Hotel San Jose

On November 2, N and I will be celebrating 3 years of marriage. We wanted to celebrate by staying at the ultra-cool San Jose Hotel in Austin, but they were booked on our actual date, so we stayed there last weekend.

It was sooo nice. I mean, how cool is a hotel that tacks a little poem up in the bathroom?

Back this up!

N and I just supported this project on Kickstarter. Sounds like a great project.

Rolling along

N and I are participating in a holiday show at the Craft Alliance and the theme is "on a roll." I made this rolling razor for it.

Here's the video:



Those are fake eyelashes where the razor blades would be.

Playing Around at Craft Alliance Gallery

Probably should have posted about this on September 10 when this show opened, but N and I are featured in a 2-person exhibition at the Craft Alliance Gallery in St. Louis through the end of the month. So if you're in the St. Louis area before Halloween and looking for something to do, check it out!

Nice view

This was the view from our first Houston studio. I say 'was' because the building was sold and we have to be out by October 24. Bumps in the road. But we'll figure something out.

Obscene? Really?

So I entered this piece in the faculty show at my school and apparently someone complained that they find this "obscene." Really? Evidently, they see some relationship between these brushes and tools used for "female pleasure." WTF? One friend's response was, "well, they're plastic and have brushes," but that sounds more like a female torture device to me. I guess I have some things to learn...

Video, as promised.

More from The Craftsman

Sooo, it's been a busy couple months around here because N and I just moved to Houston, Texas!

I accepted a teaching position at Houston Community College and I am very excited to be here; though adjusting to the heat and the traffic has been a challenge!

In any event, I had to take a break from reading The Craftsman by Richard Sennett while we moved. I just picked it back up and I am ready to post more tidbits of wisdom that I've gained so far.


"Inarticulate does not mean stupid; indeed, what we can say in words may be more limited than what we can do with things. Craftwork establishes a realm of skill and knowledge perhaps beyond human verbal capacities to explain it..." p. 95

"The desire to do something well is a personal litmus test; inadequate personal performance hurts in a different way than inequalities of inherited social position of the externals of wealth: it is about you." p. 97

"The machined object, like the parent, makes a proposal about how something might be done; we ponder the proposal rather than submit to it." p. 103

"...only someone who accepts that he or she is likely to fall short of perfection is likely to develop realistic judgments about life, to prefer what is limited and concrete and so human." p. 104

Pedi-pistol

Newest rattle. Video forthcoming.

Nearly perfect lunch

Locally made sourdough toast with butter, fresh heirloom tomato from the farmer's market, fancy cheese from Whole Foods and a special treat of chanterelle mushrooms--Delicious!

The Craftsman

I'm finally getting around to reading Richard Sennett's book The Craftsman. Since I checked this book out of the library, I have decided to record some of the more interesting (at least, to me) segments from it here so I can refer to them in the future. And maybe someone else will find them useful, too.


"'Craftsmanship' may suggest a way of life that waned with the advent of industrial society--but this is misleading. Craftsmanship names an enduring, basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well for its own sake. Craftsmanship cuts a far wider swath than skilled manual labor; it serves the computer programmer, the doctor, and the artist; parenting improves when it is practiced as a skilled craft, as does citizenship."
p.9

Another treasure

My job gave me a gift certificate in honor of my 6 months of service, so I used it to buy this sweet little vintage beaded bag.

Now, if only I lived in Hollywood in the 1930s so I had someplace to take it...

Treasures

I just got a great work table with metal drawers--the kind with the butcher block tops, such as would be seen in any metal or wood shop from the 1950s or '60s--from the Little Shop. Inside one of the drawers were all these cool keys. I mounted them on a scrap piece of wood so I can hang them on the wall of my studio.

Mm-mm good, and easy

Tried my hand at homemade chicken tikki masala tonight. It was a fairly straight-forward recipe and pretty darn tasty, though I would cut WAY down on the salt the recipe calls for.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Prep Time:
30 Min
Cook Time:
50 Min
Ready In:
2 Hrs 20 Min

Original Recipe Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

* 1 cup yogurt
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
* 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
* 4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
* 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
* 4 long skewers

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 3 teaspoons salt, or to taste (I only used 2 of these 3 teaspoons, but it was still too salty)
* 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Preheat a grill for high heat.

3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.

4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Christmas in July

N and I just returned from spending the 4th of July in Texas with his family. They have a tradition of giving white elephant gifts for a Christmas in July exchange. I picked up these two beauties at the Little Shop Around the Corner. They were a pretty big hit.

And yes, those are real frogs.

The Fruit of my Labor

All of this has finally resulted in my first tomato of the season.

Last Class

My last class at Mobot was the Victorian Garden walk. Very interesting to learn about the origins of Victorian Gardens and the plans that went behind making our own version. This is the most traditional spot in the Victorian Garden and features a statue of Juno from the days of Henry Shaw.

Distraction

Made a big silver jewel ring, instead of working on what I should be doing.

New ring

Available in the shop!

Perks of the job.

At the Botanical Garden, I also work at the Little Shop Around the Corner, which is an upscale resale shop that raises money for the Garden. It's an interesting place because we get such a variety of things donated.
The best part of working there is that I can get first dibs on some cool stuff, like this fun quilt. I love the kitschy embroidery and it's entirely hand stitched!



Junebug likes it too.