My creativity took a detour through the kitchen today. I have been seeing posts and videos all over the Internet for “avocado toast “, so I had to try it out for myself. I had the bread, an avocado, cream cheese, harissa paste, a lime, and Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel seasoning. And there you have it:
LJG 2019
This post has been made for my own reference, though I hope it might be useful to you as well if you do any sort of gardening. One of the reasons that I volunteer at a local community garden is so that I can learn skills to apply to my own garden work. Yesterday we sowed corn and planted squash and pumpkins.
Here is what I learned:
On sowing seeds:
On setting out plants
ljg 2019
Lonely Beach on a Rainy Day
My first response regarding solitude and the creative life was to say, “Of course! The creative life absolutely requires solitude.” I absolutely must be left alone when I write or paint. I don’t want others tagging along when I am in “photo-shoot’ mood.
But then I thought about my drumming. I don’t drum when I am by myself. I should. I need to practice, but it seems like I cannot drum unless I am with other drummers or musicians.
Then I thought of those who are involved in quilting bees, crafting circles, or other group art-making projects. The social component seems like a necessity. I know writers who produce their best works at writers’ workshops or weekly writing meetups. These creatives don’t NEED to be together to produce a product– yet it is part of their process to collectively make art or write.
So like many functions of life, the need for solitude in the creative life depends on the person and the art form.
But I will tell you now, if I say “I am spending the day writing,” do-not-bother-me. 🙂
Ljg (c) 2019
I learned a new word today: “orgulous”. It is an adjective meaning haughty, proud, ostentatious, disdainful. Based on this I took some pictures and wrote:
A Haiku:
Nasturtiums flaunt
brash colors across my yard
–Jealous salvias.
ljg (c) 2019
I wrapped up my long holiday weekend by tidying up my art -making space and playing in my sketchbook. I am experimenting with doing very quick landscape rendering is both watercolor and Prismacolor pencils. Here’s the space and an example of a tiny rendering (about 3.5 x 2.5 inches).
“Dune”, 3.5×2.5, watercolor and pencil
ljg 2019
I woke up this morning with a splitting headache. I don’t usually have them, so I suspect that it might be stress-related. As I parked in bed trying to decide whether to get up or take a sick day, I turned on the Saturday morning cooking shows. Giada was on, talking about the sweetness of life (especially if you have the means to float around the Mediterranean slurping pasta). She shared the image above, three women doing that very thing.
Now I don’t usually go around taking self-help advice from Food Network stars, but she had a point. So I hauled myself out of bed, enjoyed a cup of coffee, made up a bubbling potpourri of soothing scents, spent some time at my art-making space, and in a few minutes I will be leaving for the drum circle
Life can be sweet, if you let it.
LJG 2019
Miss Pelican's Perch 