Art from Screaming Dove Studios

granddoggers are growing up

2012-01-26T14:57:00.001-08:00

They are growing so fast. Their personalities are coming out and they are becoming friends with satchel.

satchel and the rubber chicken

2012-01-26T14:51:00.001-08:00

jerry's brother randy and his wife cathy sent satchel a rubber chicken for christmas. it was chewed into tiny pieces within five minutes. the third picture down shows it in it's entirety, then slowly and methodically he removes it's body parts. Poor rubber chicken, it never stood a chance with h im

paper gift boxes

2012-01-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

These gift boxes are all hand painted on 140 lb watercolor paper and then hand stenciled. They are all 2" deep. This one measures 6"x6".
This one is 4"x4" and you can see that the inside of the box is also painted.

This shows the inside of the box in the beginning and I have no idea why blogger decided to put it under the dragonfly box.
this one measures 3"x6"
and this one 3"x4"

graphite giraffe

2011-12-20T16:23:00.000-08:00

been playing with graphite and just finished this giraffe.

Order From Chaos series

2011-10-17T14:11:00.001-07:00

These are two completed pieces from the Order From Chaos series. The top one is called Silouette and the one below is Giraffe. They are mixed media and in 12x16 mats. The mats are white although the picture makes them look pink.

flower power

2011-10-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

11x15 mixed media on watercolor paper. background is done with resist and layering watercolor colors. the flowers are watercolor paper that I previously painted.

Fall!!!

2011-10-04T15:59:00.001-07:00

It's fall and that means soups & stews & chili for dinners here. Tonight it is Black Bean Soup with homemade croutons. Here is the recipe:

Sausage & Black Bean Soup
3 cups dried black beans
1 3/4 lb chorizo, andouille or spicy sausage ( I used a turkey kilbasa)
1 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely minced (I microplaned mine)
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2.5 quarts chicken or meat stock
4 T chopped parsley
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1/2 T salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 T finely chopped fresh chives
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

Sort through the beans, discarding any impurities or discolored ones, set aside
Remove the casing from the sausage. In large saucepan, warn the oil over medium heat. Add sausage and saute, coarsely breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. (or just cut the sausage up into cubes like I did) Pour all but about 3 T of the fat. Return the pan to the heat and add garlic, onions and celery and saute until the onions are translucent, 2-3 minutes.
Add beans, stock, parsley, oregano, cumin and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently until the beans are very tender - 2-2.5 hours, adding half of the salt halfway through the cooking and adding a little water if necessary to keep the beans moist.
Discard the bay leaves. Pour a few ladelfuls of the beans into a food mill, food processor fitted with a metal blade or blender: (or use one of those hand held blender things but make sure that the soup is in a deep container when doing it or what you get is black beans soup splattered all over your shirt and the kitchen counter, and make sure that it has cooled off a bit so that you don't burn yourself when doing this) Stir back into the pan with the remaining salt. (before you add the remaining salt be sure to taste it. I found it was fine without the added salt)
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with sour cream, chives and cilantro. Enjoy with home make croutons too!

granddoggers

2011-10-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

This is Zaya and Auri, they are our granddoggers. They are Scott and Angela's but we get visitation whenever we want. At the moment Satchel is rather indifferent about them but when they get bigger I'm sure they will be more fun for him. They are 3/4 Mastiff and 1/4 Rottweiler which means that when they are full grown they are going to make Satchel look like a toy poodle.

backgrounds

2011-10-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

After hearing a talk by Joanne Beaule Ruggles (www.beaulerugglesgraphics.com) on how she approaches her paintings I came home very inspired. There is so much layering in her work. I got out some red rosin paper and gessoed both sides. Then started to play with acrylic paint and things (wall paper, sides of credit cards, stamps, stencils, etc) to add texture to the paper. They measure 14x18". I have no idea yet what the next step will be with these but I really enjoyed doing the backgrounds.

The Neighborhood

2011-09-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

This piece measures 24x24" with each house section measuring 4x6". The base is red rosin paper which has been gessoed on both sides. Each background of the house sections was painted with acrylic paint. The houses were drawn out on another piece of gessoed red rosin paper, painted with acrylic paint and embellished with a number of recycled things including the inside of the envelopes your bills come in - they have great graphics on them - dryer sheets that have been spray painted, corregated packing material, tissue packing, peeled up dried acrylic paint from my table & pieces of an old sewing pattern. These were such fun to make. They were then adhered to the base with a gel medium. Some got chimneys and some wire swirly things. Enjoy!

and even more fabric

2011-09-12T07:33:00.001-07:00

the first picture is white cotton fabric that I painted with dye.
then I used glue as a resist and drew all over the fabric
they blue and purple dye was painted over the dried glue
glue washed out and fabric ironed!!!

Let the stamping begin!

