Art in Embassies Medal of Art Conversation

Glenn Lowry, Kiki Smith, Carrie Mae Weems, Jeff Koons, Shahzia Sikander, Cai Guo-Qiang (and translator)

Last night I had the opportunity to go to an incredible event. The US State Department was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Art in Embassies program and honoring five amazing artists: Kiki Smith, Carrie Mae Weems, Jeff Koons, Shahzia Sikander, and Cai Guo-Qiang.  These artists were all present for a panel discussion led by Glenn Lowry, the director of MoMA. It was fascinating to hear the artists discuss their work and their thoughts about art and diplomacy. Cai Guo-Qiang, had a great quote, he said " Sometimes art can do things that politics cannot." So true!  It was hard to believe that I was in the same room as these artistic powerhouses. At the reception afterwards I nearly bumped into Jeff Koons! I wanted to snag a picture of him with my phone, but was too star-struck and shy...

Thanksgiving Recap

I'm happy to report that Thanksgiving went off without a hitch at the Parkman house! It was a gorgeous day in DC and it was so nice to have friends and family over. Our youngest guest, Jake, is Lute's new best friend after giving Lute copious amounts of attention (Lute's favorite thing!) and playing "football" on the back deck. I wished I'd snagged a picture of them, so cute!

I think our table turned out pretty well too! I wasn't planning on doing a floral arrangement for the table, but Ian got me this awesome Teco vase for my birthday and I thought it would look great with our plates, plus I found some beautiful flowers while I was doing a bit of last minute shopping for all of my Thanksgiving recipes and that sealed the deal. I also added some red hues with napkins and pomegranates.

I love snapdragons!

Ian and I prepping the appetizers

I've never cooked a whole turkey before, and I have to admit I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. I followed a recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which calls for you to place the turkey breast side down and then flip it half way through the cooking process to allow the bird to cook evenly and for the breasts to brown. Flipping the turkey was easier than it sounds (just use clean pot holders or towels), and I have to say, the turkey turned out great!  I like America's Test Kitchen cook books, because they do a great job explaining why they use certain techniques and give tips about the best ingredients and tools to use.

Per usual, my favorite dish of the night was one of the desserts. Smitten Kitchen's apple cider caramels were divine! The flavor was so complex and so so so good. The next day I commented to Ian that I was surprised at how few of the caramels were left (I'd made a lot, plus we had three other dessert options for only 7 of us), and he said Jake had slipped a few in his pocket before leaving. A kid after my own heart!

The caramels and white chocolate bark

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as I did.  I certainly have much to be thankful for!

Cozy Drive

Have you heard about Anthropologie's Cozy Drive? Bring in a new or gently used sweater to donate to Dress for Success and Anthropologie will give you a $10 cozy card to use towards a full price sweater, jacket, or coat. I love helping a good cause and getting a deal!

Ian Earns a Gold Star

I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple days fighting off a cold. I finally managed to drag myself out of bed this morning (just to settle myself firmly on the couch, mind you), when Ian appeared from the kitchen with a smoothie, tea, and coffee for me!  Just what I needed! I'm feeling a bit more human and very thankful for my sweet husband.

Happy Caturday!

We'd been complaining about it for months. It would follow us wherever we went and turn up in unexpected places.  It was driving us crazy. Cat hair was ruining our lives.  It was time to put an end to it. It was time to shave the cat...

...And, hey, we decided if we're gonna shave him, we might as well make it as ridiculous as possible, tail poof included. Happily, Jack's confidence doesn't seem to have taken a hit.

Jack "before".  Notice all the hair on the couch.

Second "before" pic

Jack "after"

Second "after"

I am a Man mural

Mural by French artist JR

Last weekend Ian and I were out and about on 14th Street running errands and came across this new mural that stopped us in our tracks.   The stark black and white of the image, together with the huge scale and simple message of the protesters gave reason for pause and reflection.

