Sprouted Sweet Pea 2

Sprouted Sweet Pea 2

Oil Pastel On Steel Siding With Wood Mount

17 9/16 x 12 7/8 x 1 3/8"
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Even though I've been working steadily, it feels like it has been forever since I have produced a finished product. I've had several paintings on the brink of completion for months. Here is the first one that managed to make it through the finished stage. I love the composition of this sweet pea. It was really fun to watch this particular seed sprout, grow and then photograph and paint it. Pallet wood was used for the back and exterior edges of the mount and lath board from our ceiling for the interior "matte". 

I photograph the finished paintings in my studio using the natural light that streams in from the east windows with an extra window each on the north and south sides. I usually do the photography after the sun has risen above the house so that it is not shining in a straight line through the east windows, and most often I try to do it on a day when it is moderately cloudy so the light is not so direct from the source. I try to diffuse the light as best as I can under my working conditions. The lighting usually emphasizes the texture of the steel siding nicely, but distracts a little from the image. Even though I find this frustrating when trying to take a photograph, it's one thing I actually like about using recycled materials for my substrate. The look of the painting changes a little throughout the day with the change in light direction. Hopefully I will get a polarizing filter soon and that will help a little with the distracting highlights that I can't seem to even out.

*UPDATE*

I got a new polarizing filter for Christmas and I changed the location of my photography set up. I had been photographing the paintings upright on an easel-like set up and was mostly unsatisfied with the results. I couldn't get rid of the glare no matter what I tried. I realized that they were small enough to photograph flat on the ground using a copy stand-like set up. I am far more satisfied with the results for this. It has been easier to soften the natural light and reduce the glare. The polarizing filter has also helped in producing better color. 

With the painting laying flat on the floor I can rotate it and still emphasize the texture of the substrate without compromising the reduced glare. 

Reading Memoirs

I really enjoy reading memoirs about farming, cooking and gardening. Any memoir that involves food really, whether it's being grown or eaten. The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball may be among my top ten favorite memoirs if I bothered to rank them. The book is about her rather extreme life change from a city dwelling writer to a rural farmer. I identified with her desire to find more of a connection to the land, a different purpose for her life but lacking the background to get her there. The other thing that I found fascinating was that her and her husband were successfully providing a well-rounded diet for themselves and the people in their community. They provide protein - beef, chicken, pork, eggs and milk, maple syrup, herbs, fruits, dried beans, grains and flours, and last but not least - a wide variety of vegetables. They are largely self-sufficient and do most of their work with draft horses and other non-mechanized methods. This idea is still completely over whelming to me, and yet I still long to live more like them. For me however, I believe that a localized lifestyle will mostly be provided by the hard work of other farmers. One thing that is clear from Kristin's book is that farming in this manner requires that you give yourself over to it completely and that it would be a lot harder without a spouse who is wholly on board. 

I know most if not all farmers balk at the idea of farming being a peaceful life. I know that it is not peaceful in a physical sense, ie: that you get to lay outside in beautiful pasture looking up at the sky, gently chewing on a piece of straw while trying to make out shapes in the fluffy white clouds as the cattle lazily graze around you. The feeling of peace that I feel, the envy that I feel when I think about farming comes from that sense of security you have with not only knowing exactly where the food came from, but from being able to go out and pick whatever fruit or vegetable it is that you wish to eat from your own property. And outside of the growing season, I imagine that you have a root cellar and pantry full of the food you spent all spring, summer and fall growing, harvesting and preserving. As a farmer, you can sleep soundly after a hard days work knowing that you can feed yourself and potentially a whole community of people. There will be no blizzards, road blocks or broken down cars that might keep you from getting to your own pantry. That being said I realize that a full pantry and root cellar comes with aching joints, blood, sweat and tears and then there is the devastating heartache that would come from crop failures. My naive belief is that on a diversified farm where there is loss, there would also hopefully be production because you didn't put all your eggs in one basket.  

I know I'm happiest when I can run out to the garden and pick what I need for dinner. What I prepare usually smells and tastes better because I had to work for it. Opening a package of thawing garden tomato puree in the middle of January is downright exciting. I can't imagine what it would feel like to know that someone else is experiencing a delicious, fresh and healthy meal because of the work that you did.

