One Week of Art Works

Cat's got my Tongue - sorta.

I find myself in the midst of a wee-bit of blog-performance anxiety... I have always KNOWN I am NOT a writer by any stretch of the imagination, I know no one comes here to read my words for the sake of basking in literary greatness...BUT Damnit! Suddenly after stumbling into quite a few well-written, insightful, informative, funny blogs, I can't begin to think of what I have to say here.

So, go check out THIS blog today instead of mine: Redonka

I suppose there IS this one little thing I could mention: Once again I have attempted to invite Kurk Vonnegut to another art exhibition... This time via his MySpace Account. I like the tiny feeling of excitement I get at the thought that Mr. Vonnegut would surprise me and actually show up. I truly doubt he is actually the propietor of this MySpace account - but HEY! it is part of my sick little fantasy to think that I have direct access to him none-the-less. I still have the hots for him even though he is 80-something, I just love the way his mind works, AND he is an artist!

Yep, sorry G, I would still "do" him - and wouldn't even make him put out his cigarette.

Please join me this Saturday!

Saturday, January 13th, 7-10 p.m. @ M2 (MSquared) Gallery in the Heights



Folks, I am positively thrilled to have had one of my works selected for this show. I know of two other artists, (whose work I greatly admire) who also were selected for the exhibition, Cintia Rico and Aimi Dunn.

There were over 220 submissions from Houston and surrounding areas. About 80 of those were selected by the Judge, Mr Patrick Palmer. Mr. Palmer's work is featured on the postcard image above. Following is his artist's statement:

Patrick Palmer was born, raised and educated in California, and is influenced greatly by the figurative influence that was so Prevalent in his education. Currently Patrick teaches Figure Painting and Figure Drawing at The Glassell School of Art. As a teacher his message is clear, artwork is meant to say something: engage a viewer, tell a story and convey a message. Patrick’s artworks are in many private and public collections, among them being The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Click here for directions to M2 Gallery

for the graffiti lover in all of us

I stumbled upon this video in Art Star Press...

http://www.mybloglog.com

you may or may not have noticed the new little "banner thingee" on the right. I discovered that website today. Interesting how it works, kind of like a super glue between all blogs...connects bloggers like myspace does, but connects ALL types of online journals...and allows people who go to specific blogs (shared interest thing) to talk about those blogs - outside the blogs, in a blog format. Hee hee, that sounded kinda blog-silly. Oh well, I fearlessly staggered into its realm and learned about some new art blogs. Some of which won a prestigious link spot in my blog side bar. I just KNOW they are thrilled.
----
Okay, I had to append to this post as I know that my lame-self-depricating-sarcasm does not read well. Truth is, I like the way MyBlogLog connects bloggers, I like learning about new artists and art things, and unrelated to the arts-I like interactivity. I like doing something on a computer and getting feedback...AND I like connecting in some small way with people and places I would never have the opportunity if not for the internet. The WWW is like an alternate universe that allows itself to be explored as intimately as you desire (or have the patience for) making every galaxy, star, planet, moon, space trash, clearly visible to the naked eye.
----
So on another note, The artist Ashley Cecil has a very neat way of selling her art... Every work she sells, she seems to give some sort of donation to various non-profit and social activist groups. Some where on her site I read the words "Bringing about social change through art..." She even encourages her blog readers to write in about groups so that she can check them out for future projects. What a cool way to give back to the world with your own gift.

Dead birds, Passed the Jury, I Hurt all Over

Dead Birds... I talked to Hoot this morning, seems downtown Austin woke up to find a bunch of dead birds and quarantined a 10-block section of Austin while guys in hazmat suits scooped up the feathered victims. The birds have been shipped off to various places for testing and in the meantime Hoot will probably be allowed back to work this afternoon.

Patrick Palmer of the Glassell School of Art (which is connected to MFAH and St. Thomas University) was the judge for the upcoming show at M2 Gallery. The show, "Go Figure" features works based on the human figure. I am excited to say that one of my recent paintings ("Youth") made it into the show. The reception will be this Saturday and the show runs the month of January....Yes!!!!

Yesterday, I went nuts and trimmed all the trees and bushes throughout our yard. Today, I can NOT hardly use my hands they hurt so bad. I keep running warm water over them because the warm feels so good...crazy!

Lamb Chops a hit!

