I Made "Art"

This weekend I accepted challenge no. 25 by attending my first art class since elementary school. Turns out my skills haven't developed much since that time. But it was a lot of fun, and unexpectedly therapeutic.

The class took place at the Brooklyn Artists Gym. Our instructor was Allison, a local watercolor artist. She began with the obligatory boring stuff: brush care, paint and paper options, the importance of not eating paint, and so on. We then learned twelve different watercolor techniques. As you can see, I mastered each one:

There were eight other students taking the class. All women. The chatty emotional perfectionist sitting next to me made for an entertaining experience to say the least. What happens when a chatty emotional perfectionist spills a cup of water all over her paper? Hilarious. That's what happens.

Watercolor is not the medium for perfectionists. You have to learn to work with the water and know that sometimes it will not do what you want it to do. This is exactly what I like about watercolor. I like not being in total control of what emerges on the paper. Me? Not wanting to be in control? Some of you are very confused right now.

I couldn't help snapping some pictures of the table, which looked like art itself:

My paper towel also took on a beautiful appearance. Art everywhere!

Finally, we took a stab at painting something. Allison placed a variety of objects in the center of the table and told us to paint what spoke to us. This plant spoke to me. He said, "Do a mediocre job of painting me."

Actually, I don't think it turned out too bad. And I even had enough time to do a second painting:

The next day I went to Blick Art Materials and bought an 18x24 watercolor canvas, brushes, paint, and some watercolor paper to practice on. I intend to create a masterpiece, so stay tuned. 

Complimenting Strangers

Challenge no. 23 is to compliment a different person every day, preferably a stranger. I've found it amazing how many times complimenting a stranger leads to talking about Target.

Me:  Oh, what a nice scarf/handbag/jacket/bracelet/beard/chinchilla you have!
Stranger:  Thanks! I got it at Target.
Me:  OMG, don't you just LOVE Target?
Stranger:  I die for Target.
Me:  I could spend all day in Target.
Stranger:  I knooooow!
Me:  Best store ever.
Stranger:  It really is.

I've had this conversation twelve times since November.

I recently found a very interesting article called "7 Reasons You Should Compliment Total Strangers." Here are the reasons, with my comments under each:

1. You know exactly how it feels when a stranger compliments YOU.
Unless the compliment is, "You look like a Chinese Crested," which (sadly) has happened to me. 

2. The snowball effect is real.
You compliment stranger > stranger feels good and gives extra tip to delivery man > delivery man buys lotto ticket with extra tip > delivery man wins lottery > delivery man donates winnings to feed starving children > there are no starving children. 

3. You never know whose crappy day you might transform.
Note to self: Compliment angry people.

4. Karma is real.
So if I give 365 compliments, do I get extra karma? 

5. You'd make your grandmother proud.
Or your mother, who may or may not have issued you this challenge.

6. You might connect with someone totally amazing (or find out where she got her stuff).
Editor's note: The answer is Target.

7. Tiny acts of bravery can lead to bigger ones.
Like taking flying lessons? I really hope so.

I agree with all of these reasons, and would like to add another one: It feels good to compliment someone. Whether they mumble an unenthusiastic "thanks" or start skipping merrily away, you know that you've put something positive out there into the universe. And that, I believe, can inject a little bit of good into your day as well.

Hump Day Haiku

I'm a big fan of the haiku. This one goes out to my favorite basil plant, Kyle the Resilient (challenge no. 24).

you were once mere seeds

toward the sun your green arms reach

glad you did not die

Holy Architecture

Just...wow. Not sure if I'd be able to make it out to the Ozarks in Arkansas just to attend a religious service (challenge no. 29), but this is certainly tempting me. I recently came across these pictures of Thorncrown Chapel. This place is beyond stunning:

Pardon Me While I Gush

The second half of challenge no. 15 is to help my cousin Kaleigh get a graphic design gig in Atlanta. She's graduating from the University of Florida soon, and I realize that as a University of Georgia alum I am supposed to disown her for attending that "school," but family comes first. And super incredible talented family comes even firster.

I'd like to share some of her work here, starting with one of my personal favorites, the all-important Zombie Apocalypse Guide:

I know what you are all thinking: "In the event of a zombie attack, carrying around this poster is not very practical!" Don't worry, my friends. Kaleigh has anticipated your concern:

A zombie apocalypse guide on the go! Fashionable AND life-saving.

Some others, which I believe showcase her typography and photography abilities as well as her obvious design skills:

I'm pretty damn proud of her and happy to dedicate part of my challenge-infested year to helping her find a job. She comes from a long line of frustratingly talented people, so art, design and creating beautiful things is in her blood.

And if you're wondering why Kaleigh knows so much about zombies, it's because she is one. She's kind of self-conscious about it, so if you ever meet her in person, please don't stare at the flesh dripping off of her face. This is the most flattering picture I could find:

Vegetable Party in My Mouth

Today's lunch (challenge no. 20) recipe comes from one of my favorite raw blogs, Choosing Raw (only about half of the recipes Gena posts are raw, so don't let the name scare you away). Tomorrow I'm attending the Vegetarian Food Festival in NYC and will get to hear her speak, so I thought I'd try out one of her recipes: CURRIED CAULIFLOWER OVER PARSNIP RICE.

I'm using her picture here because it's so darn pretty, but mine looked pretty identical, just stuffed in a mason jar instead of a cute little bowl from Anthropologie:

Makes two servings.

For the curry:
2 cups chopped cauliflower florets
1 1/2 tsps mild curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp avocado oil
Pinch sea salt
Black pepper to taste

For the rice:
4 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp almond butter, sunflower butter, or tahini
1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
2 tsps rice vinegar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional but tasty)
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Whisk together curry, turmeric, lemon juice, avocado oil, sea salt, and pepper to make a marinade.

Pour marinade over cauliflower, and mix well. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour, OR roast at 375 for 30 minutes, OR simply allow to marinate while you finish prepping the rest of your dinner.

Prepare raw rice by placing parsnip in a food processor and processing till it’s quite broken down, but not quite “rice” sized in texture. Add remaining rice ingredients, and then pulse until the mixture does resemble a medium grain rice.

Place the cauliflower mixture over the rice and enjoy.

An Eclectic Audience

Things with Reading Partners and M (challenge no. 21) are continuing along a steady path. Like I've said before, M is very smart, but certain things (like another person existing in her near vicinity) can pull her away from the lesson.

One thing I've noticed is that if she doesn't know a word by sight, she'll just make a wild guess based on what the first letter is. Today, for example, she saw the word "drop" and said "dump." But when I told her to break it up by sounds, she had no problem.

Today's distraction, albeit an adorable one, was M insisting that she read to an audience. Introducing (from left to right) Louis, Makiah, Montserrat, and Randy:

Why she named a bunny ballerina after a British territory located in the Leeward Islands, I don't think I'll ever know. Maybe she is secretly smarter than all of us.