Reminder of a Master

Reading about Turner on an artist's blog just now made me realize what an influence his work has been on me and why I'm so dissatisfied with the best I can do. His genius is unmatchable but seductively inspirational.

My Favorite Polenta Dish

Here's a show n tell about how to make a wonderful layered polenta dish that I've made for dinner parties a few times. This time I made the polenta itself in a slow cooker and it turned out the best ever, only had to be stirred two or three times. Amazing! Don't ever do the nasty stove top version. There's a version you can do in the oven, too. As you see in the photo, it's pretty thick because it's going to cool off, set up, and get cut into squares then triangles. (Isosceles!) Then it gets sprayed with olive oil and goes under the broiler to lightly brown.

I make two sauces: tomato and spinach/gorgonzola. Originally a vegetarian dish, lately I make it with Italian sausage in the tomato sauce.

Build it up in layers and bake for about 45 minutes @ 350. Sprinkle with grated parmesan when it comes out of the oven.
The before baking view. Sorry, I didn't get a photo when it came out of the oven, we were so ready to eat, but it looked good, all bubbly and browned. (I covered the top with foil the last 10 minutes or so.)

Gleaned from Zoroastrianism:

Art is of the universe, involved in conflict between forces of truth and order and forces of chaos and falsehood. I choose applying paint to canvas and wood, working through chaos to something resembling truth and order, making my tiny bit of the world a more comfortable place for at least a brief instance.

My New Pet

All the way from Mexico, surveying the sights of Spring in the Pacific Northwest, this dog is low maintenance!

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." Steve Jobs

This is Major Tom to Ground Control I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Solitude of living in the country, out of touch with friends and neighbors for days on end, working alone and loving it in my studio--then suddenly the needs of the co-op gallery demand I change my ragged jeans for better ones, fix my hair and dash out to the car. Plunging up and down twisty back roads I feel like Major Tom deciding to come home after all. Human connections are a thing of joy.

Paul(Pah ool)'s House

While we were gawking at and photographing this remarkable new house in La Manzanilla, a young man came by and with a big smile claimed it was his house. Lucky for us this was our intro to a very talented architect and he invited us in for a tour of his home. I liked the way he brought some of his exterior design elements into the interior and onto the furnishings.