Series: Heroes, not judges

I can't be as good as my heroes: Picasso, Beatriz Milhazes, Thornton Dial, Matisse, Agnes Martin ... 

list of heroes on my bulletin board

On this subject, William Stafford (below) is speaking to me, and maybe you. Never mind that his art is writing. 

Stafford's inspiration, also on my bulletin board

So I'm going to make stuff, having fun.

It shouldn't hurt to have heroes! 

Series: I'm ready to have fun

Around here there are red dirt roads that wind into the countryside off the main highway. They seem lonely, but they lead somewhere. Maybe they are even more purposeful than the paved ways. I love them..

Lately I've been on a dusty, lonesome path of my own -- setting myself a clear goal, then following instead another way. I think I've arrived at my destination -- a series more compelling than the one I'd originally proposed. 

Surprise! I don't like to follow rules. If I have them, I tend to be slavish, which in art is self-defeating. Of necessity, a series imposes rules. That's why I've decided not to make a formal quilt series, even though several months back I convinced myself it would propel my artistic development. (You must have once promised yourself to do something "good" for you.) 

As you know, instead of quilting I've been painting in our shed

 and falling in love with Artists as I read their biographies: Agnes Martin, Picasso, Cy Twombly. They make me feel impossibly uncertain. You might call that an accidental series of flower paintings and another series of inspirational readings. But it's not what I intended. It's what I love. 

On the way to making a series of art quilts I've discovered I like to work intuitively. I want to make a mess.  I want layers, and I love moody. Words too.

So I'm promising to take myself lightly. To make drawings with thread and then paint them. To see where this goes.

Series: Looking for surprise

It's been a long time since I "started" a series of quilts. I had clear plans but got detoured by painting. I love it -- I've been painting every day but haven't made a quilt. Painting the way I do (the messy hands technique!) is forgiving, fun, and intuitive. If I don't like something, I can paint over it. This makes a rich, layered piece.  I can't plan how the end will look. This makes it surprising and fun. I don't expect all my paintings to satisfy me. Some are "mistakes" that lead to improvement.

Quilting, for me, is the opposite: You don't intuit, you measure and plan. You sure do hope the quilt turns out, because it takes so long to make it. It's satisfying, yes, but I've got to admit I like to paint better.

I want to make quilts, but I want them to surprise me. There are lots of "intuitive quilters" who lay down fabric as I do paint. This doesn't appeal to me. I must incorporate paint with my fabric.

Also -- I've learned another thing: I want to make art that speaks of my life. Flowers are gorgeous, but I love best the flowers and butterflies I've made recently; I learned of a friend who was cutting herself and she wrote of The Butterfly Project, an incentive to cease the self-destruction. I want to let my passions touch my art.

My 2015

All year long I make a list, noting highlights big and small. 2015 was crescendo and gorge and lots of ordinary changes.

1. In April Clark's brother Rig died.
2. My quilt Beach Dream was in Southern Exposures show at the Ruth Funk.
3. I sold some art -- people LIKE  it!!
4. Turned 70.
5. Vegetables and fish -- eating better, not exactly by plan
6. Kitchen renovation -- a magnetic knife rack in a sunnier room
7. Bud & Angel go -- What, you don't know the names of your vehicles? 
8. Traveled. Visited family in California, Clarkston, Cincinnati and Columbus. Visited NYC for Picasso show.
9. Fell in love with painting. Doing it, I mean.
10. Purse returned by NY taxi driver -- stupid me to forget it. But I'm almost glad I did -- his kindness and honesty revive my hope for 2016.

Mom's leek and potato soup

Mom's recipe card

As the weather chilled, I wanted a comforting soup, and what could be better than Mom's creamy leek and potato soup? I still have her recipe card, and it warms my heart to use it. When I told the women in the family what I was making, they wanted the recipe too -- in her handwriting. So I copied the card and glued the recipe to fresh index cards, which I sealed with matte medium. They love having the recipe, and -- even more -- this dear memento of Mom, in her own script.

Mom's Leek and Potato Soup

3 to 4 cups peeled potatoes, sliced or diced
3 cups thinly sliced leeks, mostly white part
1 1/2 quarts homemade chicken broth (canned is OK)
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 T. soft butter
2 to 3 tsp. minced parsley

Simmer vegetables and broth together, partially covered, until vegetables are very tender. Mash the potatoes with a fork.  (I use an immersible blender.) Season with salt and pepper. Set aside, uncovered, until ready to serve.

Reheat to simmer just before serving, then add cream and butter. (You can skip cream and butter, but it will taste different.) Heat -- do not boil. Decorate with parsley.

*Before mashing vegetables, cook until you think it is the right consistency. If too liquid, cook it down before mashing.

Flower Series 6: Success??

Bright flowers
12" x 12"
acrylic

I planned a series of quilts inspired by flowers, mandalas and the Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes. Months later I have a stack of acrylic paintings. One is a mandala, all have flowers, and  I see Milhazes in their layers and colors. My niece Gretchen got me started painting a pineapple for her. Since then I've painted on cotton, drew with stitch, and collaged with fabric and paint. But there is no series as planned.

Instead, I'm on a discovery trail and loving it. 

1. For inspiration, give me flowers -- they are more than mere petals and stems!
2. And give me paint to mess with. Yesterday I read about an artist who paints with his fingers, wearing plastic gloves. I'm more of a natural mess; I love my fingers all gooey with colors. (Paintbrushes also have a place. ) For me, precision is in the feel of the finished piece, not perfection according to plan. I must discover a way to make messy quilts, with undefined edges 
3. For now  I'll skip "meaningful" (or political) work. The world is such a tumble, but direct defiance is not my best response. (Embracing causes has not worked for me,  in either religion or journalism. Or art.)
4. I'm going to continue painting and sewing and looking and loving. Flowers and paint are not the end. They are leading me somewhere.

Crust for Thanksgiving pies

Pie crust is tricky. That's what Mom said. And a flaky crust is the mark of a good cook. She said that too. I've used lots of recipes, including Mom's, and have to admit mine is not always as flaky as I'd like. My current favorite recipe is from Bon Appetit. I love that it says to work the dough with your hands! You could also use a food processor or a fork, I guess.

The Flakiest, Butteriest Crust

1 cup + 2 T. chilled unsalted butter
2 1/4 C. flour
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 T. apple cider vinegar
3 T. water

1. Cut butter into 1" pieces. Chill it while you measure the dry ingredients.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a big bowl. I use that bowl you see in the photo above.
3. Add the butter and toss it until it's coated with flour. Then use your fingers and palms to work the butter into small, irregular pieces. This is fun. Stop before the butter gets warm. You should still see some pieces of butter.
4. Mix the vinegar with the ice water.
5. Drizzle the liquid over the flour-butter mixture. Mix it up quickly with your hands so the dough kind of sticks together. It will still seem pretty dry.
6. Turn the dough onto a piece of waxed paper (no extra flour needed) and knead it a few times. Don't let the butter get all mixed in. The idea is to keep some butter in discreet pieces.
7. Push the dough down and cut it in half. Press each half down to about an inch high, and wrap the two pieces in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 1 hour to 3 days. (OK, I'm doing a few more than three! Let's see -- Thanksgiving's four days from tomorrow. In a day or two I'll:
8. Roll it out and fit into pie pan.
9. Blind bake or fill and bake according to recipe.

I'll be making this pumpkin pie Thursday morning.  You could do worse!