And Then There Was Light

It's amazing how a little more light and a better looking fixture can transform a space. When we moved in the sad little light that was hanging over the dining room table needed to go. It is really the only major source of light on the first floor and it was not cutting it.

Nine whole light bulbs, it's crazy bright!

Why would you put an entry light
in your dining room?

After searching high and low for a new light, including the Paris Flea Markets where we fell hard for a 19th Century Baccarat Crystal fixture (and then realized that um, we aren't "those people") it was replaced with this new light I found on One Kings Lane. It is absolutely not what I started out looking for. I had even found this crazy, oversized rough wood piece at the Luckett's Design House that I was sure would be awesome for the space and then after we painted, I realized it would be too much of a statement for the place. I fully planned to go vintage, some great piece I would have to have rewired, but then voila.

It turns out getting all those random emails and glancing at them from time to time is worthwhile and for the record One Kings Lane really did have killer good pricing. So very excited and now we can actually (for better or worse) see each other and the food on the table.

Curatorial Endeavor

Creating demand and driving interest in visual art exhibitions is something that I love to do. The process of understanding why a curator picked a certain artist, theme, perspective is an endeavor I treasure to be a part of over and over again. So, this spring when I decided to take advantage of a little university perk and take a class to feed my brain, it was a bit of leap to select Curatorial Practice as my course of study.

Actually being a curator is a path that I considered and actively abandoned years ago, but I thought this effort might improve my understanding of what makes a curator tick and improve my capacity to support them and tell their stories. To that end, I thought I would share a little about why I selected Joseph Lappie as the artist in the class developed show Like. Comment. Share opening this Saturday, April 28 at American University.

Joseph Lappie is incredibly talented artist based in Davenport, Iowa and currently a professor at St. Ambrose University. But my appreciation for Joseph's talent began long before he garnered global accolades as a printmaker. It began (I think) in the back of Mrs. Walrath's eighth grade class at Broadmoor Junior High School. I have vague recollections of Joseph drawing dinosaurs and other figures while we were in class. We went on to high school and Joseph expanded his talent exponentially as an artist, always having a talent to entertain both on paper and in person. We lost touch as he went onto earn his BFA and MFA, but then images of his MFA Thesis exhibition crossed my path. That was 2008.

For four years, I've recalled the work from time to time as an important departure from the traditional approach to printmaking. The scale, the figures, the sculptural evolution of the print blocks, all represent truly original thinking in printmaking. Stretching the boundary between printmaker and sculptor, the work commands consideration both as a technical achievement and artistic representation.

There is a depth of sadness and inward reflection in many of the figures Lappie illustrates. In his piece There Is Always More Than One When There Is Always Only One (2008) the stature of the figures-- shoulders slumped, faces tightly drawn, conveys a heaviness, a burden that feels isolating even when among a group. The carved surfaces appear deeply marked and worn with life. Lappie speaks of this series as being pieces of himself. An external display of an internal examination of his motives as a human and a man.

Courtesy of the Artist. All rights reserved.

Layered with information, the figures' emotional forms take shape as shadows that shift between changing shapes and text. Lappie seeks to create comfort with discomfort. The more the viewer is willing to interact with the piece the more they will see of the work and perhaps of themselves.


Most compelling is that Lappie's point of view as an artist is as powerful in full scale at over six feet, as it is in a few precious inches in a handmade and bound book or print.

For the installation at American University, there are four of the matrix figures from the piece There is Always More Than One When There is Always Only One, Determination, Predatory, and Fear and Dependence in full sculptural form and three as full size relief prints, Love, Doubt, and Sexuality. Select artist books will also be on view.

There is far more to say, but perhaps it is best to let the work speak for itself. I understand now how a curator can consider and work towards an exhibition idea for years and never grown tired.

Exhibition: Like. Comment. Share.
Location: American University Museum at Katzen
Dates: April 28- May 20, 2012
Hours: Free Daily, Tuesday-Sunday
Exhibition Website: http://www.lcsartshow.com
Twitter: @LCSArtShow
Hashtag: #likeart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/curatorialpractices

Proper List of Excuses

After feigning no knowledge of the fact that I even have a blog for years, DH casually shamed me the other day by pointing out that he finally figured out how to subscribe to this rambling mess--but I hadn't written in ages. So here is a quick, totally lame list of excuses as to why I haven't been writing:

View of the river at Salt Water Cowboys in FL.

1. Mornings- We're still not friends, but I've been getting up way closer to 6 or 6:30 voluntarily that I ever thought possible to make it to (gasp) the gym or yoga. As a result, my evenings are getting cut shorter and shorter because apparently you have to go to bed early to get up early. Who knew?

2. Class- No I haven't lost my mind and decided grad school would be fun to do, again. I'm taking Curatorial Practice merely for the fun of it and you should totally come this Saturday to the exhibition opening and see the amazing work by the artist I selected Joseph Lappie.

3. Neighborhood- I'm having a total love affair with our new neighborhood and the dog is the main beneficiary. He's getting way more walks than he used to and I think being a city dog agrees with him. Well, at least he's tolerant of the slow pace I take to gawk at all of the embassy houses on the other side of Connecticut. What's brilliant, is the sidewalks are huge and no one actually walks there, so it's me, the dog and the secret service patrols. Btw, if any wants to purchase and gift a townhouse on Wyoming to me, feel free.

Beach in St. Augustine.

4.Decorating- Turns out that trying to decorate your house like a grown up takes time. Well, the good news is, I'm totally out of budget for now, so this project will be on temporary hiatus.

