FFWD: all i have to say. . .

. . .is YUM. I love you, Marie-Hélène & Dorie. I made mine extra rum-y. :) Next time, I'll use a wider variety of apples, but these Fuji's held up well and are super delicious.

Wiksten

I, unabashedly, have a humungous girl crush on Jenny Gordy of Wiksten-made. For serious. Her blog is beautiful, she has impeccable taste, makes the most beautiful clothing and handknits, and is just an all around phenomenal gal. I envy her lifestyle as a lovely artist/maker with a fantastic studio with an awesome name (Dobbin Mews), a cute, city apartment, and a cute, loving hubby. I really, really, reeeeeeeeeally want to buy a Wiksten handknit item for Fall/Winter. *Sigh* Enough babbling.

(I'm really jealous of Jennifer Sarkilahti for getting these socks)

What A Surprise!

French Fridays with Dorie. Post #2.
I made Gerard's Mustard Tart last night for dinner. . . What an interesting dish! It was really tasty!! Even my picky eater of a Dad loved it!!!!! (SHOCKER) To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the delicate mustard flavor was certainly a pleasant surprise (and is what my Dad enjoyed most). I have to admit, I did not exactly follow the instructions, because. . .well, I was out and about all day until about 4:30 when I came home, read the recipe, and saw how long I was supposed to be chilling the dough! YIPES!!!!! My bad. . . so, that didn't happen. I got the dough together and chilled it in a disc for about an hour before I pressed it into my tart dish and immediately popped it in the oven to partially bake. And then again, I took the crust out of the oven and immediately poured in the filling; no messing around with waiting for the crust to cool (I just didn't have time for that!) Despite all of my poor planning and skipping steps, it came out fabulously! . . .thank goodness! :) Someone was on my side.

It was a yummy dish that we all really enjoyed! My parents might like it even more than I do! Funny, huh?! I think I'd really like to try the traditional recipe using tomatoes rather than carrots and leeks; those flavors sound totally delicious to me. This time around I may have used too many veggies (step-Mom disagrees; she loved all the veg). It was jammed packed (using 3 carrots and 3 leeks- they must have been much larger than what Dorie/Gerard used). So, next time, I think I'll lighten the load and see what happens. This one will definitely be making it to the table again, in some form or another! :)

Bon appetito miei amici! xo

Autumn

This is the first Fall I am experiencing with falling leaves, changing colors, crisp, cool nights, pumpkins out on doorsteps, in a very long time; since I was a little girl. And, I have to say, I am so deliriously happy about it! The prospect of apple cider, glowing candles, little kids all dressed up, smells of homey spices, beautiful, warm colors, leaves crunching beneath my feet, warm sun and cool air. . . what's not to love?!?!

Many of my fellow bloggers have been posting "to-do lists" and I'd like to share a list of things I would like to do in celebration of Fall. Please indulge me.

*Pick a pumpkin in a real pumpkin patch (Yes, I am 6 yrs old)
*Go on a hayride @ said pumpkin patch
*Roast a pumpkin and make something with it
*Create a really sweet jack-o-lantern
*Pick apples @ an orchard
*Pass out candy to little trick-or-treaters!!!!
*Take photos of the Fall foliage and demonstrate the passage of the season into Winter
*Break out the glory that are boots/scarves/jackets/thick socks (However, I am admittedly nervous about not being able to wear flip-flops all year round! You can't completely take the Arizona out of the girl)

By the way:
The end. :)

Gougères

YAY! It's our first French Fridays with Dorie recipe: Gougères!

I made them last week, tweeting along with several, long-time TWD-ers and it was so much fun. These little bites are un'esplosione di formaggio. I was extremely surprised by their texture; akin to a cream puff, as they were hollow and slightly damp on the inside but golden crisp on the outside. I made them with gruyere (most delicious cheese everrrr) but am intrigued to experiment with other cheeses as well (my Dad is not a big gruyere fan. In fact, he's not one to really branch out much in the realm of food and cooking, which should make this experience highly interesting. . .). In any case, I hope I don't get yelled at because I didn't get a picture of the finished product before these babies were devoured. I won't make that mistake again. I do, however, have an image of my *in progress* dough on the stove. I hope this will suffice for this week and I'll be good next week, taking plenty of pictures of Gerard's Mustard Tart.

