'Absurdities in Life' Monoprints.

This is the second series I did in my screen printing class with Chris Dacre at IU. I cannot tell you how much I struggled with myself and my brain while drawing and printing these.  I have a relationship with drawing that varies from pure love, to embarrassment, to sarcasm.  That is probably a lot better than always being static, but take this as my disclaimer for the days I hate looking at these.

 

I will say that I have never had a critique quite like the one I had for these - where I was smiling and laughing the whole time.  I got so much positivity from that critique, contrasting my inward struggle with what I was physically doing.

Art is not just about the artist, but hugely about the viewer.  Sometimes I have a hard time understanding that until I share it.  Nevertheless, this project ended with a bunch of good conversations and even some references to South Park.

I'll take it!

The Best Chocolate Syrup of Your Life.

... for your never-ending chocolate craving.

3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup water
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla


Whisk together the water, salt, and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and heat over low to medium heat. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Boil for three minutes and stir frequently. Be sure to watch the temperature - if it looks like it is about to boil over, it probably will boil over. (Totally not speaking from experience on that one..) Mix in the vanilla and let cool for 5 minutes. Pour into a clean glass jar and refrigerate.

This syrup will last for several months, and is the most delicious chocolate syrup ever. 1570902x better than Hershey's. You also did not hear from me that I am awfully biased against Hershey's cop-out chocolate products.

Ehem.


........



So. I have been slacking on getting my scans together, but I wanted to share what I have been working on as far as screen printing goes. My second project after the polar bear portrait was six monotypes about "Absurdities in Life." These revolved around my experiences in Bloomington so far.  At some points, I wanted to take back all the wonderful things I said about the place previously, but I won't.  I had a really silly time with the series, and it definitely shows with the final prints.

I am currently exploring poster art and am in the middle of an 8 layer print.

'Sexy molasses lady' is all I can say about that.

Better Chocolate Chip Cookies.

1/2 cup Earth Balance
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg (I used half a banana this time.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional, but it's delicious)
1/2 - 3/4 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350° F. Beat Earth Balance and sugar until fluffy.  Add the molasses, banana (or other egg replacer) and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Sift together dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes and move to a cooling rack.


...


I was craving chocolate chip cookies this week like you wouldn't believe. And I didn't want to make that one recipe that never ever turns out the same for me again. I also didn't have ener-g egg replacer or flax seeds on hand that I found suggested in other recipes - thus the banana and my first(ish) own cookie recipe!

They good. Real good.




On a side note, I had an awfully silly week.  What was better about today? Putting sweet fenders on my bike (aka no more wet butt), getting my hands in some flour, actually finishing homework, drinking too much coffee, and finally listening to In the Face of War again.

Portrait of Caitlin.

Back at it.

I'm finally back in a print lab and am very happy about it. I just finished my first silkscreen project ever.  It turned out to be successful, but holy crap - it was a learning experience. Scans will be up soon, I promise!

In other news from today, this blog just got over 1700 views. Thanks for reading, dearest readers!

Newness.

Sean Drews Photography

I was going to write some elaborate post about all the exciting things that have happened in the past month, but the words are not flowing as easily as I would have liked them to.  The general gist goes like this: I moved into a new home, which I am totally loving. I began school at IU, which was... a process. [aka, Indiana University hates transfer students.] I am thrilled about the classes and teachers I do have, although it is only four. I am not used to having so few classes, but I think it will still be a good amount of work. My teachers are all very enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and they really want to share what they know. Besides new classes, I am working more shifts at the co-op now. Plus I get to do fun stuff all the time.

The art community here is outstanding.  I went to an IU faculty art exhibition opening last night. Mind blown.  There was just incredible work, and seeing that made me even happier to be in the place I am.

I am still enjoying Bloomington very much, although winter is upon us, and it is getting somewhat gloomy.  I also had a rather traumatic experience involving a pick up truck and me on my bicycle - in the pitch black dark that Bloomington is at night. It is one of those things that still scares me and has created an unfortunate amount of paranoia, but is positive in other aspects - one of those being the empowerment I felt from the kick-ass ladies who came to my emotional rescue with Candyland and a homemade mace holster. These things.

C'est la vie.

A very delightful Bloomington welcome.

I am staying with a couple friends of mine for a few weeks while I am working at my new job and waiting to move into my new house. They have two cats (Chewy and Churro; see img 1) that are incredibly cute, yet very destructive. They run around at night and knock things over, and sometimes run over the length of my sleeping-bagged body when they are playing tag. My like for cats has never been high, and living with them has reiterated in my mind how weird they are. For instance:

1. Always hungry & steal people food.
2. Clumsiness - Churro has no balance and falls off things, and Chewy often slides into the cabinets face first if she is running on the wood floor. All I'm saying is that this opposites previously believed 'cats always land on four feet.'
3. Interest in multiple things at once, or switching back and forth between chasing an inanimate object, each other, the kitty laser, their own tails, etc.
4. No cats have the same meow. Chewy actually sounds like a very miniature Wookiee.
5. Kneading chosen nap place - usually me. Churro has awfully sharp claws. No matter how cute she is when she gets cuddly and how loud she purrs, it HURTS. see img 2
6. Must be under human feet at all times.
7. Naps in impossible positions.
8. Must lay on human lap / face / laptop at supremely inopportune times. see img 3
9. Cats smell like poop.
10. They like toilet water.
11. They also like playing with kitty litter. Kitty litter + toilet water = cat footprints errywhere.
12. If Chewy could pick a favorite place in the whole world, it would be in a kitchen cabinet. You know, where the clean dishes live.
13. New object in house = new favorite place to nap.








































I also have this mad cat allergy, but I just cannot resist their cuteness. My face, on occasion, looks like Rudolph's nose with extra snot.



I started my job at Bloomingfoods, a food co-op, where I make sandwiches and coffee, stock the salad bar and cooler shelves, and wrap up deli food for customers, amongst many other things. I felt the strong bonds between coworkers from the first day, and think that the job is a good fit for me.

So far, I have been thoroughly impressed with this town. It is bike-friendly, pretty Eco-friendly, has a great music scene, etc etc etc. There are so many gems here - bookstores, restaurants, a community orchard.. the list goes on. On Saturday, I rode over to the farmers' market which was the first of the indoor winter market of the season. My friend insisted on buying me carrots and a butternut squash there because she wanted me 'to have a really good welcome to Bloomington.' I have felt that from almost everyone here. The town is welcoming, the people are sincere, and in general, I see much more genuine respect for each other as human beings than I have in the last two cities I lived in. As one friend told me, "Bloomington is a fantasy land. Cotton candy and rainbows." Bloomington is magical, yet still very humble.

I do very much miss the friends and family I am not able to be around right now. Mostly my SISTER who just got ENGAGED. [Insert squealing and huge smile here.] I have already started wedding dress shopping for her, and figured out that I might become a maidzilla if she thinks she wants to get anything ugly.. Joking aside, I am really really happy for her and her hubby to be. They cute. Also, if you were wondering, all their puppies found homes!

I will be moving into my new house at the end of December. In it already will be two lovely ladies, a yellow lab named Darby, and three backyard chickens. All of us are garden lovers (!!!), and we will have three types of composting. I could not be more stoked.

I mentioned that Bloomington has a great music scene... In the past week or so, I had dinner at Cafe Django, named after the fantastic Django Reinhardt, while watching live jazz. I saw one of my favorite bands, Murder By Death, play a sweet show here in their hometown. And the night before that, I went to a punk rock tribute show and danced my booty off to Operation Ivy covers.

That said, I'll leave you with this: