Karin's Kitchen -kes

There have been some nasty illnesses going around. We did not escape them at our house. 

Don't overlook culinary spaces when bigger projects aren't possible. The kitchen is an ideal playroom. Silliness rules over goals. Welcome to food sculpture 101. Fun and games started with capellini, rice noodles and bowtie pasta.

Eggs were separated, each part beaten. Each type of pasta was rolled in either the white or the yolk, no thought here, just interest in clear or orange color on the surface of the pasta. Ripped pieces of parchment cooking paper were draped over kitchen ware i.e. a small pan, ceramic mini serving bowls. Then dribbling of more egg parts over pasta. 

  I haven't decorated a cake or cookies in ages so I filled a pastry tube with some mayonnaise and added some Hellmann's 'frosting' decoration. Toothpicks and uncooked capellini made each pile of goo much more punk and entertaining.

Everything was cooked in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Cooking added some nice browning and may add some visual shelf life. At this point, a week later, these things must be pure poison. The day I made them however I admit I sampled the delicate bits I broke. Everything was tasty like a rich, salty, warm cracker. This process will make an interesting garnish for a real meal someday.

It always hard to resist playing with fire. The torch in the garage is no different than what a Sushi or gourmet chef might use to crisp an edge. Below is the finale picture.

Bon apetit.

Fabric Scrap Poetry

  Here's the update of my earlier blog. I took the strips of color I was so enjoying and transformed it into a birch grove. The black leaves are made from a faux leather with the trees being crafted from silk wrapped rope.

This little vignette inspired me to try to create poetry from the bits and pieces of fabric scraps so I made textile sketches out of the leftovers. There's something transcendent in playing with materials that hold little value except for the fact I like the color or the texture. In using media that's from," the nothing to lose by trying" file, I find a kind of expressive freedom. This may (or not) inform paintings when I return to more traditional mediums.

Not all of these works are done. I want the vibe of each one to tell me where to go artistically. So a strange mix of patience and faith operate in my work. Who knows? (this is said with an exaggerated shrug).

I hope these challenge others to let go and try something new.

SKF

Salvaging Bad - az

The idea has been suggested that when one creates a drawing, they create quickly and many. Why spend time belaboring a point when you can move onto the next one? This is neither a good or bad idea. I have done both. I have probably hundreds of unfinished drawings and paintings. But I also have art that I have worked to death. I work a piece to death because I am learning something. Below is piece was so overworked that I was considering throwing it away. 

My process is to create work and come back to it later. It is the same here. I did a watercolor I liked except for a couple of things. I decided to correct it with craft paint which didn't make it better. I then used my black pen which made it worse.  My next step was to cut it up and use the parts elsewhere. Below is the left side. This side still remains unfinished. I am not sure if I can or want to salvage it.

Here is the other side. I intend to use it for a another project.

You can see the watercolor, the craft paint, and the black pen. 

It is hardly fine art but it was a piece worth salvaging. And in the process of salvaging I came up with other ideas so the process of creating starts again.