Day 11 - Creativity, hunger-pangs, etc.

This is proving to be a truly artistic and creative period for me.  I spent most of the day in the art room and got so lost in my work, I hardly even thought of food!  Art is an incredible life force to me - I'm churning out pieces like water, and hopefully that will leave to another art show in a few months!

This background is made from my favorite GOLDEN acrylic turqoise,  other GOLDEN Acrylics (my favorite paint) and tissue paper.

 These two background are made with collage paper, then I painted over them with a sheer acrylic glaze.

 With the first background, I created this piece "When Fish Fly."

 On the turquoise background, I painted this piece "Fishing On The Moon."

Then, I got realllllyyyy hungry.  Suddenly, I experienced a two-hour art adrenaline rush!  I reconstructed my former diet out of felt, clay, and other art scraps.  It was so much fun - I wish I could eat it!

I love making miniatures and doing detail work.

 When I could eat, I was put on a minimal fiber diet - that means no fruits, vegetables, or whole wheat - by the doctors, in order to heal my fistulas. I missed fruit and vegetables, but got very used to eating what they prescribed me -  I just miss eating!

 So these are the foods I am craving now...

Turkey and pretzels

Cottage cheese ad Soup

Protein Shake and Steak

Mashed Potato

Pizza Bagel and Mac n' Cheese

Protein-enhanced Jello and Protein Bar

Pierogies and Ravioli

Ice Cream Sandwich

Well, I felt like I was vicariously eating!

Then, where?  TO the kitchen of course!  I made my brothers mini coconut ginger ricotta pancakes.  I was just so excited because I happened to have all three ingredients!

 Since I got my dogs used to my cooking, I made them peanut butter treats.  They were so easy - 1.25 cups hot water, 1/3 cup peanut butter, 2 cups whole wheat flour, and 1 cup rolled oats.  I glazed them over with an egg wash for a nice sheen.  Bake them at 350F for 30 minutes and you've got yourself dog biscuits!

 Pepper and Jelly will eat anything - but they especially loved these!

For my mom I baked Apple Cinnamon Walnut Bread.

 My family loves when I make this "Dilly Buttermilk Dressing" I've evolved over time.  Here's the recipe - just throw it all in the blender!

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium shallot
1 tablespoon dill
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon chopped celery
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
A pinch of italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika - whatever's in the pantry!

 My mom also loved this weight-watchers hummus recipe: (blend this too)


15.5oz can of chickpeas
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley
1 dash hot sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 pinch black pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 dash turmeric, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin if you have them 

It's very good!

And then back to the art room once I started wanting to eat what I was cooking!

 I decided to do something different - I ripped apart a piece of cardboard, a place mat, napkins, buttons and tissue paper, glue-gunned them to a large canvas, covered one side in white gesso, the other side in black gesso.

 I don't know what to do with it yet, but I think it's pretty cool!  Very different then the whimsical colors I'm used to...

 Then I decided to go in the other direction and just play around with paint.  I didn't know what I was going to do, I just started by maing a large canvas my own personal palette!

 Then I played with dragging the paint in different directions...

 And voila - now I have an awesome colorful background to play with later!

 I don't want to over complicate things, so I probably do minimal "fluffing" to it.  But I really like how it turned out.

I am reading this great book, about Mixed Media painting, where the author says that mixed media painting is for people who can't make up their mind - I totally agree!  I'd just rather pile everything onto a canvas then choose - there are so many beautiful materials one can work with!  But these two pieces, I am going to try to keep very minimal - we'll see!

This is a great book with wonderful ideas.

I did sooo much cooking and painting today, that I just needed to clear my head - it's gorgeous out today so I took a lovely Spring walk - Spring is here...finally!  Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

Bamboo!  Pretty cool, right?

I am obviously not happy since I can't eat, yet today I was able to find so many moments of joy.  I have so much to be grateful for, and I am not going to let my temporary situation cloud my view of the world.  I vow to stay inspired, no matter the circumstance.  Plus, another day has passed, as they all do.  If I cannot savor food right now, allow me to at least savor the gift of the beautiful Spring day.