Bubbles, Butter and Baking

Dear Mrs. Dixon, I think of you every time I make a cake and right before I put the pan in the oven I "burp" it to get all the air bubbles out, just like you taught me in 7th grade. I didn't know it at the time, but your class turned out to be the most important one I ever took. (Well to be perfectly honest, the typing class I took at the same time sure has come in handy too, as I am typing this with all five fingers and am still fairly accurate. ) However you are right up there among my favorite teachers of all time. My love of baking started with you and I still live by your Maxim that if the recipe has butter and sugar in it, you whip it until it is light and fluffy no matter what the directions say.

My Mom bought me my first cook book for Christmas that year (still have it) and told me that she would buy me whatever ingredients I needed. I tried out every single cookie recipe in that cookbook at least once! My brothers loved it when I baked and they and their friends would eat the cookies, as fast as I could take them out of the oven. When I was first married it was the only cooking that I was really good at. I started a recipe collection at that time too, in a big 3-ring binder. You would photo-copy the recipes for us and would you believe that I still have those too?

I don't know where you are these days but I hope you had some satisfaction in knowing you were helping us to become good future wives and mothers. I hope that my baking is one of things my children will remember fondly,when they are old and on their own.

So thank you dear Mrs. Dixon for sharing your wonderful talent in the kitchen with all of us gawky teenage girls. I remember you fondly whenever that wonderful baked aroma comes out of my oven and I know it is done.

Experimenting

"Why?"
"Summer Bling"
"Picasso's Aunt"

"Peacocktail"

The black and white abstracts are bigger pieces than I usually work with and I liked it. I think abstract is just better bigger! Feeling rather out of sync with my art but there are still moments when it shines for me. My son-in-law told me that the first one is like some paintings he has seen in cafes in Chicago. Nice to know that somewhere out there my art would be understood. In the meantime I just paint for myself!

No color left behind.

My collection of painted pages done on brown paper, envelopes, watercolor paper etc. These are how I use up any paint left over from when I am working on a picture. Acrylic paint dries out so quickly. My thrifty soul won't let me waste paint so I grab these out of a box and add to them. In a way they are practice pieces as they show my how colors work with each other. I like to toss them on the floor once in awhile and see how they look next to each other. I add them as layers using gel medium to larger pieces. Mostly they are just fun.

How much Do I want to do Art???

Well I didn't get the art scholarship I applied for.........a letter came this week telling me so. Surprisingly I was not depressed about this, as I seemed to sense that the timing was not right.
I don't think I wanted it enough and somehow that came through in my letter to the committee. Taking a class I hoped would spur me on with new inspiration and instead this rejection letter, though very kindly worded has had that effect on me. Tonight I went down to my art corner in the basement and was determined to at least finish a painting that I have been fooling around with for weeks. True I didn't feel that total abandonment to just throw caution to the wind and really enjoy myself, so maybe I am a little sad about it. The point is that it got me going again in what I hope is the right direction. I may need more training but I have to at least for now, just keep trying. So I am going to dig out the stack of mat boards and just practice, practice, practice!!

Altered book Pages / Winged Fury 2

"Winged Fury" has been changed and now looks like this. toned it down a bit.

Some pages from the altered book I had been working on. They are out of order, it reads like a fairy tale. Will wait until I do the next page to see where the story takes me.
I haven't been working on art much.The last couple of paintings have been totally uninspired. I am hoping that I can take a class soon and get some new direction for my art. The warm weather has certainly lifted my spirits. There are blue violets blooming in the yard and my cousin, Diane has suggested that I pick some and try making paper with them. I do love flowers in any form.