Brain Yoga

Happy 2022!

Hello Everyone. Has it been a good start to the year for you and your families? With the holiday season and the garden tapering off to be officially deemed frozen on January 1, my main activity since I last wrote has been cleaning. The holiday season was plenty full for me and since its close on Twelfth Night, I have been doing a little of this, a little of that. So, in chronological order...

I do a whole home clean before any holiday decorating occurs. It is an intense goal requiring precious weekend hours but there are benefits: I take a general inventory of my belongings and supplies (a sort of "state of affairs") and once this major clean is finished, I can focus on the holidays and later, creativity, which results in brain yoga.

Food and drink had big roles during the holiday season and I really wanted to try new things. Drink included an exploration of the mocktail craze with the mixers Ghia and Pentire Adrift, both being well regarded. At this time, my preference is Ghia as it mixes well with tonic water; the Pentire Adrift which is a kind of gin substitute and is subtle so I felt it did not dilute as well with the tonic.

Baking included fruitcake, pumpkin pie, french lace cookies, anise cookies, and St. Nicholas Day letter cookies.

Pumpkin Pie, Holiday 2021

French Lace Cookies, Holiday 2021

Anise Cookies, Holiday 2021

St Nicholas Day Letter Cookies, Holiday 2021

The cookie recipes were all vintage. The St Nicholas Day letter cookies were a curiosity to me, they are basically a pie crust wrapped around a marzipan filling. I made logs here to be sliced, but tradition is that before baking these logs can be formed into letters, hence them being called letter cookies. Lots of good savory food too (smoked salmon, bacon, pancakes, shrimp, bok choy) but a highlight for me was a Variety Box from Miami Fruit. 

Variety Box, Top Layer

The top layer included cactus, guava, limes, tamarillo, banana, sopadilla, dragonfruit, and more.

Variety Box, Bottom Layer

The bottom layer included sapote (probably the strangest for me), a very long lasting avocado, eggfruit, and more. I am in the midst of a banana variety box and am planning to try the pineapple and mystery boxes. I enjoy supporting the Florida tropical fruit scene.

At this point in the narrative, the home clean, the freezer overloaded, and the weather cold which leads to time for creativity. For an unknown reason, I decided to open up the acrylic paints and finish up a few lingering projects. The first project, chosen as a warmup, was a couple of mouse king ornaments. I found a mouse king image to play around with the colors - and it turned into a study. My idea was to make the mouse king a bit of a scary creature, for something different.

Mouse King Color Study and Ornaments

I have also been trying to learn more about photography so I made a temporary light box and was able to take a close up of the finished ornaments.

Mouse King Ornaments

The second project was to finish a color study from my 2019 Two Dimensional Design art class - the subject was a textile by the modern artist Sonia Delaunay. Three years ago I had a tremendous challenge with the yellow color - the paint for the hue just wouldn't go on the paper evenly no matter what I did. Back then, I gave up and just mixed a too bright color that still brushed on splotchy. Fast forward to 2022, and the same thing happened. I was able to mix the mustard like color but after so many coats it just didn't have great coverage UNTIL I mixed in a bit of white. And finally, progress - not perfect, but better.

Color Study based on Deux Cercles Sous Carrés by Sonia Delaunay

and it made it to the light box too!

Color Study in the Light Box

The third project involved a painting but no paint. I have had this wooden 500 piece jigsaw puzzle of Lady with an Ermine by da Vinci unfinished and stored under my bed for at least 10 years. In the spirit of National Puzzle Month (really, it is January) and having two jigsaw puzzles now waiting in the wings, I decided to go for it. I did consider giving up on this puzzle because it is somewhere in the middle of average to advanced level, but luckily with some help, it was finished. The black pieces were the most challenging. I do love this painting.

Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci Puzzle

Would you like to try it? Let me know, and I will send to you. In fact if you are up for the challenge, Planet Nice Crafts will have a reward if you do complete it - perfect for a group too. Let me know in the comments below or by email to planetnicecrafts@gmail.com.

And finally, reading, during this chilly winter under a blanket with a hot beverage is ideal. I finally finished The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, a sci-fi book taking place in the US Virgin Islands. And on December 23, 2021, I went back to my favorite dysfunctional society, Westeros & Essos, in the 5th Game of Thrones book, A Dance with Dragons. It is going well and I am almost finished. A lot of my least favorite storyline, Theon Greyjoy, is in this volume. I can't imagine how George RR Martin is going to finish this series - it is just so very complicated.

Until next time....