Appeale

2009-04-07T13:27:00.002-05:00

i'm switching over. i've used blogger for so long, but i'm going to give another host site a shot.

now find me at:

http://brittanypiehl.wordpress.com/

2009-04-07T11:49:00.003-05:00

last night i decided in honor of my last night of spring break that i would bake up a storm. unfortunately i'm still yearning for a kitchen-aid mixer and all mixing was done strenuously by hand. seriously, what a tough life.

i searched around for a good cookie recipe for a while before settling on my first instinct, making peanut butter cookies. jennie and i made them vegan, so everyone could enjoy them. they turned out pretty perfect, tasting just like childhood. plus, who knew how fun it is to make criss-cross patterns in cookie dough?

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 24 good sized cookies Ingredients

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Egg Replacer: 2tbsp water + 1 tbsp oil + 2tsp baking powder
1/2 heaping cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cream the vegan butter and sugars.
In separate bowl combine 2tbsp water + 1 tbsp oil + 2tsp baking powder. Ad mixture to butter/sugar and blend. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until well blended.
Measure out tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into 1/.5" balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Make criss-cross pattern with fork.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) 8-10 minutes until set, but not hard. Do not overbake. Leave on sheets for 2 minutes before removing. Cool, and store in covered container.

2009-04-06T11:58:00.003-05:00

the weather has been amazing here for the past couple of days. extremely sunny and extremely nice temperature, which seems even better when i find out it's been snowing where my parents live. don't get me wrong, i like snow. but not in april.

not too much of an eventful weekend. i did a bit of shopping and saw a movie on saturday. yesterday i went to a clothing swap, which turned up a few really good finds. including an awesome pair of cowboy boots. yesssss. and last night neil and i went jogging because the temperature outside was perfect.

in cooking news we made pizza the other night. super simple and super good. i suppose i'll give it a really simple name: pesto pizza.

Pesto Pizza
Makes one pizza.

Ingredients
-1 pre-made pizza crust. (any brand will do, as well as any size. suggest using a thinner crust - it really isn't that thin and the pizza bakes better with a thinner crust)
-pepperonni (as much as you would like)
-three kinds of cheese: mozzarella, romano, and parmesan. (again, as much as you would like but do NOT go overboard, the pizza won't cook properly).
-pesto sauce
-olive oil
-half of a chopped red onion
-handful of kalamata olives, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to temperature (as designated on pre-made pizza crust wrapper).

Remove the pizza crust and place on cookie sheet. Light brush olive oil over the pizza crust. Next add pesto sauce to the surface, spreading evenly. Leave a ring around the outer edge of the pizza for a crust. Next add a handful of mozzarella cheese, spreading evenly. Evenly spread out the kalamata olives and red onion. Next add handfuls of the romano and parmesan cheese. finally place pepperoni wherever you'd like. Make sure NOT to overload on any cheese or toppings or the pizza will not cook through evenly.

Place in oven for time suggested on the pizza crust wrapper. Remove when the cheese is turning light brown and/or the bottom of the crust has browned. For a crispier crust remove the pizza from the baking sheet before placing it in the oven (highly recommended).

2009-04-03T00:25:00.004-05:00

tuesday night, yes tuesday-i'm behind on posting, neil and i attempted a new pasta dish for dinner: shrimp & creamy pesto pasta. all-in-all it turned out pretty good. really thicky/creamy so i'd stick to a shorter portion size. also, don't bother trying to re-heat it the next day. it turns into a big sticky, greasy mess. pictures and the recipe to follow:

Shrimp & Creamy Pesto Pasta
Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients

~1 pound bow-tie pasta
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
ground black pepper & salt to taste
2 cloves garlic
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or romano, or any italian mix
3 tbs pesto
large shrimp, peeled and deveined (as many as desired)
1 shallot
mushrooms (as many as desired)

Directions
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

Chop shallot and garlic. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, add shallot and garlic. Once the shallot has browned add mushrooms, cook until finished. Next stir in cream, and season with salt/pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir cheese into cream sauce, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Blend in the pesto, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the shrimp, and cook until they turn pink, about 5 minutes.

Serve sauce over the hot pasta. garnish with cheese.

