Pérez Art Museum Miami

Amelia Peláez

A couple days ago I stood before this piece by Cuban Artist Amelia Pelaez, enjoying roomfuls of her paintings at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. There was also work by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei and many others. 

Al Weiwei's imposing bronze zodiac figures greeted us. It's impressive… but grandest is the new museum by architects Herzog & deMeuron -- portico and gardens,  galleries and nooks, shaded "secret" windows overlooking the Port of Miami,  and, to the west, the high rises that make Miami new again.

Go if you can; admission is $12, free the first Thursday and second Saturday of each month.

Entrance portico overlooking Port of Miami

I'm standing on a ledge. A screen separates me from the rest of the museum, and the window is protection too, of course.

Present at the creation -- of a book

Teresa sent me this link, knowing I'd want to share. I've shuddered in front of printing presses so big and noisy that they shook the building, but watching this makes me realize publication can also be simple, tactile and aesthetically satisfying: an art. Thanks, Teresa!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas snowballs

I always make these Christmas cookies for Rachel -- and myself! This year I made it twice so there were extras for gifts. I first tasted these at the Miners' house next door in Steubenville (Ohio), when I was babysitting;  they were quite brown inside their confectioners' sugar dusting.  I guess Mrs. Miner cooked them too long. Since then I always cook them longer than this recipe says. Don't burn them, though!

You could still make these for Christmas, because they are easy.

Christmas snowballs

1 cup butter (I use unsalted.)
6 T. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 C. finely chopped pecans*
Powdered sugar

1. Cream butter well. 
2. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and flour. Mix well.
4. Add the nuts. 

Take small portions of the dough and roll into 1" ropes on a lightly floured board or wax paper. Break off small, bite-size pieces and roll them into little balls. Place on cookie sheet covered with parchment. Bake at 325° for 8 to 12 minutes or until light brown on the bottom. Remove the pan from oven and sprinkle the whole thing liberally with powdered sugar. Don't touch the cookies because they will break. When they are slightly cooler, you can roll them completely in the sugar. Let them cool and then roll again to cover with another layer of sugar.

*I usually toast my pecans and then grind them in a Mouli mill. This year I bought the pre-ground local pecans at Tomato Land. That was easier, but the other way is better. 

To bind, to face, perchance to Zigzag

How to finish this?

Once, at a craft fair in Asheville, NC, I visited a booth with vibrant abstract quilts. They were framed and under glass -- negating the sensual "touch me" quality I love about fiber art. "Why do you DO this to your gorgeous work?" I asked the artist. "I'd never sell them if they weren't framed," she told me. "That convinces people they are art."

I don't want to put my fiber art under glass, but I do want it to appear professional -- or, better -- beautiful. There are many ways to do this, and I'm looking for finishing techniques that work for me. As I develop my personal style, it becomes easier.

For now, I'll be finishing my art quilts like this:
1 with zigzag or straight stitch
2. mounted on a simple base quilt after edge-stitching
3. faced
4. unobtrusive binding

Here is a how-to using fused fabric binding from Cynthia St. Charles' blog, "Living and Dyeing Under the Big Sky." I like how she prints the binding to extend the quilt print. That way the binding doesn't stand out.

Laura Wasilowski has a slightly different method for fused binding.

New collages

I have made 3 collages in the past couple of weeks, and love the process. The results please me too. 

This is the beginning of one. Working quickly, I cut magazine pages, glued them randomly to 12" x 12" card stock, and stamped at random with a seashell design in black ink. I think I see a newspaper clipping in there too. I covered the entire square with more random clippings and shell stamps. Unfortunately, I do not yet have a photo of this one completed.

Another collage made with magazine cuttings and stamps -- this time stars stamped with acrylic paint.
By chance, the word Wishes is visible.
I mounted it on watercolor paper covered with black gesso.

Detail of Wishes

Detail of Wishes

This is the fabric collage that I showed earlier in its beginning stages.
It seemed just disconnected words and stamps and fabrics.
When I added in layers of tulle across the top third, it seemed finished. The line echoes
the William Powell Bridge leading to the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami.
The words are from the first stanza of a poem I wrote about that bridge.
It begins "Arc in air."
Bridge, 16" x 20"

Detail of Bridge

Detail of Bridge

Collage on Wood Panel

What do you think about framing and displaying your work?
I am convinced that mounting work makes it look respectable, to the artist as well as prospective owners. And I do make my work to share and sell.