Bon appetito i miei amici. xo

P.s. I may be whipping up some cream puffs in the very near future. It is such a perplexing, yet very easy dough!!!

Hey Liz Stanley, you're a genius!

I'm pretty positive that anyone who has come into contact with me is aware of the fact that I am a Hello Kitty fanatic. In my undergrad course, Art and Cultural Criticism, I even conducted a study and presentation about the visual culture and identity politics of Hello Kitty (and made Kitty White a facebook page that I still update here and there, despite the fact that I took this course three years ago; friend her here). I don't mess around with the kawaii. . . ;) At any rate, along with my fascinations with the image of HK comes a love for ginormous bows. Liz has created the ultimate Big Bow Pencil skirt that is nothing less than perfection!! Check out her post!! This whimsy yet sophisticated skirt will be made and it will live in my closet!! Thank you, Liz!

I will leave you with a bit of joy which I found and incorporated into my presentation on HK. It is amazing. I hope you like it!

The first time I saw Hello Kitty, the temptress, was in 1982. She seduced me from my Japanese roommate's notebook, managing to get me to rush out and buy a yellow and pink Hello Kitty wallet. I preferred her right away to Minnie Mouse who wore a boxy red polka dot dress and way-too-big red pumps. Hello wore a jumper slipped over bare arms. It was a new wave frock, no doubt about it. Even her double set of whiskers seemed trendy, even her cone-shaped ears exuded cool. Even her poor excuse of a nose (yellow button boxed in a black circle) was fabulousness, pure girl-fun. Chinatown became the preferred shopping mall of the twenty-somethings concerned with Hello Kitty fashion. A yellow daisy sometimes graced Hello's bodice so she doubled as a 60's peacenik, a mammoth yet miniscule symbol, a kitsch-princess who stayed frog free. "You're putting too much on me," Hello Kitty might say, if she could slip out of feline city. "Try another temple," she might meow, her tiny voice raw and red.
But Hello doesn't have lips, those double delicious pink worms that girls paint red for special occasions. She can't yell if she's in trouble or kiss Mimi on her temple. Without a mouth, Kitty's not able to confess her secrets. But dissecting Hello is slippery business. Feminists surely prefer girls who are able to make noise, like me. But who knows? Monks might find Hello pure Zen, the way she smiles without teeth, going to and fro with Kitty purposefulness- content on pencil boxes and purses, holding her world together, managing to keep perfectly still. No slip of the tongue possible. Hello is manufactured in China, but she was conceived and born in London, much like a box of Cadbury chocolates. Post-Shirley Temple, Hello is a whole industry, frothy and competitive as shampoo or beer. -Denise Duhamel, Screaming Monkeys, pg. 244-245.

drooling over. . .

. . .this (and everything in her store).


And, that.

children as photographers

As Summer Allen-Gibson says, this kid is oozing coolness!!! I cannot wait to have a class full of kids to give cameras! Oh, the possibilities!

I heart you, Shabd Huipil.

Shabd Huipil creates gorgeous watercolor effects, as demonstrated in this blouse. Definitely a must-have (seen here)!

Hear, hear!

