dei artists

artist: nate grubbs, series collection of absent space

having visited the church before, i was astonished at the sheer volume of talented artists in one space. with them gathering to worship God and responding in their creative way. i have written before that i feel closest to the divine or Imago Dei, Image of God when i am creating. whether it is a painting, pie, or piece of clothing. here are a few artists' works that caught my attention. there are so many more, so click on the image for their site in specific.

rachel austin, paper planes





erik railton, hue

have you ever heard of these things?

hermit bars- supposedly very versatile and good keepers for long voyages way back when. around here, they'll get eaten in a few seconds if my 3 year old has anything to do with it, but its still nice to know that you can tuck some away.

i made some modifications to the recipe below by omitting rasins and ginger and adding 2tsp instant espresso coffee (in ode to my Betty Crocker's recipe using 1/4c. cold coffee), 1/2c.semi sweet choc chips, 1/3c. chopped pecans and 1/3 c. crasins. oh, and decorate with turbinado sugar after molding logs. happy baking!

i call these "fall in a bar"

Hermit Bars

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda


2 teaspoons ground ginger


1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon


1 3/4 teaspoons ground cloves


1/4 teaspoon salt


1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature


1 cup loosely packed light-brown sugar


1 large egg, room temperature


1/4 cup unsulfured molasses


3/4 cup raisins


Directions


1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.


2.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl once. Add molasses; beat until combined, and scrape down sides of bowl. Add the flour mixture and raisins; beat on low until dough just comes together, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap; place in refrigerator to chill 30 minutes.


3.Remove dough from refrigerator, and turn out onto a clean work surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces, and shape each piece into a 12-inch log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on prepared baking sheet, at least 3 inches apart.


4.Place in oven, and bake until logs are golden but still very soft to the touch, 20 to 22 minutes. The logs will flatten out and lengthen as they bake and get slightly puffy in the center. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice logs into 1-inch-wide bars. Hermit bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.