2009-04-01T22:29:00.002-05:00

(note: see http://www.flickr.com/photos/brittanypiehl for photos)

no, i did not forget about blogging already. i was in DC for most of last week, all of last weekend, and part of this week. it was the most glorious vacation of my LIFE. needless to say i want to go back, as soon as possible.

neil and i flew in wednesday around 8ish at night. we stayed at this really nice place, the hotel lombardy. it's a building on the historic register and has one of those old fashion elevators - operator and all. that night we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and headed to an awesome place - kramer's books and afterwords cafe. cafe / bookstore. AWESOME. and the food was good. crab cake. i had so much freakin' crab cake while i was there. then we walked around dupont circle taking some really nice pictures. it was awesome being there again. knowing where most things are, knowing how to use the metro. i remembered everything again, very quickly.

thursday we spent all day at the US capitol and the holocaust museum. that was rather exhausting, but also awesome. it's rather interesting going to museums now - after having my first to quarters of grad school. it gives you a completely different perspective on many things. that night we went to my favorite mexican place - lauriol plaza. it also happens to be one of bill clnton's favorites. though he was wasn't there, just pictures of him and the staff on the wall. after that we walked to the adam's morgan neighborhood and went to a hookah bar.

friday we met with jess!!!! and went to SAAM and the national portrait gallery. i left neil and jess (they went to have lunch with our friend tim) and had lunch with my old co-workers. it was nice to catch up with everyone. after that i met jess and neil and we did a monuments walking tour, which resulted in much pain. note to self, sneakers are worth it. friday night neil and i got dinner at an indian place and then drinks at a dive bar near our hotel.

saturday - brunch at luna's bar and grill. after that neil and i went to the national gallery, which was amazing but exhausting. after that we made a quick run around the american history museum before it closed. that night we met tim and jess for dinner at the tabard inn. the food was SUPER good but we were so tired from walking around all day.

sunday we got up and headed to eastern market, one of my favorite parts of DC. we walked through a bunch of vendors booths and had brunch at montmartre. where i had what i now declare the best eggs benedict of my LIFE. it was SO good. also, the waiter tempted us three times with a mint infused fruit salad. we declined but have regretted it ever since. WHY? on the way back to the hotel we stopped by the white house and took some photos. sunday afternoon was spent at the international spy museum. it was fun but super glamorized. sunday night we had dinner with jess and tim and then headed back to the hotel to pack.

monday - our flight wasn't until 3:30 pm so we took advantage of the morning. we went to a greasy spoon that neil desperately wanted to try - cf folks. more crab cake and definitely the best i had during the trip. after that we swung by the renwick gallery quick. then finally headed back on the 6-7 hour flight to san francisco.

all in all an AWESOME vacation.

2009-03-24T16:10:00.001-05:00

tomorrow morning i leave for the happiest place on earth. i won't bring my computer with me, but expect a long post and tons of photos once i arrive back in the east bay.

also, the school quarter is over tonight. YES. two down...several more to go...

2009-03-21T21:52:00.005-05:00

sophie and nate left today for the long drive back to iowa. before they left we managed to spend a good amount of time together though. if only i didn't have work. speaking of. i only have work for two days next week and then off to dc!! i do have class next week though, and a paper to finish before monday. so i need to get planning.

last night neil. sophie, nate and myself sent to chez panisse for dinner. it was the best meal i've had there yet. i ordered a ricotta and artichoke salad with cilantro and lime. it was soooooooo good. i'm looking forward to trying to recreate it on my own. neil and nate both had oysters and sophie ordered a salad consisting primarily of blood oranges. for my entree i had a pasta dish... i can't remember the title. noodles similar to ziti, rigontoncinni, maybe? with mint, cream and aspargus. it, also, was very good. For desert I tried the caramel cream puffs with bittersweet chocolate sauce and candied walnuts. though it was a bit too rich it was still very delicious. we also ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, and as a result had a really, really good time.

Today we went to the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon in the marina. i haven't spent much time up there and got to see many different views of golden gate bridge and alcatraz. we also all tried more chocolate than we could all stomach. the best was definitely a chocolate with bacon, salt and pop rocks, or 'sizzling bacon chocolate'. wow, so good. later today neil and i went to sur la table, always a risk. i made it out of the store only buying a cooling rack though, crisis adverted.

2009-03-19T12:23:00.003-05:00

My friends sophie and nate are here from iowa! yesssssss, first visitors since i've moved here! last night shannon made delicious tofu dijon and the five of us ate dinner together.

then sophie, nate, neil and myself went to albatross and played scrabble while having a few drinks.

note: scrabble is much harder in person than online. Note the score card picture. Yes, neil and i beat sophie and nate. booyah.

also, it's been incredibly nice here lately. super sunny and warmer. spring has arrived.

2009-03-16T16:33:00.005-05:00

I made pumpkin penne pasta last night, even though i haaaaaate cooking for only one person. it turned out alright though - i added asparagus to the original recipe. it's in season here and is yummy, delicious and bright green. the recipe is very simple and could easily be halved down. it could also easily be added to - I've tried shrimp before and that was excellent. the original recipe calls for an entire can of pumpkin, but i usually end up using half to three-fourths of a can.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine

1 pound penne pasta
2T butter
1 onion, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Return the pasta to the pot, along with the reserved pasta water, and toss. Stir in the parmesan; season with salt & pepper.

Top pasta with parsley and more Parmesan to serve.

in celebration of jennie's sister being in town we went to acme bar last night for a few drinks. i hadn't been there in a while and it's a really neat venue to sneak some pictures. lots of dark corners and red light. i've recently found out that a few friends from Iowa are visiting this week - i'm really excited! we've made dinner reservations for friday at the chez panisse cafe and on saturday there is a international chocolate fair in san francisco -
more on this later.

2009-03-15T13:57:00.005-05:00

it's been raining off and on all morning. i absolutely love it. i slept in until 10:37 am, which normally would be completely impossible. so far i haven't done much besides have cereal and sit in bed. jennie's sister, aimee is visiting and was cutting up some fruit from the berkeley bowl. pineapple has such a great texture so i took a few photos. also strawberries, yum!

also, a few photos from the failed banana bread the other night. at the canvass dinner on friday we tried to figure out what went wrong...most likely inadequate baking time and/or too little baking soda.

2009-03-14T14:22:00.003-05:00

Last night Neil and I went to a dinner party that a coworker told me about. It's a branch off from the original ghetto gourmet (http://www.theghet.com). The ghetto gourmet, which started in 2004 as an underground dinner party movement, grew quickly and as a result canvas underground was born - as a way to keep the parties at an intimate and smaller size. the dinner we attended last night was hosted in glen park. i haven't spent any time there and was pleasantly surprised. narrow winding streets and cute corner stores. everywhere.

the dinner party is hosted by a volunteer so the venue changes from party to party. the chef, peter jackson, had a wonderful menu lined up including:

Cream of Cauliflower Soup with White Cheddar Croutons
Romaine Salad with Golden Beet Vinaigrette, Blood Oranges and Sweet Italian Onions
Homemade Linguica Sausage with White Beans and Wilted Chicories
Baba Au Rhum with Whipped Cream

there was plenty of wine passed around, and we were fortunate enough to meet loads of new people with similar interests. i'll definitely look forward to attending again - and next time hopefully taking a few photos.

2009-03-13T18:52:00.003-05:00

I attempted to make banana bread last night and failed. miserably. It wasn't so bad beside the fact that the top half of the middle portion of the loaf didn't cook so well. I think i need to invest in two smaller loaf pans. The non-cooking happened because i didn't leave the bread in for as long as the last time I made it - to avoid browning the bread too much. yuck, i hate burnt things. better luck next time.

2009-03-12T11:33:00.004-05:00

I'm back for a second day - hopefully I can keep this up. After spending all of yesterday in a cramped office space with oh-so-lovely fluorescent lighting I managed to sneak away and work out before going home. Even though I have the most convenient set up in terms of working/working out it's still hard to find time with class, paper writing, and everyday life.

Last night I gave a new recipe a try....Lemon Orzo with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts. For fun I added shrimp as well. It actually turned out pretty well...I need a strainer with smaller holes for the orzo pasta, so I had to attempt the using the lid as a strainer method. everything ended up okay though and it made enough for four people. The original recipe didn't call for cheese, but I definitely recommend using about 1/2 cup of Parmesan. mhmmmm yum.

Lemon Orzo with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts
Adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine

Ingredients

-1 lb orzo pasta
-3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
-3/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
-2 lemons, juice of
-1 lemon, zest of
-2 (6 ounce) white mushrooms, sliced (depending)
-1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-10 medium/large shrimp
-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
-Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orzo until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in toasted pine nuts, parsley, lemon juice, lemon peel, and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly coat skillet with olive oil and set stove to high heat until rippling. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes. If using pre-cooked shrimp add them to the Orzo mixture. After mushrooms have cooked add them to Orzo mixture.

Note: Because I didn't have the right strainer my pasta was left with a bit more water than usual, therefore I did not use the called for amount of olive oil - just a drizzle. I suspect that with the proper strainer you would not come across this problem. I'd recommend adding a bit of olive oil and going from there - depending on how oily you want your pasta to be.

Serve and eat!

2009-03-11T12:12:00.004-05:00

I'm going to attempt to start this up again, though we'll see how that actually goes. Second quarter of grad school will be over within the next two weeks and i'm really excited about wrapping things up. I spent monday night in the kitchen, after class, attempting a baking project. An old standard though - andes chocolate brownie cupcakes. though with my new camera the pictures are far more enticing. This recipe is so easy it hurts and feels like you're cheating yourself out of a true baking experience. Though, it's quick and easy and you're left with an extremely rich treat. i'd recommend having them warm and possibly with a glass of milk - if you're into that.

Andes Mints Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes
Any dry brownie mix - prepared as directed
Two boxes of Andes Mints (could use the cherry or toffee flavors, though mint takes the cake)

Line cupcake pan with liners and fill with brownie batter to half full. Place one Andes Mint in the middle and press slightly down, nearly covering the mint with batter. Add additional batter (only a slight bit) if needed to cover any exposed mint. Bake as directed (approximately 25-30 minutes at suggested heat). Immediately remove and place on cooling rack. For Andes Mint topping place one mint on top of cupcake and let melt for a few seconds. Using a small spoon (or your finger if you don't mind a little heat) swirl the melted mint over the cupcake. Place cupcakes in refrigerator to cool/harden.

long overdue

2008-10-31T18:29:00.005-05:00

Cooking though...Things of note I've made since moving:

1. pumpkin ravioli with sage cream sauce
OKAY. So i had never made ravioli from scratch before. It was an interesting and time consuming project - but well worth it. I think. With special help from my new assistant chef we were able to make a great filling, over stuff the wrappers and boil the pasta without too many falling apart. the cream sauce was remarkably easy to make and used dry white wine - that was fun because i don't often cook with wine but would like to. also, the recipe called for WAY too much sage - i should have trusted my judgement.

RAVIOLI-
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
Salt and pepper
32 wonton wrappers
6 tablespoons butter
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus shaved parmesan for serving
1 large egg

-In a medium bowl, mash together the pumpkin, cream cheese, parmesan, egg and 2 pinches each salt and pepper.
-Line a baking sheet (or your counter top, i had to use the sheet bc i didnt have enough counter space) with parchment paper and set aside. Spoon a tablespoon (make sure not to do too much, otherwise the wonton wrapper wont fold well) of the pumpkin-cream cheese filling into the center of the wonton wrappers, brush two edges with water, then fold the corners together, press to seal, gently squeezing out the air and making a triangle shaped ravioli. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
4. Working in batches (about 4 or 5 ravioli at a time), cook the ravioli in the boiling water until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon,remove. the ravioli will be sticky so you need to set up a wet paper towel to place them on, when the plate is full cover them with another wet paper towel and contiune layering as such until all ravioli is cooked.

this recipe makes quite a bit, we ended up freezing about 20-30 ravioli to use for later

SAUCE RECIPE
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoons crumbled dried sage leaves
1 1/2 cup dry white wine - i used a cabernet sauvignon
1 1/3 cup whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste.

Melt butter on medium heat until it browns.
Add sage and shallots to heat for around 30 secs.
Add wine and cream.
Bring mixture to boil and cook for at least 10 minutes or until it reaches desired thickness.
Season with salt and pepper.
then i arranged the raviolis on the plate and poured the desired amount of sauce over the pasta. i sprinkled a little of the left over cheese as a garnish.

2. smoky black bean soup
OH MY GOD. this was SO easy. seriously, the easiest thing I've made in a LONG time. I'll re-post the recipe and in addition I'd add guac or sour cream and tortilla strips. yum.

1 large onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
15 ounces fatfree refried beans
15 ounces black beans, cooked
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 - 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (to taste)
1 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Spray a large, non-stick pot with cooking spray, and sauté the onion until it begins to brown. Add the garlic and bell pepper and cook for one more minute. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook until the flavors blend, 20-30 minutes.

3. granola
no, this does not make me a hippie - contrary to popular belief. It was my first time making it and though I wish there would have been bigger clusters i think it turned out okay. Here is the recipe i used, though I altered it a bit. Really just watch for the consistency of the granola when you're mixing everything together. ALSO really make sure to check on it every 5 minutes or so - it will burn EASILY.

Ingredients
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup good honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, and cherries together in a large bowl. Pour the vegetable oil and honey over the oat mixture. Add the cinnamon, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated with the liquids. Pour onto a sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container

I've been a very bad blogger the past couple of months. I'm afraid my creative energy has shifted from any sort of printing/book making to cooking and photography. Unfortunately my new California kitchen is really, really undesirable for cooking, and I don't really have a camera right now. I've been using my iPhone though and publishing photos on my flickr.com site (http://flickr.com/photos/29714536@N08/).