The mural was executed by French artist JR, who won the $100,000 TED prize in 2011 for his pledge to "use art to turn the world inside out." Although JR is an internationally recognized street artist, he rarely works in the US.  The image JR used is Ernest Withers' 1968 photograph of sanitation workers protesting in Memphis, TN.

Happy Caturday!

Helen Hyde, Honorable Mr. Cat, color woodcut on paper, 1903

I first saw this print at the University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art as an undergraduate and have loved it ever since. The expression on the little girl's face is so sweet and I can sense the cat's frustration over the indignity of a pink ruffled collar and being carried so unceremoniously down the street. The artist, Helen Hyde, was part of a small (and fascinating!) group western women artists that traveled to Japan to live and practice art. Hope you enjoy this print as much as I do!

Thanksgiving Inspirations

Love this Thanksgiving table. I'm going to try to recreate it in my dining room!

For the first time, I'll be hosting Thanksgiving this year! Ian's cousin and his family will be joining us, along with one of my best girlfriends.  I've been having fun searching the interwebs for recipes, decor ideas, serving ware, etc.  I'm planning on using a white table cloth, with a burlap runner down the middle (I've recruited my mom to make this for me, yay for moms that can sew!), with nuts, gourds, and leaves to add some color. I'm going to use my gramma's white au naturel Noritake china that I LOVE with some orange-y gold napkins. I really like the idea of a neutral base (white table cloth, white dishes, and burlap runner) with pops of fall colors. Basically, I want a traditional feel, but with a contemporary update.

Some decor inspirations:

I like the rustic feel of the burlap

The white/orange combo I like

For the menu, I'll serve all the stuff you'd expect: Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, the brussel sprouts from a few posts back, green beans, cranberry sauce, green salad,  and rolls. For dessert I'll make pumpkin pie of course, plus Ina Garten's cranberry apple cake, and her white chocolate bark, and maybe some yummy apple cider caramels.

Maple whipped sweet potatoes from Martha Stewart

Apple cider caramels from Smitten Kitchen

 I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week! I can't wait!

Possibly the best yogurt you'll ever have

Last month Ian and I flew to Austin, TX for Austin City Limits. In addition to the music festival, we also have a few buddies there that we were looking forward to seeing.  Our friends Michael and Rachel hosted an awesome brunch the last day of the festival. Although everything they served was delicious, the dish that really stood out for me was Rachel's yogurt parfait (the bloody marys were a close second :).  While I enjoy yogurt as much as the next person, it's not something that I would expect to still be thinking about weeks later, but let me tell you, this yogurt was special.  This past weekend, Ian and I were invited to a potluck brunch, so I email Rachel and asked if she'd share her recipe with me. Here's what she said:

"Happy to share! It's not really a "recipe," but it's super easy. It's just a yogurt parfait with 3 layers- fruit, almond yogurt and salty honey almond brittle.

• Fruit- Raspberries and cherries work best
• Yogurt- Fage Greek yogurt sweetened with Splenda and almond extract. It is very important to get the best almond extract you can buy. No real guidance on measurements except that it's easier to add than it is to subtract and it usually gets sweeter/almondier as it sits. So get it just a little less flavorful than you want, and then adjust right before assembly if needed
• Brittle: Toast almond slivers in pan. Once they are lightly toasted and smelling good, add enough honey to get them wet and turn off the heat. The honey loosens up as it warms up, so feel free to add, stir to see if it's nice and glossy/wet, and add more if you need. Then dump onto pam-sprayed parchment paper (foil works in a pinch, but not wax paper), spread in an even-ish layer and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt. Pop in fridge to cool.Once cool, break into clumps
• To assemble, layer fruit on bottom, then yogurt, fruit, yogurt. Top with brittle"

The almond brittle, right before I stuck it in the fridge

About half-way through assembling the parfait

The finished product!

