Creative Sanctuary

Inspiration

Shape

By Allison

Without darkness, nothing comes to birth.
As with light, nothing flowers.
-May Sarton

Early morning stillness…  the Earth rests.  I flutter in and out of a last dream.  What time is it? Still dark.
I roll on my side.  Push myself up.  Feet dangle over the carpet.  Gentle movements.  Deep breath.  My feet touch the floor.  Warm socks, cozy wrap.

Time to shuffle downstairs.  What shall I drink?

Cool water in the kettle.  Tea tins in the cupboard.

Black tea?  Yes.

How about a Ceylon?  Smooth, elegant.  Just right.

The water trembles.  Shy light filters through the blinds.  A couple of teaspoons of dry leaves slipped into the teapot. The water begins to bubble…  Just a little longer.

Ritual gives shape to our days.  I await the first sip, and the events of today take root in my mind’s eye.  As the day unfolds, they will push through the surface.  Now, though, I focus on the breath running through me.

Beauty in Grief

By Allison

 

“Beauty, in a way, justifies our existence.”
–François Cheng, Oeil ouvert et coeur battant

My cousin Robb and I grew up amongst lawyers.  Drawn to the arts, we both forged paths that were atypical in our family.  Robb became a painter, and I studied literature.  We were both teachers.

Last week, Robb died unexpectedly.  I feel the pain of this loss in my bones.  And memories arise.  When we were little, large family gatherings at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm were a wall of noise—wild children waiting for the Easter egg hunt to begin, or, in December, demanding to know when Santa Claus would arrive.  We existed in a joyful, buzzing mass of cousins.

Happily, Robb and I got to know one another as adults.  Once we met at Caribou Coffee and spent a few hours talking about our favorite museums and gossiping about our siblings.  A few years back, I attended one of his shows—in a parking ramp!  It was brilliant!  The curvy, cavernous, concrete space allowed me to see the genius of his bright and bold paintings.  To no one’s surprise, our cool cousin Robb put on a cool show.  It is the most cosmopolitan Des Moines, Iowa has ever felt to me.

That evening, my brother and his wife purchased their first Robert Spellman piece, detail of which I share in this post.  It hangs in their front hallway, and my eyes fall on it each time I enter their home.  Robb left the painting untitled, explaining to my sister-in-law, “this started as a woman and morphed into so much more.”  I see echoes of the organized chaos that defined the Spellman get-togethers of our childhood.  In Robb’s energetic swirls, I see us charging through Grandma’s house, fueled by sugar and time with cousins.  I sense the members of a family gathering around tables.  In the center, I see Oneness.

My cousin experienced beauty and created beauty.  There is also beauty in our grief.  We loved Robb.  He graced us with his attention, his presence, and his art.  His life was beautiful, and he leaves beauty in his wake.

 

Inspiration

Robert Spellman Studio

 

 

Embroidery II

By Allison

Two threads of opaque light

At One with

Invisible needles,

Moving in and out of silent space

Embroidering,

Creating colors unseen

A work of art,

Felt in the Heart

 

This post was created in collaboration with the lovely Shelley Richardson.

 

Inspiration

Embroidery

Lunch Strategy

By Allison

I am more productive and less grumpy when I take the time to orchestrate not sad desk lunches.  Last week I slipped and found myself scrambling in the early afternoons.  I ended up eating unmemorable and somewhat unhealthy food.

This week, I promised myself to do a little better, hence this Indian-inspired meal.  I make no claims to authenticity, but this combo and a few other add-ins will make this week’s lunches livelier and more nourishing.

 

 

Lunch components

Store bought naan bread

Red grapes

Red lentil stew topped with cilantro leaves—I used Mark Bittman’s recipe for Masoor Dal

Brown rice—cooked in the pressure cooker and sprinkled with green onions for color and health

Squares of dark chocolate

Not pictured:  a saag paneer (spinach and cheese dish) microwave meal that will be worked in later in the week

I messed up my kitchen a little bit cooking the rice and the stew.  But clean-up was quick and there will be no morning panic this week!  Also, as much as I enjoy doing everything from scratch, it’s jut not possible when I am busy at work.  I am bring realistic about time and priorities.  This week’s desk lunches will be more balanced and so will I.