Recipe goes something like this:

Ingredients:
3-4 lambchops
8-10 chrushed pepper corns
4 tbsp fennel-infused olive oil
8 stalks fresh fennel (remove 3-4 sprigs, chop and set aside for later)
2 tbsp Pernod
20 pitted black olives (like Kalamati)

Directions:

• Combine the olive oil, pepper, and lambchops - distribute marinade thoroughly, and marinate overnight.
• In a heavy skillet (like a cast iron one) add 1 tablespoon of the marinade and bring it to good high heat.
• Throw in the meat and sear on all sides
• Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with fennel stalks
• cover tightly and cook for 15-20 minutes
• Throw away cooked fennel, place meat on heated serving dish
• slightly increase heat, and add remaining chopped fennel and Pernod
• stir while bubbling for 2-3 minutes
• Add olives and continue stirring another 2 minutes
• Pour over meat and serve

From an environmental point of view...

... I find the following quote alarming! However, it did endlessly crack me up.

...If it is black flies or ticks I hear screaming, it is sweet music indeed to my ears. If an earwig is dying a slow torturous death, please allow me access to that huge gun of yours to put him out of his pain. So I guess I'm not totally a liberal pacifist wimp...and mosquitoes can rot in hell as well. Gnat's not all, finally, I wish upon the Japanese Beetles that are slumbering beneath my lawn their own personal Pearl Harbour.

Shall I mention the originator of these words?????

Sometimes i paint, sometimes cook.

Okay, so I have been in a cooking mood. From time to time I enjoy the heck out of being creative with food stuff. Of course, this does all to often end up in a culinary disaster, but other times it turns out to be a delightful diversion from the typical fare to be had in our house.

I went to the grocery store past Monday evening and without a list picked out atypical meats and fresh herbs, trying in my minds-palate to create combinations that would work okay. Upon returning home these are the entrées I ended up with:

• Lamb Chops
• Cornish Game Hens
• Pork Loin
• Ham Steaks
• Cannellini Beans
• 36 Ounces of Portobello Mushrooms

And here are the fresh herbs:

• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Lemon Grass
• Mint
• Sweet Basil
• Cilantro
• Fennel

Now for the fun! I dig through the few international cookbooks I have at the house to see what kinds of things I can make with this food stuff.

Last night it was ham steak drizzled in a shallot/juniper berry/white wine vinegar reduction made into a creamy/wine sauce, (divine to say the least!) served with a side of parsley/romano new potatoes and asparagus baked with red bell peppers and olives.

The night before, we had home-made cream of portobello mushroom soup with a golden pastry crust on top, yum!

But tonight may turn out to be THE disaster night. You see, I found a recipe in an old French cookbook that calls for lamb chops to be marinated in olive oil and fennel, then cooked with black olives and of ALL things, Pernod- absinthe's successor without the wormwood.

WEIRD! Hey! but I have to give it a try... I had never heard of using absynthe or pernod as a cooking ingredient, (however, now that I discovered this recipe in my book, I "googled" and quickly found PLENTY of recipes using it.) I am not particularly fond of the flavor of absinthe (star anise gives it that strong black licorice flavor) - but who knows what happens to the flavor when combined with the other ingredients?! I have (regretfully) tried Limburger and survived, so as far as I am concerned, this meal can't be as awful to put in your mouth as say, Limburger, Century Eggs, or Durian fruit....right?!

I know, I know, you are so excited at this point that you just don't know if you can possibly maintain your composure until I post the results of this particular cooking adventure. Take heart! I will be merciful on your unsettled state of curious anticipation. I promise to be snappy about updating you.

p.s. Here's a great website containing everything you might ever want to know about absinthe: Absinthe Museum

New Year's Resolution

In the spirit of what I don't seem to typically share, I am going to attempt to set some goals for myself in the new year. I have had many suggestions from my hubby, things like "quit smoking" and "take my vitamins every day" - but opted to choose some resolutions that I might be able keep because trying to do these particular resolutions will be much more enjoyable. So without further hesitation, my goals for 2007 are:

1. Hand-write a letter to someone every week.
   
2. Send off all the miscellaneous packages I have been meaning to send for the last year (there are at least five of these that I can think of off the top of my head).
   
3. Check my voicemail at least once a week.
   
4. Once a week do something nice for someone while meeting at least one of the following criteria:
   
   • something completely unexpected/unsolicited
     
   • done anonymously
     
   • for a total stranger
     

Freecycle.org

Stumbled into this and thought it was interesting:

Freecycle.org

Freecycle's mission statement:

Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.