Vegetable Envy

Since it's a cold, blustery fall day, a hearty spinach, feta and potato gratin sounds really good to me. One of the ingredients is shallots.

Here's what you get in Virginia for $2.99--three rather small shallots, which will probably be enough for one, maybe two dishes.

In France, one of these red bags filled with shallots--the yellow one is onions--is 10 Euros, about $14! That works out to 50 Eurocents a kilo although apparently in stores they're more like 5 Euros a kilo. My sisters-in-law have an amazing food network (and it's real, not a TV show). They each find the best deal on wonderful local produce, buying extra for friends and family in other regions. Then they trade!

 

It's all about the food. That's why I'm so comfortable in Europe.

 

Here's a sample of the goodies in my other sister-in-law's garage--all these artichokes were only 1 Euro at the co-op, because they weren't perfect! Here they would be considered just fine, to the tune of $2.89.

Each.

More Rome

First four images are of the Pantheon and the last pic is in the Ghetto.

Ideas from what I saw in Rome are starting to percolate down. It has taken me a few weeks to get out of sponge mode (brain wiped clean of any thought or inspiration and simply absorbing) and back into a frame of mind where it even seemed possible to try to make something informed by the huge repository of human genius and history that is literally everywhere there.

Culture Clash, 4" x 3", found objects, wire and clay 

© Deborah Jaouen

I'm planning some other sculptures dealing with the meeting/confrontation of old and new, expanding on an idea I've been working with for the past couple of years.

Thanks to the newest followers of this blog and to everyone else for reading--I  really appreciate hearing from you. Your comments are wonderful!

Back from Rome and Brittany

Roman kitties relaxing in the shade of Largo di Torre Argentina, the square where Julius Caesar is thought to have been assassinated.

 Really good pizza bianca (no tomatoes) here, which everyone eats standing around outside the shop. The cakes and cookies looked divine. So much wonderful food, so little time! Vegetable filled treats are available everywhere in Rome, unlike in France where if you're lucky you'll find a "simple" cheese sandwich without the ham. It's still delicious though.

 Two of the three fountains in the Piazza Navona. Bernini strikes again!

 The Pantheon was amazing, and Raphael's tomb is here. I learned so much...

 The Ghetto neighborhood has a lot of artsy little shops.

And lots of cool fragments lying negligently around.

This was part of our first day in Rome--I'm planning to post much more about this wonderful trip, and get back to posting regularly (it has been a month since last time). 

Thanks to everyone who is still reading my blog!

In Memory

Photo taken in September 2010 at Ladder Co. 10 and Engine Co. 10,  Liberty Street firehouse, across the street from Ground Zero (please click on the link to read about this firehouse).

Remember.

Ahimsa Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry

During my evening run tonight, a mosquito (at least I hope it was that small) flew down my throat--that reminded me of seeing an image similar to this in a yoga book.

Indian Jain nuns, New Delhi  wearing traditional face masks to prevent the killing of any life - even the accidental inhalation of an insect.  via poculum

Ahimsa means kindness and non-violence towards all living things including non-human animals; it respects living beings as a unity, the belief that all living things are connected. Indian leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi strongly believed in this principle. Avoidance of verbal and physical violence is also a part of this principle, although ahimsa recognizes self-defense when necessary, as a sign of a strong spirit. It is closely connected with the notion that all kinds of violence entail negative karmic consequences.-sorry for the little wikipedia blurb-- I do believe in doing as little harm as possible to anything living and will go out of my way to avoid an insect, especially one in my face!

Summer Projects

 
My output is slow, as in turtle pace slow. But I think I'm getting better at listening to my voice by not planning what to make--for now making things with fabric is just for fun, just a way to see what comes into existence.

I felt like embroidering with no underlying drawing or idea--interesting!

Another pillow that I made from vintage handkerchiefs back in the 2000's. 

I'm busily embellishing them now.

Made from repurposed sweatshirts, t-shirts, bag handles and found life jacket, 

with a little hand dyed batik on the left.

Embroidered detail. No preconceived notions were involved in the making of this piece!

Gallery Hopping Does Pay

Have you ever been contacted by a vanity gallery? I got an email from Agora Gallery today through my website asking if they could send me "some information about our gallery and about an upcoming exhibition that you might be interested in".

Since I had visited that very gallery in Chelsea a year or so back, I knew immediately which one it was. I hadn't liked it because it was so reminiscent of  many not so tasteful galleries in backwater areas I have observed. Sort of like the art "malls" of Asheville (though I'm not saying Asheville's a backwater--au contraire).

The website looks nothing like the gallery when I was there so I imagine they've decluttered since. Apparently the deal is, artists pay from $3-10K annually to be represented. No thanks.

But what's a little sad is I didn't even get that instant of elation-- when I thought I had been "discovered" by a NYC gallery--before coming back down to earth. Guess that's what happens when you're a blasé and analytical middle aged emerging artist!