"Yes. Yes I am. I am a feminist. I reject wholeheartedly the way we are taught to perceive women. The beauty of women, how a woman should act or behave. Women are strong and fragile. Women are beautiful and ugly. We are soft spoken and loud, all at once. There is something mind controlling about the way we’re taught to view women. My work is, both visually and musically, a rejection of all those things, but more importantly a quest. And it’s exciting. It’s exciting because all of the avant-garde clothing, and the lyric and the musical style that was at a certain time, and at once considered weird or odd or unattractive, uncomfortable, shocking, it’s now trendy. Perhaps we can make women’s rights trendy. Make women’s rights, feminism, strength, and security, and the power of, the wisdom of the woman. Let’s make that trendy." -Lady Gaga

Gaga

This may be out of the blue or perhaps slightly out of context, but I just have to share this interview by SHOWstudio of Lady Gaga. It is quite long, though very wonderful for those of you who are interested in her or are interested in music, fashion, art, and/or visual culture. I believe that many people have misconceptions of Gaga as an artist and too, many people are prejudiced of who she is and what her ambitions and goals encompass. Though to be quite frank, I am completely inspired by her and am publicly and loudly a fan and follower of her work. As someone who studies art and visual culture, Lady Gaga is an active member of our contemporary culture and I take complete, almost obsessive interest in her impact upon our media and visual culture, with her involvement in artist collectives, and in her mission as a solo artist, as she is revolutionary, at least in my eyes. Too, she is a very articulate, well-educated, intelligent and quite eloquent individual for whom I have the utmost respect. After watching this interview and upon reflection, I realize that I am so extremely passionate about art and visual culture- especially through the lens of Gaga. It's not even funny!!!!! I am so happy and fortunate to have studied in my undergraduate years what I am truly passionate about and what I will continue to study and research throughout my life.

more love for bulky, wintry attire.

via

I like to draw. . . I am Awesome!!

I want to give these to my future students :)

Draw Your Own Planet...

This is pretty much the coolest idea ever. How ingenious to paint a globe with chalkboard paint! ...to state the obvious, I will be doing this.

wearable art materials...

via



...Yes please! How fun are these? I'm going to have to make a version of these once I have art students or some little kiddos to hang out with :)

whoa.

via



This girl {Marit Fujiwara} and her textiles {which she created for her BA show in Textile Design from Chelsea College of Art and Design} blow me away. See more of her work here.

Knitting

Typically, knitting becomes an unappealing activity beyond the brink of 80 degree weather. Yes, welcome to Arizona in March. For this girl, this is not so... especially after seeing this bit of heaven:


I am still dreaming of chunky cowl neck pieces, fabulous slouchy hats, and apparently cocoon-like textiles. I suppose spring hasn't truly hit me yet. I will let you know when it does; I am sure it will be soon :)

SWOON

I am still wanting 500 colored pencils!!!! ...I just can't seem to get over the lovely design of the display options and the enormous variety of hues! I dream of the wall display being in my art classroom, however impractical it may be... Too, I dream of them in my studio... in my living room... in my bedroom... Really, there is no inappropriate location to admire such a beautiful spectrum of color. Let's be serious; colored pencils are a universal material and an essential building block to be used by anyone for anything at any moment, providing infinite opportunity for creation by the hand of the beholder!! I'm hoping that professing my love for these pencils will convince the internet deities to send them to me!! Pretty please?









Too, I am still in love with exploring the idea of an origami installation in the art classroom, especially after seeing this image found on wise craft:

Swoon

<3

Neo-Traditionalist

We believe in being glass-half-full sorts of girls.

We believe that often times, granny is chic.

We believe in peddling vintage Schwinns with flower baskets.

We believe in poetry, picnics, and piñatas.

We believe one is never too old to keep a diary, the secrets only grow more scandalous.

We believe in arranging fresh flowers unruly like an English garden.

We believe in adventure and traveling the globe, be it to Marrakech or Malibu.

We believe in mixing lucite with oriental rugs. Thrift store finds with heirlooms.

We believe in handwritten thank you notes, better late than never.

We believe in needlepoint, letterpress, decoupage and forgiving Martha Stewart.

We believe in piggy banks and cookie jars.

We believe in book clubs full of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Austen and Woolf.

We believe station wagons are hopelessly chic.

We believe in recycling our Grandmothers’ names. Eloise, Jackie, Faye…

We believe in collecting: stamps, shells, books, big glittering diamonds…

We believe in marrying the boy that writes us the best love letters.

We believe in highly competitive board games—Chess, Scrabble, Chutes & Ladders.