Jennie and I have been on a baking kick including: chocolate peanut butter bombs and Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Oh Autumn, how I miss you.

stormy saturday night

2008-07-19T23:42:00.005-05:00

as a way to regroup friday night, after the exciting thursday that was borderello prom 2008, i decided to try a new cupcake recipe. the result was better than i expected. the best description of the end product would be: mini brownie cupcakes with andes toffee mints. before i had made a cupcake version of this recipe with plain andes mints, though i quite prefer the brownie mixture to the cake.

although they may not look appetizing in these photos (i'm working on getting a new digital camera, though i can't decide what to buy. suggestions), they really were. in other news i finally started packing/cleaning my room, and yes it was thorougly depressing (as suspected).

prom cleanup

2008-07-18T13:09:00.003-05:00

not much of an update since i last posted. i'm moving out of my current house in approximately two weeks and i'm thoroughly depressed about it. all four of my current roommates and i have miraculously gotten along really, really well, and it'll be sad when we all have to move out. anyhow, as one last hurrah we had Borderello Prom 2008, "Dancing Under the Stars of Venice in the Sea of the Millennium" last night. the event was complete with corsages, streamers, spiked punch, and slow dancing. pictures of this to follow.

i did a little baking last week, though nothing too exciting. i made the classic standard - chocolate chip cookies, but for a twist added in butterscotch chips as well. i brought the bulk of them into the office, and i'll assume they turned out good as they were gone within the first hour of work.

the student newspaper on campus - the daily iowan - ran an editorial today titled, "art museum needs to move downtown." for those not aware the current ui art museum is located quite near the iowa river and with the flooding this past month was forced to be evacuated. discussions had long been in the works, by the former director, to move the art museum to a more central location in downtown iowa city. which contradicts the idea of the 'arts campus' ie where the art buildings, theatre building, hancher auditorium, etc are all located on the ui campus. i'm not sure why i bring this up as i won't be taking classes or living in iowa city within the next month. maybe only to say that the editorial was poorly written and not very convincing at all. especially where they called for the need of museums downtown to compliment the 'art' of iowa city.

chocolate biscuits

2008-07-09T23:17:00.005-05:00

Roommate Sophie and I were in the mood to bake last night so I thought I’d give the brownie roll-out cookies a shot. A better description of them would be chocolate biscuits though. They have a consistency similar to that of sugar cookies – and the recipe is quite similar as well. By chance the only cookie cutter I found in my kitchen was a bear shaped one – which worked out well.

These hadn't gone into the oven yet and as I feared i left too much excess flour on top - although it didn't affect the taste much they came out with a light white dust on the exterior.

Roommate Alisa was thankfully there to read out loud the latest celebrity gossip.

and of course, the best part of baking: cleaning off the whisk.

officially july

2008-07-07T10:48:00.002-05:00

i regret that i haven't been posting much this summer. i suppose i could blame it on a number of things - ranging from the flooding in iowa city to my overall lack of creativity lately. most spare time is spent thinking about packing, but not actually doing any work. this past weekend was full of fun 4th of july activities including:

kabobs

vodka tonics

sidewalk chalk

henna tattoo

i haven't been printing much and have replaced any art making with baking. over the last month i've experimented with the following recipes:

1. chocolate chip pecan pie (not too exciting, but my first time making a pie completely from scratch. )
2. andes mint chocolate chip cupcakes
3. avocado lime cookies with coconut garnish
4. lemon poppy seed tea cookies
5. chocolate pumpkin cake

unfortunately i've been a poor photographer lately and do not have any pictures to share. baking projects for this week include:

1. cripsy salted oatmeal white chocolate cookies
and
2. brownie roll-out cookies

i'll make sure to post pictures of both of these.

a few more prints

2008-06-06T13:19:00.003-05:00

made a carving of a boot. not really any substantial work, but had fun trying the cut out.

i've been on a western theme kick lately. i'm blaming the unbearable weather. hottttttttt.

prints

2008-06-03T10:46:00.002-05:00

i worked on a few new prints the other night. i quite like the pistol motif and will probably follow up with more western inspired images in the future. mind the scanning though, it altered the original prints colors. (however not in a bad way).

nearly a month later

2008-06-01T22:12:00.005-05:00

the month of may is almost over and i regret that i haven't posted more. with graduations and working nearly full time i haven't kept up. i've done a bit of book binding over the past month, but i've started to focus more on linoleum cuts recently. with help from a printmaker roommate i've acquired several water based inks and a roller. i'll post a few pictures, however i printed them on notebook paper as a test run. nothing too exciting though.