For a couple of years I've been taking notes on how I see art displayed.  I take photos of mounting methods whenever I see something new, and I've filled files and folders. Maybe now I can select a couple of ways that work for me, most of the time. Maybe my research will save you time. Here are two useful sites.

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer shows step-by-step How to mount a collage.

In this YouTube Jane Davies demonstrates a similar method. She does not decorate the sides of the wood panel, while Julie does. 

Blog advice from a pro

I love our great old dining table, but it took me years to realize it's the perfect spot to blog

This week I heard an Interweave seminar on Build a Better Blog with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Something happened and I couldn't get the video, but I learned a lot anyway. Afterward, it dawned on me that one reason I didn't miss the video much is because I already have a mental image of Julie; I got it from her blog, which is cheerful and full of bright colors.

Maybe you, like me, have wondered how to produce a blog that is interesting and useful to you and your readers. He're are some of Julie's tips, in random order:

1. Think of a real person to write for. (Since the beginning I have been writing for myself; I want -- as Joan Didion has said --  to find out what I think. Often I put recipes in after someone has asked for one. And lately I've been thinking of all my friends who are, like me, searching for their identity in art.
2. Put a link to your blog on your email signature. (A few years ago I rejected this idea as self-promotional. Which is the idea.)
3. You can write posts early and post them automatically according to a schedule you set. Do this when you're going on vacation … or having a baby.
4. Your blog should have a voice, which you can't just manufacture. Or maybe you can, but you shouldn't. Julie (I just can't call her Ms. Balzer … ) Julie says style develops over time anyway, so start a blog and after a few months look back for common strands, and that's your voice. Focus on strengthening/ clarifying that.
5. Post about what makes you you. Let it flow from your life and then it won't be a chore and it will be authentic.
6. Notice which blogs you love, and learn from them.
7. Schedule your posts so you are dependable to readers. (I'm sticking to MWF. .. and if you say you didn't notice, well … I just started.)
8. Use a monthly calendar to plan your entries. 

OK, thank you, Julie!

AND …
If you live in Tallahassee you should know there will be at least one collage artist at the holiday art sale downtown Saturday -- FSU professor Carrie Ann Baade.  Her work unites old masters with mythology and psychology. I expect complexity.

Fabric collage/ paper collage

I am loving collage, and I want to see how the paper techniques stretch to fabric. Here are the first steps of two separate collages -- a paper and paint piece with a Christmas theme, and a work that is mostly fabric continuing my interest in salt water.

Base

I have a base and cotton fabrics to cover it with.

Here are swaths of fabric, instead of paint. 

Words

For the paper collage I used black ink and a calligraphy pen. I wrote random Christmas words, including Peace, Cheer, Holiday...

For the fabric collage I wrote with black thread.  I've written the first stanza of a poem about the Rickenbacker Causeway Bridge. It begins, "Arc in air…"

Below, I've masked some of the paper in preparation for painting. In the next post I'll show the final, fun steps of the pair.

Best lemon pie

I was messing around in the freezer and found a crumbled graham cracker pie crust, a cup of Meyer lemon juice and a bag of puffs of sweetened whipped cream not eaten with Thanksgiving's pumpkin pie. I decided to marry this combo into something delightful and fumbled my way into a recipe for lemon curd in Baking Illustrated (p. 394), a gift from Rachel. You can see it looks humble, but it tasted heavenly -- I'd choose it over Key Lime Pie any day. Just put the Lemon Curd into a pre-baked graham cracker crust and top with sweetened whipped cream, then chill it. You could even double the lemon curd to make a deeper pie. (Who thought up that terrible name: Curd?)

Lemon Curd

1/3 C. lemon juice
2 large eggs and one large egg yolk
1/2 C. sugar
2 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 T. heavy cream
1/4 t. vanilla
pinch of salt

Heat the lemon juice until hot but not boiling. (I used a glass measuring cup in the microwave.) Whisk eggs and yolk in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon juice into the eggs, then pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until 170° and thick enough to cling to the spoon (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in butter until it is incorporated; add cream, vanilla, and salt.

Three collages

Collage is like my life. The woods where I run has many layers: leaf, twig, insect and sky. Family (as I live mine and observe others) is heart, heartbreak, surprise and pleasure. Christmas is color, light, warmth and longing. 

I seek spontaneity because through it truth rises up.  This is why I've been making collages without thought, inspired by the Linda Israel YouTube from my last post.

