The Life You Want



Beauty in the Simple



I have a friend, Cecelia Durkin, who owns a wonderful fair trade store called Women's Work.  Her subtitle is : "Enabling women to live their chosen/desired way of life".  One day  this last month when we were trying to connect to deliver something, and we were both running in circles, I finally asked, "Cecelia, is this our chosen way of life?"

Frequently as the new year rolls around, I find myself declaring that I'm going to simplify things, not get myself into so many obligations, declutter, etc. etc.  Sound familiar?

This morning as I was in the shower, noticing the three bottles of shampoo ( now really, I can only use one at a time), and was thinking about how my closets and cupboards get full, and how that theme runs to my art supplies, canned goods, clothes that I then have to make room for, I had an epiphany.

I thought of Annie Dillard's Book, The Maytrees.  One of my favorite lines was when the long gone husband returns to her dune shack and wants to know where the mirror went, and she answers something like "I got rid of it.  It wanted products."

Recalling that answer makes me think about what I need to get rid of.  Not just the stuff.  Not just saying no to invitations, requests, opportunities.  I need to identify what the culprits are in my life that demand stuff, activity, energy that I don't really have any interest in.  What are the underlying anxieties or bits of laziness that get me into my messes?  Where are the mirrors that want products that don't serve me and the life I desire for myself?
Where are yours?
Let's throw them out.
Happy New Year.

Salsa

I've been away a lot the last few months, often without easy internet access, so I haven't been posting to my blog. Perhaps you've noticed, or maybe you've been plenty busy yourself.

But this is the time of year to restart - school, cooking, work, friendships - whatever you've had to break from during the summer. 

When it's hot out, I tend to make meals that require very little cooking.  I avoid contributing one more calorie of heat to the environment, if I can help it.  But now that it's a little cooler, I'm enjoying firing up the stove, figuring out what to make from the bounty we recieve each week from our local farm membership.

This past week I made salsa.  Salsa is like pesto or spaghetti sauce - there are a million ways to make it, once you have the basics down.  I've blanched tomatoes, tomatillos, and hot peppers till the skins slip off, thrown them in the food processor with onion, garlic, basil, cilantro, parsley - and voila!  Simple.  This is the way some of my friends from Mexico taught me. 

This week I decided to broil the vegetables.  I love the sweet flavor this imparts.  And I had some fresh okra, too, so decided to throw that in.  I also roasted the onion, rather than use it raw.

So here's what I used:

    A few tomatoes (6 or 7 medium)

    About 7 small to medium tomatilloes

   5 jalapeno peppers

   an onion

    4 okra

I roasted these till they were charred on all sides, then removed the skins and stems as necessary and put them in the food processor.  I added a handful of fresh cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, whirled them till they were processed, and stored them in the fridge. 

We've enjoyed them with chips, but also as a topping for eggs or fish.

Let me know how you use your late summer vegetables!  I'm always looking for good, simple ideas.

Celebration of Life





Yesterday we attended a memorial celebration of the life of a friend of ours who died recently.  And what a celebration it was.  There were lively musicians playing banjo, bass, tuba, and trumpet; her husband who is a remarkable photographer had put together a  slide show with images depicting her life and paintings, including video clips of her working on various projects.  After seeing her when she was so ill, it was wonderful to watch her full of life, painting with her cat helper, mugging for the camera.   Ten to twelve people were invited to speak, to tell their stories - and as each one shared Margaret's impact, she grew larger in our midst.

We each have Margaret stories full of love, humor, observation, admiration, gratitude.  They are our individual pieces of her.  But there was so much we didn't know.  A hint of the fullness of this life came out in the community gathering.

While there were plenty of tears as well as laughter and the missing will continue, you knew that this was the perfect way to honor her life and to rejoice in the gifts she has given each of us.


Margaret Crenson's 2010 Christmas Card
from her painting



Inspiration from Quotes

Robert Fulton Quote - Acrylic and Ink on Paper

Sometimes  you come across a quote that is so rich in imagery that you find yourself running for your pencil or paints.  The other day I was looking through  a Kaatskill Life Magazine and there was a nice little article on Robert Fulton.  It felt serendipitous because they used some photos from the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY, where just last week I'd left some work in their gift shop.  The quote used at the beginning of the article was this: 

"As the component parts of all new machines may be said to be old, it is a nice discriminatory judgement, which discovers that a particular arrangement will produce a new and desired effect... Therefore, the  mechanic should sit down among levers, screws, wedges, wheels, etc. like a poet among the letters of the alphabet, considering them as the exhibitions of his thoughts; in which a new arrangement transmits a new idea into the world."

I love this statement.  It IS poetry, and seems to fit so many creative processes, whether art, music, writing, scientific discovery.

I had to start getting this down on paper.  Here is my first attempt.

Into the Woods

Looking for frogs

Marcus has been itching to get back into the woods, streams, ponds, trails - wherever he can find animals.  I've  wanted to take advantage of this enthusiasm but with the kids being  sick so much of the winter, we haven't been able to get out to explore.  Lately there's been a lot of rain; yesterday we had a brief window between school and the next storm so we headed out.   I'd gotten him some good boots over the winter, and picked up some nets from the pet store.  I can't tell you how thrilled he was to be able to get into the small stream by himself.  "You stay on the bank and look for frogs, nana.  I'll go in here and see if I can find some."

And snakes

We had a great time in spite of the hordes of mosquitoes.  There is little more thrilling than introducing children to an environment that is so rich in lessons.  You take them to the smorgasboard and watch them feast. 

A Year of Drinking Green Smoothies

In response to an online challenge I began drinking green smoothies for breakfast a little over a year ago.  It was the perfect time of year to start, when your body craves good fresh fruits and vegetables. I experimented a lot with various combinations, including things from the yard - plantain, dandelion greens, violet leaves, raspberry  and grape leaves, and plenty of fresh mint.  As the season progressed I was able to use all kinds of greens from the CSA we belong to, no longer depending on the store for the kale and collards I especially like.  And I could get local fruits, except for the bananas that give the drink a nice consistency.

I worried about winter - I was afraid that drinking a cold beverage for breakfast might not appeal to me and I'd lose the habit.  But I found that I did still enjoy them.  And if I wanted to switch up on an especially cold morning, I would have eggs or oatmeal, and get right back to the smoothies the next day or so.

Today's beverage is made with kale, collards, plantain, mint, banana, apple, and pear.  Tomorrow it will be mango, banana, and pineapple, plus greens from the store and yard.  Much as I love spinach and lettuce for salads, I don't care for them in smoothies - they have such overpowering flavors, whereas the kale and collards just seem to blend right in.

The Muse Slips In On the Line in a Poem

Spirit of Poetry
Acrylic on Paper, 10" by 8"

I sometimes hear the question, "Where do you get your ideas for your paintings?" And my answer is as varied as my themes: the season, my mood, experiences, what I've been reading.  My formative years did not include television; we listened to radio programs, and read constantly.  Both of those entertainments require active imagination, and provide good training for seeing things in your mind.  There are some passages in books, and epecially poems that are so alive and present that all I have to do is edit what I'm seeing.  Which point of view do I want to use?

One of my favorite poets is Catherine DeVinck.  She entered my life in the 1980's when a friend gave me a collection of her poems entitled A Time to Gather.  My husband and I used one of her poems at our wedding.  And lately I've been envisioning a number of paintings as a result of rereading her work.

This painting was inspired by her poem in the section The Spirit of Poetry.  I think I could paint a whole series on this one section alone, it is so full of gorgeous imagery.  I encourage you to look for her books - there are many of them still available.
Where do you find your muse?