Just over 5 months in, I’ve decided that this is going to be my year of DIY (Do-it-Yourself)/Making. It is a comfort to make things by hand. For me, it’s right up there with digging in the dirt. I’ve been doing lots of that too recently in the form of gardening. It’s a great way to be outside, and I’ve always found that getting a bit messy (as long as I can get clean once again:)) is great fun.
Making things is also my percolating time…it helps me work through complex studio problems, while my hands work away on something completely different. It is also sometimes very helpful to my practice to engage in making that is completely unrelated to what I am doing in the studio. Working playfully (or purposefully) in another medium helps even if that medium is dinner…
On the DIY front, I’ve been knitting again after a long hiatus. I love how quiet wooden knitting needles are…you can just hear the gentle slip of the wool as you go. Kittikens has been keeping me company, and she has been remarkably well behaved (if I discount two strategic nips at my knitting needles, that is…although spread across 30 naps on my lap, I think that qualifies as quite restrained, especially when I consider how much she seems to like the aroma of my newly wound wool…) Also on my list for the fall and winter: crochet (something new to me), sewing, pickling, smoking fish, and wood carving (also new)…
Pictured below: Homemade green tea ice cream.
Pictured Below: Pickled Radishes and the first California Rolls we’ve made in a very long while…super tasty if a bit misshapen:)
On the cooking front, recent hits were green tea ice cream, sushi and a chopped salad with sriracha mayo and black sesame seeds, pickled carrots, Swedish Scones, anniversary wedding cupcakes with berries and homemade whipped frosting, homemade pitas, and watermelon granita with fresh mint. Keep in mind this was spread across a month’s time…
Above: Pickled Carrots. Below: Swedish Scones.
As I was looking through my photos, I noticed a trend towards heart shapes…Waffles, and lemon raspberry cheesecakes, cookies with fresh ginger, and of course the heart shape on our sweet and feisty little calico cat. It seemed somehow appropriate in this time of social distancing, as we are often geographically far from the people we love.
I look forward to a time when we can travel again in safety. In the meantime, it as a great time to get together virtually. Many museums and organizations have excellent free content. I’ve taken free cooking classes, listened to lectures about a wide variety of topics, joined in with maker’s mornings, and video chatted with friends and colleagues all over the world.
Join me next time for an ARTIST to ARTIST interview with visual artist In Young Chung, as we head (virtually, of course) to Seoul.
Many of my favorite residencies host both visual artists and writers…It makes for great dialog. Also upcoming is my first interview with a writer…more on that soon.
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