Sunlight, Paper, Ink, Wax and Inspiration + Cabbage Rolls Recipe

This fall is one of the most glorious ones that I can remember. I don't know if that is because it is in fact one of the most beautiful falls, or if I am just making a point to notice. Fall weather in Colorado can be bipolar. The year that Ethan was born, on Labor day in the very start of September, it snowed as we were bringing him home. I remember because I did not have the right clothes for him. In the past we would have already had some serious snow, but not so far this year, and I don't know when it will come. Other years, the first snow of any significance was on Halloween.

Either way, I made sure to get out in the fall air and enjoy the warmth of the sun on my skin, especially on my face.

On Saturday I went seeking artistic inspiration. I was a bit stuck on how to begin the castle that I must build in a few short weeks, so I thought talking to other artist might help.

My first stop was at the Pacific Coast Origami conference, which was in a hotel in Boulder. The portions of the public exhibit and vendors was very small, but interesting and the people were very welcoming. I took a number of photos to show my students who like to give a go at origami

From there I set off to visit as may studios as I could fit in a day. It was the final day of the Boulder Open Studio event which takes place during the first two weekends of October. I have been before, but it had been years. I wanted to talk to other artists, I wanted to see what they were creating and I wanted to see how they organized their spaces. I had expected to be dazzled by a host of spacious rooms with great ventilation and windows or plexiglass garage doors that allowed the sun to stream in. I was surprised to find that many of the studios were in tiny, often dark, rented spaces. Each artist made his/her space very personalized and many of the spaces were inspiring, but I also went home feeling like the cozy set up that I have in a what used to be a spare bedroom, quite sufficient.

My favorite part was talking to the artists.

I first encountered Susan Douglass who is a retired geologist. She creates very moving sculptures from her retired vellium maps from places she has been to. The shapes of her sculptures imitate some natural feature, whether that be weather, rocks, water, etc. I loved how close I could get to them. She also does a series of painting about weather. The one I have below I think is an interpretation of snow.

Liz Quan has a studio next to Susan. Liz creates exquisite porcelain sculptures. Her studio and art made me wish that I had the patience to work with that stubborn clay. I could imagine myself sitting in the sun streaming from the window in her studio carving away at the beginnings of small clay pieces. Then I remembered that porcelain and I do not get along very well, so I settled back into admiring her work.

Next up, I stopped in to see Alix Christian's studio. I know her from Two Hands and I wanted to see her space. It was my favorite studio of all. The previous tenants were leather workers. They lined some of the walls with old, worn wood and Alix's husband made wonderful, shallow shelves to hold her framed pieces.

Alix's talent style has many different styles. I was very inspired by her kid-like pieces. I may create some art like hers with art my children made when they were young. Alix is very positive and inspiring. I hope to be able to take part in one of her open studios some day. It is a bit of a challenge for me since they take place on week days.

I also stopped by a shared printing studio and encountered a few artists that I know from going to Anderson Ranch. It was nice to have a chance to chat with them.

I was also very smitten with the art of printer, Theresa Haberkorn. I am very interested in trying out wood block carved prints. I love the personality in these pieces, especially the piglet pieces. She gave me permission to show the printing blocks and the prints.

Phil Lewis had the most beautiful, gallery like space and lots of interesting art. I enjoyed learning about how his artistic processes have evolved over the years. He was kind enough to allow me to show you in the photos below.

I picked my way through a intentionally created community to see the artwork of Lee Heekin. I would have liked to talk with her about her art, but she was not there. I am very intrigued by the encaustics that she creates. It appears that she makes the boxes and does a multi-layer wax pour. After it is cooled and set, she afixes a lightbulb into the back of the box. The idea is very thrilling to me.

The best surprise of the day came from meeting Molly Hargarten. She and I like so many of the same kinds of things and have such similar artistic interests that I could imagine that we might become friends. We talked about artistic processes and realizations that we have both made. I even asked her if she would like to get together and make art some time. She had many wonderful pieces, but the red-winged blackbirds were my favorite, hands down. After leaving her studio, I was so uplifted that I decided that was a good place to end my self-guided tour. There were at least 150 more studios I could have visited, but I was satisfied and ready to head home.