 

Inspirations

Not Sad Desk Lunches from Food52

Shisho Delicious’ envy-worthy bento box meals

 

 

 

Our Imperative

By Allison

During my last visit to Paris, I spied a few of these messages of love, all sprayed by the same hand.  They delighted me.  Moving about Paris can be stressful, especially given the security measures of recent years—more soldiers, more police vehicles, more security checks.  In short, more fear.

The unexpected love signs were an antidote to the tensions.  They brought a pause, a smile, and a reminder of loving kindness.  This week, in the wake of mind-numbing violence in my own country, people are grasping for words.  I have not pieced together my own thoughts, and I don’t know that I will.  Yet the Paris love graffiti wells up in me.  Its clear, direct message resonates.  Love is an imperative.  Love is our duty, our privilege, and our pleasure.  And this week, it is our balm.

Skimping on Dessert

By Allison

When I entertain, I almost always favor savory over sweet. I’d rather linger over a few small bites before dinner than serve a rich dessert after dinner.

This week, my selection of amuse-bouches required some foresight, but the elements came together easily. I served small portions of quinoa and farro salad with pickled fennel, a white tuna mousse with basil on small crackers, and roasted almonds.

Here’s my strategy for pulling together a harmonious appetizer tray:

The day before your dinner party
*Take stock of your materials. Do you have a sizeable serving tray or platter? Do you have verrines (small glasses), little jars, or shot glasses to serve soup or salad? No worries if you need to mix and match—it adds character and charm. Pull out bread plates, if you have them, and try to get your hands on some square cocktail napkins.

*Make a grain salad or soup. They will both taste even better the day of your gathering. I served this delightful and easily adaptable salad.

*Make a recipe of roasted almonds. I share my recipe at the end of this post. If you don’t have time to roast your own nuts, grab some at the grocery store.

The day of your dinner party
*Lay out your tray and accoutrements.

The hour before your dinner party
*Taste and freshen your soup or salad. Does it need a splash of oil or vinegar? Maybe some salt and pepper? Spoon into serving dishes and garnish with fresh herbs.

*Spread any dips on crackers or thinly sliced baguette. I served this mousse.

*Take a moment to prepare your tray. Resist the temptation of overcharging it with food and decoration. The goal is to whet your guests’ appetites, not stuff them before dinner.

When your guests arrive
*Begin your evening with the aperitif of your choice—sparkling wine, sparkling water, fruit juice, and bourbon are good choices.

*Enjoy conversation and pretty snacks with your guests before the main course.  Slip away when you need to put the finishing touches on dinner.

For dessert
*If you served a generous tray of appetizers, don’t feel obligated to prepare a substantial dessert. This week, I finished my dinner party with small madeleine cakes that I had in the freezer.

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Embroidery

By Allison

Flea markets are therapeutic.  My eyes do the initial sifting as I make my way down the aisles and through the booths.  When I am drawn to an object—a hand-painted tray, a copper planter, a Limoges teacup—I approach for a closer look.  Where was it made?  What is its story?  Can I make space for this object in my little house?

The visual and tactile experience of an overflowing flea market allows me to move beyond my internal, distracting chatter.  Yesterday, in the company of a friend, this dainty needlepoint purse found me.  The handwork is intricate—much care and concentration went into this old-fashioned piece.  I wonder who made it and who carried it…

Embroidery has long been a form of feminine expression.  My self-taught needlework is precise but sporadic.  Usually, I choose to embroider through language.  Both written and spoken, words form my stitches.  Clean, fumbling, or elegant they lend texture to my creative work.  Pauses are perhaps more important than words.  Spaces of silence, they allow my chains of words to function as thoughts.  At the flea market, I sometimes find myself existing in the spaces between the stitches of everyday life.  The precious pause leads me to small treasures, sharpens my curiosity about their pasts, and inspires me to imagine new places and purposes for them.

Recreating Melbourne

By Allison

Oh, how I’d love to slip away to Melbourne for a weekend!  Alas!  Quick visits to Australia are out of reach for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere.  But all is not lost.  My memories and pictures bring me back to the mosaic floors of Melbourne’s elegant covered passages and its iconic street art.  And in my Kentucky kitchen, I revisit a stunning meal shared with my good friends Stephanie and Jeremy.

