Not All Art Markets...

Are created equal.


I have been steadily trying to push my art into the world for the past 8 months now. Like any fresh artist it can take a lot of trial and error to figure out where we belong. Hopefully, we've already figured that part out. We should know our style, aesthetic, target market, and our price points by now. The tricky part lies in finding what market works best for our art and ourselves as well. After all, if you hate craft fairs...why try to get into one?

My experience may not be much, but I have deemed these past few months alone worthy of a good article. One that can hopefully offer some guidance, sound advice, and if nothing else a few good stories.

Spring was coming and I had all winter to work in my studio. The Fulton St. Market was being rebuilt and it was almost finished. New information was posted about the Artisan's Market and I signed on! I thought to myself  "this is going to be so exciting! My FIRST market!". I was looking forward to talking with people, getting out in the fresh summer air, and more importantly making some profit! Not knowing what to expect, I made as much jewelry as I could in a reasonable price range from $40-$100.

My first day at the market I see a wide range of...crafts. A vast majority being a hot mess of glue, beads, and yarn. I kind of chuckle to myself when I see the stringers and the "granny crafts" as one charming lady put it. A small percentage of the mix were good quality craft and art. Some of them I recognized from the art department at Grand Valley.

The people came in and it was bustling, but no bites. That's okay, I received a ton of compliments. People know where to find me if they want to buy anything later on down the road...

Later on down the road of summer...nothing.

I did however receive a lot of  "advice" from people. One guy argued with me telling me I had to make more stuff to fill up my 8ft. table. To which I replied that my art takes a long time to make and that I am very meticulous with my work.

"Well, then make stuff that doesn't take so long!"
"Sir, as an artist I cannot respectfully do th-----
"Well, I'm an artist too!"

Resisting every urge to tell the guy to go f**k himself, I just kind of nod and smile.

Another guy mentioned that I should make my pins more multifunctional by placing a hoop on them in case someone wanted to turn it into a pendant. Luckily I was wearing the jeweled pin that I made for my mom, which ironically I designed so that it could easily be put on a chain if she wanted. I took my pin off and nicely pointed this functionality out to him. Yep. Been there, thought of that, and if I wanted to do it with this specific pin, I would have.

Needless to say, my tensions were running high all summer long with peoples attitudes and "superior knowledge". One of the greatest attributes I learned from my dad, however, was to always treat customers with respect and stay positive. I never once strayed from this because I understand that I don't ever want to appear haughty or arrogant. It's one of those bad qualities that can sprout from getting a degree from a 4 year institution.

Well the summer was a bust. 9 Sundays at the market and only sold 2 pairs of earrings to people that weren't family. It wasn't a terrible market though. Lot's of people had pretty good luck, even a few people sold out of their stuff. It just wasn't a market for me.

The rest of the summer was spent sending images to online call-for-entries. I managed to spark a lot of interest with the "behind the brooch" stuff. One lady was interested in publishing a book with my wing brooch.

Art Jewelry Magazine was doing something with the back of brooches as well and had me mail in this piece:

 

Then the sign up came for the 24th annual UICA Holiday Artists Market. I was nervous and wondering with the defeat of summer on my back if this would even be worth the $40 entry fee. I apply anyways and end up getting a spot. My enthusiasm was still subdued thinking it was going to go the same route as Fulton St. but at least I would be near fellow artists.

I'm in my studio coming up with more designs and earrings that are in a much lower price range but still really unique. In the end I came up with pebble earrings:

 

But when the market opened up and people flooded in, it wasn't the less expensive items they were flocking to. Right off the bat I sold a cuff. Then another cuff. Michigan pins! I did sell some of the pebble earrings too.

This was exciting...and unexpected.

I also found that I could much more easily talk to the people who showed up as well. They expected deft hands and a creative mind. It was art they wanted. Many people who looked at my work understood what went into them. I would tell them stories about why I work with metal and fabric. We talked about the materials and what it appears to look like. It was great talking to these people!

I received a lot of positive feedback! One man was a machinist and was impressed with the rivets. Even after the market was over, I received a couple e-mails complimenting me not only on my work but also on my attitude. People really appreciated how I didn't come across as an "art snob" and how I took the time to talk with people about anything.

The lessons I learned were many, but these are really the core:

1. Check out the market first before signing up. Look at the artists and what they are selling. At the very least, try to talk to artists that have done that particular market in the past.