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Cabbage Rolls

2 pound lean ground beef
1 large Red Onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 pounds cabbage, chopped into bite size pieces (I use about 1/2 a med. head of cabbage, the weight is approximate)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Tomatoes, Fire Roasted, Chopped (about 14 oz.)
¼ cup chopped parsley
1-2 TB Basil, dried
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
2 cup cooked rice
1 large pizza dough, or bread dough

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat a pan on medium heat and add ground beef until cooked. Drain off the fat. Remove and place in a bowl.
To the skillet add onions, garlic and olive oil and cook stirring for 5 minutes. Add in the cabbage and cook longer, until the cabbage begins to wilt. Add in tomatoes, parsley, basil, lemon juice, salt & pepper (if using) and stir well. Finally add cooked rice and the cooked ground beef.Stir well to mix.

Divide the dough into balls about the size of a racket ball. Roll each one out on a floured board. Place about 1/4 cup of the cabbage mixture in the center of the dough. Fold the dough over to make a pocket. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or non-stick foil. Repeat until they are all constructed. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush the hot rolls with butter right after removing them from the oven.

These travel well. Sometimes I add a bit of Worchestershire sauce to the mix if it needs a bit of kick.

A Touch of Frost and a Flash of Color

Ethan and his friend Brandon went for a drive in the mountains yesterday. They had hoped to catch the fall colors, but that was short lived this year. They found a different kind of beauty instead.

In the morning, everything wore a coat of frost. It was as if they were dressed in gossimer gowns.

As the day progressed, it warmed up and the melting dew caught the light, looking like diamonds.

On the way back they stopped in Breckenridge for lunch and found the blue trees that were part of an art celebration in August. Many trees were painted blue with a paint that will fade over time. The result was striking.

I had hope to make it to that event, but it conflicted with the beginning of the school year. I had forgotten about the trees and so this was a pleasant surprise.

It is gratifying to be reminded how talented my son is. Both kids seem to have inherited their photographer's eye from their father.

A Paper Boat Update

A while back I posted a photograph of the paper boat that I had started. The process has been slow, but steady. I think it is nearly done. I want to figure out how to add fairly lights to the masts.

Birds on the Brain or Visiting Owls - An Audubon Event and H is for Hawk, an Amazingly beautiful novel

Birds seem to be a subtle theme in my life right now. Part of it comes from the enjoyment of listening to Helen McDonald read, H is for Hawk. It is an astoundingly beautifully written book about how a grown woman comes to deal with the death of her father by training a goshawk. I am smitten with the writing and drawn to the story. I am sure that part of that has to do with the fact that the narrator is working through dealing with her father's death, and I am entrenched in that in my own life. Sometimes that grief is palatable and on the surface. Sometimes it is so present that I feel like I could reach out and grab it. Other times it is like an alien disease that has gripped some one or other of my family and I do not have the antidote to kill it. It must simply run its course. With the holiday season nearing, I know that it will take a more central stage in my own heart as I will miss Don keenly when we do our traditional holiday events. Sometimes I think I should stop listening to the book since it makes me feel sad, but still I am transfixed by it, eager to breath in the next beautiful bit of writing and marvel at her talent.

Reading H is for Hawk reminds me of my friend who is a falconer, without a falcon. Reading this makes me wonder if what McDonald loves about training her goshawk is what my friend loves about being a falconer. It also causes me to look to the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a hawk or a falcon, which sometimes happens.

This past weekend, Larr and I got a chance to learn about and see some owls at an Audubon sponsored event. It was a small event, but interesting.

All of the owls were rescued from other places and are too injured to return to the wild.

This tiny owl was with its sister when they were attacked. The other bird did not survive. This one had a broken wing that healed wrong, which means that it cannot go back into its proper position or fly correctly. She was no larger than a can of soda.

This little guy is a burrowing owl that lives in abandoned prairie dog holes. He had been mistaken for a prairie dog and was shot. He was a bit more wary of people than the tiny owl.

This big, beautiful girl came from Alaska where she had been hit by a car, somehow survived three or four days on the ground since she could not fly. They think she managed to climb part way up a tree to survive. She was shipped to Denver for a special surgery and has lived here ever since. She is an old, crotchety bird, unhappy at having to be on display. She likes to bite her handlers, but she is glorious to look at.

You could not actually touch any of the live birds, but they did have feathers and wings that you could feel.

They also had an interesting collection of skulls and bones. Bird bones are hollow, making them very light.

Owls cannot digest all of the parts of the things they eat, so they spit up these fur and bone pellets every single time they eat. The organization had collection of them from a family that has a tree on their property where owls live. Both of the adults are dentists who collect the pellets, put them through an autoclave to sterilize them so that people can dissect them and discover what is left over from an owl meal. It was interesting, but I did not take the time to do one myself. I was mostly interested in getting photos as reference for drawing.