It would never have occurred to me to add almond extract to the yogurt, but it makes such a difference! It gives the yogurt a subtle, but sophisticated flavor. I didn't have splenda, so I used regular sugar instead. I added a bit of water to it to start the dissolving process and make sure that it mixed in to the yogurt. Also, I couldn't find cherries this time of the year, so I went with blueberries and chopped dates.  Finally to give it a bit of a fall flavor I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg on top of the assembled parfait. I would say that in total (not including cooling time), this dish took about 30 minutes to make.  Thanks for sharing Rachel!

Birthday Dinner

Thai X-ing

Yesterday was my 28th birthday, and to celebrate, Ian and I went out for a special dinner. We decided on a neighborhood place called Thai X-ing (pronounced Thai Crossing), that we'd been hearing about ever since we moved to DC. It's kind of a funky place. There's no menu, they just serve you whatever they're cooking that day. It started out in the basemen of a row house, but has since expanded to the main level and second floor.

Before heading out to dinner

The meal started out with a delicous soup and salad. Part of the fun of the meal was not really knowing what the dished were. The soup was some type of red curry (I think), and we're still not sure what the salad was, expect for that it was really good and really spicy!

The first course, soup and salad

I think the two highlights from the night were the pumpkin curry (we didn't think we'd like it, but the flavor was incredible) and a tofu and glass noddle dish. In addition to these dishes there was a salmon curry, a chopped lamb and chicken dish with lots of cilantro and ginger, and a chicken and bean curd ( I think) dish, plus a perfect dessert of fresh mango and sweet sticky rice. We were so full by the end of the meal!

A happy Ian towards the end of the main courses

 The restuarant had a homey feel with lots of shrines. Here's the one nearest to our table:

The shrine looks a little scary in this photo (I have to get a new camera soon!), but I promise that it was very zen.

Thai X-ing is the type of place you go to for the experience as much as for the food.  It's great to have a place like this in the neighborhood!

Happy Caturday!

I would totally invite this little guy to dinner. He looks so polite!

Housebound Installation

Yours Truly installing Allison Gildersleeve's paintings

As promised, below are some pictures from installation week of Housebound. But first, a little information about the exhibition pulled from our press release:

"Heiner Contemporary is delighted to present Housebound, a group exhibition exploring the depiction of domestic space featuring work by Rachel Farbiarz, Bella Foster, Allison Gildersleeve, Allison Reimus, Ann Toebbe and Augusta Wood. Practicing in different media, these artists address various definitions of home, shifting between its public and private nature. For many, home is a reflection of the self, where rooms become extensions of one's personality. It is a place where possessions are gathered, memories held, and lives are recorded through belongings and their use. Augusta Wood memorializes her grandparents' former home by projecting family snapshots in layers onto the walls of the now vacant house. Her haunting photographs provide an interesting comparison to Ann Toebbe's cozy, created-from-memory, cut paper and painted rooms, which play with perspective and color, and Allison Gildersleeve's intimate, impressionistic vignettes depicting interiors drawn from her daily life.

While domestic space may be linked to private moments and personal histories, it can also function publicly as a showcase for entertaining that speaks not only to the way one lives, but the way one wishes to be perceived. In this vein, Bella Foster's whimsical, idealized living spaces filled with bold textiles, bawdy wallpaper, and objets d'art bring to mind a well-heeled, international set, and Allison Reimus's textured vessels and abstracted architectural details reference home décor and interior design. In contrast, Rachel Farbiarz's socially conscious installation removes the home from its bricks and mortar context and investigates the way it exists as a mental construction for certain populations. Viewedtogether, the works in Housebound consider the relationship between domestic space and personal history, identity and memory."