Each and every dish at Rumi Restaurant was exquisite—creamy labne, cheese-filled pastry “cigars”, meatballs in tomato and saffron sauce.  But one dish stood out, and I’ve been recreating it for months.  Each time it evokes early Australian autumn, merriment, and friendship.  This salad is made with a Middle Eastern grain called freekeh.  Chewy and slightly nutty, freekeh is a substantial grain.  Serve it as a vegetarian main or in verrines as a savory-sweet starter.  The juicy grapes beautifully juxtapose the tart feta.  The pomegranate molasses lends a slight, deep sweetness.  The parsley adds a vegetative touch that unifies the salad.

Freekeh, Grape, and Feta salad comes together fairly easily and has the power to awaken memories.  Bon appétit!

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Slow Looking

By Allison

The painting unfolded before me and in me.

I’d spent years looking at art, then promptly filing away the images.  Wandering through museums, I encountered works by Rothko, Brancusi, and Degas.  Often, they moved me.  Yet I never lingered.  There was so much art to take in, so I “stacked” the images in my mind, sometimes retrieving them in conversation, in my studies, or in subsequent museum visits.  Mary Cassatt’s portraits of children sprung up in tender moments; Malevich’s White on White stumped my students; I sought and found Camille Claudel’s love story in her sculptures at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Yet somehow, I never allowed myself to sit with these works.  After so much study and so many museum visits, I found myself in the National Galleries of Scotland in front of Van Gogh’s The Plains near Auvers.  For once, I wasn’t prone to move efficiently through a museum.  Rather, that dreary afternoon I planted myself in front of the piece that beckoned.  Van Gogh’s green and gold fields seemed to move on the canvas.  The grasses in the foreground swayed from side to side, and successive fields opened back toward the horizon, one after the other.  I sensed that I was in the painting and that the painting was in me.  My altered perception of space left me feeling a bit wobbly, but I remained “inside” the image, allowing my mind to move farther into the fields. By engaging in “slow looking”, I connected to an artist and his chosen landscape in a startling, deep way.

The Plains near Auvers still moves about in me.  Sometimes, in a quiet moment, I inhale and summon the haphazard rectangles, the swirly sky, and the dabbed red flowers.  Other times, the painting wells up, catching me off guard.  I am glad to have my tall, orderly stores of images, gathered over years of museum time.  They are my foundation and springboard.  Now I know to be still with them, attuning myself to their quiet language of color, line, and shape.

 

Inspirations

Inspiring Impressionism:  Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh, National Galleries of Scotland

The Art of Slowing Down in a Museum, New York Times

Slow Art Day

 

My Madeleines de Proust

By Allison

“…I brought to my lips a spoonful of tea in which I had softened a piece of madeleine.  But at the exact moment when the mouthful mixed with cake crumbs touched my palate, I shivered, attentive to this extraordinary thing that was taking place in me.  A delicious pleasure had invaded me, isolated, no notion of its cause.  It had instantly made me indifferent to the vicissitudes of life, made its disasters harmless, its brevity illusory, in the same way that love operates, filling me with a precious essence:  or more accurately this essence wasn’t in me, it was me.”  –Marcel Proust, Du côté de chez Swann

Shell-shaped madeleine cakes were a part of my life before I ever knew about Marcel Proust and the memory-inducing power of his petites madeleines.  When I was a student in Paris, a bakery close to my school sold five madeleines for five francs—a deal!  At lunchtime, I’d often make my way down the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs to pick up one of the tidy white bags holding five portable cakes.  Sometimes they were still warm.  Madeleines were my ideal student snack—simple, toothsome, and shareable.  A chocolate éclair or strawberry tartelette would have been more impressive, but the dainty butter cakes comforted me.  I imprinted my own madeleine experience well before encountering Proust.

Later, I would discover that Proust, too, found comfort in madeleines.  In the first volume of his 3,000 page novel Remembrance of Things Past, tasting a madeleine dipped in tea unleashes the narrator’s memory of taking tea and cake with Aunt Léonie.  In French culture, a madeleine de Proust refers to a heart-warming, evocative culinary experience that joins past and present.  Madeleine cakes are one of my madeleines de Proust.  They bring me back to the sweet, exhilarating sadness of being so far from home.  Other sweets unleash my involuntary memory, allowing me a delicious, temporary dance between past and present:  Grandma Rose Mary’s orange cookies, Grandma Mary Ellen’s sticky rolls, and the frosted graham crackers Mom served me as a toddler.  The frosting was always homemade, and she always served them on a rectangular, strawberry-patterned tray that is still in her kitchen.

What foods bring your past into the present?  Tell me about your madeleines de Proust in the comment section.

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