i art a day.

While most people I know are winding down their weeks come Friday, looking forward to a weekend of chores, day trips, relaxation, and personal projects, I operate on a bit of a different schedule. Sunday is my day off, usually spent trying (uselessly) to clean the house or have a marathon laundry washing.

But this weekend, Memorial Day weekend for us in the US, is a gift I’ve been waiting for for weeks. Three whole days off from school! The good people over at the Art Institute have given me Friday, Monday AND Tuesday off for the holiday weekend and it couldn’t be more appreciated than it is by me.

So far today I’ve:

- Rolled around in bed, relishing the feel of the sheets around me and enjoying the fact that I wasn’t on my feet – until 12:30 in the afternoon.

- Made cheese eggs for brunch with a glass of sweet tea to wash it down, and proceeded to sit in my slowly developing garden to eat my tasty eggs.

- Read through about half of Breakfast at Tiffany’s that my dad gave me a copy of, and dreamed of New York City.

- Walked to the mail box to drop off some bills and Netflix movies, the thrift store to drop off a bag of things & browse, and the coffee shop for a brew (that was actually disappointing, and made my own when I got home).

- Tidied up the living room.

In all honesty, it’s been a more productive than I thought it would be. I’ve also been daydreaming about another day off I’ll have very soon, and decided to take myself up to Brooklyn to finally attend a Renegade Craft Show!

I’ll only be able to make it on Sunday the 6th, but I’m very excited nonetheless. (Cue Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind) I’ll be hopping on a bus early that Sunday morning to get myself to Brooklyn by no later than noon. After the fair I intend to hit up as many famous bakeries as I can in the Brooklyn/Lower Manhattan area for ideas, inspiration, and of course SWEETS!

It’s been over a year since I’ve been up to New York, which really is a sin for someone who lives as close as I do. It really only takes about an hour and a half to get up there, and a $20 round trip bus ticket (that drops me off Madison Square Garden!) It’s been nearly 2 and a half years since I’ve been to Brooklyn, so the time has come. I love a good day off, and I think I’m finally learning to really appreciate them.

These days have been rushing by so quickly that it’s hard even to remember what day it is, even though each day is as unexpected and unique as the next. At the beginning of April the second quarter of Baking & Pastry school began and another change in my ever-evolving schedule has thrown things pretty out of whack. Luckily it’s gotten warmer and in my very small amount of free time (Sundays) I’ve been looking forward to getting a little garden together. I’ve picked up a couple of blueberry plants, planted some kitchen herb seeds, and 10 small strawberry plants that are blossoming and incubating little strawberries:

I don’t have a great deal of time or patience to get really into gardening, but I’ve always been pretty in love with the idea. My back “yard” is kind of small, and isn’t really a yard, but mostly a concrete pad with a strip of planting area running the perimeter of the small urban yard. The boyf sketched out some planting ideas about a month ago during our first warm spell, but it hasn’t quite come together. Maybe it’s because I read The Secret Garden one too many times when I was young or maybe it was my grandparent’s large and well kept garden that stole my heart:

So I’ve been looking for a little inspiration on the potted/container garden front to motivate myself to get out there and make my garden the kind of place I dream about disappearing into:

From Marthastewart.com

Orchid Show at the Smithsonian Botanical Garden

From Freegardeningadvice.info

I’m definitely looking forward to creating some kind of potted garden. Is it so wrong that I’m tempted to put up a tall wooden fence between mine & my neighbor’s yards or grow tall thick plants along the little chain-link fences to block out all of the eye sores, jort-wearing neighbors, construction projects and urban noise? Gardens have always signified a hiding place to me, somewhere I’ve looked forward to going alone with a cup of coffee and my imagination. A break from reality and a moment of pure beauty. It’s a little cooler in the summer heat and a little quieter than the park. Shoes are optional. I’m also interested in picking up some of these to cover up some of that dull concrete pad and bring some warmth to the yard:

Platta Decking from Ikea

Sometimes after daydreaming a little bit about a project like this I fall back into reality and wonder if I’ll ever really be able to make time to do it all, or if when I’ve got the time I’ll be able to afford it. At the moment it’s happening in small steps, and for now at least that’s okay. There’s a lot of spring and summer yet to come =D

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing a great deal of baking, trying to come up with a small collection of things – a menu if you will – of treats that I’ve got confidence in telling people I can make. Of course, it’s one thing to tell someone how great my brownies are, and quite another to show them.

The next best thing to actually eating some sweets is looking at delicious sweets. So in order to visually document my baking “line” I set up a little make-shift photo shoot – seriously low budget, and have gotten some decent results. A couple of friends have asked me how I’m putting these shots together, so here’s what’s up!

What you’ll need:

1. A camera. Any camera really. I’m using my point and shoot Nikon Coolpix that’s like 5 years old and totally user-friendly. Sure, I know how to manipulate it because I know my way around a more advanced camera, but my point is that you don’t have to go overboard here. Don’t go and buy a new camera, and don’t think you’ve got to have any special skills (unless you consider focusing a skill). A film camera will even work just as well, but be prepared to use up a lot of film and wait to get your prints back (who has that kind of patience anymore!?). $0

2. At least 1 spot light. I picked up a 150watt portable clamping flood lamp from home depot because I can clip it on to just about anything and it puts out some serious wattage. You will need a second light source to light the other side of your set-up, but consider using a floor lamp or a desk lamp that you can angle towards your set. $15

3. A large flat table. I’ve been using my dining room table (contrary to the boyf’s wishes – see above), but a desk, folding table, or counter are all fine too. Just make sure it’s wide enough to spread out a little on and high enough so you aren’t hovering above your shots. Free!

4. Backdrop paper. Actual photographer’s backdrops can be REALLY expensive (and usually very large). Unless you’re lucky enough to find someone trying to give them away on Craigslist – chances are you’ll need to settle for something cheaper. I’m using Fadeless Art Paper Rolls (24″ wide by 12′ – more than that isn’t necessary unless you think you need it) and hanging (taping) them up behind my table set up as a colorful backdrop. NOTE: while white backdrops seem like a good idea, white is a hard color to light properly and shoot, and will often turn out grey in the background or mess your light meter up. Instead, consider a color or lighter neutral backdrop to take the edge off. $2.50 each (I bought 3 for variety)

5. OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED: Accent Fabric. I went to Wal-Mart and picked out a couple of fabrics with simple patterns that I knew would match my backdrop papers and would coordinate with the vibe of the foods I want to snap photos of. I bought a yard of each to cover the table I’d be setting up the photo shoot on. Each yard was about $4 each, and I picked up 3 or 4 yards, again for variety.

The Other Stuff:

- Iron & Ironing Board for making sure that accent fabric is super flat and photo ready.
- Tape (masking is good, scotch not so much) for securing the backdrop paper to the wall/bookshelf/whatever & accent fabric/paper to the table.
- Plates/glasses/silverware if you’re shooting food. If you’ve got presentable pieces then that’s great! Work with what you’ve got! You can also find cheap presentation platters at thrift stores and Ikea-type places.
- Stands/props/background objects if you’re shooting crafts & handmade goods (flat artwork is a completely different beast).

Now start taking some photos! Don’t be afraid to take 100 photos of the same thing. Switch up the angles, reorganize the set-up, switch out props and try different backgrounds. Go high, go low, zoom in and out. If you’re using a little point and shoot camera experiment with all of the different settings. Go macro and zoom way in and try out the low light settings to see if they help the final image. I take at least 50 photos every time I set something up, so keep taking pictures until you’re sure you’ve gotten at least one good photo.

At the moment I’m on my flight home from Charleston, SC – heading home after a truly wonderful Christmas with my family. I arrived on Christmas eve with the rest of the fam already on the ground, and headed for my Aunt’s house where the majority of the holiday festivities went down. Of course, the gift part of Christmas day was awesome. One of the MANY amazing gifts I received is this pair of tangeriney sweet pair of slippers:

made by em & sprout

Not to mention, the personalized cake pan from my Aunt T, beautiful original print from my cousins, Planet Earth on dvd (finally!!!) and great books all around! But of course, the gifts were only a fraction of the holiday experience. No trip to Charleston would be complete without indulging in the following meals:

tasty Christmas dinner…

Fried Shrimp (with Key Lime pie not pictured)

Bessinger’s barbeque…

While my friends and the boyf were shivering up north I was enjoying every moment in flip flops and a sweatshirt in the 50ish degree weather of the south. The time spent with my family was so long overdue and so comforting. Love was pouring out of every person I was around, and laughter was in every smile. Holidays like this one make me wish I was a little closer to all of these amazing people! If you’re one of my twitter friends you probably saw that every post of mine for the past two weeks talked about making gifts, which turned out pretty well:

I hope all of your holidays were just as awesome! Are your ready for the New Year? While taking a holiday I had the opportunity to really think about the past year, and the upcoming one and deliberate on my hopes and intentions for 2010. More on that next time =)

Tonight I’ve finally had the chance to sit down for a leisurely meal and bake, and even do a little blogging. So what’s new? How was everyone’s Thanksgiving? This year my family and I did things a little differently. See, I’m an only child and my parents live a good distance from the rest of our family, so we usually end up having a quiet dinner at home in Virginia and hanging out for a little while before I make my way back to Philadelphia. This year on the other hand, the parents came up to Philly to  have Thanksgiving at my house! (one of the perks of having an adult-sized kitchen and an actual dining room table.) My friend Brandon also joined us for the meal – which was filling and tasty! I worked at the bakery on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, so unfortunately we had to squeeze family time in between work hours.

Upon the parents’ arrival on Wednesday after I left work, we headed out to King of Prussia to the Apple store…where my early Christmas gift was waiting for me! Oh yes – I came home with a beautiful, shiny, elegant, awesome new 15″ MacBook Pro!!! The excitement is still overwhelming – I’ve been waiting for this computer for YEARS. I couldn’t be more grateful! I’m looking forward to maybe even doing some video blogging now – yay!

The new Apple!

The past few days I’ve also been pushing hard to finish 3 painted sets for a children’s musical theater. Two of the backdrops were 8×6′, and the third was 8×14′. Last night was the longest night I’ve spent working in a very long time, and finally dropped the backdrops off around noon. So finally, I’m sitting back for the rest of the evening and enjoying some of the things I’ve been looking forward to. In celebration of a little down time (which ends the moment I wake up in the morning) I whipped up a batch of Cinnamon Brown-Sugar Baked Apples this evening that taste so good I though I was actually going to cry from delight. unbelievable with a little vanilla bean ice cream, mmmm!!!

Yummy baked apples!

The recipe came from the Kitchn, and will be immediately added to my cookbook. Super easy and SURE to delight. I used 4 different kinds of apples, because I don’t really know that much about different apples, and was very pleased with the baked Rome apple tonight. I’m looking forward to having another one for breakfast. Time to sit back and relax for a little while longer with the Muppet Christmas Carol =)

If there are any gentlemen who are too macho for a little bit of girliness that read this blog – you are excused for the day.

So last night I had my semi-annual craving for some pop music and hopped over to VH1.com to watch some videos that I’ve missed out on in the past 6 months or so. While watching Britney’s video for “Circus” I had a strong and sudden desire to be one of those phenomenal looking women from a 1920s movie. I mean, regardless of your opinion of the pop princess, you have to admit that this is an incredible look:

Unfortunately, I have neither short hair, wavy hair nor platinum blonde hair (nor the complexion to pull the latter off), so what is a girl to do? I searched the internet of course…

mmm, Chicago – loved that movie!

oh Drew & Kate, you’re so lovely with your finger waves…

ooooh, models – oh wait, are those called Marcel waves?

vintage models! where can i get one of those iron/crimper dealios? where!? After photo searching I flipped through YouTube and found this video and this video that were sort of helpful. A half an hour later I was in the bathroom with the curling iron heating up, a can of hairspray and the clock approaching 2am (My middle of the night hair escapades are a whole other post for another day). 45 minutes later I had something…not exactly what I want, but probably the best I can have with the current state of my hair:

Perhaps it’s time to lop off about 6″ of my hair again and add some foofy layers? At least I realized through this whole ordeal that my hair is really shiny. And pretty red for that matter.

How many times have you read this same blog? Flipping through your reader you see blogger after blogger apologise for disappearing for a while, and then vowing to be more diligent. Well, today that’s me – sort of. I’d be lying if I said I had no material whatsoever, but I’d be leading you on to let you assume much of it is actually worth writing about. So I’ve sort of taken a creative coffee break.

On the up side, my sewing machine is finally fixed, I’ve got a real competition project with a real deadline coming up, and the hunt for a paying job is on (although the parameters for which that job holds are rather…loose)! I’ve also fired the espresso machine up and figured out how to make a lovely tasting - but not as lovely to look at as the coffee shop creations – cappuccino.

And I got my oil changed.

I’ve got high hopes for the coming days and weeks. =)

Earlier this month I took myself to see the ballet at the Academy of Music here in Philadelphia, armed with a sketchbook and camera. While the ballet certainly isn’t everyone’s taste, it’s still a very inspiring form of entertainment for me. At points during the performance the music and dance were so intense that I absolutely couldn’t pull my eyes away from the stage to put pencil to paper, and was almost overwhelmed by the performance in front of me. It helped sitting only 5 rows back from the orchestra pit as well.

If the ballet isn’t really your thing (give it a try – it captivated Degas after all) then you should still find some excuse to visit the Academy of Music. This historic building is one of the most moving I’ve been to in my not so fair city. Generally I’m not a huge fan of the Baroque (Roccoco?) but walking into the main performance space really is like walking down the aisle in a different time entirely. It’s not the largest classical theater I’ve been in, but it’s certainly one of the most beloved.

At the moment I’m going through all of my closets and drawers, cleaning off shelves and pulling out boxes in anticipation of moving (again) in August. In the process I’m finding a lot of things that I’m not really using but am having trouble parting with. For example, my grandmother passed away last year and left behind so many great collections of art supplies, vintage boxes and papers, and lots of seashells. My grandparents collected shells from all over the world, large and small, and brought a handful home every time they came back from the beach in Charleston, SC, often bucket-fulls.

Ultimately, a large bag of their seashell collection was left with me and up until now it’s been sitting without seeing much use. I found it last week while cleaning out and reorganizing some of my closet drawers and decided to make use of the collection. Chances are I won’t be using most of the shells, but I found it hard to part with them without feeling like I was giving up part of my family memories. So instead I laid them out on the floor and picked out a hanful of shells that I really liked and some I thought I may be able to use in the future. The rest I photographed in the sunlight to hang up and see all the time.

I regret that I don’t know more about botany. I come across so many amazing plants and have little to no idea what they are. These are absolutely stunning blooms from a sort of bush like plant, found on 22nd street.

In other news, I’ve been invited to be a part-time intern at a great gallery in Old City here in Philadelphia. I start next week!