My Little Orange Kitchen

Art Versus Craft (And Angela's Feathers!)

OK, the name of the craft/art group I belong to is Crafty Bitches, but even though I've been known to swear like a trucker, I have a hard time saying it.  Instead I say Crafty B's which makes us sound like a bunch of grandmothers (a few are!). Angela says I need to get in touch with my inner bitch and yet, I find I'm unable (there will be no comments to the contrary and that's an order).

I'm not sure what it is about the word, but many many posts ago (last year?) I wrote that when someone jokingly calls me a "B" that it makes me want to run away and cry. Agahaahaha! Well, I'm getting lots of practice and growing some armor because the sign on the door over at Angela's on Wednesday nights usually starts with "Welcome Bitches!" or "Come on in Bitches!".  I'm slowly building up my tolerance and someday soon I expect to walk in and greet everyone with a hearty "HelloOOOOOOOOOOOO BITCHES!!!", but that may take awhile. :)

I posted the pic of Angela at the kiln (with Nichole in the foreground) to show you that any woman who has her own work shed/studio space, a kiln, wears a red handmade apron trimmed with feathers as she attends to baking metal and who models for the best photo studio in town (a post that's soon to come) gets to be as crafty a bitch as she wants! :)

Last night we had guest...Barbi Gossen an award winning enamel/metal artist and teacher.  Her work as well as some of her student's pieces are in this book.

Some of the work in this book will blow your mind, but being new to this, we had to start a little more basic so we began with pendants and earrings. Barbi and Angela made the work even easier for us by cutting and sanding the copper and then putting on a base coat of enamel so we could just begin designing.

We sorted through and chose our base colors and then we set about adding more color and designs to the metal. We used enamel powder, rubber stamps, micron pens, enamel paints and stencils.

The pieces are baked in stages....first you stamp a design (or draw one), sprinkle enamel powder on it and then it's baked in the kiln for a few minutes.

The black ink you see underneath my orange powder is from the stamp, but it burns off leaving only color when it comes out of the kiln.

Then you can add more color to achieve a layering effect. Oops...my bad...this was my second one and I went overboard with the gold...though the one on the right next  was almost perfect with midnight blue over purple until I got "creative" and thought a line of turquoise would be pretty, but I didn't coat it enough.

The prep-work calls for patience and attention to detail because you have to use tiny brushes to clear away powder from areas you don't want colored.  Attention to detail isn't my strong point.  Though if I had colored my leaves with the lighter turquoise instead of the midnight blue, I think the pendant on the right would would have been really pretty.

Some people are better at details than I am and some even remember to wear their masks:

Notice that we don't lack for liquid refreshment on Wednesday nights either!

I think paying attention to detail leads to success:
 

It was a super fun night and I'm all for asking professionals to come in and teach us new skills. The problem is that with each skill learned comes another addiction. It's hard not to entertain fantasies of getting your own portable kiln (sitting atop of Angela's) and going into production.

Though all of us could see how much work and talent it takes for Barbi to turn out her more detailed pieces.  I feel we got a chance to do a crafty version of her art form and it gave us a new respect for what she does.  Plus, she does her own metalwork too and some of it is super ornate.

I am headed to the library for audio books today. I have a whole slew of wallets to make by next Wednesday and need something to listen to while I work.

Oh, and if I didn't already have artist/crafter ADD---I finally decided to make a pop-up book---I've always loved them. This one is dear to my heart and may take a couple of months, but when it's done...oh my. Just a hint.....It's a fairy tale.

In the meantime, here's a pop-up book you might enjoy and while it wasn't made my new musical love interest Irish singer Lisa Hannigan, I'll bet it could have been...she's very talented. I'm so bummed that I missed her last year when she was in Milwaukee that I'm trying to figure out who I can sue. :)

 

So Much To Share

Good morning All! I have a lot to share in this post. 

First, there's the matter of my friend Kelly...book artist extraordinaire...some of you may remember this post. 