here's the block i printed from. i'll probably carve away more eventually and print again then.

in other news...since summer is finally here we've begun a bit of gardening at my house again. today we potted a basil plant, parsley plant, and cherry tomato plant.

catching up

2008-05-03T14:28:00.003-05:00

i just realized i haven't updated in ages. the semester is coming to an end and i have yet to turn in my honors thesis (i know, i know). i did take the time, though, to finish my last printing project for the year. after discussing a few things with classmates i decided to make some sort of sleeve for the piece. this way it functions more as a extended accordion, rather than a book, which is a look i was going for. the picture below features a blue sleeve, but i also made a few covers out of red and green paper.

in other news i was in denver last week for the american association of museums conference. the denver art museum had a great collection of american western art - one of my main areas of focus - so that was exciting to see. the museum of nature and science was also quite impressive. they had a special exhibition up about gold, which obviously included many expensive, sparkley objects. i was particularly taken with this sculpture outside the museum:

we also rummaged around the denver public library. they had a great temp. exhibition up including a great bierstadt. also, the lib owns mountain of the holy cross by thomas moran - one of my favorite western painters.

monkey, ant

2008-04-16T17:16:00.002-05:00

i managed to make it out of the studio alive last night and back today. i decided to print the monkey in yellow, followed by the ant in orange. once again, out of convenience, i didn't have to clean the press inbetween runs because i simply added red ink to the yellow already on the press. oh the joys of primary colors.

lion & snake

2008-04-15T23:31:00.003-05:00

writing from the letterpress studio. it's about 11:32 p.m. which is terrbile considering i only got over being sick, well, today really. anyhow, after careful planning and color mixing (only not really at all), i managed to print the lion for the L and the snake for the S.

i think they turned out okay. i'll have to wait and see once all the animals are on the sheet really. also note that the colors are out of whack. the lion is a dark purple and the snake a dark, dark green. the lighting in here is quite misleading. i'm not sure what else i'll do for colors, besides using brown or red which already will make an appearance on the project. anyway, i've got 15 minutes to kill until the parking garage closes, i should probably clean the press.

sick day

2008-04-14T16:16:00.003-05:00

i got rather sick last weekend with a cold/fever/general misery and recovered quite quickly over the weekend. unfortunately it came back with full force this previous weekend on saturday, when i got back from the chicago trip. with nothing else to do besides lay in bed and watch the philadelphia project, i decided to finish up the linoleum cuts for my final project. anyhow, please ignore their colors, as i had to test them out with magic markers. obviously a really classy way of proofing.

i'm excited to actually print them on the press, however it won't be tonight because i can't seem to stay vertical for more than five minutes.

friday night in

2008-04-12T00:19:00.003-05:00

i have to be up in five hours to catch the bus for chicago. we're going to see the Hopper exhibit. obviously, studying american art and all, i'm super excited.

anyhow, Hopper is really important and i could go on for hours about how much i really like his aesthetic, but i won't. ALSO, i saw the Rape of Europa tonight. absolutely amazing and a must-see.

also, more Hopper's because i'm not tired enough to sleep yet.

final project

2008-04-10T18:17:00.003-05:00

started work on my final project yesterday. i'm doing an accordion style book (as to avoid any extra work on the actual binding). the theme uses alliterations to describe animals. i'm not sure what or how i'm doing the imagery yet, but was able to print round one of the text.

there's no sense of scale here really, but the project is quite small. i'll post more pictures later. it was super interesting locking the wood type into the press. probably not the best way, but it seemed to work fine...

finishing up

2008-04-07T21:19:00.003-05:00

i thought i finished the poster project when i left north hall sunday afternoon, however after getting home and starring at it all night i decided something was very wrong. i couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was apparent that too much white space still existed. i was able to add a few more phrases, ornament, etc before tonight, when they were due. i forgot, although, to scan the final copy. so no photos tonight.

i did, however, take a few photos of a project i finally completed sunday afternoon as well. i added my 'press name' to the back of the cards i made a few weeks / a month ago. my letterpress instructor advised us to do so on projects for recording keeping, etc. in the future. obviously i named my 'appeale press' pretty original huh?

poster continued

2008-04-02T15:47:00.002-05:00

i finally got in to the letterpress studio to print this morning. i added a few text blocks and ornamental design. i think i'll have to do at least two more runs though, before i'm through. the project is due monday so i expect to be done soon! don't mind the closeness at the top - the scanner isn't big enough for the poster size and the top was cut off.