2011-09-04T11:42:00.001-07:00

Am stamping with hand carved stamps onto the dyed/painted fabric. Love the way this is turning out.

embellishments started

2011-09-02T13:53:00.001-07:00

fabric!!!

2011-09-01T15:01:00.001-07:00

I have spent the last two days painting fabric with RIT dye. Let the embellishing begin!!

journal cover.....done

2011-07-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

samples from other students

2011-07-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

Ok I did this all backwards......these are pictures of what the other students made in the class. scroll down to see what Jerry and I made and a description of the class we took.

Dawn's cold blooded journal

2011-07-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

mine measures 8 x 10 and doesn't have a title nor is it finished at all.
The base of the chest was a plastic mans chest with lots of abs. I built up her boobs with the clay and then crackled it.
The spout is a hard rubber toy that I had found out in the field years ago. It too has been crackled
The eyes are parts from an old necklace

Jerry's cold blooded journal

2011-07-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

above is the top part of the journal where he used parts of a necklace to imbed into the clay to look like they are coming out of the skin.

On Saturday Jerry and I took a class from Michael de Meng - Cold Blooded Journal. The cold blooded theme was because we were using a product - Krackle - that gives you the look of a reptile's skin. If you arn't familiar with Michael's work go here http://www.wix.com/demeng/michael-demeng and check it out. Here are some photos of the work that Jerry and I did:
This is jerry's piece. it measures 5 x 8 and he titled it "keeping an eye on my wishes".
He used a taxidermy eye and built up around it with apoxy clay in the picture below you can see how he brought the clay up on the top of the eye. It almost looks like fingers coming around the eye. He mainly used red and black for his color and then used the crackle over the entire thing. It is just exquisite and so tactile to hold.

This is Michael critiquing Jerry's piece. His critiques are always so positive and his suggestions well thought out.

beautiful bridget

2011-06-30T13:45:00.001-07:00

The Basket - done

2011-06-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

The basket has been embellished with fiber, buttons, fabric beads, glass beads, sparkly things and is now done. Now to find stuff to put into it!

Satchel - the big baby

2011-06-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Satchel is 3 now and he has no idea that he is a BIG dog. He thinks of himself more as a lap dog. a very large lap dog.

Pink Basket

2011-06-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is my newest basket. It measures 14" across and is 8" high. Now for the fun part.....embellishing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matilija poppys

2011-05-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

They are in bloom and so beautiful!!!

charcoal toaster

2011-05-18T14:23:00.001-07:00

Our final project in the drawing class......charcoal drawing of a toaster.

2011-05-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

two new watercolor villages.

home

2011-05-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

front door.....welcome. notice the mosaiced posts.

Daisy, one of 7 of the "girls".

Two of the silkies

Backyard. the grass is still brown from teh winters frost.

The gate going from the back to the front door

Mosaiced entrance to the garage

Giant snail made from old car parts that have been mosaiced

Some of the "old fashion" roses in full bloom

I don't remember the name of this climbing rose but it has gotten huge and covers one side of the fabric barn

The girls "free ranging" it

it hit 102 today and Satchel's cool spot on the kitchen floor

Gracie chilling on the shelf outside the kitchen window

Tomatoes, herbs and flowers....oh my!

BBQ patio and fish pond

what i've learned from art class

2011-05-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

To catch you up you will remember that Jerry and I are taking a drawing class two nights a week at the local college. What started out as a class full (32) is now down to about 17. Jerry being the oldest in the class with the teacher right behind and me closely behind him all of the other students are early 20's. It is a great class and we are learning a lot but I am also learning a lot from the other students around me. Apparently Jerry and I are old school because we are actually at class on time and have all our materials ready. It amazes me how many of them show up not just late but an hour late, don't have their paper or pencils with them and bring in bags of fast food and sit around and eat and talk. One of the young men, who has a natural artistic talent, was over heard the other evening saying that he is "over this art stuff". He is so young and feels as tho he is" so over" what is a gift that he has been given. His work amazes me. And another young man slammed his pencil down the last class. The teacher asked him what was wrong and he said that his pencil had broken. Kris told him to go and sharpen his pencil. The young man announced that he had not planned on sharpening his pencil that night and was very frustrated about the pencil breaking. I thought this was very telling about ones personalities.... how we react to a situation. He could have a) gotten up and quietly sharpened his pencil and gotten on with his work, b) did what he did and cause a scene or c) thrown the pencil away and gone out and bought a new one. And then there are the students that rush through their projects and don't want to take the time to get the essence out of the piece. And yet there are others who are really enjoying the process, taking their time and produce beautiful work. There is one young man in particular that has such a natural talent and his work just leaves jerry and I in awe. He has a young child, works and this is his only time to be able to concentrate on his drawing. He has such an incredible future ahead of him if he continues with his talent. I think the most important thing that I have learned from all of them is that with age I have acquired wisdom, patience and an appreciation of what is around me. I hope that for each and every one of these young men and women that when they reach my age they will have acquired those traits too. And the last thing I would like to say to all of them is to be proud of your work, do your very best at what you are doing and when you sign your name to something be ready to stand up for it.