You know you have loyal friends when they invite you over no less than five times for a brown rice sushi instruction session (and visit) but you're "too busy"...even though you're the one that practically begged to be shown how. Finally, Kelly and I got together for an overdue visit at her place and I was treated to a lovely meal of salted edamame and brown rice sushi rolled before my eyes.

Before I share the details...Kelly is also the inspiration for the Christmas gift I'm making for my mother out of Jenga pieces...I want to devote a whole post to that project, so you'll be seeing and hearing more about Kelly's brilliance soon.

Now, for the sushi (If only I'd taken better pictures).

Kelly chose brown rice, salmon (lox), avocado, cucumber, crab (fake=cod) and chives.

She set out a piece of dry seaweed...it seems unroll-able, but the warmth of the rice softens it right away.

Then some warm brown rice...she kept it simple...she didn't use sushi rice...just brown rice cooked the regular way.

Then layered the filling...she really likes the addition of chives and I have to say I agree...they add a certain refreshing heat to the cool crunch of the cucumber and the creaminess if the avocado.

Then she rolled...

Voila!

Ready to eat and even though I took many pictures...this was the only one that was post-able. She serves it with pickled ginger and soy sauce (of which I couldn't share due to the plan). Next time.

Kelly is a Reiki practitioner and teacher and we celebrated the set-up of her in-home studio...this is just one of her many altars...

This is in her kitchen,,,Kelly lived in India on two separate occasions and brought back beautiful silk scarves...you can see one here:

I left that night feeling super nurtured and with sore cheeks from laughing so hard...she's got a good, but rather quirky sense of humor...she has a Star Wars poster above her Reiki table which tells you something.

OK, when I post next week about her brilliant idea for old Jenga pieces---you'll want to move to Green Bay just to sit by her door and wait for her to make an appearance!

Thank you for a wonderful dinner Kelly!    

OK...in other news.

Delphian is a new discovery for me and one of the most peaceful places in town...I like Katherine's (the owner) shop description of Inspiring Gifts & Wisdom...which means, jewelry, gemstones, books, music, altar pieces, bath and body, silk bags, cards, pretty glass ornaments, incense and much more.

Delphian has both a website and a blog...you locals can head to the website to learn more about the classes she offers...but, many of you non-locals will want to head to her blog to read more about things that affect our health and spiritual inspiration. She recently wrote about those commercials now airing that defend high fructose corn syrup as natural...I was so happy to read that I'm not the only one who is disturbed by this tactic of the industry to make it seem like the issues with HFCS are blown out of proportion.

Delphian is also starting a women's spirituality group in January.

Tomorrow I'll post more about this, but in the meantime...if you're in the Madison, WI area or know anyone that is, please spread the word about the show. Tomorrow morning I'll post some pictures of  my wares!

Karen recently emailed me this video. It is part of a project called Playing For Change that brings together musicians from all over the world to help (and inspire) communities in need. It's worth watching Mark Johnson's interview with Bill Moyers. He talks about how music connects us all and he brought his small team to places (many dangerous) all over the world to record musicians and it's taken him ten years to get it this far...I cry because we need more people like him.

He got the idea one day while in the subway...he was walking by and saw monks all dressed in white singing in a language he didn't know. He looked around and realized that over 200 people had gathered, had stopped their busy day to listen to this music and realized it was a uniting factor. People have said he's naive for thinking his project could work to help unite the communities of the world...his response? "It's naive to think we have any other choice."     

And if you really want to fall on the floor sobbing and feeling the love...just make sure put a helmet on! It's not Bob...but, he'd be pleased. I don't believe you can listen and not sing along.  

p.s. It's a little off topic...I'm not a big fan of the bailouts, but I find it curious that 700 billion was quickly approved for the banking (white collar) industry and yet, the 14 billion for the auto industry (blue collar) can't get support and people want the auto workers...the actual people standing on the assembly line to take pay cuts when no such cuts were a condition of the 700 billion banking bailout...not even for executive bonuses exceeding fifteen million dollars in one case. And so far, they haven't used that money to save people's homes.

