mantles and zinnias

Garden updates:
7 perfect thumbelina zinnias have bloomed--more on the way.
4 happy eggplants are getting larger by the day.
10 elegant peppers are slowly changing to their mature colors.
Countless tomatoes are stubbornly staying green while I dream of all the delicious tomato sandwiches I could be eating.

Eight days of summer school left! Only three days left of this schedule, then a week long seminar in the art education department. With Terry Barrett! So exciting.

I thought that until school ends and I am able to show you more creative projects, that I would take this time to show some corners of my home that I feel are especially nice. This is my mantle (the fireplace is non-working, and covered with black tile, sadly). I thought it would be more meaningful if I explained each of the items here:

Bunting - handmade from fabric scraps and vintage red polka dot piping
World Map - from a thrifted National Geographic
Embroidered Flowers - found at my favorite thrift store here in Columbus, it's professionally framed and was 90 cents!
Owls of the Deep Print - by Matt Cipov via Etsy (I have a bunch of his prints--love them!)
Mason Jar Candle - on sale for 25 cents at Kroger, too cute to pass up, got a set of four
Cassette Tapes - from the Salvation Army in my college town, I play them on my record player, which has a tape deck in the side
Tomato Pin Cushion - gift from my grandmother when I was a child. She and my mom taught me to sew.
Repurposed Jars - I save them or pick them up at thrift stores--they come in handy a lot
First jar is filled with thread and film (for awhile my sewing machine was in the living room)
Second jar is filled with scissors and knitting needles. Knitting needles were a gift from my friend Mallory, who prefers knitting with circular needles so she bestowed her collection of straight ones to me.

What I like about my decorations is that I don't spend a lot but I think they fit my style perfectly, maybe even better than if I bought everything new. If you're patient while shopping at thrift stores and yard sales, you can find high quality, unique items for only a little money. It's fun too! And don't forget to make a few things! That's the best part.

the freshest salad

Salad fresh from the garden featuring mesclun mix and sugar snap peas, topped with some sunflower seeds, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

garden updates

The white cherry tomatoes (which often take on a light yellow hue) are starting to ripen. The tomato plants are doing well in Ohio's moderate temperatures. This is exciting since last year's plants met an early death due to heat.

The gretel eggplant has two eggplants! The purple beauty is close behind it.

This one head of lettuce is growing taller and taller. It's probably around four feet tall now. It flowered yesterday, and maybe I'll be able to save some of the seeds soon. This head and three others came as seedlings from the farmers' market.

The peas are still producing. I think we'll double the pea crop for fall, we are so fond of them. I love the way they wrap around things.


The zinnias are finally in bloom! Here is one just before opening.

And when it finally revealed its color (fuchsia!), pictured here with a yellow ladybug friend.


The cone flowers are opening as well. They should stay in bloom until the first frost, which will be sometime in October.

The first round of cilantro has flowered too, and I was taken by how beautiful the tiny white flowers are.

Cilantro flowers again.

frozen summer treats

The temperatures have been creeping up here over the past couple of weeks (although today the high is only 80! so excited!) so I have been making lots of frozen treats. Normally I prefer to bake, but turning on my oven in my tiny kitchen at the moment produces a sauna-like effect unless it's past sunset. I've made homemade sorbet (I purchased this adorable and practical miniature ice cream maker a few weeks ago!), popsicles, and of course, smoothies. Here is a strawberry, orange, banana all-fruit popsicle I made in one of those plastic molds, which reminds me of my grandmother because she would always make them for me out of extra strongly mixed Ovaltine (does anyone still drink that?).

If you like making homemade sorbets and ice creams, might I recommend the new Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home recipe book to you? So far, I've only made the riesling poached pear sorbet, which is my most favorite thing to get when I visit Jeni's, a local Columbus favorite (and for good reason...it's the best ice cream or sorbet you've ever had...ever...actually, okay, for me, it's a tie between Jeni's and Gelateria dei Neri, the best gelato in all of Italy, in my opinion...but I think that says a lot) but it was amazing. It turned out in my tiny home ice cream maker exactly the way it tastes at the shop. The recipe book has about a dozen sorbets if you are like me and don't do dairy, and lots more ice cream if you are lucky and can. I highly recommend it if you have an ice cream maker.

everyday picnic

Lately, this is where I eat my lunch during the week, at a breezy picnic table near the river that runs through campus, halfway between my morning class and my afternoon ones. I usually take a little time to read or draw while I am there.

I like my bike

This is my bike, Winnie. I have had her for one year, and she is great! I love the cream color of her frame, and her reliability. I loved my old bike too, to be sure, but it was not quite as reliable, or comfortable to ride.

Here are Corey and Alex. This particular day, we were headed to the farmers' market. Here we were making our way to the trail by the river so we wouldn't have to watch for cars.

This is on the trail, and not as dangerous as it looks!

A park with some baseball fields by the trail.

At some points on the trail, I almost feel like I could be back in Arkansas. I don't miss the heat, but I do miss the natural beauty of my home state. I love this part of the trail where you are surrounded by tall trees.

My new state is pretty great too, though. Did you know that Columbus is named after Christopher Columbus? The trail by the river goes all the way downtown, where you'll find this replica of the Santa Maria, Columbus' ship, in the water. When it's open, you can pay $4 for a tour. Here I am next to it on an evening bike ride with Corey and Alex on the trail. That pink spot is probably the ghost of Christopher Columbus (joking).

Anyway, back to the farmers' market bike ride, we made it, and got some delicious tomatoes!

And dinosaur kale! And sprouts, and squash, and zucchini, and cucumbers! Success.

so long, studio

As we all prepare for the building's demolition, my first year of grad school is beginning to feel more like a memory and less like it just happened moments ago. For the next five days, I could go up to my old studio if I wanted to, but all I would find is an empty room.

This was the view from the window by my desk. I quite liked it so I decided to document it while packing up.

My last box of stuff (in a box painted like a tv from one of my photos!). You know your desk is done when the plant's in the box. That's a calico kitten succulent. I had other plants, terrariums actually, as well, but had taken them home already.

The view again, a step further back. I loved looking out the window to see that tree. I hope they don't have to cut it down.

Our light switch plate, covered with this photo by some grad students before us. Just a little art student humor.

My desk on the left, common area and Tim's corner to the right.

My little corner. A/C unit that does not work, just blows out hot air and sometimes sparks and smoke. We were on the fourth floor too, so it got pretty hot the past couple of months (80+ with no circulation). I'm happy the new building will have A/C! It doesn't get that hot here, but sometimes you just need it, to circulate the air or take out the humidity.

Someone made a flag out of two large c-prints and hung it from the hallway window. An inside view was pictured in the first photo.

A lot of life is about movement, packing up from here and moving to there. We move along, and sometimes, hopefully most of the time, experience progress in those transitions. I'm just happy to be a photographer, a record and memory keeper of sorts, so that I have a way to remember this past year which was so influential for me as an artist. So long, Haskett Hall.