spine

2011-04-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

I have a collection of bones from out in the field. This is one of them which I think is a spine but not sure. This is my charcoal rendering of it.

garlic/chili still life

2011-04-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Above and the two below are Jerry's charcoal Garlic/chili still life. This was our next assignment in our drawing class. We have discovered that charcoal - which is a medium neither of us has ever used - is very very messy and quite a learning curve. I think after we have played with it more we will be more comfortable with it.
I just love the stem on his chili.
This is my still life. Both of us had different garlic cloves and chilis and they were set up differently. I really like jerry's chili better.

Village

2011-04-07T13:11:00.001-07:00

They say it takes a village so I made one! The background is collaged with scrap wallpaper and the inside of envelopes from bills. It is then painted over with various acrylic paints. The houses were also made from wallpaper, envelope paper and wrapping paper. The black outline is from a scribbles bottle. It measures 15.5 x 20. The substrate paper is red rosin paper which has been gessoed on both sides. I learned to do this from a tutorial at Caatje's blog : http://caatjesartsystuff.blogspot.com/2011/03/little-houses-tutorial.html

paper shoes!

2011-04-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

These are paper pieced shoes measuring 6.5 x 10.5. I started by taking a picture of my shoes, cutting out the patterns of them and cutting out mostly handmade papers and piecing it all back together. I used a silver pen to do the eyelets and the end of the shoe laces.

Magnolia branch drawings

2011-03-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Above is Jerry's graphite drawing of a magnolia branch. We laid down a ground of graphite then lightly drew in the branch. From there we used our stumps, pencils and rubbing eraser to add and take away until we got the result we wanted. Below is my rendition of the branch.

Life Lessons Learned #3

2011-03-31T12:01:00.001-07:00

Do not eat beets for dinner and then think your bleeding to death the following morning.

class portraits

2011-03-31T07:39:00.001-07:00

When we went into class on Tuesday night the teacher had everyones portraits up on the wall. Talk about feeling naked in front of the class. But it was so wonderful to see everyone's up there. Then he did a critique of everyone's and the class critiqued also. Once again....naked. But I did agree with the suggestions that were given.....my right eye needs to be a bit bigger and I need to fill in more around my jaw line. Jerry's left eye was too dark but other than that he was perfect.....snort. We are really enjoying the class and as you can tell from the other self portraits, we are the "older' students in the room. At first Jerry and I felt a little uncomfortable about this but as time went on we settled in and they have all been very nice and accepting of us. Some of them have amazing talent and they take the time to do their work while some others are just in there to get the credits, and it shows in their work. Jerry and I are there to learn and we appreciate the fact that the teacher is patient (he is so patient, I would have thrown some of them out after the second class) and takes the time to come around to each student and help him/her with their work. this has helped Jerry and I see things differently. His name is Kris Doe and if you ever get a chance to take one of his classes, do it. I have picked up a couple of drawing books with projects in them that we are going to work on over the summer when we don't have class just to keep working on it.

Oh My! carving

2011-03-26T14:05:00.001-07:00

Just finished this carving! Now to make some cards with it.

jerry's self portrait

2011-03-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Jerry's self portrait done in the same manner as mine.

drawing class - self portrait

2011-03-19T15:20:00.001-07:00

Jerry and I have been taking a drawing class at the local college. We had t do a self portrait, sectioning the face off into 2 inch sections and doing a different technique in each square. We could either stipple, hatch, cross hatch or value....all with pencil. I can tell you that looking at yourself for over two weeks gets old really fast. The paper we are working on is18 x 24 inches and you see every line, wrinkle and blemish. We turn these in on Tuesday. I will post Jerry's when he is finished.

Life's Lessons Learned #2

2011-02-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Do not change a tampon after chopping jalapenos

mini assemblage

2011-02-23T08:59:00.001-08:00

She hasn't told me her name yet so I am calling her "mini assemblage" for now. The canvas that she is on is 5" square. The base of her body is a mini altoid tin, her face is polymere clay colored with Pearl Ex. Her arms and legs are constructed with wire, covered with beads and hands and feet charms. Her body part is a belt buckle I had and her skirting is silver and blue tulle. The canvas has been covered with handmade paper with fibers in it.

drawing boxes

2011-02-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

drawing boxes and using shadows

Seeker

2011-01-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

He is done and he has a name.....Seeker. His body is made from chicken wire bent into his form. His shoulders and head are polymere clay. The chicken wire frame has been wrapped with cotton fabric and then spanish moss from the oak trees. his arms are wire that has been wrapped in plaster cloth, cotton fabric, raffia and spanish moss. The staff he is carrying is from our grape vines and there is a crystal on the very top. His feet are rather large to allow him to stand and they are made from boards from an old coffee table, covered in tissue paper and spanish moss.
If you scroll down a bit you will see him when he first arrived on my desk and was neekid.