My box of colored papers

Stamps

Begin gluing papers randomly. I used 12" x 12" card stock base.
I used Mod Podge Matte because I don't have Golden Gel Medium,

Adding stamps

I just continued until all was covered with glued-down papers and stamps.  I also tried copper foil on cellophane. I pasted it down, but it slipped and slid -- not what I wanted.  It did leave some great metal traces behind, kind of like a the trail a snail makes.  Cheap Joe's Art Stuff told me how to use metallic foil properly: brush acrylic medium on the wrong side, then glue it where you want it. When it's dry, scrape at it and the paper will come up, leaving the metal on the collage.

It was kind of bright so I showered it with magenta spray paint.

Thinking of Christmas

I'm going to finish with metallic paint and/or glitter -- inspired by the gold-speckled nail polish my friend Janice was wearing today.

More collage inspiration

Suddenly, collage!

Pieces placed, thrown, covered up, left alone: isn't that life?

Here are two ways to look at it -- the first playing with design and color, and the second is an overview of more realistic work.





Below, Collage Perspectives at Swarthmore College:

Tearing Watercolor Paper

I wanted to cut up my playful, painted and printed watercolor paper to make a small folded book. I'd never cut watercolor paper before, so naturally I readied a blade -- my Exacto knife, with ruler and cutting board. Just in time I realized that I did not want a crisp edge. Tearing would be better. So I wandered the Internet and discovered this YouTube on tearing watercolor paper. It's a peaceful occupation.

Zealot by Reza Aslan

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I never looked at Jesus in quite this way: more a historical figure than religious game-changer. The devotion and awe common to the writing of believers enforce a distance from the subject that does not constrain Reza Aslan. Although he became a Christian, he was not born one and he is not a Christian now. He is a scholar -- famously so, because that is how he defined himself when challenged in a Fox News interview. This is a long book, and I learned plenty -- I took many notes and highlighted lots of details. But I do wonder how Aslan is viewed by his peers. He may be more promoter than scholar. Sometimes his writing put me to sleep. But mostly this book was for me a bracing view of a man who disturbed Israel, Rome, and, eventually, the world.


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Art in Gadsden

 Waiting in the grass
Bart Frost
oil on canvas

This is one of my favorites from the Art in Gadsden exhibit at the Gadsden Arts Center in Quincy through Dec. 21. I like such motion in a piece about stillness. Also, I like the tail up there in the left corner. The Arts Center is closed tomorrow and Friday, but will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday. It's a pleasant half-hour drive from Tallahassee.

The Smartest Kids in the World

The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Don't we all agree that education in the U.S. could use a fresh take? Amanda Ripley tells us what it's like to be an American exchange student in one of the countries where high schools are "better": Finland, South Korea, Poland.

A couple of months ago her book was much-discussed. Now it seems to be off the radar. But her observations have merit. Here are a few:
1. Ripley says local control is "hard-wired for inefficiency" ( p. 34).
2. Parents who engage kids in talk about big ideas -- movies, books, current affairs with teens especially -- will have kids who are better readers ( p. 108). Parent volunteering at school, on the other hand, does not seem to affect student achievement.
3. Read for pleasure and your kids are more likely to do it too.
4. Take education seriously -- more seriously than sports even.
5.  Make teaching a high-level profession in training, in both respect and pay.
6.  Have hard tests, especially a hard and useful matriculation test at the end of high school..
7. There must be meaningful opportunities for everyone. Equity is essential to good schools.
8. The best way to evaluate a school is not by word of mouth, but by visiting when school is in session.  Are the kids interested, paying attention, working hard? (208).
9. High school graduates  should be able to write an essay, develop an argument, and clearly communicate an idea. But many can't.

You've probably already heard that students work too hard in Korea, routinely studying in private tutoring offices until 9 p.m. before heading home. Ripley also reminds us that Korea and Finland have gone through hard times in recent history. They value education as a way out of that era. Americans, Ripley says, have been lulled by our country's wealth. We don't take education seriously.

I usually get mad at non-educators when they make recommendation, but Ripley keeps to her role as reporter; she doesn't really tell us what to do.


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Mortar and pestle

This is my birthday present to myself: a hulking mortar and pestle. I'm not sure why, but I need it. I love fresh-ground spices, and my little white china set seems puny. I don't like the clinking sound it makes. Yesterday I cooked Thai chicken and yellow rice, planning to use this for the coriander seed and cumin, but discovered it takes time to get it ready. You have to season it by scrubbing with wet white rice, grinding the rice to a pulp and then rinsing it away many times until the rice water finally runs clean. The inside of the mortar isn't dirty, exactly, just dusty. After the rice step is over, you do the same thing with salt. This could take a long time, so I decided to scrub it one step each day. It's worth the trouble.

