"Where flowers bloom so does hope." | Lady Bird Johnson |
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April was the first month I was able to take the banner painting project out into the community. I was so happy with the response and participation from the two events, the Crabtree Farms Spring Plant Sale and the ArtsBuild Earth Day Celebration. I had made 56 pieces of canvas and I think there are only 3 or so left! I loved watching all the kids (and some adults!) get into their paintings-with no prompt other than using a color pallate to represent their favorite season. |
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These individual pieces will be fashioned together to make one large banner representing the community center that made it. I am hoping at some point the banners will be able to live at its respective location once all is said and done. |
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I had some fun setting up a spring photo shoot this week with miss magic and some of my flower paintings. They all group so well together! I really do enjoy setting up different groupings of my work-so much wall space, art work and plants to play interior designer with! |
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Closing in on all the portraits now, so I will just share a little sliver of one's progress this past month. Hopefully this will just peak your interest to read next month's email to see the final product! ( or find daily stories to watch on my instagram or facebook artist's page ) |
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These sweet little baby blue eyes have started popping up on the steep slope that separates our front yard from the road. We have been fighting a mess of poison ivy and brush (polk salad, anyone?) since we moved in and this year there is hope of a perennial pollinator garden take over! (These do not have the gold leaf on them yet-just the gold oil underpaint so I could be sure to get this email out on time because gold leaf has a cure time.) |
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**FUN FACT** Baby blue eyes are a popular choice for weddings and other special occasions to express love. The flower's pure blue color is said to speak of how the blue depths of the waters reflect the spiritual heavens- if this doesn't scream Pisces I don't know what does. |
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April is always has an exciting start with my birthday being on the 3rd. This year Blake took me on a day of shopping followed by Elsie’s Daughter for starters and then to Alleia for my favorite pizza in the city- the closest I’ve found to the real deal. I think I have tried all the prospects, but someone let me know if I have overlooked a place! |
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Having to work at the plant sale, I was definitely not immune to not picking up some things. I decided this year I was going to try to take up some the shaded space in the backyard for leafy greens and okra. Fingers crossed I have them tucked enough out of the way to not be in Lupo's frisbee path! If you follow along with my Instagram stories you saw that the flowers have all been showing out in full force this year and I really couldn’t be more grateful. I’ve decided that perennials and bulbs are now called ‘investment plants’ because they multiply in size every year and you know the blooms make everyone happy after a long winter. |
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Spicy Sausage Red Sauce - a house favorite Best made with spicy Italian sausage from a local butcher because you don't drain any fat from the pan, yes its a one pan wonder :)
Silly me thought it wouldn't be that long of a recipe because we have it quite often but still ended up being a lot typed out, even if a bit abbreviated with no listed measurements. Anywho, I hope you enjoy it! (tip-if you think its too spicy, creamy goat cheese works really well as an add-in) |
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First, sauté very finely chopped garlic, onion, celery, and carrot. Once transparent, add in sausage and break into smallest possible and add in a splash of red wine. When the meat is almost done, add in a can (or tube) of tomato concentrate mix in, then add some water. (Alternatively, a jar sauce can be used-but try to not have it be too flavored because you don't want it to overpower your fresh ingredients)
At this point, I like to throw a few fresh basil leaves and cover at a simmer. This is what I call "cooking up" a sauce because when you open to stir, you'll put all the condensation back into the pan from the top. After a period of cooking up, leave it covered to rest on low heat. Then when you are ready to start your pasta water, uncover and start "cooking down" the sauce at a high simmer. I suppose this could be ready in an hour but I like to take three hours (or a lot more when I can) cooking it up and down a few times. Most importantly when its done, toss your noodles in the sauce pan before serving with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan (and maybe even a dash of olive oil) The starches from the noodles mix in with the sauce to make it stick to the noodles and overall just better. |
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If you liked this end of month recap. please consider sharing with a friend to sign up for next month's... the more the merrier :) |
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