tons

2008-04-01T15:56:00.002-05:00

i have posted for a while because i haven't been able to print in what seems forever, actually meaning a few weeks. i have to finish up the poster tomorrow, however, so i'll have some more updates/photos then. i'm not realizing it's april 1st and that the rest of this month will be incredibly busy. lots of events at the museum, final projects for class, riverbank art fair and colorado trip. not to mention a big midterm this thursday. ahhhhhhhhh. it's times like these when i really value the google calendar feature.

not much else to say or report. oh, i found out i got into grad school yesterday. so that's exciting. if i decide to accept i'll be attending here: http://www.jfku.edu/programs/programs/museum_stud/ma/

returning to the snow?

2008-03-23T22:48:00.002-05:00

it would appear that none of my photos are loading from the before post. i'll try to remedy this once i get home, but the internet is so miserable here that i'd rather not mess with it now. my flight leaves pretty early tomorrow which involves getting up at 5 AM to make it to the airport. i'm not tired and am considering staying up most of the night. ANYHOW. once i get back in iowa tomorrow i unfortunately have a bunch of actual work-work to do before i can print anything. but i'll post updates soon. i've also been thinking about trying to make a few long stitch books this week too. but we'll see.

astros ball

2008-03-21T21:05:00.002-05:00

haven't been working on any projects since i've been in florida, but we went to an astros game today. totally worth the excitement. i'll post a few photos from that in lieu.

poster project part three

2008-03-16T15:50:00.003-05:00

i'm beginning to wonder how many runs of this poster i'll have to do. i was at the studio pretty early this morning and added the words 'presiden-tial" and "2008!" i think i'm done using wooden type for this assignment and will use metal type for the rest of the text. i've done a little setting already including all of the roommate's names and some other propaganda-like rhetoric.

as seen here i got blue ink all over the back of my hand. how'd that happen? unfortunately the ink doesn't wash off rather well. fortunately it looks like i've been kicking ass, punching walls and all.

some ideas

2008-03-13T21:37:00.003-05:00

i found this image of a vandercook press online and thought i'd post it. this is the type of press that i print from for all of my images.

also, here are two old printing blocks i'm bidding for on ebay. i'm pretty excited and hope that i win both of them. i have some pretty good ideas for prints i could make with the images.

old project

2008-03-13T16:59:00.002-05:00

i found this project from last semester in my room just now as i was cleaning.

It's quite similar to the 'definition' project we did this semester, except i followed the guidelines a little more closely. the text is set in metal type and i used a linoleum carving for the ring image. the impression on this print is really even and nice. i think i'll try to replicate that next time i work.

poster project part two

2008-03-13T12:29:00.002-05:00

i printed two more additions to the poster today. the words 'borderello' and 'election' in a dark red i mixed and three ornamental stars next to those words. i'm hoping to make this poster as jam packed as possible so i'll probably use a lot more of those stars in the future.

poster project part one

2008-03-12T12:52:00.008-05:00

i woke up bright and early today so that i'd be ready to print at my 11 AM- 2 PM time slot. I had to make my negative and then polymer plate before i could do that. We make negatives for smaller projects using transparencies and inverting the photos colors. see here:

then i made a polymer plate. i vowed never to use these after my last printing class. they have a metal backing on them which attachs to a large magnet that rests in the bed of the press. trying to move the plate around is nearly impossible and often results in cutting ones hands.

it was finally time to print. i decided to go with a dark color for the image as i'll be using reds and blues everywhere else in the text. i mixed blue with back for a really dark navy blue color. edging more on the side of black. i used three different paper shades. i think i'm most happy with the brown tone - it gives the poster an antique feel. also the plate didn't print as darkly on that paper giving the image a faded look. anyhow, i've got to figure out what text i'll be using and work on a layout next.

return to work

2008-03-11T22:25:00.005-05:00

nothing new recently. i was in st. paul over the weekend and made mosaics with jess. i had never done it before and although quite fun took a bit of force. the kind we worked on are then donated to the city of st. paul and used to decorate planters around downtown. the tiles we used were really thick and cutting down every piece was tiresome. i'll post pictures of our mosaic once i get the photos scanned.

here's some information about the org - it's a pretty interesting and innovative public program.