We believe in spontaneous road trips and charming, chintzy bed & breakfasts.

We believe there’s something to fortune cookies, wishbones and 4 leaf clovers.

We believe in classics, shaken and stirred.

Aching for Bookmaking!

In the past week, I have become enraptured in bookmaking! It all began when my sister, who also graduated with her BFA in Art Education from Temple's Tyler School of Art, taught me a few years ago how to make books. Since I made my first book with her, years ago, I have wanted to do it again, but haven't had or made the time! Now that I have ample time to experiment and create, I am seizing the opportunity! About a week ago, I ventured to the library for some books and came across this FABULOUS publication called, How to Make Books; it is so remarkable, intelligent, and easy to follow {with fabulous projects and ideas} that I am going to purchase it to have and hold as a resource!!

Esther K. Smith, the author of the book, encourages new bookmakers to start their bookmaking adventures by creating instant books, like zines, cloth baby books, etc., which help a new book artist work out kinks and get accustomed to the process of creating books! I have made 3 self-hinged accordion dummy books thus far, and it's led me into wanting to experiment with the hard stuff! I'm ready to take a crack at some bindings such as Coptic and Long Stitch books.

This revived interest of mine, in an under-appreciated art form, is something I've always thought about exploring in the art classroom with students! How wonderful would it be for students to create their own, well-bound sketchbooks?! Ironically enough, Allie, a blogger and teacher who authors one of my frequented blogs called, Bakers and Astronauts, has embarked on a new unit of inquiry in her preschool classroom: storytelling, paper-making, and bookmaking; this unit is exactly what I am interested in! I hope you take a moment to admire and consider bookmaking as it applies to you and your needs or desires and look at Allie's post about paper-making, as a part of her and her students' book-making adventures! I hope you'll be inspired to make a book of your own, whether you sketch, journal, make lists, take notes... everyone can use a beautiful, personalized, handmade book!!












Additionally, as a profuse lover of textiles, making books creates an outlet for utilizing textiles which really excites me!! One can create covers, belly bands, pocket covers and even utilize textiles within books to illustrate with fabric {a lesson I explored as a student teacher with my 6th graders in which we created fabric landscape images with scrap/recycled/reused fabric, studying foreground, middle ground, and background components to composition}.


Allie, on Bakers and Astronauts, also recommends a book called, My Friends, by Beatrice Alemagna in which Alemagna illustrates an animal that is an odd amalgamation of appliqué, fabrics, and stitching which vaguely resembles a most unusual animal, perhaps a dog or sheep. How wonderful would it be to utilize Alemagna as an artist to explore sewing work, stitching, creating fabric illustrations, which in my mind all culminate under the umbrella of bookmaking!! Another potential unit of inquiry that I will tuck away for when I have a real classroom full of students :)

For those of you who are interested, please read this interview of Beatrice Alemagna on the blog, Fine Little Day!

One last declaration: through my bookmaking expeditions, I've discovered that the bone folder is the greatest tool ever; everyone should own one!! So, go out, get yourself a bone folder, and happy bookmaking to you all!!

Cin cin!

Cute as a Button...

(Image courtesy of Creature Comforts)

A little bit about buttons, courtesy of Wikipedia:

In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small disc, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for ornamentation. Functional buttons work by slipping the button through a fabric or thread loop, or by sliding the button through a reinforced slit called a buttonhole.

Buttons may be manufactured from an extremely wide range of materials, including natural materials such as antler, bone, horn, ivory, shell, vegetable ivory, and wood; or synthetics such as celluloid, glass, metal, bakelite and plastic.

Hard plastic is by far the most common material for newly manufactured buttons; the other materials tend to occur only in premium apparel.

There is even a phobia of buttons, called koumpounophobia.