5.Travel- Both taking it and the lack of- meaning I've been lucky enough to see friends and their brilliant babes in Illinois, Missouri and Connecticut in the last few months and also escape to Florida for a nice long weekend with friends. And, DH has been home more this winter/spring than anytime I can recently recall. That's even with a trip to the middle of the Indian Ocean. So, I actually get to see him and do stuff. Crazy, I know.

So sorry, all three people who read this (4 with DH), I know your reading schedule has been just totally throw into havoc as a result. Let's just move on and instead think about how awesome Society Fair is in Old Town (total new favorite spot), the fantastic Doug Aitken: SONG 1 installation at the Hirshhorn, and tastiness that is this blueberry pie.

Food Makes the World Go Round

I could pretend that we plan our week around high minded ideas of volunteer service, meditation, reflection, and exercise. That would be a complete line of B.S. In reality we plan our week around food and when we can eat in relation to work. Yes, how lame is that?

The calculation of how much or how well we will eat during the week is a complete function of how well I can plan and pull off cooking for and during the week. This is in turn impacted by how strung out I/we feel about work; whether we're both in the same country; and whether I actually make it to the store and shop for the magical menu I say we're going to consume.

I've also noticed I fail at inserting good food into my schedule when it is compressed. For example, if I am slated to meet my trainer at 7am, I try to figure out what I could possibly shovel in my mouth at say 6:15am with zero effort and then what I will shovel in my mouth between 8:45-9am when I am running out the door to the office having just sprinted through getting ready after the gym. I never think of weekday breakfast as a leisurely activity. Rather, it's a riddle that most days I completely fail to solve.

Bananas. Yep, that's the answer I reach most often. And, really? How many bananas can one girl eat?

I've also realized that if I fail to plan something super tempting, we'll often default to eating out. Total idiot move on my part. Why not revise menu planning to include something more exciting than steamed bok choy and salmon... and not entirely crockpot based.

So this week, I am attempting to just start with the act of actually cooking. Not eating out because we're too lazy to plan and to eliminate throwing food out. More on this in another post, I'm completely mortified and intrigued by how much food we're wasting in the U.S.

Since we've started our subscription to Arganica, it's like Christmas morning on Sundays to find out "what's in the local box." This week we were delighted to not only find the potatoes, turnips, sweet potato and onion we expected to see (based on the time of year)- but also beautiful mushrooms (two varieties); those gorgeous heirloom cherry tomatoes we've had before; fresh rosemary; and two types of fresh lettuce.

Making sure we don't waste our delicious (yuppie) front door delivered produce is certainly an added incentive to cooking regularly as well.

So far this week (and yes I started cooking on the weekend) we've got Split Pea Soup made and ready to go in the freezer; Barefoot Contessa Turkey Meatloaf (we ate one half and I froze the other half to make another day); Hashbrown Quiche (just trust me); Barefoot Contessa Spinach Pie; Weight Watchers Mac & Cheese; fresh greens.

Still to make this week chicken quesadillas, quick beef bourguignon (thank you N!), and a new squash soup recipe. I'm hoping at least the soups will bridge into multiple weeks with some freezing.

Hashbrown "Quiche"

• 3 cups frozen hashbrowns
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup ham steak diced
• 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper diced
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 4 oz. shredded cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press frozen hasbrowns into a 9 inch pie crust, pour melted butter on crust to set hashbrowns. Bake hashbrown crust for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees. Layer in ham, pepper, jalapeno, onion, cheese. Whisk together eggs, milk, s/p and pour over layered items in dish. Bake again for 25-30 minutes until knife comes out clean and eggs are set.  Reheats really well.

Still My Favorite

From Pinterest

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)  -ee cummings

Blueberries in Winter

The wind whipped through our neighborhood last night so strongly we lost power for a few hours. Luckily the extra down comforters and fireplace kept us toasty as the first proper winter chill plunged the temperature to 16. When the thermostat kicked back on, I reached into the fridge for a piece of blueberry greek yogurt banana bread. Again, mad props to Daily Garnish.

There's something immensely satisfying about this recipe. Moist and full of the familiar banana bread taste, the fresh blueberries put this baked treat over the top. I certainly can't claim they are locally sourced in January, but they are organic and fair trade (baby steps). The recipe says frozen would work as well.

I'm rather particular about my banana bread you may recall, so to say this one is worth making is high praise.

Fresh on the Doorstep

Our first haul from Arganica.

Being more conscious of where our food comes from can be a taxing effort and I'm not even close to pinning down the source on every item I ingest or purchase. However, in an effort to eat more local and support our local/regional farmers we've joined Arganica. A bit of a spin on a CSA, this group gives us what we loved about the easy organic delivery from Washington Green Grocer with a commitment to buying local. 

Oh, and did I mention an awesome list of additional items we can add to our order every week? We did a four week trial run and we're definitely hooked. Yes, we're paying more for vegetables than if we just went to the store. I've read and referred to this myself as a "yuppie tax."

Here is my justification. If we can't increase the demand for locally sourced foods, the supply isn't going to increase and we can't achieve any economies of scale to impact the supply chain in our markets. In addition, it forces me to plan our weekly menus around fresh, seasonal vegetables. This has required me to be open to researching and cooking some veggies I would not readily purchase. No it's not all kale.

In fact there's a delicata squash waiting for me to figure out how to cook next week. Luckily it has a long shelf life so I can tackle the familiar butternut squash this week.

Also, having a magic delivery person leave a box on your front door step on a Sunday morning is a great way to kick off the week. The double smoked bacon, Belgian chocolate milk and local butter we added to our order last week didn't hurt either. It may just be the best bacon we've ever had. Full stop.