Halloween 2013

This year for Halloween I was determined to do something, even if it was small, after work to celebrate the holiday.  No one I knew was hosting any sort of Halloween party and some of our friends weren't even going to be home, which led to the decision of hosting my own small party with Gregory in our quaint apartment.

I celebrated Halloween dressing up a child and going trick-or-treating for candy until about adolescence.  The toilet papering and shaving creaming friends (who would return the favor to you) came next, as well as dressing up for Halloween parties.  More dressing up, then drinking was introduced.  My current young-adult years have been consisting of working on the holiday and scrambling to do something to appreciate the one day where playing dress-up is socially accepted.  A lot of the girls I would dress up with and plan these things have moved elsewhere and life has just become a little more hectic with bills and living expenses. 

The first photo shown above is the Halloween inspired backdrop I created with a roll of brown craft paper and paint.  I figured it was cheaper than buying something premade and I was really proud of it when it was finished.  Next are Jeff, Greg's brother-in-law, as an awesome homemade pirate and his sister, Lara, as a spirit in a creepy mask.  Greg is slicing up hot meatloaf as Dave Mustane, and I'm a DIY Velma from Scooby-Doo (yes, my hair is getting quite long).

The party was a little splash of fun amongst the mundane, even if it was a little low-key party of four that night.  We served homemade warm spinach dip with baguette slices and tortilla chips, a cheese platter consisting of: Dubliner, goat, and Swiss cheese, crackers, Mediterranean olive spread, homemade meatloaf (Greg made this spontaneously the day of and I think this has become a new Halloween tradition), as well as some store bought Halloween candy.  Greg's sister Lara and brother-in-law Jeff (pictured above) brought homemade stuffed mushrooms, oatmeal cookies, and sliced apples with pumpkin dip.  We also made up some mulled cider, a pitcher of El Diablo (from thekitchn.com), and served some beer.

I'm really content with how the night went and everyone's costumes.  It was a quaint night of yummy hors d'oeuvres and good company in costume.  We listened to Pandora on the "David Bowie" station over John Carpenter's: Halloween II and III.  I hope your Halloween night went just as well, whether it was shared with others or in the comfort of your own dwelling.

Where did October go?

Photo taken using A Beautiful Mess' iPhone app (using Greg's phone)

October flew right by!  Thankfully I can say I enjoyed it from start to finish.  As you can see I hardly blogged on here at all during last month and wanted to share a little of what kept me busy.  

Greg and I went camping with my mom and dad in the Adirondacks.  I made homemade butternut squash soup twice and roasted the seeds.  I went to a cool exhibition as a part of Project-U Arts in Utica, New York.  Donated my small illustration, "Soup Loving Mouse" to a local non-profit gallery, ArtRage: The Norton Putter Gallery, for a cheap art auction.  Created a new illustration for a call for art, applied (and declined) from a local exhibition. Baked up some apple crisp and had a little Halloween party.  Whew!

How was your October?  Did you make the most of the mid-autumn?  I hope you're doing a lof cooking/baking of tasty and comforting autumn dishes as well!  Squashes are still in season!

I've signed up for the Gallery of Mo creating mo'traits (self portraits with mustaches) to help raise funds to fight prostate cancer.  Click here to visit my profile.  That will most likely be occupying my drawing, as well as some good late-autumn cooking.  I still have two butternut squash, an acorn squash, and some pumpkins to cook up!

Homestyle Cooking: Fresh Butternut Squash Soup

I love the autumn in central/upstate New York.  I love making and eating soup.  I love buying produce from local farms and farmer's markets (when I am able to).  With all this love around, a homemade squash soup was bound to manifest sometime or other.  

A couple days ago I made a batch of homemade butternut squash soup from a butternut squash purchased at Bellinger's Orchard, local/regional farm (close to my hometown) in Fultonville, New York.  My mom, sister, and I try to make it a tradition to go apple picking once a year at this orchard, despite the fact we all live in different parts of New York State at the moment with college and work.  It's a pretty large orchard with a pick-your-own-apples (whatever the variety) and a pumpkin patch.  `

It's very much in the middle of country fields and farms, but it has grown quite dear to our hearts.  They also have a small general store in one of their barns when they make fresh apple cider doughnuts, sell jams, jellies, honey, produce, and other yummy foodie things like maple syrup and local cheeses.  Each year I go with my family, I bring back an armful of various squashes to bring back to Syracuse to cook up in the fall and winter.  I thoroughly enjoy a hot bowl of squash soup every autumn and look forward to it with late summer.   

The recipe for this soup comes from Williams-Sonoma's book, Soup of the Day: 365 Recipes for Ever Day of the Year.  Yes, I really love soup so much that I asked for this book last Christmas.  Whether you're as much of a soup fanatic as I am or not, this book is really great for choosing soups with vegetables and ingredients that are in season; which is a great plus.  