Here is a link to Kristin Kimball's web page.
http://www.kristinkimball.com/

Broccoli Tomato Quiche

When the tomato blossoms begin to appear in the early summer I start to daydream about all the things I will do with the loads of ripe, juicy tomatoes that I hope to harvest in a few short weeks. Unfortunately this season has not been great. I lost two entire plants when they inexplicably wilted and died just before they were about to begin producing. A third plant gave me a few great tomatoes and has since yielded baskets full of half rotten ones, which I can only assume is a result of blossom end rot. The final two tomato plants look . . . okay. I'm really not going to get my hopes up at this point. 

Despite the bleak outlook for the remaining weeks of the tomato harvest I have managed to enjoy a few delicious tomato dishes. Tonight I took two freshly picked tomatoes and paired them with farmer's market broccoli and eggs to make a quiche. It was divine. 

To create my quiche I combined a couple of recipes. For the crust I used a recipe from Martha Stewart for a pate brisee which conveniently makes two crusts. I use one and freeze the other. I followed a recipe for a broccoli quiche and a goat cheese and leak quiche from The Family Baking Book by America's Test Kitchen for the filling. 

I sauteed one finely chopped leek in two tablespoons of butter for about six minutes and then added it to the egg mixture. Next I cut up the tomatoes, salted them and let them sit on paper towels to drain the excess water that could otherwise lead to a watery quiche. While the tomatoes were draining, I steamed the broccoli with 1/2 cup water and salt in a covered pan for three minutes. When the broccoli was bright green I removed the lid and cooked it about two minutes more until the water had evaporated. 

Before adding the broccoli to the pre-cooked crust I quickly blotted the excess water off. I top the broccoli with the tomatoes and give in to the urge to stare for a minute at the beautiful, bright colors before I add the egg mixture and a little flourish of cheddar cheese. 

I baked the quiche for about 55 minutes at 350 degrees. I like my quiche to be a little on the dry side with a nice golden top. 

My son pushes his fork to the side and picks it up like a thick slab of pizza. I like to pair it with a nice green salad and while I eat I contemplate those beautiful tomato blossoms that gave birth to the gorgeous red tomatoes that ultimately lead me to this delicious bite of food.

Broccoli Tomato Quiche

Adapted from recipes by Martha Stewart and America's Test Kitchen

Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee
Makes two crusts

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 sticks (18 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 pieces
7 to 10 tablespoons ice water

I think making pie crust with a food processor is very easy, but you can also make it by hand ofcourse.

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until coarse crumbs form, about 10 seconds. The crust will not be as flaky if the crumbs are very tiny and the dough is overworked.

2. Add the ice water while the processor is turning until the dough just holds together, no longer than 30 seconds.

3. Divide dough into two portions, shape into two disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Quiche

1 to 2 leeks finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 head of broccoli
1 to 2 medium tomatoes
5 to 6 eggs
scant 2 cups goat milk (or half and half as the recipe suggests, I use goat milk for lactose reasons)
A little shredded cheddar cheese for the top

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place the oven rack in the middle position.  Roll the dough out to the appropriate size and fit in the pie pan and sculpt the edge of the crust to your liking. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

5. Cover the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25 to 30 minutes. This is when America's test kitchen suggests you stop with the pre-baking. I go a little further because I don't often get to make a quiche in one session. I usually get the pie crust made and baked in the morning and don't come back to the filling until the afternoon. So if you cannot add the filling while the crust is warm remove the foil and bake for about 10 more minutes until the crust is a light golden brown.

6. Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees and adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position.

7. Whisk together eggs and goat milk and with a little salt and pepper to taste.

8. Slice one to two medium tomatoes horizontally into 1/4 thick slices and gently remove skins. Place the slices on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt. The salt will draw out excess water so that the quiche does not become too watery during cooking. After a few minutes flip the slices over and salt the other side. Let the tomatoes sit with the salt during the next two steps.

9. Saute the leeks in 2 tablespoons butter for about 6 minutes or until softened, stirring constantly to prevent over browning. Remove from heat and let cool for about one minute and then stir into the egg mixture.

10. Cook broccoli with 1/2 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a covered 12-inch skillet until the water boils and the broccoli turns bright green, about 3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the broccoli is tender and the water has evaporated, about 3 more minutes. Pat the broccoli dry before adding to the pie crust. You will have some extra broccoli to snack on while the quiche cooks.

11. Pat the tomato slices dry and arrange them on top of the broccoli in the pie crust.

12. Pour in the egg filling. You may have some extra filling.

12. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and place in the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. The top should be set and if you want you can check to see if a knife inserted in the center will come out clean. Let the quiche cool and firm up for as long as you desire.