Before: Rachel Farbiarz, Take Me With You

After: Rachel Farbiarz, Take Me With You

Detail, Take Me With You

Rachel Farbiarz,  I Wish I Could

Detail, I Wish I Could

Detail, I Wish I Could

Before: Allison Reimus, Vessel Grouping

After: Allison Reimus, Vessel Grouping

Installation view: Ann Toebbe, Allison Reimus, Augusta Wood, Allison Gildersleeve, Bella Foster, and Rachel Farbiarz

Installation view: Ann Toebbe, Allison Reimus, Augusta Wood, Rachel Farbiarz

Installation: Bella Foster and Ann Toebbe

Installation view: Allison Gildersleeve, Bella Foster, Augusta Wood, Ann Toebbe

And just for fun, a few pics from the opening reception:

Animal Odd Couples

I just finished watching the sweetest documentary on PBS call Animal Odd Couples: The Benefit of Friendship. I laughed, I cried, this show had it all. Keep your eye out for reruns!

Housebound

The gallery just opened a new show, Housebound,  a few days ago, and we've already gotten a nice write-up in a local blog ArtSeeDc including a mini interview with me.  Here's a link to the post, Coming Home to Heiner Contemporary: A Group Show

Installation view of Housebound

 I love the concept of this show and am thrilled that visitors to the gallery are enjoying it too! As Roxanne mentions in the article, this show has been in the works for a while and it is so satisfying to see it come to fruition. (I'm planning to share some pics from the installation soon!)

Election Day

DC weekend

A cute little house on the day before election day

Just in case questions come up, I work Tuesday - Saturday, so my weekend is actually Sunday - Monday (I very lucky that Ian doesn't teach on Mondays so we are still able to enjoy a two day weekend together). 

 Saturday after work, I met up with Ian and some buddies to cheer on the Ducks at our local watch bar Irish Channel. The bar lets the alumni association decorate, play the fight song, and basically take over the place. It's a fun environment, kinda like a substitute Cooler.  The bar attracts a surprising amount of Duck fans. Last year for the Rose Bowl game over 150 fans were at the bar. We feel bad for unsuspecting Caps fans who walk in hoping to catch the hockey game (I guess that's not a problem this year though...).

Duck Spirit

Some new friends from Ian's soccer league that we've converted

Ian and I celebrated the Ducks' win a bit too much, and were a little (a lot) haggard the next day and didn't accomplish much... 

...But we were rested and ready to go the next day. We decided to walk down to the Mall to see Ai Weiwei's According to What? at the Hirshhorn (more on that coming soon). It was such a gorgeous day for a walk.  Fall is my favorite season and I love being out in the cool, crisp air. Before Sandy hit we were having a bit on an Indian Summer, so it's just now beginning to feel like fall. Although our systems haven't gotten used to the temperature swing yet, and I ended up pulling out my winter coat and hat for our walk. 

Some great fall foliage

After our day of being out and about in the chilly fall weather we came home and made this delish dinner. Ian prepped and grilled the steaks while I cooked up some sweet potato fries and sauteed brussels sprouts. See the end of this post for the brussels sprout recipe. 

I'm sorry for the poor image quality of some of these photos :(.  Right now the only camera I have is my iphone! Ian and I are ready to invest in a good camera, but are totally overwhelmed by the options and don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts:
2 cups brussel sprouts
1 shallot
2-3 pieces of bacon
about 3/4 cup chicken stock, maybe less (my secret ingredient!)
salt and pepper
toasted walnuts (optional)

Rinse and halve the brussels sprouts lengthwise. Cook the bacon in a large sautee pan until crispy. Remove from pan and lay on paper towels to soak up extra oil/fat. Pour most of the extra bacon fat out of the pan, but reserve a little to cook the brussels sprouts in. Add the shallot and brussels sprouts to the pan used to cook the bacon.  Allow to brown a bit and add some of the chicken stock until it absorbs. The chicken stock gives the brussels sprouts great flavor and helps to soften them a bit. Continue to add small amounts of chicken stock until absorbed and the brussels sprouts are cooked to taste. Crumble the bacon and the toasted walnuts and add them to the pan. Salt and pepper to taste.