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (peeled and diced in medium-sized cubes)
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic* (minced)
4 cups vegetable of chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon dried (or fresh) thyme
about 4 fresh sage leaves (chopped)
salt and pepper for taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with either waxed or parchment paper.  Toss cubed squash in a large bowl with extra virgin olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  Place on lined baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes (or until you can easily stick a fork through the squash).

Melt unsalted buter in a large pot and add the onion.  Let the onion cook for a couple minutes, and then add the garlic.  Saute until the onion is translucent, but before garlic browns.  Add the roasted squash and broth of choice in large pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the soup from heat to allow it to rest for a couple of minutes.  Puree the soup (in batches) with an electric blender or purree soup in pot with a hand-held immersion blender.  (Personally I love my immersion blender for soups like this-it make things so much easier!!)

Now your soup is ready for a fresh lunch or supper!  Feel free to add a little half-half or milk into your bowl or even add some toppings to your homemade soup like French-fried onion pieces, croutons, or parmesan cheese.  I feel like a little crumbled goat or feta cheese would also pair nicely.

Enjoy!

**Note: I really love garlic and will add more than specified in recipes.  If you don't feel the same way concerning this aromatic friend, please feel free to cut down the amount you use in your soup. 

Mural Painting

             

                                     

                    

 

[detail of] Untitled mural (pink hair) 2013.
Acrylic and latex paint on plywood. 4 x 8'

I've had a busy stretch of days starting on Friday September 13th 2013 (my last blog post) involving a lot of driving with my car (and it's loud exhaust) as well as the death of a close and dear family member.  I've been home to be with family for a good chunk of days and have otherwise been entangled in life's responsibilities.  My busyness will continue to keep up the consistency until the weekend with an early trip back to Buffalo, New York to pick up "La Petite Gateau" from 464 Gallery, a 4-hour managers meeting at work, and a long closing shift,  but I'll make it through it.  Luckily, I'll be able to enjoy  a small holiday to Delaware with Gregory, his sister, and brother-in-law to a brewery tour and then stress over the 10K run I signed up for.  Eeek!

The photographs above were taken at the I <3 Utica Music and Arts Fest/Greensfest on Saturday September 14th 2013.  Overall, it was fantastic day of creating art publicly (a very new thing for me), talking with other artists, meeting new people, and being a part of community festival.  I painted alongside another amazing artist in the art collective, Project U Arts, for about 7 straight hours (with the exception to use the indoor plumbing, get water, wash brushes, or clean paint off of myself).  It was truly a great experience.  

I was stressing over what to paint for a couple days, because of the large size of plywood I would be painting on.  The content wasn't anything new...I do love drawing ladies with detailed coiffures, but the scale certainly was!  Between you and me, I really sort of just went with things and simply just started painting.  If I had more time to dedicate to the mural, or the space to house it, I would have enjoyed adding layer and layers of more detail.  Also, though the photos may not depict it, the plywood was not all smooth to paint over which added more time to it all.

Unfortunately the murals were only up during the time of the festival at Mohawk Valley Community College from about 10-6pm.  They are currently nestled safely in storage at an artist residency called Sculpture Space  also in Utica, New York for the time being.  I've also donated my mural to a skatepark in Canastota, New York, because of it's size.  Maybe my mural will inspire a skater or bmx girl.  I thoroughly enjoyed the community experience of all while doing something I absolutely enjoy doing; creating art.  I'm very pleased with my completed mural and look forward to being able to work and paint at that scale again.  

Limits

Today I loaded up my car with my three selected framed illustrations ("Tangerine Dream", " "keeper.", and Untitled (Muse)) to drop off for the small pop-up show @ Hotel Utica as a part of Project-U Arts, Greg's GPS (because last time I drove there I got lost twice and had to ask for directions), and a road sandwich (to eat after my shift and on the drive to Utica, NY).  I went to work at my part-time (very nearly full-time) retail job, unloaded the second merchandise shipment of the week (yes, I physically unload stock for the company I work for as well as manage my staff and help make sales).  Scrambled to "package" my frames a little better by creating make-shift bubble wrap pouches and then headed on the the thruway to deliver my work and help with any needed maintenance and assistance for tomorrow's mural paintings @ MVCC for the I <3 Utica Music & Arts Fest/Greensfest.  

I managed to drop off my bubble wrapped protected work successfully, but without remembering to include some business cards with it, and hopped back on the road to head to MVCC.  I found the actual campus of Mohawk Valley Community College fine, however trying to find where other members of Project-U Arts would be on campus was a different story.  I ended up circling the whole campus twice, looking around for any signs of a group with large pieces of plywood, all while my car is attracting the attention of any surrounding students with its loud exhaust.

Finally I decided to park my car and just walk around the campus until I could locate an information building or someone to ask for directions.  Thankfully I noticed large tents and also large pieces of plywood in the middle of campus and new I was on the right path.  Now, the campus center (or "quad" as we referred to it @ Cazenovia College) was not visible from any parking lot or road on campus that I was aimlessly driving around.    In the end I found the people I was looking for and they were all set with help in both areas.  I had 4 hours until the start of the exhibition tonight and no formal clothes with me, and no knowledge of Utica whatsoever.  I decided to drive back to Syracuse and make the drive back again to Utica tonight to show my support for the art collective, meet new faces, and familiarize myself with other artists at the exhibition.  

At this point while I'm driving on the thruway, barely going above 65 (max 70mph) out of sheer noise volume of my exhaust, I contemplated the following:

"Should I really go to this exhibition tonight or should I stay home?"
"Will my car make it to Utica and back tonight and tomorrow?"

"Will my exhaust fall off?"

"How much longer can I drive before I HAVE to get it fixed?"

"Will my car be able to all this silly driving to Utica and Syracuse, then to Buffalo and back next week?"

"Can I afford to ultimately fix this?"

I am going to need to get my exhaust repaired in my car very soon....like in a couple weeks soon.  It's the loudest I've ever heard it and as my Mercury Grand Marquis came to me being already used, I really have no clue how old the exhaust actually is.  After all my inner turmoil I decided it was best to not go to the exhibition tonight and save the driving for tomorrow's festivites and mural painting.  I've been working hard and badgering friends and co-workers for free old house paint to complete this mural project tomorrow, and I really can't say "no" to that.  

With that said, I need to go work on sketches for a design to paint on a giant 4 x 8' piece of plywood set upright for the I <3 Utica Music & Arts Festival/Greensfest.  This in itself is a brand new adventure and a brand new medium and challenge I've put myself up against.  Sometimes I put too much of a workload on myself and sometimes I think I don't do enough.  I'm 25 years old and I'm still trying to find my own limitations as a person through all my endeavors, passions, and good intentions.

-Caroline

To sell or not to sell?

This week I've been blessed artistically with opportunities of both exhibition of my work as well the potential sale of work.  I have one illustration that I just drove west to Buffalo to be included in a short exhibition at the quaint 464 Gallery.  Moments ago I was just mulling over what other illustrations to select for a pop-up exhibition in the lobby of the Hotel Utica in Utica, New York as part of Project U (this neat art collective I recently joined based out of, yes, Utica...lol).  

Once decided, I hopped on my computer to look over the information, as well as any new information added to the online group, and started feeling that lump in my throat when the word "sale" appears.  I've kind of sold some artwork in the past, which includes: a handful of recycled brown coffee cozies with little illustrations on them; and two illustrative painting (acrylic with marker added for detail) donated to a silent art auction and then bought by a very good friend and photographer, Shanna B.  In reality, I haven't sold a framed illustration "officially" as of yet.

Honestly, the thought of losing a piece scares me a little.  Ultimately I want to have prints made of all my pieces, so that I can at least have a physical copy of the original.  I want to be able to exhibit prints to sell without the worry of the heavy sense of loss.  I haven't found the right printing shop yet, or the right amount funds to set aside and do so, but it is on the horizon.  

It all may sound silly, I being the ring-leader, but until I can have prints successfully made, I feel I'll be attached to the originals I show.  I just feel that I work so hard to think of and physically create a piece that when I actually do sell it, it will be well worth my hard work and effort...hopefully.  Maybe I'm holding myself back or maybe I'm doing what I need to do for the moment....or until I figure things out.

-Caroline

The long drive to Buffalo

"La Petite Gateau" 2010-2013.
Prismacolor marker and pigment liner on paper. 14 x 17"

Yesterday I made the 2 1/2 hour drive (one way that is) to Buffalo, New York with this illustration framed and wrapped next to me on the passenger seat.  I dropped it off yesterday afternoon at 464 Gallery for the 2nd Annual Vision Art Awards (same competition as Online People's Choice Awards. Basically anyone can vote online for your work or anyone else's anonymously and then the votes are tallied and voted again by a couple curators or art professors (most likely volunteering) for the actual show.

Out of the three illustrations I posted about last, this one seemed to be the best-liked by the judges at 464 Gallery (although the Grecian-looking girl holding absinthe had the most "likes" via Facebook) and won "Honorable Mention" for the show.  Though I am a little disappointed that my illustrations didn't win a solo-exhibition in this small gallery, I am very grateful for the chance to have my work in the show and be recognized none the less. It's another show to put on my resume and it's a new city that will get to see a sample of work!  Win-win!

It was a little scramble to get this illustration in a proper frame and have everything be perfect.  I ended up taking the actual illustration in and out of the frame at least five times, because every time I'd put it in, set things evenly, close the backings on the frame and turn it over there'd be some sort of fuzzy, speck of dust, or something trapped between the inside of the glass and the illustration itself!  

The last exhibition I applied to, Greg and I were in the backseat of my Mercury Grand Marquis busily trying to put the selected illustration and matting in the frame before dropping off the piece to the designated gallery.  There's always some sort of frantics and frustration trying to put everything together as fast as you can, to drive to piece over to the gallery all before the deadline.  Oi!  I know I'll laugh about all these stories down the road at least!!

I've got a bust weeked ahead of me and a lot of artistic opportunities coming my way!  I'll try and keep this blog posted with more of what has been going on.  Cheers!