Saturday Night

Well, it's a pretty quiet Saturday night over here. I'm getting ready to sort through vintage postage stamps (magnet making) and Mark is reading. What's going on with everyone (myself included) feeling extra tired lately? Are we all just doing more because of the nicer weather and wearing ourselves out or is it atmospheric? It seems everyone I talk to is exhausted.

With all the wallets in the photo, why on earth is my shop almost empty? I'm going to try to remedy that situation next week.

I plan to belly dance after the postage sorting and then go for a swim. I've meditated, but will again as I let myself float for awhile tonight. I've had about 3/4 a gallon of water today and I feel better. I'm starting to become hydrated again. Instead of dry brushing my skin, I'm going to exfoliate with white clay and ground lavender after my swim.and then sink off to sleep.

Jana Holland (a local singer/songwriter/musician) stopped by the booth the other night and said something that really has me thinking. She commented on how it blows her away that visual artists have to pay to have their work seen, whereas as a musician, she gets paid to perform. I never thought about it that way.  Unless you're at the point where your work is being sought after by galleries etc...most artists pay fees to be in art shows and art fairs and while these forums are important and livings are made this way, every show is an investment of time and money. Though, musicians pay to have demos made etc...I have no concluding thoughts on this...I'm still mulling it over, but one thing I'm sure about is that I love Jana's Tribute To Grace...you can listen to it here.

Parcel In The Post

This is the first of a couple of posts about little presents that have traveled miles to get to me!  I received a little rectangular box from Kai filled with pretty treasures all wrapped in orange tissue paper!  The pin (and needle) cushion you see above is one of the little handmade treats she sent my way. The colors are perfect and it has a new home in my formerly "pincushion-less" sewing box!

She also sent this cute blue suede bookmark.  I hope he likes nesting in the pages of my 58 year old copy of the dialogs of Plato!  His wing is actually the marker, but wanted you to see him in all his glory.
 
And last, but not least...this magnet with its three belly dancing goddesses! I had to zoom in so you could see them!

Thank you so much Kai. It made my day to receive such a pretty box of things and that you were so thoughtful...even down to the tissue paper!

I'll show you another good piece of mail soon!  Hint: You are about to learn more about kimono sleeves than you ever thought possible!

I was recently tagged by Racheal over at one of my favorite blogs...Miles Away In France.  Thank you!

Now, you know I LOVE tags and it's been awhile, so this was extra fun. This is a mix-up tag, meaning that it doesn't have a hard and fast theme, but is more of a "getting to know you" snapshot.

What were you doing ten years ago?

Let's see...ten years ago I was anxiously waiting for my two month notice at M&I Bank to end so I could leave Madison and move to Green Bay to join mark who was moving ahead of me. Sadly, this is the month my father died.  I was in shock because it was sudden and he wasn't ill.  Odd, how ten years later, Mark is preparing to once again move someplace ahead of me! 

Five things on your To-Do list?

1. Make more wallets...is anyone surprised? :)
2. Do my nabat (sugar crystal) tutorial before I lose every blod reader I have!
3. Make some presents for the Handmade Holiday I hope to have this year.
4. Post my One Local Summer meal.
5. Confess that we already ordered pizza and ate out during what is supposed to be a no grocery shopping month! Check...just confessed.  

Five snacks you enjoy? (only five?)

1. Peanut M&M's
2. Hummous
3. Berries
4. Chips & Dip (homemade ranch or guacamole or salsa)
5. Popcorn with burned butter and apple slices with sharp white cheddar cheese on the side

Things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Donate massive amounts to The Innocence Project. Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld are my heroes.
2. Provide for every family member (and myself!)
3. Buy a beautiful house (not sure where yet)
4. Do Oprah style give-aways of all my favorite and often extremely unaffordable things!
5. Fund various local projects and offer grants to communities willing to make big changes...like go green, or citywide weight loss, neighborhood restoration etc...