2. Always be respectful, friendly, and answer questions. It may not pay off now, but it will pay off later. People can spot the snobs, they can also spot good work.

3. Check magazines for any call-for-entries or possible shows. May not sell anything, but it's always nice to get your work out there.

Slowly, but surely I will find enough niches to keep me busy and hopefully turn this into a full-time career.

Vindaloo Pork and Pumpkin Tamales!

Tamales are easily on my the list of my top 5 favorite foods...unfortunately I can never make them taste the same way as the authentic tamales in restaurants or lovingly hand made from a co-workers mom. So moist, plump, juicy, and bursting with flavor at every bite!

Mine?

Tiny, crumbly, packages of bland and dry meat. I follow the recipes online to the tee but they always end up the same.

Maybe it's how I roll them? How I steam them? The sauce?

I had a few ideas rolling around in my head. Finally, I was going to make some worthy tamales...with a vindaloo twist and some ball jars. Here was my process:

 Masa dough- just slap that onto the husk leaving room at the bottom (which will be folded) and room at the top as well. I used chicken stock and seasoned it with cumin and garam masala.

 Slow cooked some pork in some Indian spices, shredded it, then lay a good amount in the middle of the masa smear. I re-hydrated the pork with the remaining juices from the pan as well and also re-seasoned it with more vinaloo spice!

 

Sauce: I realized this was KEY! None of the recipes mentioned this, but you put the roja sauce in the tamale. It keeps it all super moist!

 

 Then I added some pumpkin that was seasoned with garam masala on top of that.

 

 I've always admired how big and plump the restaurant tamales are. so I just simply rolled it into a tube starting from the bottom. The masa ends should meet with the remaining bare husk to be wrapped around holing it all in. The thinner end with no masa can just be squeezed and folded up.

 

 The ball jars work amazingly well at keeping the tamales all upright. I am a lazy cook and have no desire to tie both ends of the tamale, so this method is perfect! It makes for larger tamales as well.

 

Then I put them all in a larger pan with some water in the bottom inch. I also covered the tamales with a clean damp dishcloth and some tinfoil covered tightly. 

They were in the oven at 350 for about 35-40 minutes and came out perfect! I was relieved at how moist they were! When I reheat these I plan on putting the roja sauce in the jar and steaming them again. That way the sauce can seep in from the outside. 

Shake it Out

Music from the 90's was the ambient noise of choice to cap the evening of a breakfast for dinner night at a friends house. I didn't think too much of the music at first but before long I was deep in thought of these memories that flooded in. Flood. Jars of Clay. Suddenly the gates opened and that rush of being 15, questioning religion, loathing my own generation, and dumped into a weekend long bible camp filled with teenagers overtook my memories.

I snap out of it.

Flash forward to the present and I'm learning to make paracord knots with a friend of mine. It was good food, good beer, and good times at their house that night. As always, I leave thinking about what a great niche I've gotten myself into...

That night I had another one of those "high school" dreams. They are almost always nightmares but tonight was different. The dream was very...human, corporeal, and real. The overall state of the dream felt like we were all adults but stuck in the bodies of our former selves. We were still our own individual personalities unique only to ourselves but we treated each other with so much more advancement. Yes there were still skirmishes, infatuations, and inner demons but it was met with the minds of adults. Maybe this was how high school actually was. Figuring out how to deal with problems like an adult while still trying to figure out who we were in our inexperienced youth.

Here we are now, 10 years later. Have we changed? No. I don't believe in change. You can't grow up a flower and turn into a butterfly. Instead we grow and become more of who we were meant to be. Maximizing ourselves to be our fullest potential, we grow into ourselves. Some people had all the right elements for growth...but never without their obstacles. 

Me?

I grew up an ugly duckling: quiet, distant, and weird. Never thinking myself pretty, sexy, or cool enough to fit in with the crowd. I've had my bullies and my beatings; slammed into lockers and sucker punched in the gut. I let people walk all over me; pretend I never heard those harsh comments. Even from my own sister, who used words like a battle axe and knew exactly where to strike to bring me down the hardest. She never could keep me grounded though...But it still hurt. I've cried many nights grasping for strength that never seemed to come. Tears and time do heal the body and with it came an inner strength. I realize this now. As bad as they made me feel, they only ever really gave me a bad day and not ONCE did they ever make me feel bad about myself.

The only time I ever felt bad about myself was when I couldn't do something. Or wouldn't. I had my weak moments. I can handle beatings and public humiliation because that's just how passive I was and learned to just deal with it. But it still pains me to this day that I couldn't stand up for others. I've watched as friends were humiliated and bullied by fellow classmates who hardly knew them at all. The friends I knew so well would cower or cry and I would just stand there. Outwardly, I did nothing while a million things raged on inside my head and the perfect opportunity to do something slowly slipped away.

I have shaken those demons which is why I am pursuing this business dream of mine today. I have the strength and capacity to create something that can help others. It is my sole purpose to be an advocate for the metalsmiths of Grand Rapids and to help them become everything they want to be as an artist. First and foremost, this will be a place where they will be amongst fellow peers- all channeling down different paths ...but never alone.


I got your back.

Tea: The Perfect Motivator

and Procrastinator...


Today already arrives with bleak beginnings and it's not just the onset of a dreary drizzle of another cold autumn day that beckons me back to the flannel sheets of our warm bed. Matt forgot to keep the drapes open again which means my usual waking hour of 8am was met with pitch black and emptiness. Every instinct of mine told me to go back to bed and slowly wake up with the sun again. A do-over if you will. However, my dog has different thoughts about me going back to sleep. He'll pout, whine, and proceed to scratch his collar which he knows to produce jingling noises from all the tags. He enjoys that trick and knows it's one that will get me out of bed in the morning.

Today I said goodbye to a calm awakening and decided to just stay up. There are things to do and God knows, I never know where to start. Every morning is a battle. I can choose to do absolutely nothing for an entire day, which I don't really want to do. Or I can choose to work on a range of things that I, unfortunately, don't really want to do either...

Good thing I'm very self-motivated or I'd really be getting nowhere.

It seems the one sure thing I always accomplish every morning and don't think twice about...is breakfast. A primal function based solely on the need to feed. French toast and two eggs. Sunny side up. And with that, the easiest part of my day is already done. I grumble, groan, and shuffle about the house some more.

I know I should work on my business plan...

So, I go to the fabric store where I procrastinate further by working on other things that need to get done...If that makes any sense at all. A friend of mine wanted me to make a jacket that resembled Corrick's from her comic called Plume which just got picked up by Devils Due Publishing. So exciting!! It's going to print and she is promoting in New York at the ComicCon. She gave me about a week to make a jacket for her. It was short notice and I had a long week in the cheese caves. Needless to say it couldn't get done in time but she still wanted the jacket for further promoting. I also pay dire attention to details. It's exhausting. The right color...the right fabric; not really finding either, I left and went to another fabric store where I was met with further disappointment. Realizing I would not be satisfied with what they had, I knew I would have to hand dye to make it just right. Ugh. I gave up and fled.

Thinking further about my business plan I decided to...return pop cans.

It's still for my business.

Don't judge me.

Sometimes I forget the simple things that always got me through those awful term papers back in college. A big ol' cup of hot tea and the best seat in the house. So here I am: motivated enough to sit down and work on something...that still isn't my business plan. I'm getting there.

I promise.

I have tea now!

Autumn Blend Soda

How can you choose between a caramel apple and a pumpkin pie?

I really wanted to do a pumpkin soda this season but was worried the pumpkin juice would come off too flat, vegetal, and tannic once it was carbonated. Also, I'd have to throw in a bunch of sugar to make it sweet and some form of acid to bring out all the flavors of pumpkin. hmm...

Then came the caramel apple soda idea but it quickly fizzled with the thought of adding caramel to something that was already naturally sweet. But the tartness....

The final idea was a soda with some of the best stuff this season has to offer! After all, who doesn't enjoy the nice warm, nutty, and spicy notes of a sweet pumpkin pie? Can you think of a better way of enjoying the season with a hot cup of spiced cider and a crispy, crunchy, and tart caramel apple?

Nope.

And for good measure, I decided to throw in some carrot juice!

Hooray vegetables!!!

Now for the ingredients...I was able to get my hands on a whole gallon of pure apple cider for $6.50. Not too shabby considering the unfortunate shortage of apples this season due to the early blossom and then immediate frost. Sadness : (

Tons of pumpkins though! Picked up some pie pumpkins at the farmers market on a busy and bustling Saturday! I could have juiced my own carrots, but I decided to use Bolthouse Farms 100% carrot juice. It saved me a step.

Here is the recipe:

1 gallon apple cider
3 cinnamon sticks; 3-5 inches each
1tsp. ground cinnamon
Nutmeg
Some allspice berries
3 star anise
2 cups carrot juice
1 inch ginger root sliced
3 cubes of ginger (I used Ginger People)
Juice of 2 pie pumpkins (or 7 cups pumpkin juice)
* I took what was left of the pulp and further strained that. probably got another cup out of it)

Not too much waste from 2 pumpkins. I'm sure I could have used it for a pie or beer but I don't feel too bad about it going to the compost!

I threw all of the ingredients in a stainless steel pot and let it simmer away for about 20-30 minutes. I added a sliced vanilla bean at some point. Then, I turned off the heat and added a nice splash of homemade vanilla extract.

At this stage it looked like a nice orange brown slurry of frothy goodness. It was sweet enough where I didn't have to add any other sugars. There was also a nice balance between the tartness of the apples and the nutty and vegetable-like flavors of the pumpkin. To be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing more pumpkin in this but I didn't feel like chopping, seeding, and grinding down another squash.

After that, I just strained as much of the spices as I could and dumped it in a nice clean Corny keg where it will be carbonated!

If you don't have access to CO2 and a Corny keg, there is always the yeast method. Don't worry, it's purely just for carbonating a soda, there will hardly be any alcohol!


I'll be posting updates on this soda to see how well it goes. I may even bottle it...

Death Of The Guilty Salesman

I am a horrible salesperson. I hate shameless self promotion. To be honest, I feel a little naughty every time I talk about what I do as an artist...like every sentence is a sales pitch to constantly remind people to "buy my shit!". Instead my friends, family, and husband bombard people with my work, which makes me feel even more guilty as I sit in the shadows while they promote me. I stand back with a dumb grin and a shrug that says "yeah...I make stuff, but you don't have to buy it."

Where do these feelings come from?

A while back NPR was talking about the income gap from the most wealthy to the poverty stricken...and the emotions that run rampant, especially during this election year. They brought up how some people do feel guilty making money knowing that there are those in much worse off conditions. Somehow that subconscious attitude gets ingrained in our actions to a point where we no longer really succeed...or want to succeed. As if that extra money we earn gets taken from those who already have less. Meanwhile the money-makers have it ingrained in them to succeed and to always want more. People with dwindling finances see this as a greedy attitude. But can the desire to succeed and make money really be considered greedy? I don't have any clips from the NPR show, but I did come across this article which sums up a lot of what was said during the show.

When it comes to promoting myself and my business, I know what I have to do. But like any good Virgo, I have to plan, practice, and be prepared. We are in an era where technology is unavoidable and necessary for most to succeed. I have to back up my art and ideas with a one-two punch website that can go into complete detail. People like websites. Sure, at an art fair they can physically see my work, but people LOVE to go home and Google me...check me out and browse through my website (now that's naughty). And at the very least, if it's hard to talk about myself face to face...at least a website can say it for me!

Secondly, I will at some point have to verbally communicate my business and talk myself up. I've decided to really take on the networking challenge. Early spring I made it to a Women's WOTV4 Networking Conference at Standale Interior. There was food, wine, and about 200 chatty women... I wasn't one of them. My usual routine is to stay on the sidelines, observe, and talk when someone speaks to me. I actually learned a lot! A lot of what to do and especially what not to do. There were some women who really conducted themselves professionally and were quite pleasant to talk to. Half the time it seemed as if they weren't even trying to promote themselves. As far as what not to do? Well, there was this woman who was not subtle...at all. In fact, kind of downright rude. As the conference was dismissed and people were packing to leave, she was practically cramming business cards down peoples throat.

"Here's my business card!"
"Here take one! it's for $20 off a haircut at my salon!"
"Here's my card!"

..........

Really? One of the speakers at the conference had, not just 30 minutes ago, ended a lecture about why it's a bad idea to pass out business cards all willy nilly. People just throw them away, or they don't remember you because there was never any one on one conversation...and they end up tosings it out anyways.

As she came closer I hoped to just slip by unnoticed. She stopped me with her card and a "HI!!"

"Here's a card for $20 off!, it works for hair color too!"

I tried to at least sound interested and spark a conversation.

"That's great! I've been needing some fun colors! Do you have purple?"

She nodded in a mild distraction and said "yeah", then turned to bombard people with more cards. Well...I tried. The card went in the trash.

............

The whole point of doing these networking events is to help me think less about the guilt I feel when promoting myself. Because I shouldn't feel guilty about wanting to get my business out there and to succeed. I may have a website that can say it all, but no one will find it if I don't get out there. And,  it's easier to just think of it as simply talking about my ideas and what I want to start up. Because that's what every one else there is doing. Just talking. It's harmless. When people are interested, they will want more information and I'll be able to back that up with a healthy guilt-free conversation and a bad ass website!

Summer Draws a Blank....

Well, at least in my blog.

As per usual my posts stop as soon as summer hits. On any given day I would be doing many various things from DIY craziness to my start-up business. I'll break it down:

Gardening:
Every spring brings in new experiences with a garden... you never know what you're going to get. This spring was an explosion of dill and fennel along with random tomatoes popping up and a wonderful vine of spaghetti squash right next to the compost.

 

I tried to keep things neat and organized this year. Before anything could even be planted I wanted to build 2 new garden beds with trellises for my tomato vines to grow nice and neat.Yeah right.

Looks tame now...this was back in June

My biggest downfall this year with my tomatoes was planting too much of them. I was a little over zealous and got carried away with over 30 tomato plants. An even bigger oops was maybe not pruning them early on and continuously throughout the season. Despite the trellis...they just went wild, spilling over into the grass and the neighbors yard (I don't think she minded too much when I told her she could have whatever tomatoes grew on her side). The rest of my garden grew with a bit too much gusto as well.

In fact, it went crazy. Not just in sheer number, but it all just OVERFLOWED. 

I was expecting the zinnias to be about 18" high. And they were. But the more you prune them the taller and more abundant they get. They are now 2.5-3 feet tall. Sunflowers...ok, I got the mammoth. It was mammoth as I expected it would be. No problem there, but the sunburst sunflowers that I thought would only grow to about 24-36" actually grew to 5 feet.

August.

Another lesson well learned were the tomatillo plants. Apparently there has to be at least 2 plants next to each other for cross-pollination to occur. We only had one and it got HUGE with tons of gorgeous little tillo flowers...that never came to fruition.

I also learned about the squash vine borer. A nasty little bug that gets into the vines of squash and eats it from the inside out. This makes it appear like some kind of rot...but it isn't. Luckily my vine survived and was able to get 5 nice big yellow spaghetti squashes.

Canning:
When spring hits, I get in canning mode and I was just itchin' to get started. Tomatoes weren't coming in yet so I decided to make a strawberry chipotle chutney. The recipe was something like this:

3 quarts strawberries
4 cloves garlic
1 onion sliced
cinnamon
8 cloves
some nutmeg
balsamic vinegar
apple cider vinegar
1/2c brown sugar 
and 3 chipotle peppers

I just kind of simmered these ingredients together and adjusted the flavors as needed. I also added a bit of Pomonas Universal Pectin just to make it jell up a little.

Once the tomatoes started coming in, however, I was canning once a week. The first batch of tomatoes went to making a nice marinara sauce using the fennel and basil from the garden as well. I don't have any written recipe, but it's pretty simple.

Saute onions, garlic and fennel on low for 45 minutes (adds sweetness). Then add all your tomatoes, some of the herbs, and season with salt. Simmer for a couple hours until the right consistency, blend, then add the rest of your herbs. Simmer for another 15 minutes, then  can. 

Super easy trick with canning: USE THE OVEN!
Rachael told me about this trick. Essentially the oven method is the same as the boiling method. Just bring your oven to 200 degrees. Sterilize your jars for 15 minutes, take them out, put your filling in, then throw them back in the oven for however long you would usually boil. Since tomatoes are easy and really acidic, I just threw them in for another 15 minutes. Works great!

Then came the enchilada sauce. Similar style as the marinara just different herbs and spices. Saute garlic and onions, then throw in some soaked Guajillo and Japones peppers. Toss in all your tomatoes along with some cumin and oregano...maybe some beer, then simmer until thick. Blend and can.

 
There were definitely days where I didn't feel like chopping, dicing, and pureeing. For those times I just did stewed tomatoes. No seasoning. Nothing. Or I would simmer it down into a paste.

This is the bounty...with still more to come and a salsa having just been made:

Artisans Market:
Every other Sunday I was at the Fulton St. Artisans Market. And every week I wasn't there I was making, adjusting, and re-designing my jewelry displays. I think I've finally come up with something that works:

A lot of these components like the wood slabs and shelf came from Salvation Army where I got it for super cheap! All it takes is a little money and a lot of creativity. So many people complemented me on my displays, I felt so proud!


Studio:
I generally try to be in my studio at least 3 days a week which can be had to do with everything else that is going on around me. I have a part-time job that I go to every evening around 4, so for me to be productive I need at least a good 5 hours before hand in my studio. When I'm here I usually develop new ideas. Probably the latest and greatest are the Michigan birch bark pins.

I work with a lot of things from nature. Back in July, my mom gave me a nice handful of the bark which inspired me to create these. Little did I know that people are just as excited about birch trees as I am. After putting these up, there were lots of little nibbles on my Etsy site, but no bites. At least not until a month ago when a woman from Interlochen MI contacted me. She said she was trying to find something for herself and stumbled across my birch tree copper cuff:

She was in love with my stuff and wanted to know if I do consignment. This woman, Paulette, owns a shop in Interlochen that is all Michigan made items. It's called Michigan's Gifts and Treasures. Awesome! So I sent up a package of goodies along with the contract in hopes that something may be sold.


GROW/ Business plan:
Late Winter/early Spring, I started attending the GROW program and am glad to say I have now officially completed the program! All summer long I've been gathering information, contacting, networking, writing, researching, and getting my business plan under way. It's about halfway done but still a lot more to go with finding an attorney, tax consultant, realtor, and writing up my first 5 years of accounts.


Internet and other horrible computer duties:
As many know...I am not that computer savvy. I struggle with these things and loathe technology. But it is essential to not just growing a business but getting ideas out there. Time has come to bite the bullet and get my own website. Luckily I've managed to find an awesome techie! Andrea Napierkowski. She is not only designing my page, but teaching me the steps along the way. Because the key to making a great website is making it relevant and keeping it updated.

So all summer long, I've been watching her tutorials and slowly figuring things out. Many times I build an idea, only to decide I don't like it, scrap it, then learn how to do something different. Frustrating, but totally worth it.


In a crazy nutshell this was my summer. Filled with gardening and harvesting the bounty to my head-jam of learning frustrating new things on the brink of creativity (and I think I did some natural dye baths in there as well).

The days are getting longer, cooler, and more colorful. Plants are slowing down which means *sigh* I can finally slow down and relax a little as well. Just a little.

More posts soon to follow.

Morels!

Rachael and John when trampin' around and stumbled across these precious gems. Every time they go, they come back with more...and more.

They were nice enough to let Matt and I have some, which I promptly cooked and put into a home made macaroni and cheese with the Phocas cheese from the Lubber's Farm. Let's just say it was awesome and leave it at that.

Rachael and John's culinary splendor didn't stop either. They made a morel, fiddle head, and wild leek pizza. I don't want to know what price would be placed on a pizza like that at a fancy restaurant.

And more awesome is to come Friday morning before Matt and I make our way to Chicago for the weekend. The four of us will sit down to a nice breakfast of duck egg omelette with morels, wild onions, Phocas, and herbs from the Lubbers farm...perhaps some home roasted coffee as well from Siciliano's Market!

There's just something about precious ingredients in comfort foods...

A Little Eggsperiment...

So...I've been meaning to return all those egg cartons back to the Lubber's farm. But a thought struck me, why not use some egg cartons to start growing all those flowers? I figured it's really no different than the other plastic (pricey) terrariums at stores. Searching through the net I saw other creative ideas for make-shifts by using empty plastic pop bottles.

And that's what I did!

With egg cartons.

I missed having flowers last year and I finally picked up sunflowers and zinnias to go along with my dahlias. Dahlias didn't do so well last year. Hopefully they will do better this year when I actually put them into a garden instead of just in a pot out on the back porch...my bad.

It was pretty easy to get it all started. Just grabbed some cartons and started slicing holes in the bottom. Put in a hefty layer of organic potting soil, poked holes, dropped a seed in, covered it up again, and sprayed with a fine mist from a cheap Home Depot sprayer.

I placed them in my studio downstairs in front of the window. I'll be keeping the little heater at 68 for the first week. They should do well enough in the morning sun.

 

I guess I'll just keep things posted from here and hope it works!


UPDATE

 

Well, 5 days later and this is already what they look like. The mammoth sunflowers really shot up and had to open the cartons so they could grow some more. I wasn't expecting anything to pop up for 7-10 days (as per seed packet). But then again it may be because the egg crates don't go that deep. I hope the root system can still develop before needing to transplant. Maybe I can place more dirt on top to support them a little better.

Leaving for a weekend of fun near Chicago (Darklord Day and Phill) I may just take these guys off the heat before I leave on Friday and put them in the sun room.

 

Harvesting Dandelions

Dandelions are the current agriculture on our modest suburban yard here in Grand Rapids. And there is, of course, an abundance of them. I personally can't say I love dandelions. Mocking my yard with their persistent yellow buds. But I can come to accept them. In fact it all started when my good friend Rachael gave me a recipe for dandelion soup back in high school. I don't have the exact recipe but I did manage to find something similar:

Dandelion Soup

2 pounds (about 6 cups) dandelion greens, trimmed and washed
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
4 cups vegetable stock
2 large leeks, white and light parts only, cleaned and sliced
1 carrot, cleaned and diced
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Dandelion buds and/or flower petals for garnish
1. If using more mature or very bitter tasting greens, blanch them in a pot of boiling salted water, then drain and squeeze out the excess water, chop and set aside.
2. Heat butter or oil in a large pot over medium high heat, add greens, carrot and leeks and cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes.
3. Add stock and simmer for about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and whisk in milk, cook stirring frequently, until slightly thickened.
4. Puree mix in a tightly-covered blender until smooth, taking care with the hot liquid. Season with salt and pepper, and add Dijon if you like.
5. Serve in bowls and garnish with flowers or buds.

The recipe I had from Rachael called for potatoes which added to the creamier consistency and was similar to the French Vichyssoise.

 

I also stumbled across some health info about dandelions that then sent me further down the rabbit hole with their history and medicinal uses. 

Dandelions, amongst many other wild plants we see, were never native to America. Hearty in nature, full of benefits, and all parts edible, they were brought over by the pilgrims. Even before that, dandelions have had their medicinal uses in Chinese medicine and even during the Roman Empire.
 

 

 

LEAVES

The leaves can be used in salads, curries, or even dried and steeped as a tea. The leaves are packed with  vitamins A, B, C and D in amounts that surpass most vegetables. It also acts as a natural diuretic and purifies the blood removing excess toxins as well as boosting liver and gallbladder functions.

 

I ended up drying all the dandelion leaves I gathered mostly for teas. I'll take 1 cup of boiling water to 2 teaspoons of the dried leaves steeped for 10-15 minutes. Young leaves usually make for a less bitter tea. Other uses for the leaves can range from salads, pastas, or if you love your spice, I make a mean Palak Paneer curry that would go well with some additional dandelion leaves.

FLOWERS

Many more possibilities exist with the flower heads. It makes a wonderful tea that is packed with pollen, which will boost your system if you have allergies. I've also seen recipes for dandelion wine amongst other great things. Here is a recipe I stumbled upon for pancakes and syrup both made from dandelion flowers.

 

 

ROOTS

These roots still pack the same nutritional punch as the leaves. I was intending to roast my dandelion roots to make a coffee but I dried mine right away. Wish I had found this in time. When roasting, you grind up the roots first while fresh and then roast them. Oh well, maybe next time.

When used with alum as am mordant, the roots create a purple/magenta dye.

Could be interesting...

 

I'm sure there are a million more uses for dandelions, you'll find the one that works. And perhaps someday dandelions won't be such a miserable flower that plagues our lawns every spring.

I am Dyeing

A lot of my work centers around death and dying and there is something so morbidly humorous when I say "I'm going to go dye". Can't help but giggle just a little bit.

I started making a retro dress a few weeks ago with a cheap pattern I got at Jo-Anns. Linen was on sale for 40% off so I figured I would snatch that up. It's not cheap material, but it's really nice summertime fabric, as it is very breathable.

I really wanted to try my hand with my burned fabric technique at the bottom of the dress, but I also wanted a little bit more color. My original plan was to use tea leaves or coffee grounds to stain the fabric, but Rachael said she still had some leftover black walnut solution from October and has been wanting to dye again...hehee.

So, she helped me dye on Friday.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of us during the dye process. But it was pretty simple. We got the area that I wanted to dye wet with water first because I wanted to have it fade. The black walnut solution was on low heat (but still pretty hot) and we had to wear gloves otherwise we would end up with brown hands. We soaked and layered and soaked some more at intervals of 15 minutes. When I was pretty satisfied with the color, we rang it out and let it dry over night.

The color here is considerably darker than the actual outcome because the dye has to dry fully before you rinse it in hot water- then gradually colder water until it runs clear. Once that was done and after it was dried, I started to iron on the "press and peel" backing where I would burn the fabric. This is handy in keeping the burnt fibers together instead of falling off.

I burned it with my blow torch in 3-4 inch increments...making sure to have a wet cloth in my lap to snuff out the fire. After burning the length of the dress, I just simply ironed on the lace at the bottom.

...and continued to iron the rest of the dress. Rachael warned me that linen wrinkles very easily, and with all the wrenching and twisting, this dress was very wrinkled.

From here it was just a matter of attaching the bias tape and the buttons!

Then finally finished!

Too bad for this March weather though. I really wanted to wear it! Perhaps this will be my designated dress for when I sell my jewelry at the Artisan's Market (hopefully) this summer!

Our Inner Fat Girls

Matt and I are gangly skinny bitches but that doesn't stop us from joking about our "inner fatties". Let's face it...we love to eat. All the late night Coney runs or those over-indulgent Sundays never add to our waistline. We might be inclined to feel guilty about getting away with eating so much garbage if it wasn't for the fact that we eat healthy the rest of the time. Hardly any meat, plenty of hearty grains and tons of fresh veggies while steering clear of MSG, HFCS, sodas, boxed/frozen meals, and artificial sweeteners.

It's our inner fat girls that give Matt and I our kicks of inspiration for our next indulgence. This usually involves us salivating at the mere description and talking like valley girls:

"OMG! Shut your mouth, that sounds sooooo good!" -Matt

Our latest kick happened at 1am last night. I can't even remember what got us on the topic of sausage, but that's where we ended up. Salivating over Googled recipes and images of various kinds of sausage.

Yeah. We're fatties alright.

Matt loves his Chorizo, so that was obviously a must. I love Chorizo too...I just love pork. So much...so freaking much. But then I came across an interesting recipe for a Greek sausage. Loukaniko. And of course we haaaad to make this as well : )

Here is a link to the recipes we used:
Loukaniko Recipe
Chorizo Recipe

The Loukaniko originally caught my eye because it not only called for wine (yay!) but orange zest as well. Usually I absolutely detest orange zest. To be honest, I fucking hate it. Terrible in carrot cake and don't even get me started on why anyone would put it in a chicken salad. But here it was in a sausage recipe and I was intrigued. What I gathered from my research was that this was a sausage from Greece and each region has their own take on it. One region used leek onions instead of orange peel. Other regions have their own unique curing process. I decided, for whatever possessed me, to stick with the orange zest.

As we wiped up our drool from our food porn that night, we decided to go on a meat spree in the morning. We hit up Sobie Meats for our pork butt and hog casing, went to Frank's Market to look for lamb. Unfortunately we had to go to Meijer's for that. It's been duly noted that we'll have to call in ahead of time if we want to order a fresh chunk of lamb.

We got home and dived right into our tasks. While making sausage, we were simultaneously researching how to make sausage. Yes, we were that anxious to get at some lovely meats.

Matt started dicing up the pork and lamb as I put all the spices in order. We skipped the cure because we didn't want to deal with nitrates or nitrites. We also didn't bother with the powdered milk.

It was right around the time of  grinding the Loukanika that we decided to check out Alton Brown's Good Eats episode on making sausage.

Sneaky Alton...almost had us worried that hog casing would be too tricky. Not for the hands of Matt and I apparently! But we figured out how to twist the casings once they were all stuffed.

Peek-A-Boo!

We cooked up some samples of the Loukanika and it was amazing! Orange zest and all! Makes me a little sad that we only made half the recipe...you know, just in case the zest just wasn't working for me. This recipe is fantastic and I would definitely make this again. The orange was subtle but detectable and worked well with the rest of the spices. This made me so excited, Matt even dropped some off at Siciliano's!

The chorizo, we found out, had to set for three hours in the vinegar before grinding it. So I finished that later on in the day. It was a pretty good recipe but i'll have to do more research. I threw in some cayenne even though it never called for it. I remember chorizo always being pretty spicy. I'll have to kick it up even more next time. The recipe called for paprika but I used up the rest of that smoked Spanish paprika instead. I'll have to get a whole bag of that at Penzey's next time I go, as that worked really well in the chorizo.

Chorizo.

We decided not to put any of this in casing. Matt and I enjoy making huevos con migas but have never put chorizo in it. Now we can ^_^

There is still plenty of casing leftover that I'm sure we'll use up on Sunday.