Sprouted Sweet Corn 3

Sprouted Sweet Corn 3

7 9/16 x 3 9/16 x 11/16"

Oil on gessoed wood

Finally a new painting! Time has been limited in my studio due to the change from the freedom filled days of summer to the regimented schedule of three different school times and locations. We're starting to get it all figured out and settled in, and now I feel like I can settle back into my own work. There are still tomatoes sitting on my counter waiting to be dealt with, but I'll get to them eventually.

(Photo by T. Collins 2006)

After my first son was born, I was working part time as an Objects Conservator at the Field Museum in Chicago and I LOVED my job. I felt like I had a perfect balance between work and family. I spent more than half the week caring for my son, but I would practically skip to work where I also felt challenged and fulfilled working on exciting projects that used the skill set I spent years learning and refining in grad school and beyond. Chicago however, proved difficult to navigate with a baby on a very limited income and it didn't fit the lifestyle that we wanted for our family. It soon became clear that we would likely move back to Iowa where nearly all of my family and my husband's family was located. The thought of walking away from such an incredible job to become a full time mom was often scary and sad. I comforted myself with the idea that I would have time to paint. The first subject that I was going to explore was corn. We would be moving back into the heart of farming country where the primary crop was corn. I would have ample subject matter to observe for several months of the year. I envisioned rich paintings of volumptuous golden kernels nestled in colorful, textured leaves. When I was designing compositions and thinking about how to manipulate the texture of the paintings, I referred to my future creations as my corn paintings.

Then came baby number 2 in 2008 and sleep was something that filled in the gaps between feedings, diaper changes, playtime, three square meals for number 1 and all the other household tasks. Painting? No. 

And then came baby number 3 in 2010. Everything outside of our door stopped for a little while and in between all the chaos I tried to savor the good moments and give a little time to each child. 

Now I have one in kindergarten everyday, one in preschool four afternoons a week and one little snuggle bug in a mom's morning out program one morning a week. Life has changed so dramatically and so quickly that when I take a moment to think about it my head begins to spin. 

In the past six years I did not have much time for the paintings that I daydreamed about when we were leaving Chicago. It was a lot of time however, to ruminate on the subjects of gardening, agriculture and nutrition. In the beginning the paintings that I was imagining were just something that I thought would look nice. They didn't hold much meaning for me beyond acknowledging our change in location. The paintings that I'm working on now come from my passion for gardening. They are wrapped up in the anticipation I feel every spring when I stick the seeds in the ground and the hope that I will be able to feed my family safe, healthy food straight out of our yard. I really like how my subject matter changed over the years, and yet it didn't. I'm still doing my corn paintings, it's just the angle and the composition that have changed.

Trying to cultivate art from my garden

Sungold Cherry Tomato Blossom

I have been focused mostly on painting and drawing from my sprouted seeds for the last couple of years, but lately I have been exploring the idea of using some photographs in tandem with my paintings. I like the idea of the using the two different mediums to depict what is unseen in the garden - the sprouting seeds, and what is seen and consumed - the flowers and fruits. I like the potential of having the two different textures and the opportunity to bring different colors into the display.  

I didn't expect it to be easy, but it has been a struggle to get a good composition, good focus and good lighting. I am often lying on my stomach or trying to fold myself in half in the humid, summer heat to try and get the shot that I want, only to end up being significantly disappointed with a lack of sharp focus where I want it and the depth of field. I've been blaming it on my factory issue lens lately, but I'm not sure if that's appropriate or not. It'd be great to be able to get a new lens though. In the meantime, I will just keep experimenting and trying to better educate myself.

Here are a few shots that I like a lot, despite some of the camera issues that I am trying to work out. I like the above shot of the tomato blossom. I have tried so many times to capture the blossom in a way that shows the beauty of the flower itself, but also the promise of the fruit to come. It has been a challenge.

I love looking at squash blossoms in the garden from the time they first appear closed up tight on the stem through the time they open in an explosion of gold. 

I love looking at them from the sides when the sun shines in just right and lights them up like lanterns. I love the patterns of veins in the blossoms and the texture of all those tiny little hairs. Being so close to them brings up a lot of problems with focus and this is where a different lens would really come in handy. 

