Tuesday, September 25, 2012

veggie tales


what to do with those excessively large zucchinis and bulbous carrots from your garden? sure you could make bread or cakes, but you could also make.... PUPPETS!

Pirate Captian and his creator

Thursday, September 13, 2012

bounty


ok, i know your kitchen counters probably looked like this too, but i couldn't resist capturing their beauty. with the late dry sun, for once, our normally wet climate allowed the tomatoes to ripen. favorite tomato varieties? Black Krim (a gift from my dad), Cherokee Purple and Sweet 100. Yours?

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

it's only temporary


This weekend I had the privilege of stumbling upon the temporary installation of Bob Seng and Lisa Hein's colorful piece in the shadow of the Space Needle. Upon further inspection you see that the translucent "glass" is actually household Jello. The plaster/concrete framework is built, then pre-formed "bricks" of fragrant blueberry, raspberry, grape, orange and other flavors are inserted from top to bottom. It is a de-evolving work, as it melts and oozes slowly as the firm, new jello looks down with scorn on it's disappearing neighbors below.

Such a joy was it, to speak with Bob as he brought me behind the installation and showed me the unremarkable simple materials used to make such an eye-catching presentation. I asked him if the concreted framework would be all that was left of the "body", a skin and bones skeletal system of what once was. The devastating answer was that they planned to deconstruct the entire installation at the end of the weekend. No remnants left behind. They would return to their homes in New York and continue to make other evolving art elsewhere.

Two thoughts hit me. Frustration at the disappearance of the piece and self-disgust. The former is understandable- I want to see it for longer, and even liked my idea that the piece would evolve and change with the seasons... But where I found my own self lacking was the inability to put so much work, passion, love, talent and time into something that will be gone in a few days. It takes a humble and amazingly open-handed person to be able to birth a piece of art and then take it out of this life just as you had brought it in. This type of temporary art immediately brought to mind the natural sculptures of Andy Goldworthy and of course the grandiose installations of Christo & Jeanne Claude.
The temporary nature of their art has much in common with Tibetan sand paintings or an ephemeral Andy Goldsworthy sculpture. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s installations don’t generate a permanent, lasting artifact, but a fleeting experience for all who are lucky enough to encounter their work. It’s as much about process as it is about the final product (and the “process” includes navigating the red tape of environmental studies, government permits, etc.)  -(Michelle Aldredge on Cristo & Jeanne Claude and Goldsworthy)

I do suppose, however, the culinary world is much the same. You pour hours into a batch of croissants, Tarte flambĂ©e, or a Tandoori Chicken dish only to have it be consumed and no more... So in a way, maybe there has to be a generous dose of humility blended into the art of cuisine.