His head, face and shoulders and free form shaped and then baked.

muntant carrots

2011-01-18T11:38:00.001-08:00

While weeding and cleaning out the raised bed I came upon the land of the Muntant Carrot family. Very strange little things.

playing with altoid tins

2011-01-17T14:32:00.001-08:00

Apparently I have tons of empty Altoid tins that are dying to be altered. This is the first one. The house image and woman in the front are stamps from Rubbermoon. The colored pencil fence are a number of toothpics painted to look like colored pencils. The HOME word is cut from magazine pages and has a piece of myca over it. Various book pages were collaged onto the inside along with bold leaf.
the edges are scalloped copper tape that has been flooded with solder. The hanger is wire with tiny glass beads.
The back is covered with handmade paper.

the brother of the sisters

2011-01-10T09:40:00.001-08:00

Here is what is on my desk right now. He hasnt told me his name yet but he is the brother of the other two sisters. Soon he will be clothed. stay tuned to see more pictures.......

Offering done

2010-12-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

Offering has been completed! She has hair from a horse mane given to me by an artist friend, she is covered with tea dyed muslin and silk, her face and shoulders are made from polymere clay and baked.

Joy

2010-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is Joy. She is the sister of Offering. Her face and shoulders are sculpted from Polymere clay and baked. The base of her body is chicken wire which has been wrapped with hand dyed muslin and gauze. She and Offering will be celebrating christmas together. Soon they will have a brother!

on my worktable right now

2010-12-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

This is what is on my work table right now. Her title is The Offering. She stands about 15"tall. Her base is chicken wire while her face, neck and shoulders are polymere clay which has been wrapped with plaster cloth and muslin. The chicken wire is wrapped with muslin and tea dyed silk. The basket is made from muslin. Her arms are muslin wrapped wire. There are different items hanging from the wire of her body.....a shell, light bulb, key, seed pod, a crystal and assorted beads. Next comes her hair. She has holes poked in the top of her head where I am going to insert hair from a horse mane. I will post pictures when she is finished.

fabric beads

2010-11-22T13:48:00.000-08:00

A bowl filled with fabric beads!!

Dyeing silk with ties!

2010-11-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

After reading an article in Quilting Arts about Tie Transfer Dyeing I just had to try it. The article was written by Kathy Barinholtz and the tecnique is brilliant. I have wiped the thrift store out of all their silk ties and used them to transfer their color and pattern onto silk. You lay the ties on the silk up to the half way point, fold the silk over the ties, roll it all up in muslin and tie it off about every inch. All of this goes into a big ole pot of boiling water that has 3 Tbs of white vinegar in it. i put a plate on top of it all so the cloth is completely under the water. After 15 minutes I took it out and let it cool off in the sink. Then the unveiling!! I clipped the ties and unrolled the muslin to get to the fabulously dyed silk. No two pieces will ever be alike and it is always a surprise when you unroll it. I took all the silk out to the clothes line to dry then ironed it to heat set. This is so very addicting!

Pickles!!

2010-11-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

yesterday jerry and I made dill pickles! I have a huge container of bread and butter pickles in the refrigerator but these we canned. Can't wait to taste them in 3 weeks!

new shoes

2010-11-12T14:19:00.001-08:00

New Shoes!!! They came home as white canvas tennis shoes, they have been transformed into zentangle shoes! The color is fabric dye painted on with a brush then all of the drawing was done with a Zig pen. Love my new shoes!!

The Voices in My Head

2010-10-30T09:01:00.001-07:00

I made this piece to be submitted to the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission's upcoming show I Can See Your Tag: Portraits!. The work should reflect an inner look at the person depicted and reveal something about the person emotionally, an inside/outside view. Thus, I came up with the idea of depicting all the voices in my head. It can be quite noisy in there at times. I have submitted the JPEG and should know by Nov 12 if it has been accepted.

gourds

2010-10-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Jerry and I have been playing with gourds! The lizard coming out of the egg is Jerry's creation and it is fabulous in person. The other two are mine. These were fun mediums to play with!

birthday week

2010-10-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

This week was birthday week for both of the boys. They are 11 years and two days apart. last night we had birthday dinner at home for them. Scott is on the right, kyle on the left.

And the beauty on the right is Scott's wonderful wife Angela. She is such a welcome member of our family

web in my garden

2010-10-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

This web is on my back patio this morning. It is more than a foot across with long arms going up to the covered patio and reaching over to the mexican sage. It is stunningly beautiful. I only wish the spider had been in the middle of it when I took the picture. It would be amazing to watch her spinning this thing of beauty.