Butternut Squash Seed

I like the how seed painting really looks more cool and earthy compared to the saturated and shiny quality of the photograph of the squash blossom. 

Why Seeds?

A little over three years ago my oldest child was wrapping up his year of a pre-preschool program called Mom's Morning Out. It was one morning a week for them to go and play, listen to a story, do an art project and have a little snack. For me it was one morning a week to devote some one-on-one attention to my baby girl. On one of the last days of class they talked about spring, blooming flowers and growing gardens. To add the visual help to the lesson, their teachers sent home a green bean seed in a small plastic bag wrapped in a wet paper towel. Over the next week we watched it sprout and push out an ever lengthening root. Before it got too big and out of control we ran out to the garden and buried it in the freshly turned soil.

At least a year later I found myself with an opportunity to have lunch alone at one of my favorite local restaurants, The Lincoln Cafe in Mt. Vernon, Ia. http://www.foodisimportant.com/ It was early in March, I had gardening on my mind and seeds sprouting in my basement, so I took advantage of this quiet time and packed a gardening book to read.

I was reading a chapter all about the basic botany of plants and there were two insets. One was called "Seeing a Flower Really" that described the anatomy of a flower and two forms of pollination. The second inset was called "Walking with The Metamorphosis of Plants" which was a very brief description of a journey Goethe made through the Italian Alps to observe plants. In the second inset I read ". . . a seed is the contracted or essential nature of a plant that expands with water and good soil to the vegetative growth of stem and leaf, contracting again in the calyx, or outer protective cup of the flower bud. Expansion occurs again when the petals of the corolla expand and the flower opens into bloom, and the pistil and stamen expand to the produce the fertilized ovary, or fruit, of the plant within which is the completion of the cycle, the contraction of the seed."

The seed is the contracted or essential nature of a plant. My mind immediately flashed back one year to my son's sprouted seed and it just hit me. Everything around me stopped for a moment as I contemplated that passage with the image of that sprouted seed. I paid my bill and rushed home to my stash of seeds. I selected several types and threw them into plastic bag with a damp paper towel and then sat at my bench impatiently, willing them to sprout immediately. I was going to paint the seed in it's first moments of awakening and growth.

I am still fascinated with the shapes and colors of the seeds as they grow and change. I like that a person can look at the image and in one moment it can be all about the abstract quality of the image, and in the next moment it can be a real thing.

Merging Schedules

I've probably mentioned this before, but my husband changed his schedule at the beginning of the summer from a 5 day work week to a 4 day work week. We weren't sure how we would really feel about it. The three day weekends were enticing, but instead of getting home shortly after 3:30pm (which we Loved), he would be starting at 6:30am and going until 5pm. The extra long days were a little intimidating. I sure this sounds normal to most people, but the 3:30 finish time allowed us to have a normal dinner and still spend some good, quality time with the kids before the bedtime crunch.

Fortunately this new schedule has been amazing! Our weekends are usually so full with kidtivities and household catch up that I rarely got to do any of my work during the daylight. Now we've arranged our schedule in a way that gives me a whole work day to paint in my studio and when things do get crazy busy we have an extra day to catch up without sacrificing much family time. Obviously I love the extra time in my studio. It provides the stimulation that I crave, but is often still peaceful and meditative.

The last couple of weeks I have sacrificed painting in order to keep things growing in my garden and put up tomatoes for winter enjoyment. Today I am going to dive back into painting. I was starting to get the shakes.

The windows of my studio overlook our backyard and so one of the great things about being able to work while the kids are awake is that I still get to watch from a distance and listen in on their games and hear their laughter. In this heat we sometimes let them play on their slip-and-slide which is always a crowd pleaser. With little relief from the drought however, we've had to shorten their playtime in order to conserve water. This is a concept that is really hard for them to understand and so I'm not going to tell them that we're not in an official water ban . . . yet.

I love that my youngest monkey is wearing nothing but a tutu as she sprays her siblings.

I love being able to get some work done, but still seeing my kids having a great time. I look up from my work and smile and really appreciate the life that we lead.

Observing Through My Camera

Christmas Lima Beans

With the necessary changes in how I spend my time during the summer months comes a change in focus for my art. My reduced painting time translates into more time in the garden observing the way my plants grow and change and observing the forms and colors. I don't claim to be a photographer, but I do think that looking at objects through a lens is a great way to sharpen your skill set. When working in nature you don't always have the ability to manipulate your subject and it forces you to work with what you've been given.  It requires a heightened awareness for composition, color and the interplay of objects. In the garden this can be challenging. You have to put yourself in the right position to capture the scene since you can't arrange the plants the way you want to, but you have to do it without damaging the plants around you.