http://www.mosaiconastick.com/

In the summer of 2006, the Hamline Midway Coalition received a STAR grant through the City of Saint Paul to beautify Snelling Avenue in collaboration with Mosaic on a Stick. The plan was for members of the community to create 170 mosaic medallions (10" in diameter) to cover 10 concrete planters on the Avenue. Anyone can participate (and it doesn't cost anything either!) & people have been happily surprised at the results thus far. At least 75 people (and those are just the ones that we can see and are easy to count) have contributed to the Planter Project in some way since it began in August. The time commitment is small and the payoff is big. Because this is community art in action. People coming together to create art. And in this case, the art that's being created is permanently installed in this neighborhood of living, breathing, working, coffee-drinking people.

or this is a lion book rather

2008-03-06T11:38:00.003-06:00

lion book

2008-03-04T12:03:00.003-06:00

just finished binding another book. the covers on this one went a lot better in terms of punching the holes and lining everything up properly.

broadside project

2008-03-03T20:48:00.004-06:00

the next assignment for my letterpress class is a broadside (poster) containing any text and pictures we want. i played around with adobe illustrator for a while and messed around with some images. i decided that i might make a presidential campaign poster for the house 'elections' going on at the borderello right now. here's a quick mock up of an idea.

disregard how wide it is. when i turned it into a pdf it expanded that way. anyhow, i'd probably make the posters 13X17 or so. not sure yet. i think i'll set the text in wooden type and make a polymer plate for the images.

in the studio

2008-03-02T17:44:00.008-06:00

i've been at the letterpress studio for a few hours now and will probably be here pretty late tonight. i started a new project that i'm planning on using for some sort of greeting type card. i've finished setting the type:

and i've proofed it for errors:

disregard that it's backwards. i couldn't get preview to flip it around. and soon to come...printing!

So there is a color difference between the first and second image which doesn't come off very well via photobooth. the first edition was printed in a gold tone, the second in a rust. the star color is the same in both. i think i'll leave the insides blank, but i might add something to the back.

early to rise

2008-03-02T13:40:00.005-06:00

i woke up pretty motivated this morning. i finished up my outline, cleaned my room, and figured out what reading i need to do for this week. i started sewing one of the books i prepared on friday. i'll post a few photos throughout the process.

notice my lovely headband. maybe i am in the 7th grade again?

still working.

DONE.

books to come

2008-03-02T02:49:00.001-06:00

i had planned to sew a lot of books today and didn't get much done. instead i tried to write an outline for my architecture class and instead got angry about having to write one. who the hell assigns an outline? am i in the 7th grade again?

book bindery

2008-02-29T19:29:00.008-06:00

i spent four hours at north hall today working on a few books. i decided to make the coptic style. i really like the braided binding and the ability to cover my own boards. anyhow, i didn't sew them at NH because i prefer to do that at home, but here are the covers i made. (fronts and insides)

project complete

2008-02-28T18:51:00.004-06:00

i finished my letterpress postcard project in record time this morning. i spent my 20 minute walk to north hall with my mind racing at full speeding contemplating the possible mistakes to be made or the lack of time i had to print. the second edition came out fine. it was a bit crooked at first, but after a few adjustments everything turned out fine.

viral pack

2008-02-28T09:41:00.006-06:00

yesterday i went to student health for my second round of the hpv shot. when i was at the billing center near the end of my visit the nurse forced this purple bag into my hand.

I told her i didn't need it but she wasn't having that. i opened it later at work to find:

i had class until 8 p.m. that night, during which i had a massive headache (which i attribute to handling lead type for 3 hours - obviously i'm crazy). i guess that tylenol did come in handy.

project began

2008-02-27T20:34:00.006-06:00

i went into the letterpress studio today to set type for my next assignment. there happens to be very specific rules for this project - 6 X 9 white postcard paper. one word in larger type, with a color of choice, and the definition of that word in smaller type, black ink. i had spent considerable amounts of time thinking about words and how i coud manipulate them in a non-cliche way. i thought about using the word space and then playing with the placement of the word on the page. once i arrived at the studio today i had a not-so-fantastic idea to use the word 'alphabet' and then for the second text have 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" in type below it. i set the type and made a proof..

as you can see this picture is rather faint. i only had time to print the first half of the assignment, and hope to finish the rest tomorrow. here it is as is though.

improved spelling

2008-02-27T09:54:00.003-06:00

last fall i was introduced to the amazing game known to most as scrabble. the explosion of the 'application' element of facebook brought declined daily invitations to 'find out which disney princess' i am, among other things. however the scrabble application was one i could not ignore. i ventured on to the board game slowly, unsure of what constituted words, (who knew "AA" counted?, how many points a red square would grant me, and 87 point words...my god. i've since then become an avid player. perhaps not necessarily a good player, but i think i'm finally beginning to hold my own ground.