Shrimp, Cucumber and Manago Escabeche

2010-09-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

1 lb large shrimp, shell on

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 english cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick

2/3 cup chopped mango

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1 jalapeno, stem & seeds removed, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare an ice water bath. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, poach shrimp until just cooked through - 1-2 minutes. Transfer shrimp to ice water bath, let cool.

Drain shrimp, peel and devein, and slice each in half. Toss shrimp with 1/2 cup lime juice in a nonreactive dish. Refrigerate, covered, stirring halfway through, for at least 2 hours. Drain.

Toss together shrimp, cucumber, mango, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 3/4 teaspoon sale and a pinch of pepper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir in remaining lime juice before serving.

war and peace

2010-09-22T10:10:00.001-07:00

THis piece is on a 16x20" wrapped canvas. It is highly textured then painted with acrylic paint. The circle of the peace sign is made from molding paste. The inside of the circle is created using empty Mosin Nagant gun shells. The pictures don't do it justice. In person it is very powerful.

Humbled

2010-09-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

I had a very humbling experience today. I had to go to the dmv this morning and thankfully I had an appointment because there was a line out into the parking lot and I heard people saying that they had been there for over an hour. I checked in and got my number and sat down. About 10 minutes later a couple came in, she in a wheel chair with only one leg, he carrying a white cane, blind and pushing her wheelchair and she was guiding him. There was an empty seat next to me and when they rolled in front of me she asked him if he wanted to sit down, yes, and she verbally guided him to the seat at which time I kinda told him where the chair was and kinda guided him. After he was seated she wheeled over to the wall to get out of the aisle. This humbled me to the bone and has stayed with me throughout the day. I have two good legs and my sight for which I am so very very grateful. Just when I was going to get pissy because I had an appointment had was made to wait, this couple came in. I sat quietly and waited my turn.

boot!

2010-09-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Am working on a series on my old boots. this one is done in a repousse style and mounted on stretched canvas

fabric bracelets!!!

2010-08-23T10:03:00.001-07:00

Beautiful fabric bracelets!! They are cotton and/or silk wrapped with polymere clay button closures. Very light weight and look wonderful worn in multiples. I have become addicted to making these........

our view

2010-08-23T09:23:00.001-07:00

This is the view from our field. The flat part is filled with gladiolas and they are just starting to bloom. In the distance you can see color from the blooms. The next picture is of the pink ones already in bloom and to the left of them are the vineyards. It truly is a beautiful view.

freezer jam and biscuits

2010-08-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

This week - now why is it underlining everything I type, I didn't tell it to do this - I made strawberry freezer jam then really needed to make biscuits for dinner so we could try it out. Really good jam and biscuits. The freezer jam recipe is the one I followed on the Pectin box.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed fresh strawberries

4 cups sugar

1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin

3/4 cup water

Directions:

1.	Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
2.	Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.

Biscuits
ngredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

Directions:

1.	In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2.	Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

painting on glass

2010-06-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

You have to think backwards to do this. I am painting on the back of the piece of glass so the first mark you make is the first that will be seen on the opposite side. The first one was then cut up into squares and mounted on a canvas board. The second one hasn't been mounted yet and the third one was left whole and mounted on a piece of stretched canvas.

shrimp enchiladas

2010-06-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I made these last night and they were a big hit! Got the recipe from AllRecipes.com

Shrimp Enchiladas Suizas

Rated:

Submitted By: cheeziekt

Photo By: Patty Cakes

Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

Servings: 5

"Spinach, shrimp, and cheese enchiladas are topped with a cream sauce seasoned with jalapenos, tomatillos and cilantro."

Ingredients:

3 fresh jalapeno peppers, stems removed

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos, husks

removed

3 green onions

1 small onion, quartered

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems trimmed

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound frozen fully cooked salad shrimp

, thawed

1 (9 ounce) bag baby spinach leaves

2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided

10 (6 inch) corn tortillas

8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack

cheese

1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

1 tablespoon green pepper sauce (e.g.,

Tabasco®) (optional)

Directions:

1.	Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2.	Place jalapeno peppers, tomatillos, green onions, quartered onion, and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is coarsely chopped, about 8 pulses. Pour mixture into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer; cook about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and chicken broth; season with salt and pepper. Return to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
3.	Place shrimp and spinach in a skillet over medium heat. Cover tightly and cook until spinach wilts and shrimp are heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4.	Wipe skillet dry and pour in 1 teaspoon of the oil; heat oil over medium heat. Place a tortilla in skillet about 10 seconds; turn and heat on second side about 5 seconds to soften for easier handling. Fill tortilla with a tablespoon of the shrimp and spinach mixture and about a tablespoon of shredded cheese. Repeat with each tortilla adding more oil to the skillet as needed. Place filled tortillas snugly in prepared baking dish.
5.	Pour sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and any remaining filling. Top with dollops of sour cream and some green pepper sauce, if desired.
6.	Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

painted denim wallets

2010-06-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

So what does one do with a bunch of painted denim? Well the possibilities are endless but here are two of the things I have done with them this week. The first one is a wallet measuring 8.5 x 11 when completely open. The first picture shows the front with it closed.