Places I've Lived:

1. Illinois (Chicago)
2. Maine (Spruce Head Island, Rockland and Thomaston)
3. Maryland (Annapolis)
4. Florida (various marinas on our boat)
5. The Virgin Islands
6. Puerto Rico
7. Wisconsin (Green Bay and Madison)

OK...now the fun part!  As always, if you're tagged and don't want to be...just skip it, but I'm tagging people who I hope to learn a little more about!

• Dyan over at Flower Childe Cottage-I want to know more about where she's lived.  She's in Jamaica now.
• Mandy over at Octomandarin because more people need to find her and read her tea reviews! Plus, I'm going to make her bergamot cupcakes!  Look at her teacups!
• Brenda over at The Brenda Blog because I love the recent post with the jar of red hots! 

The only rules are to answer honestly and link to the people you tag if you decide to go forward. I was so happy the first time I was tagged, but then freaked out because I felt too new to tag anyone, but I did and it was fun!

I will leave you with some Joni...when I think of songwriters like Neko Case, Joni comes to mind because they are each women of their times and so poetic. I also love that one of Joni's biggest fans in the world is Prince.  Another thing to like love about him. 

I've been a bit sad yesterday and today...not sure why, but both of these songs help me cry and get it out.

Circle Game

Both Sides Now 

Drum Sex (Or It's Got A Great Beat And You Can Dance To It)

I know the title is fairly provocative, but hey, I feel like boosting my three o'clock in the morning "Hi Honey, I found you on a Google search and I love smiley brunettes." readership. :)   

I have to share this 2004 Grammy nominated cd with you. I'm a few years behind, so it's just become a new favorite. I picked it up at Transitions in Chicago and it's one of my official car tunes.  My favorite track is Dinner at the Sugarbush (speaking of provocative titles).  You can sample tracks here.   

Brent Lewis is an incredible drummer and he plays the world's only set of Ikauma drums which are basically arranged in notes like a piano. You can't not dance if you play this cd.

Across The Universe

I'm following my impulses these days and it's funny how if you take a few minutes to follow a spark of thought, you wind up knowing a whole lot more than you did before.

I'll confess that on occasion I watch American Idol, I'm not a groupie, but I show up for the party, so what can I say? The last episode featured songs from the Lennon/McCartney songbook and one of the singers sang Across The Universe. 

Our television is always set for closed captioning even if I don't need it as much for music. I was listening to the song when I noticed the words "Jai Guru Deva OM" floating across the screen. 

I know many people will admit to at one time or another getting that part of the chorus wrong (Like a new day love), but even having read the lyrics several years ago, I never made a connection between them and the Kirtan chanting I love so much.

Suddenly, I realized that I've chanted similar words in my Thursday nights at the yoga center and when I've seen Dave Stringer. It was a nice connection and it made me want to know if there was some back story to the Sanskrit words  (it was written when the Beatles were in their meditation/guru/India phase).    

I popped over to Wikipedia and not only did I discover (probably later than most of you learned Beatles fans out there) that on February 5th of this year, Across The Universe was the first song to be "officially" transmitted into space. Interestingly enough...the date of the transmission was the same day that Beatles meditation guru (who the words were an homage to) died. Hmm...Mysteries of the UnknOM (Agahahaahaha! Sorry, that was terrible, but I'm still on the floor!).  Please tell me someone else out there remembers those Time Life book commercials?   Mark and I regularly amuse ourselves with that line. I'll say, " I went to the grocery store and they were out of the asparagus they had advertised yesterday!" Mark's response "Hmmm...mysteries of the unknown."  I do it to him as well. We don't have kids folks...so this is our life.      

I often dream of being in deep space...and I don't mean paying a million dollars for a "tourist's" trip, but of actually being in space...floating around.  It's where I like to hang out when I meditate.  I'm pretty aware of how nutty that sounds, but to me it's a place of stillness and you guys already know how much I longed to be a castaway on a desert island as a kid, so why not outer space as an adult?   The idea that this beautiful song is drifting out there makes me feel comforted...there's just something nice about it.    

Hubble photography fascinates me and so does this little space fairy...I refuse to believe she's just a tower of cold gas and dust!

For your listening and viewing pleasure: