End--Begin

Sandra Brownlee visiting from Halifax, Nova Scotia in front of Continuum by Bhakti Ziek

Sandra Brownlee, weaver extraordinaire and one of the most creative people I know, came down from Halifax, Nova Scotia to help celebrate the last day of my show. It is always stimulating to talk to Sandra, and she walked through the exhibition giving me applause and encouragement. Since endings are beginnings, this was a perfect time for her visit. (You can purchase Sandra's book, Departures and Returns, directly from her. Just click on her name above and go to the contact page for information.)

The next day I lingered taking one last look at my work (see image below) before packing them up. Working towards a specific space was very helpful for me, giving me a parameter in terms of scale that I don't usually have. Knowing the distance between the windows for example, helped me determine the group of small rectangles. I could have gone with long vertical pieces, but didn't. I am thinking that is my next direction. So out of one project, which definitely came to a conclusion, is a spark that will ignite the coming work. Endings can be hard, but when I remember that an ending is also a beginning, and that life is a continuum, then I find a good perspective.

Last look before work comes down

I am not sure if I heard this directly from Ed Rossbach at a lecture or if I read it in a catalog--but I remember the story. Although Rossbach's work was much sought after by the time of the telling, he was referring to earlier in his career when he would send work off to shows and it would all come back after the show, and he would put it in his closet. He said one day he had a realization that would save him on expense and hassles. He realized he didn't have to send the work off, he could just make it, and then put it directly in the closet!

Definitely a man after my own heart. It took me almost a week to finish the task of getting the new work into my closet. After packing it in the gallery, I had to bring it home and repack with acid-free paper, then carry them to the third floor, remove everything from the closet so I could reorganize and repack the closet, making a chart of where things were stored as I went along. By the end I stopped writing on the chart, but I think I can find everything if necessary.

Closet for storing my work

Winter seems really long by this time of year, especially for someone like me who has never been a fan of the cold. I find refuge in the kitchen, and have had some real successes recently. I fell in love with these cooking pans at King Arthur Bakery. Online they call it a hamburger bun pan, in the store they called it an english muffin pan, but I immediately thought, little cakes. I tried to stack three layers--you can see one in the image below--but the layers were too thick for that and the rest became small two layer cakes. Next time I might try very thin layers and see how many I can stack together. And the chicken pot pies, made in individual oven proof bowls, were spectacular. I was remembering the chicken pot pies from the Horn and Hardart Automat in New York City (you would put in change and the little door in front of the item would open and you would take it out--total delight for a child and probably for the adults too.) I tried to find a recipe online and was surprised that I couldn't find one, though there is a book out that might have it. I will have to check, but the link for the book does show the bank of small food windows, if you want to see.

Recent baking triumphs