This is the back of the wallet and the color is off. The actual color is more like the front of the wallet.
And this is it open. It has a magnetic closure on it. The right hand part is to put money is and the middle part has slots for your cards.
The next one is like a purse/wallet. The first picture shows it open. On the left side is a pocket for money/passport/tickets, the middle section has a pocket on the top for money or cards and the bottom part has a clear plastic lining so that your drivers license shows through. I designed this one with travel in mind. When you are at the airport and have to show your ID and have your ticket available this will work perfectly. It has a long denim strap on it that goes across my body so it is always on me. It also has a magnetic closure.
This is the front with it closed.
And this is the back

new painted denim!!!

2010-06-10T15:33:00.001-07:00

I have spent a couple of days painting blue jean legs!! These will eventually be wallets or journal covers or something very very cool.

explaination of bird journal

2010-06-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

I guess I really didn't explain the birds in the art journal very well. the birds are from paper, the background is painted and collaged. the paper the birds are made from is the patterned paper on the inside of the envelopes that your bills come in. Great patterns on that paper.

journal art

2010-06-03T16:18:00.001-07:00

Have been playing in my journal.

Gene Ingles-Ward Workshop

2010-05-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished two days in a mixed media workshop taught by Gene Ingles-Ward at her lovely home in Solvang. Here I am at my work station

The group was divided into two rooms. I was working in the dining room area with Marilyn and the 6 other students were in Gene's studio.

Very hard at work

This is the fabulous Gene Ingles-Ward critiquing some of our work. She is the most amazing woman and if you ever get a chance to take one of her work shops it is a must.

We worked on clip boards, folders, mandalas, and yupo paper. We painted, collaged, made wonderful messes and ate the bestest lunches each day provided by Judy and Marilyn. Both days were a much needed get away. A huge thank you to Judy and Marilyn for putting all of this together and to Gene for.....well just being her and sharing so much of herself.

grillin

2010-05-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

Nothing better, baby back ribs, chicken, mexican onions.......after that the tri tip went on and a kebob of cherry tomatoes. So good.

happenings

2010-05-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

I am a very very bad blogger. I try to post something once a week but it has been a bit nutso so I havn't been able to. So now I will get you up to date. The sunset here is at the Pismo Beach Pier from our hotel room balcony. We took a much needed night away to the Sea Venture. Had an ocean front room with a hot tub on the balcony. The evening was wonderful. We are so fortunate to have something like this just 25 minutes up the road from us.

And while I have been gone I had a birthday which included a very yummy mahogany cake!

We celebrated Beltane at Scott and Angelas.

Angela's may pole!

And I hosted a creative womens group meeting potluck.

It is quiet for now but am getting ready to take a mixed media workshop on Monday and Tuesday.

decoupaged torso

2010-04-22T09:34:00.001-07:00

If you have been in costco you will see the bathing suits on those plastic torsos. I have several of the plstic torsos because I knew there was "something" that I could do with them. One day I would like to pour concrete into one of them and make a concrete torso for the yard......but for today I reverse decoupaged one of them. Using words from magazines and tissue paper I decoupaged the back side of the torso. She is 27" tall and 14" wide. I used a hot awl and melted/poked holes in her shoulders and put a rayon ribbon through the holes to hang her. She looks great hanging on the bedroom door!! Now go to costco and take the bathing suits off those plastic forms and bring them home with you........just be aware that those bathing suits are really really stretchy and getting them off the plastic form can cause them to shoot through the air.

creepy garden head - part 2

2010-04-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here are better and closer pictures of the creepy garden head that was explained in the previous post.....so go below to read about the garden head and then come back here to see the pictures.....go....go on now.....go and read and then come on back......

Creepy garden head

2010-04-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

Kyle has named her creepy garden head. I offered to install her up by where he lives and he completely freaked and said that he would shoot her if she was up there. So I decided to put her in the garden in the back where she will be safe. She is a styrofoam wig head, wrapped in plaster cloth and painted. Her head are spirals of wire and upon a closer look you can see curls on her head. ok I need to go back out and take a picture of the back of her head and a closer picture of the curls. will post those next. She is then set on a piece of rebar and "planted" in the garden.

Pink Journal

2010-04-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

The C Gallery in Los Alamos is having a "PINK" show and this is my submission. It is a quilted cloth journal with lots of hand stitching, beads, buttons and sequins. The inside pages are white and different shades of pink.

2010-04-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

I used the alphabet stamps that I carved to stamp words onto tissue paper and then decoupaged them onto the edges of the stairs!!

Jerry decorates

2010-04-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

See the hole at the top of the door? See that hole? Jerry put that hole in that door.....all by himself and on purpose.....just not in the right place. You see we have cats and a dog. Satchel, the dog, likes to go into the bathroom and eat the cat food. So a solution to that was to put cat doors in the two major doors so the cats could go in and out and the door could be closed so Satchel didn't go in and eat the food. Jerry decided that we needed ONE MORE cat door to the bathroom. So he takes the door off and take it into the back yard to put the hole for the cat door. Keep in mind he has already done this twice so this should be a snap. So, I leave and go to the grocery store. When I get home I find him in the back yard with his arms waving around and all kinds of words coming out of his mouth. Remaining very calm I asked him what the problem was. He looked like a crazy person. He showed me that he cut the hole in the door and took it in to install only to find that he had turned the door upside down and put the hole at the TOP of the door instead of the bottom. This is where I lost it.....I started laughing so hard I couldn't even speak. He is taking the door into the bathroom and trying to flip it upside down to put the hole at the bottom....didn't work....he suggested putting the piece back in and duct taping it in place......that is soooo not going to happen......he tried everything but finally had to admit that he had to put ANOTHER hole in the door but this time at the bottom where it was supposed to be in the first place and install the door. All night we were in the cave watching tv looking at the hole in the door and I would just start laughing. We have hit upon a solution tho. An 11 x 14 canvas fits over the hole with room around it. So jerry is painting a canvas for the cave side of the room and I am doing one for the bathroom side and they will be screwed together so the hole will be covered. I am still laughing over this.

graveyard

2010-03-30T12:36:00.001-07:00

The tree is the spot where we have the graveyard. Now it has an art installation around it.

bathroom wall

2010-03-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

The inside of the shower/tub area was just way too boring. This is what I did with it yesterday!!

wood wind chimes

2010-03-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Indoor windchimes! I used some more of the wood slats from the falling apart coffee table that resides outside and as soon as the middle completely falls apart I am going to mosaic an insert. But this is about the wind chimes that hang in the cave. They measure 25 inches across and the cross bars are bamboo from our creekbed. Tied with colored hemp and the wood slats are covered with paper on one side and the paint scraps that I peeled up from my work table on the other. I like the sound they make when the window is open and a breeze comes in.........

newest carving

2010-03-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here is my newest carving. I have showed you step by step how it is stamped. First there is a blank piece of rubber that I inked with yellow ink and stamped on white paper. The piece of rubber is on the right.

Then I inked up the checker board piece of carved rubber with lime colored ink and stamped that over the yellow stamped paper. The checker board stamp is on the right.

Then the carving of the houses is inked up with black ink and stamped over the green and yellow.

Then each house stamp is inked up with blue and pink ink each and over stamped.

The finished stamping is on the left!

landscape

2010-03-11T08:18:00.001-08:00

First of all please keep in mind that I am not a watercolorist and this is my first attempt at a landscape. I went out into our field and took pictures of the beautifully green hills surrounding us, printed some of them out and chose one of them to paint. This is the view from our field to the south.

Collage Vase series complete

2010-03-08T07:35:00.001-08:00

I have no control at all over the order these pictures come up. So very frustrating when I want them in a certain order and they do whatever they want. I give up. So the first pictures is the close up of the flowers of the repousse vase and flowers. Picture number 5 & 6 show the other pictures of this vase.

Paper collaged vase on red rosin paper, painted with acrylic paint and the base is tissue paper. The flowers were drawn with a white paint pen.

Paper collaged vase and collaged flowers on red rosin paper with acrylic painted background and various handmade papers on the bottom.

close up of the above one

So this is the one that should have been first. It is a repousse vase and flowers on red rosin paper. The background is painted with acrylic paint and the bottom is handmade paper. I then went in with a piece of embossed wall paper and silver paint and stamped over the background to give it a silver image.

Close up of vase.

collage vase of flowers

2010-02-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by Caroline Reid's collaged vase of flowers and have sarted to make a series of them. This is number one. It is cut up paper on bristol board that has been painted with acrylic paint. Under the vase is various handmade papers.

ice queen

2010-02-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

The Ice Queen is finished. She has a silver head wrap that drapes down her back and is tied with silver fibers. She also has a collar of faux fur. Now she is ready for submission into the Death Of Winter show.

book made from the painted blue jean legs

2010-02-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

I used some of the painted denim from the former post as a cover for this journal. It measures 3.5x4.5 when closed. When I am painting I have an extra piece of paper to my right that I use to wipe off my brushes before I wash them. There are two signatures in this book and they are all made up of the "wipe the brush off" papers. Most of them are watercolor paper but a few are rosin paper and portfolio paper. They are all odd different sizes which makes the book rather fun. The back side of the denim was stamped with one of my hand carved stamps. A scrap piece of the denim was used as a latch to hold the book closed and there is a magnetic closure on it. A circle cut out of the denim is glued over the back side of the magnet on the front.