 Here's lots more information on this primitive kitchen tool.

Diana Kennedy, in her book Mexican Regional Cooking, says, "No self-respecting cook in this hemisphere should be without this classic piece of kitchen equipment."(p. 254). I agree.

Missing salt water

I miss the ocean, so I made boats. 

Sail
21 12" x 21 1/2"
lace, organza, cotton, paper, paint

Kayak,
14 3/4" x 20 3/4"

lace, organza, cotton, paper, paint

Kayak detail

Sailboat detail

Praline cookies

I made a cake for C to serve his football friends. "Oh, this is good!" he said, "and it's really small.  Let's eat it ourselves." So I made some cookies with fresh pecans from the farmers' market for the football guys. "Mmmm..." C said. "These are even better. Do I have to share?"








Praline cookies
(This recipe is an old one I cut from some newspaper. I can't say more.)

1/2 C. butter
1 1/2 C. brown sugar. (I used part light/ part dark because I ran out of light brown. I think the dark made the cookies both crisp and chewy, so I'm going to do this combo again. It is about 2:1 :: light:dark)
1 egg
1 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. chopped toasted pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter, sugar, and egg.
Stir in flour, vanilla, and pecans.
Mix well.
Shape into balls.  Place on parchment-covered cookie sheet.

Flatten to about 1/8 inch.
Bake 10-12 min. (I baked at least 5 extra minutes.), or until brown.
Makes 3 dozen.

Stars in the neighborhood

One reason I love my neighborhood is the poetry of the Army Surplus Store around the corner.

Collage on watercolor paper

What is it I like about this collage? I made it on watercolor paper, following the blog Simply Artistic Pleasures; I used masking, spray paint, calligraphy pens, painted gesso, printing tools. It looks kind of messy and happy. Maybe I like it because there are no mistakes.

Lately I've been overwhelmed by how much I don't know about art -- theory, history, technique. I am reading too much about the high-stakes multi-national art scene. How ridiculous to let that craziness infest my thinking.

Finally I realize the obvious: make lots of art, learn along the way, and enjoy every moment. That's why I like this collage.

Making my own birthday cake

Is it pathetic to make your own birthday cake?

Not at all.

C has bought me many cakes, but we both agree mine are better. Besides, it's days before my birthday. I have a habit of celebrating the entire month of November -- with the ultimate goal of celebrating all year long when I get really smart. Thus, today's dessert (Dinner was leftovers), inspired by Smitten Kitchen and my mother. The SKithchen blog suggests a cake topped with bittersweet chocolate and pears chopped small. Instead of her recipe, I made Mom's sponge cake and topped it with 3/4 C. bittersweet chocolate chips and three Bartlett pears chopped smaller than bite-size. It took 45 minutes to bake, more than Mom's recipe. The pears are still a little hard. Next time (and there WILL be a next time!) I will let the pears ripen well, or soften them in the microwave before adding them to the cake. I considered using Kallebut chocolate, but Ghirardelli bittersweet  chips are perfect. It's festive and delicious. Don't wait for a birthday!

Mom's sponge cake with pears and chocolate

1 C. sifted flour

1 tsp. baking powder

dash salt

1/2 C. milk

1 T. butter

2 eggs

1 C. sugar

3/4 C. bittersweet chocolate chips 

3 soft pears, chopped

1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Scald milk with the butter. Let butter melt. (I use a glass measuring cup & put it in the microwave until little bubbles form on the sides, but it doesn't boil. Takes less than a minute.)
3. Beat the eggs a lot, until they lose that eggy look & become light.
4. Gradually beat in the sugar.
5. Then add the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed.
6. Add hot milk with butter & vanilla.
7. Pour into buttered & floured 9" cake pan (I used a skillet.)  Bake 30 min. at 350° (45 minutes for pear and chocolate cake).
8. Top with 3/4 C. bittersweet chocolate chips and 3 soft pears, chopped. These will sink into the cake. 
9. Cool & then remove cake from the pan. (Don't use a skillet if you plan to remove the cake from the pan.),
10. For Boston Cream Pie split the cooled cake carefully with a long serrated knife & spread bottom layer with cream. Put second layer on top of the cream. Decorate with powdered sugar or a thin chocolate glaze.

Judy's Spanish rice

I only had red peppers, so this photo is brilliantly monochromatic.
See the saffron in the little mortar: I pounded it with 1 tsp. salt and then added a little white wine to intensify  flavor.
Tonight I'm using 13 ounces of grouper and shrimp, combined, and 1 cup rice and 2 cups liquid.

