Tiny Moments of Art

On October 29 I went to a great little presentation during my lunch hour called "Not Your Grandma's Crafts." The presenters were sure to state in a disclaimer at the start that they in no way intended offense to any grandmas or their crafts, and that in fact the crafts that they were going to show us today were just some newer, simple ideas using modern materials to make chic things. We learned that day about stenciling using the internet for images, freezer paper, an iron, and fabric paint, and also about wallets made of colored duct tape. Indeed, I was in heaven for an hour, drastically making mental notes!

The election, Halloween, and the prospect of guests in our home once again have kept me from spending much time at length in my art room these last couple weeks. Meanwhile, I've taken respite in tiny moments of art, like the lunchtime presentation I just mentioned. Another day, my friend Haley and I had just collected our "I voted" stickers after voting early, and used another lunch hour to make pins with our stickers. Nothing like a little cardstock, scissors, a safety pin, and a glue gun! I wore my "I voted" sticker proudly until the end of election day, when I finally settled into bed after a long day working at a voting center, reveling in the day's outcomes and Obama's speech.















An invitation to a potluck dinner, where we "wouldn't be let in the house without a costume," inspired my idea to be a pack of Big Red gum, along with the fact that I own all-red clothing, and, well, the hair.... I thought the idea was pretty original, myself. And there's my hero next to me, trusty ol' Captain America. A friend of ours who saw this photo emailed and said, "Does it look to anyone else that Captain America's muscles have atrophied a bit since he first came to America three years ago?" I thought that was funny, considering the great effort that was made for this photo to fluff them up!




















And this was my edible contribution to the meal, which I thought turned out so well considering my lack of experience with ganache and cake-decorating! It was copied straight up from a Martha recipe/idea, but instead of just looking at her food editor's perfect crust and candy spider, we got to eat this amazing concoction, a no-bake cheesecake with oreo-cookie crust, lined and decorated with chocolate ganache. And we got the spider from the internet.















Here's to any moments of art we can fit in our daily (sometimes so busy) lives.