Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day

We had a Memorial Day Breakfast at church this morning. So many families attended we had to set up lots of extra tables. Pancakes. Scrambled Eggs. Fruit. Sausage. A Flag Ceremony by the Boy Scouts. A program and patriotic songs. Visiting with Veterans.




We honored those who have given their lives for our country and our freedoms.Yet I think we best honor those who died in that service by working for Peace.




Happy Memorial Day!






Sunday, May 29, 2011

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Nick Cave at SAM

Don't miss it!
Nick Cave's exhibit, Meet Me at the Center of the Earth, is BEAUTIFUL!





We loved his colorful,wonderful "Sound Suits". His first pieces were made from twigs that rustled when worn, hence the name....) He also had some large, round wall pieces that I loved too.





I couldn't take photos, but this is an image from the card I purchased. The costumes/art/sculptures are mostly made from found objects and recycled materials. There is a strong connection to African ceremonial clothing, along with a great "outsider art" sensibility. (Though Nick Cave is hardly an outsider- he has an art degree and is director of the Graduate fashion program at the School of the Art Intstitutes of Chigago.)




The show ends June 5th. We may have to go see it again!








Make it a Wonderful Day!





Sunday, May 22, 2011

Hearts in the Garden

Have a Wonderful Day!


Thursday, May 19, 2011

Art Bugs

I found these at a thrift store (Value Village)...
I know finding gigantic bugs at a thrift store might send some of you running for the exit. Not me. Especially since they were made of plastic. They were from the Lakeshore company, and in brand new, never opened packaging.

We went over a few interesting facts about bugs and insects before we tackled drawing them. And we created a five-level value scale to practice getting the full range out of our pencils. (We just use #2 Ticonderogas.)





I happened to have some cool insect stickers to add to the bulletin board sign too...











I mounted their fantastic drawings on different shades of green cardstock- the scrapbooking paper cost more than the plastic insects!





We often use photographs as source material for our drawings, but I try to include drawing from 3D objects too. It's such a different experience, translating what you see in real life into a 2D form.



















Make it a Wonderful Day!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Orange-Carrot Side

(It seems like most of my recipe posts are orange!) But we LOVED this side dish of carrots and oranges, served with broiled salmon, steamed snow pod peas, and rice. Oh, and a spinach salad with apples, lightly candied sliced almonds, and a fig dressing.

Lots of carrots pureed with satsuma oranges, fresh ginger and a touch of honey. Yum!







Orange Carrots on the Side

(inspired by a recipe from Bon Appetit, Nov. 1998 and a big bunch of carrots in the fridge...)


4 pounds carrots, scrubbed or peeled, cut into 1/2 inch rounds

5 satsuma oranges, peeled and sectioned (reserve one peel)

3 Tablespoons of fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons honey

1 small stick cinnamon

1/4 Cup butter, melted

Salt and Pepper


Cook carrots in large pot of boiling salted water along with cinnamon stick and orange peel until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and discard cinnamon stick and orange peel.

While the carrots are cooking, place orange sections and chopped ginger in blender or food processor, blending until fairly smooth. Add melted butter, lemon juice, and honey. Blend. Add hot cooked carrots and puree. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 6.


Notes to self: I used my stick blender and pureed the carrots right in the pot. I used my small food processor/chopper to puree the oranges and ginger. May be made a day ahead and reheated in a saucepan stirring often, or microwave.


Make it a Wonderful Day!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Beautiful Bounty



Have a Wonderful Day!


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Roll Over Beethoven...

I just couldn't resist...
I saw him on the shelf at a thrift store, his white plaster eyes just staring back at me. I walked past, but then had to go back. I picked him up, put him back on the shelf a couple of times...But he just had to come home with me. And Art Club transformed him.


Whenever we do paper mache, we have acrylic paint left on our palletes. Some of it gets used by the next class, and sometimes I can scrape it into lidded containers. But a lot gets thrown away. Beethoven came to the rescue!





I let the kids use any leftover paint. They had a blast! The first class was the last to see him all white like a blank canvas. Three classes painted on him so there are layers of paint on many parts as each artist had a new vision of what Beethoven's bust needed. And at the end of the last class, I added a few pattern details too.








I took him home and sprayed him with a clear varnish. The next week, we presented him to the music teacher, who was thrilled to have him on display in her classroom.





The other day, she brought me a smaller bust of Chopin, hoping we can transform as well as we did Beethoven. (Maybe at our Art Club year-end party!!)









Make it a Wonderful Day!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day


















Have a Wonderful Day!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Q-Tea

Our Royal Quilt Group meeting was hosted by Nan who treated us like royalty!

The table was set beautifully...



And the food was delicious!















Make it a Wonderful Day!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Royal Meeting, Continued

We always have a good time sharing quilts-old, new, and in the works. This is one Lori put together a while back when our group did a "strip" exchange. Each month, we had an assigned type of block (triangles, rectangles, appique, etc...). We each chose the colors we wanted our quilt strip to be, and Lori wisely chose red and white!






This year, we're exchanging requested blocks. This is the assembled blocks we gave to Dawn last month- this is for a breast cancer event and auction, Play for Pink. Love the floating star effect!




This giant quilt is also Dawn's, back from the long armer...






And Helen wowed us with another bright and beautiful quilt made from those versatile half square triangles! (I tried to sneek this home with me, but Helen was watching...)






Denise brought these great thrift store finds!! They are embroidered flour sack dish cloths, though we all agreed, a table runner or pillows would be a wonderful use for these carefully embroidered pieces.
















Nan shared her cute Easter quilt, her original design. Could a pattern be in the works??





Marsha brought her quilt she's working on- such cheery colors. She wanted quilting advice, though I don't think she needs it!







Thank you to Helen and Barbara for bringing beautiful baby blankets! They are on their way to Preemptive Love, by way of Iraqi Bundles of Love. (And thank you Kate for making a bunch of fleece blankets with your girls from church in NYC!!! I know you went to a lot of work to make that happen!!)





Here are the blocks requested by Ardith- can't wait to see how this looks when you put it all together!



That's all my photos of quilts- I missed some for sure!! And you'll have to come back tomorrow for the High Tea portion of our Royal Meeting...