Judy's Spanish Rice

Dear Mary,
Here's the rice recipe we were talking about last week. I updated it slightly since I first blogged about it.

(Our cousin Judy married Lou, who was Spanish. She got this recipe from his family. It is a quick paella.) This is the way Judy told it to me -- with a few digressions:

1. Sauté five  (yes!) cloves of garlic, chopped, in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When it's light brown, toss in 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper, chopped. Salt lightly. Cook a couple of minutes. The peppers will soften during the rest of the cooking. (I prefer the flavor of 2 red peppers.)
2. Add 1 pound shrimp or cut-up snapper or uncooked chicken and 1 1/2 C. rice. Stir so that everything is covered with garlic oil. 
3. Add about 3 cups water or water/white wine/chicken broth mixed, a pinch of crushed saffron, prepared as indicated under the photo, and salt to taste. (I use 1 1/2 t. for three cups liquid, and wine:broth about 1:4. ) If you want it to be soupy, use more liquid. Put the lid on and simmer about 15 minutes, until rice is cooked. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through. It will be if your pieces are bite-sized. 
4. I recently read that you should let rice sit with the lid on for 10-15 minutes after it is cooked ... gets fully fluffed that way, or something ... 

This is so good. And I lucked into a delicious accompaniment: Cook and drain some frozen or fresh spinach. (In the refrigerator I had some leftover chopped spinach already cooked.) Lightly brown one clove garlic in a little butter, add the spinach and cook over medium heat just so it warms.  Stir in a little heavy cream and fresh-grated Parmesan. 

Ohio in late fall

Dublin, Ohio

last week

Maple tree behind someone's house

We woke up to wet snow one morning. I think this is a flowering crab apple, seen through screen of sunroom
Sunroom?

Deep lessons in digital photography

Sunshine Alterations
 in our neighborhood
taken for digital photography class

I took Charles Badland's digital photography class at LeMoyne Gallery so I can photograph my art and enter shows. I learned a few more basic lessons as well:

• A good camera takes better pictures.
• Take my camera everywhere.
• Take extra batteries too.
• Read the manual.
• Take lots of photos.
• All those aperture and speed options make sense if I spend time using them.
• Photos make me see. 

I still need practice photographing my art. Here are two sites that will help:
Shoot that quilt
Artcall for entries. Tells how to resize photos using Photoshop and has basic photo guidelines from Maria Elkins

I want to help Mary, who makes window treatments. Her photos tend to emphasize the bright window more than the lovely drapes. When I see her we'll explore:

HDR
High Dynamic Range -- a setting that takes three photos of the same subject, then combines the results into a single photo with the best light balance. Badland said he thinks the newest iPhones have this option.

Lupine love

I never saw a lupine, yet I fell in love with them when I read the picture book Miss Rumphius,  the story of an adventurous woman who added beauty to the world by planting lupines. Miss Rumphius helped me make this  12" x 12" fabric collage, still in progress. It began when a friend in the Pacific Northwest got married carrying a bouquet of lupines. I wanted to  help her remember, but couldn't move on it because I wanted to see a real lupine first. I was sure I could find one, so I pulled in to Tallahassee Nurseries one day. I asked the right person -- she told me they don't sell lupines, but I could find an array of miniature lupines in a sandy field behind a truck stop on West Tennessee Street -- just not now. I think she said they bloom in spring. She said they need sandy soil and do not like to be transplanted. Our delicate  Florida lupines are miniature -- not like those in the wedding bouquet. They may be the same lupines that Florida artist Elizabeth Smith sketches here.  And here's a more scientific site from Oregon that gave me lots of lupine information. Finally I went to Barnes and Noble and bought Miss Rumphius. 

'  

Photo show at Capitol Building

Looking down Apalachee Parkway from the 22nd floor of the Florida Capitol Building

I've been meaning to see the view from the top of the Florida Capitol building, and when our digital photography teacher, Charles Badland (what a great name!) mentioned he's participating in a photo exhibit there, it was the perfect time. Go to the 22nd floor -- and you get a beautiful view. The exhibit of work by FSU MFA in photography graduates closes Oct. 31.

Barber, Deland, FL
M. Laine Wyatt
Archival digital inkjet print
(The blue sky is a reflection, not part of the photo -- but I love what it does! It is hard to avoid reflections because the gallery has generous windows to view the city. So the beautiful day is from over my shoulder and out the window, reflected on the protective glass of the photo.)