Been working on drawing people lately, with an abstract doodle here and there.
domino girl (2009.08.09):
page 49 (2009.08.10):
coffee in the pearl (2009.08.14):
power suit (2009.08.23):
tree trunk (2009.09.03):
Archive for the ‘projects’ Category
This book was a perfect summertime read – a good mystery/drama/love story kind of a page-turner. It’s the story of a young Amish woman in rural Pennsylvania who is put on trial for murder. Kind of mindless, but in a way I appreciated – it had been awhile since I picked up one of those books that you can sit down with and blow through 50 pages at a time. And this glimpse into Amish life was fascinating – though fictional, it seems from my small amount of Internet research that the author was pretty true to Amish standards and traditions. Their commitment and strict adherence to centuries-old traditions is both admirable and hard to imagine. Are there seriously still people in this country who choose to live life without automobiles or telephones? Mind-boggling. So, this book gets one solid thumb up – it doesn’t quite warrant a second thumb, but it was certainly one of those ‘fun’ kind of reads.
I had been on a bit of a knitting hiatus lately, but with the onset of the slightly cooler weather, I was motivated to finally finish these two project which have been sitting in my knitting basket for months.
The scarf was knitted with a thick wool yarn, stranded with a sparkly thread-like ribbon. Seed stitch, 13 stitches across, size 15 needles.
The cowl was knitted with a chunky silver-gray acrylic yarn. Stockinette stitch, size 13 circular needles, cast on 60 stitches and knit round and round…
I’ve felt rather uninspired lately, having to force myself to open my sketchbook. But I’m coming to understand the value of just getting into the habit of making art – it’s better to produce something I’m not necessarily crazy about than to produce nothing at all. And those moments always do eventually come when I touch a paintbrush to paper or draw a line in ink and think ‘nice!…’ So I forge on with this little exercise of weekly sketching. These are the latest…
springtime (2009.07.13):
raindrops (2009.07.28):
abstract fireworks (2009.07.25):
balloon ride (2009.07.28):
This is the author’s true story of his experiences in war-ravaged Sierra Leone, where he flees at the age of twelve from rebel fighters and is soon after recruited to fight as a soldier for the cruel and corrupt government army. The violence he is part of as a young adolescent is horrifying – he is brainwashed into becoming little more than a killing machine, with a thirst for blood and a total lack of compassion for fellow human beings. Parts of the book caused me to cringe, to have to close it for a moment to recompose myself. And although there is redemption and hope in Beah’s eventual rescue and rehabilitation, what sickens me is that this is a true story. Boys as young as eight or nine years old were drugged with cocaine, handed machine guns, and convinced that their self-worth was found in how many people they could kill in a day’s time. I was so ignorantly unaware that this country had suffered such violent conflict for so many years. So yes, this was a worthwhile read. Inform yourself.
My sketchbook was sadly neglected through much of June, but I’ve picked it back up recently to flush out some of the subject matter that’s been floating around in this cluttered mind of mine…
collage in brown (2009.06.01):
deer in wood (2009.07.05):
dress collage (2009.07.06):
plumes (2009.07.08):
tower crane (2009.07.12):
Since I want to wait until apple season to recreate the pie that we loved last fall, I’ve been looking for some good in-season desserts to share with friends and guests. This recipe from Everyday Food caught my eye, and since we had a couple of pounds of strawberries in the fridge, so I decided to give it a try:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend graham crackers with 2 tablespoons sugar until finely ground; add butter and pulse until crumbs are moistened. Press mixture into the bottom and up the side of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until crust is lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cranberry juice, 2 cups strawberries, cornstarch, and salt. Using a potato masher, gently mash strawberries. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in remaining strawberries. Pour into cooled pie crust. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours (or up to 1 day).
In a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over cream and continue to beat until soft peaks return (do not overbeat). Spread whipped cream over pie, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around edge. Garnish with whole berries.
Looking forward to slicing into this one with friends tonight! Have I mentioned how much I adore summer and all its goodness?
This book came highly recommended by Shane, and I was looking forward to getting into a real page-turner. It is the true story of the building of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, intertwined with the story of a serial killer who used the fair as a lure for many of his victims. Intriguing… But the book was often overly factual, so ridden with real-life accounts that I had a hard time really getting into the story. It was all very interesting, but I’ve mentioned before that I like to really connect with a book’s characters and get lost in the story, and I had a hard time doing that in the midst of so many details and dates. Nonetheless, it was a good read – I can appreciate the feat that was undertaken by the architects who were given just a couple of years to design and construct this miniature city inside of Chicago. And knowing that the things you’re reading about truly did happen certainly elevates the intensity of events, so I guess I’m torn. Fict or fact?
I’ve often wished that Shane had more of an interest in meal preparation, and yesterday I discovered the secret to stimulating his enthusiasm for cooking. We’ve been talking about buying a grill for a couple of years, and yesterday we took the plunge and picked up a great four-burner gas grill to call our own. The fact that Shane was up until midnight last night assembling all 4000 of the grill’s pieces told me that he was excited about the prospect of playing the role of backyard chef.
We decided to take the easy route for our first grilled meal and threw some bratwursts on the grill for lunch. I wrapped a couple of ears of corn in foil and put them on as well. Grilled meal #1 was a success. For dinner, we stepped up our game a bit and put a nice thick filet of beef on the grill, along with some potato wedges brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with rosemary, and wrapped in foil. This was trickier – a steak is so easily under or over-cooked. We decided to err on the side of rare, but after we’d brought the meat in, let it rest for a few minutes, and then sliced into it, we found we’d erred too far – the steak was far too rare in the middle (“still mooing”, as some would say). But the edges were perfect, so we at least got to enjoy a few tender, juicy bites. Lesson learned. Tomorrow we try pork, then fish later in the week. Looks like this is going to be one heck of a meat-filled summer – I better start Googling those recipes for grilled vegetable skewers…
Liking collage. And paint. Mixed media fun…
blue (2009.05.04):
village (2009.05.08):
skyline (2009.05.09):
country (2009.05.10):
damask geese (2009.05.12):