Christmas Lima Bean

Cucumber

I love looking at new growth on plants in the cucurbitaceae family. They feel so energetic, twisting and turning and exploding into the world. To me it's the garden's fireworks display. 

Cucumber

Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash

The Harvest is Beginning

For the next couple of weeks I think that painting is going to take a back seat to gardening and harvesting food. I was trying to divide time equally between the two activities, but I can no longer pretend that I have the time for both. Since I am charged with the full time care of my three kiddos, painting, gardening and food preservation used fall into the cracks in my days and often lead to late nights. Due to my husband's recent change in work schedule to four work days/week however,  I have one full day each week to work on rebuilding a little professional niche for myself. I was hoping that with this new schedule this summer I wouldn't have to compromise as much as previous years. I still consider gardening and harvesting a big part of my contribution to our family and so far painting, although deeply satisfying, has not been as lucrative as a freezer full of food.

I had plans to paint on this week's professional day, but within the first hour of the day I had a big pile of fresh, beautiful tomatoes staring me down. 

I ended up spending a good portion of the day converting them from raw fruit into canned goods instead. I have never canned tomatoes before. I usually puree and freeze them, but last fall my husband decided to take up deer hunting after a 13 or 14 year hiatus and filled our freezer to the brim with venison. So this year, most of the tomato preservation will have to be in a form that doesn't require electricity to store. 

I have to say that I find canning incredibly satisfying. I love the idea of having shelves full of food that I started from seed and nurtured through high heat and drought. I don't have to question if pesticides were used, but I don't have to pay extra for organic. I don't have to calculate how many miles the food travelled, how much oil was consumed in the production of my food, or worry about all the waste from the packaging. Nor do I need to worry if workers were maltreated at any point during the production of my food (read Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook for some alarming insight). Yes, I love canning, and if I do it in the evening I treat myself to a glass of wine and some good music while I work. 

Trouble in the Garden

When I returned home from our last vacation I wasn't surprised to see that most of the plants were struggling. I had given the entire garden a good soaking before I left, but the heat and the pests took their toll.

All of my zucchini plants were dead, very dead. The thought of a garden without zucchini makes me sad, very sad. 

I have some lovely blossoms on my cucumbers, but so far none of them have actually become fruit.

There is a lot of new growth on the cucumber plants though, so I'm still holding out hope.

Most of the leaves on the green bean plants are curled up and many are a little crisp around the edges from heat and drought. (I still think the pattern on the leaves is beautiful though.)

My butternut squash plants are still putting out new growth too, but most of the sections of plants look wilted and the blossoms look droopy. 

Hopefully with a little TLC and some consistent watering I can bring some of it back, but I know I have to say good bye to the zucchini. I may try to plant some new seeds and if the fall is uncharacteristically warm, perhaps I will get a few fruits for zucchini bread or for a delicious sauteed side at dinner.

This time it was a family reunion

My family and I just returned home from an eight day whirlwind trip to Colorado. We visited three different family groups and had loads of fun hiking to waterfalls, climbing rocks, playing on go-karts and bumper boats, going down water slides, visiting the zoo and ofcourse eating.

The kids ran everywhere they went at full speed. 

They became "expert" rock climbers.

The waterfalls were stunning.

The mountains were majestic.

The Henry Doorly Omaha Zoo was our final stop on our way home.

It did not disappoint.

I deliberately left all of my art supplies at home on this trip. I wanted to give myself some distance from this latest series of paintings and take any spare time I might have to read the stack of books I have been neglecting. 

I only had time to indulge in Patti Smith's book "Just Kids". It is her memoir about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. It was wonderful. I was captivated by the way she wrote about the devotion that she and Robert Mapplethorpe shared for each other and their art. It was fascinating to read about the way in which their talents evolved over time. It is written without any hint of pretension.  

Coming home from this trip was exciting this time. Instead of dreading the mountains of laundry and clean up and schedule readjustment, I was anxious to get back to work. I missed painting. It was great to have had a little distance from them so that I could come back with fresh eyes. And Patti Smith served as a motivating force through her passion for her own art to fill my head with new ideas and to look at my old ideas from a different prespective and most of all to simply make time to work every day.