Monday, December 27, 2010

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

Sunday, December 26, 2010

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".

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

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!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

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.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

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






Saturday, December 11, 2010

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.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

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:




some books/articles to read or show to your pastor:
M.K.

Monday, December 6, 2010

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.