painted denim

2010-02-07T11:57:00.001-08:00

For quite some time now I have been using the top part of the blue jeans to make purses so now I have this pils of legs sitting around. So I cut them into fronts and backs and gessoed them. After the gesso dried they felt like canvas. So I went to work on them with acrylic paint, crayons, & Jacquard Tee Juice pens. Now that they are dry they are very stiff and I think will make really good book covers, wallets, or just about anything that canvas would be used for. Fun!!

town

2010-02-07T11:54:00.001-08:00

This measures 4 x 6. It is a piece of watercolor paper that I had on my desk that I was using to wipe the excess paint off of my brushes. I used some watery black across the top to make the drips and then painted in the buildings between teh drips. Jerry says it looks like you are looking out a streaky window at the city.

ice queen - in process

2010-02-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

She stands 14 inches tall and is made out of muslin that was stuffed with poly stuffing and weighted on the bottom with beans and then painted with gesso. The vines and leaves were hand drawn with a zig pen. I am still working on her. Next will come a head wrap out of the silver cloth she is laying on that will trail down her back and sparkly mica chips on her shoulder area. When she is finished I am going to submit her for consideration to a show - The Death of Winter. When I heard about the theme for the show I thought about what that meant to me......Spring brings about the death of winter. So she has the vines twirling around her representing the coming of spring and the death of winter. On her upper torso she will still be in winter tho. I will post more pictures as she progresses.

flower triptych

2010-02-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

This measures10 x 14 and is a hand carved rubber stamp stamped on acrylic painted paper and mounted on black matt board. I think that I will put two holes in the upper corners to put fibers through to make a hanger.

Reclaimed at Betteravia Gallery

2010-01-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

I have four pieces in the Reclaimation show at the Betteravia Gallery.
She Had an Idea

My Boobs Hurt

Sparky 3

You Turn Me On

Sparky 3 and You Turn Me On

Styrofoam house done!!!

2010-01-22T07:48:00.000-08:00

The house has been completely painted. The roof is a map of Seattle I found while cleaning out my car. Now to wait until this storm passes so I can find the perfect place in the yard for it!!

2010-01-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting that I did this morning. It measures 7 x 9 inches. The writing on it is done with lime, magenta and black sharpie pens. Painted then with watercolor crayons and acrylics.

zentangles

2010-01-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have been playing with Zentangles. These are very addicting to do. You can find out more at http://www.zentangle.com/index.php

Northern Bean Soup

2010-01-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

I made this the other night and am finishing the rest of it for lunch today. It is sooo good.

Northern Bean Soup
Nothing warms you up on a cold day like hearty and healthy bean soup!
Makes: 4 servings
Total time: 55 minutes
3 tsp. canola oil, divided
12 oz. boneless pork chops, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, seasoned with 1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
3 cups cooked white beans (Great Northern or cannellini) or 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (15 oz. each)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sear pork until lightly browned; transfer to a bowl. Add remaining 1 tsp. oil to the pot.
Sauté onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in pot until tender, 8–10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup broth, scraping up any browned bits in the pot.
Purée 1 1/2 cups beans and 1/2 cup broth in a food processor until blended; add to the pot. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups whole beans, remaining 3 cups broth, bay leaf, and rosemary to the pot. Cook soup, covered, until carrot and celery are tender, 15–20 minutes.
Stir in pork along with any juices from the bowl. Remove soup from heat. Remove bay leaf before serving.

large styrofoam house

2010-01-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

Still using up the styrofoam from the arbor project. This house stands 30" from bottom to roof peak and 26" wide. So far I have all the styrofoam taped together and ready for the plaster cloth. Will post pictures as it progresses. You can see on the front where I have put on a door and the little pieces on either side of the door will be shutters on each side of the windoes. The little pieces on the sides of the house will be window boxes under the windows.

3 green heads

2010-01-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on watercolor paper.....just playing with color

Cyclops

2010-01-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

Meet Cyclops....the next member of the Reclaimed group. She stands 15" high and is about 5" wide. Her main body is a piston and rod possibly from a Model A.....my father is rolling in his grave knowing that I am raping all the old car parts that he left to me and making art out of them. The light in the center of her face was found in a box and had the cloth covered wiring attached to it. The little light fit perfectly in the hole and the cord wrapped nicely around her body.

I also came upon a coffee can filled with old car door handles, they make perfect arms and were wired on with some old wire I found up there too. The door knob that I found kit right into the hold in the center of the piston. And of course I found a drawer of old spark plugs that were put to use. This one had to be tack welded on but is now there for life.

Here is a view from the back

hooked rug house

2009-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

i finally finished the hooked rug house!!!

living room transformed

2009-12-30T12:04:00.001-08:00

We took some furniture out of the living room and put in some shelves and a five foot table. We really don't use this room and thought we would make it into a painting room. All of the paint supplies are on the shelves and you can really spread out on the table. Liking it very much!