(Image courtesy of Creature Comforts)

Buttons are especially sweet adornments! Even when you find an ugly button, it is probably so ugly, it's cute! Buttons can be used in varies ways; as tactile play things, to hold a shirt, pants, or skirt from falling off or opening, as closures in general, to advocate for a cause or a band, etc (see above definition). I have been thinking a lot about buttons in my sewing rendezvous and thought about them today as I revisited my cooperating teacher's blog, where she has described her advocacy through the Art Alliance in her school district. She has created a button to wear each day, symbolizing her support for the arts and to visually represent this to others at her school.
Of course I love this because EVERYONE should advocate for the arts, and she has used recycled materials, re-purposed into a button. Brilliant, Lainie! Along with advocacy purposes, I love buttons as a fashion statement, as adornments creating sophisticated detail to a garment or what have you. The thought of creating buttons intrigues me, particularly using unconventional materials to create them. I stumbled upon a tutorial to make buttons from polymer clay, which I think is an interesting thought and choice of material and thought it prudent to share! Here is the tutorial. While the color palette isn't quite the level of sophistication I'm going for, it's the process that I find worth playing with, for those of us who don't have immediate access to clay and kiln usage!
*This also ties into my fascination with creating wearable art!! Perhaps button-making or crafting unconventional closures could tie into a unit?!

Here are some other tutorials for making buttons from Design Sponge:

It Is Up To Us!

Presently, support for education in Arizona is quite frightening, particularly for areas like Art and Visual Culture Education. We MUST advocate for change in this state and across the country! On May 18th, 2010, please go to your polling place and vote FOR the 1 cent sales tax increase to save Arizona schools. Without this sales tax increase our schools will not function at the level needed to help our children and youth succeed! A penny a piece will save Arizona schools from massive budget cuts. I urge you to voice yourselves and vote!

On the same note, my awesome cooperating teacher from student teaching is advocating for the arts in her school district due to a major scare, not only in the state, but in her district, which will gradually eliminate specialists, thus eliminating enrichment opportunities for the children and youth of southern Arizona!

"This past November there was an override election for our school district. Since 1993 the continuation of the override has always passed. However, this year it did not. What this means is that over the next 3 years 90 "specialist" teachers (art, music, pe) will be phased out. This is in conjunction with the awful state budget means that the continuation of those classes is very fragile." -Lainie Kitzmiller

Thus, the Visual Arts teachers in her district have formed an "Art Alliance," to advocate for the arts in schools in every way possible, expressing the importance of art to a child's development through critical and creative thinking opportunities not offered or present in core subject areas. Please do your part and advocate for the young people of our state! Spread the word to your friends, families, and colleagues urging them, too, to make their voices be heard and VOTE!

Parisian Love

I am unabashedly not a football fanatic, which is astonishing to many people, particularly on Superbowl Sunday! Here and there, I'll tune in to a game or two, especially when it's the Philadelphia Eagles; gotta represent!! I never watch an entire game, though. They are so boooooring in my book, "I'm completely bored; I'm a border collie," for you Gavin and Stacey fans. So, I admit, yesterday, during the Superbowl, I became disinterested right at about half-time. Oops? While I was watching, I did enjoy a few of the commercials. Most prominently, I enjoyed the Google commercial! I found it refreshingly simple, clever, and cute among a sea of mildly offensive, humdrum advertising. Watch it here.

Oh Dear...

Well, it's been much longer since I have posted than I had intended, but such is life, bustling and busy! Living in a demanding household takes up so much time! Not to mention feeling under the weather and slightly unmotivated, too. All of these things put me much farther behind than I would wish. Thus, sadly, I still have not compiled my cross-country visual journal, though I seriously intend to. It will happen eventually, I swear! In the meantime, I have been thinking up ideas for neck pieces and doing some hand-sewing; yo-yo's and flowers, predominately, which will be put to use in creating said neck pieces. Today, I am inspired by this DIY tutorial for fabric flowers: Michonne. Oh the things you could do with them!!! They're so delicate and lovely.


This week, among the yo-yo's and flowers, I attempted to sew a little, lined satchel;

whilst I tend to make everything much more complicated than necessary, biting off more than I can chew... it's how I roll, always taking the more challenging path. Though, after this experience, I realized just how much of a novice I am!! Particularly with the ephemeral pressure of my foot to the pedal and wavering tempo of the sewing machine (mostly because I pin everything to death and don't want my needle to break), creating inconsistent stitches... blah! And perhaps I should have avoided a contrasty thread and a crazy stitch... yay for being overambitious! I need a sewing mentor... how nice would that be?! Until I find one, I think my mission has morphed into attempting more simplified projects that won't make me growl at my final product! I also discovered how much I want a rotary cutter. I believe this simple tool will make sewing projects a breeze! ...maybe?

I think it's about time I trek to the sewing supply store and get some supplies for my creations!

(lovely and inspiring photo from Lena Corwin)

"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" -Gaga

It's official. I am a survivor of a cross-country road trip with my Grandparents. It was rough at times; one can imagine how exhausting it can be to sit like a sardine in the backseat of a jam-packed, mid-sized car for 8 hours a day, day after day, participating in and witnessing arguments surrounding what is the best route to take? what's faster? what city are we coming up to? how many miles? where are we going to stop? do they have a Best Western there?!... despite these trials and tribulations, we made it to Arizona in one piece which means I have returned to the blogger world! I have been jonesing to catch up on all of my blog-reading and what I've missed in world events within the past few weeks! I'm feeling energized and believe, after a weekend of rejuvenation, I'll be running in full gear, fully up-to-date!

Speaking of rejuvenation and salubrious efforts, I did stumble upon a blog post which I feel is quite appropriate, today and for the weekend, as I attempt to re-enter reality, jumping into the swing of things. As a lover of tea, its taste, its abounding health benefits, its playful accouterments, and its aesthetic potential, I drink it at least twice daily and appreciate all varieties! Ashley English, with Design*Sponge, has provided quite a nice ode to tea, wrapping up January which happens to be "National Tea Month"; check it out here: Small Measures with Ashley.
I hope to return soon, refreshed and functioning with many findings and ideas to share, in addition to a visual diary of my road trip!

Happy Friday, all! Fellow little monsters: if I don't return before Sunday, don't forget to tune into the Grammy's!! Go GAGA! Ra-Ra-Ah-Ah-Ah!!!!

Arrividerci for now...

Today, I am embarking on a cross-country road trip with my grandparents!! All I know is we are headed "south" for now... I'm excited to see different areas of the country; I'll be sure to photograph as much as permits. For now, the blogging will be put on hold (unless we miraculously have internet access!). Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks, as I will post my pictures and divulge our encounters! Along with taking in the scenery and enjoying the local climates, I plan to do lots of reading. Here is my visual reading list:


Bon voyage!

Hurray!

Congrats to Grace Bonney and DesignSponge, one of my most favorite blogs, for being featured in the Home & Garden section of the New York Times!

A Bit of Whimsy

This morning as I sipped on my green tea and perused through my regular blogs, one of which is ohjoy!, I stumbled upon a beautiful grouping of images that Joy has curated which she titles, paper crane perfection.

I think that these gorgeous little sculptures are organized in such an interesting way that has me thinking of installations. As a student teacher, it became blatant that the students LOVE to make origami. What a wonderful project and exploration would it be to create an origami installation with students. I'll be locking this idea in the vault for use at a later date!

A Novice Anew

It's a new year, a new decade, a new beginning!! As I've recently graduated from college with no certain sense of where I want to be and what I want to immediately do, I decided to create a blog for which I can ground what ideas, discoveries, explorations, research, and inspirations I have and conduct. In school, I studied Art Education (please view my e-portfolio here: http://eportfolio.cfa.arizona.edu/cover.php?portid=1093&eio=s) and this is where most of my interests lie; among art, creating art, education, early childhood education, the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education, critical theory, design, fashion, textiles and much more.
Since the beginning of the new year, I have been occupying myself with a lot of blog surfing, sketching, brainstorming, and creating. I hope to utilize this blog as an outlet to share my findings, my processes, and my creations here. Welcome to my journey! Enjoy :)