The Duck Knows Art?

Love this video from my alma mater, the University of Oregon, and that the UO (with some assistance from Nike) is sponsoring an art contest. Details here.

Art Everyday

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 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Composition A XXI, 1925

 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy was a painter, film maker, theorist and a professor at the Bauhaus (among other institutions).

Art Everyday

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Spring Fresco, with swallows and red lilies, from Akrotiri on Thera, Late Minoan Era, 1500 BC

Spring Fresco is one of the best preserved frescoes discovered on the island of Thera (Santorini).

For Your Monday

Photo by me :)

An adorable squirrel.

The Kennedy Center during Nordic Fest 2013.

When art critics change their minds. 

A fun pom pom rug.

Getting the shot.

Oscar dresses!!! Who wore your favorite dress? I loved Naomi Watts', Jennifer Lawrence's, Jessica Chastain's, and Amy Adam's.

Art Everyday

Wayne Thiebaud, Pie Counter, 1963, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches

Wayne Thiebaud's paintings of cakes and sweets are so fun! Here's a nice article about him in the New York Times.

Soy Sauce Glazed Flank Steak

My mom and step-dad are visiting from Oregon this week and were scheduled to get to our house about the same time that I get home from work. I knew they would be hungry from a long day of travel and I wanted to spend time visiting with them rather than being holed away in the kitchen so I was looking for quick and simple meal to prepare. I decided to serve Soy Glazed Flank Steak. I originally got this recipe from my Aunt Kim when I was in college and have been making it ever since. It's easy, delicious and always a crowd pleaser. It also makes great leftovers (if you have any!).  I marinaded the steak the night before my folks got in and had Ian throw it on the grill while I whipped up a salad and some broccolini. I think dinner only took about 15 minutes to prepare!

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbs honey
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 scallions minced
2 large garlic cloves minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 lb flank steak

In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, honey, vinegar, scallions, garlic and ginger. Whisk in olive oil. Place steak in a glass or ceramic baking dish and pour in marinade, turn to coat both sides of meat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade, turning occasionally 1-2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours refrigerated.

Prepare a hot fire or use a grill pan on top of the stove. Remove steak from marinade, scrapping off and reserving as much of the marinade as possible. Place steak on an oiled grill set 4-6 inches from coals. Grill, turning and brushing with marinade several times, until outside is well browned and inside is still pink and juicy, about 10-12 minutes.

Transfer to a cutting board or platter and let rest about 5 minutes before carving on the diagonal into thin slices no thicker than 1/4 inches. Serves 4-6

Half-Up Braided Crown

I saw this hair tutorial on A Cup of Jo a couple of weeks back and thought I'd give it a try.  Super simple and unfussy. Next time, I think I'll go for thicker braids like the model's on A Cup of Jo.

 

For Your Monday

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The dilemma of owning a Damien Hirst.

A baby panda who wants some attention.

Vintage fashion photography. 

The CUTEST baby booties!

This exhibition just opened at the National Gallery of Art. I'm looking forward to seeing it!

Art Everyday

I'm totally in love with this illustration by Virginia Frances Sterrett, published in Old French Fairy Tales, 1920. For more of her illustrations go here and here.

Happy Caturday!

This cat reminds me of Downton Abbey's Dowager Countess. She's better than you and she knows it. For more pictures of this cat wearing fancy hats click here.

Happy Valentine's Day

Some love from around the web on your Valentine's Day:

A boy surprises his grandpa.

Animals wearing their hearts on their coats.

Some love inspired art.

A 19th century Valentine's day card. 

A little boy and his four legged best friend. 

Modern Love essays in the New York Times.

DC's most romantic locations.

A life defined, not by disability, but by love.

A song for your Valentine's Day. 

Art Everyday

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Tracey Emin, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, Appliqued tent, mattress, and light, 1995

Tracey Emin is a member of YBAs (Young British Artists) a group that rose to prominence in the 1990s and includes Damien Hirst and Liam Gillick. The work of art above is more commonly referred to as "The Tent" and is a seminal work in Emin's career. As its formal title alludes to, the tent features the names of everyone the artist slept with between the years of 1963-1995 (not all of whom were sexual partners). Sadly, the work was destroyed in a warehouse fire in 2004. Emin's life is as interesting as her art and I highly recommend this WSJ interview with the artist.

Art Everyday

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Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Vertical-Horizontal Composition, 1916, wool needlepoint tapestry

Currently on view at MoMA is the exhibition "Inventing Abstraction," which chronicles the development of abstract art.  Critic Peter Schjeldalh recently wrote a review of the show in the New Yorker and stated, that, in his opinion, the most beautiful work in the exhibition is the tapestry above by Sophie Taeuber-Arp.

For Your Monday

Artwork by Mario Kolaric. Image source

Check out this amazing video of a day in India.

This had Ian and I laughing out loud.

I think I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but I recently learned about the British clothing company Boden. Their clothes look super cute! Ian ordered a blazer a few weeks ago and has really liked it. I think I'll be placing an order for some new clothes soon :)

A warm, delicious winter drink.

I like these round windows.

Grammy dresses. I thought Rihanna was best dressed.

An interesting story about missing the obvious.

Union Market

Ian and I met up with our friend Courtney this afternoon to grab lunch at the newly opened Union Market. Restaurants and food stands are intermingled with produce vendors, butchers, a flower stand, wine store, and a home goods shop to name a few of the over 40 artisan vendors.

Ian and Courtney both tried the Korean tacos. They said they were very good, although they both prefer the beef taco.

 

I tried a smoked hummus and apple sandwich (with an orange soda, of course), and sadly I have to say that the smokiness of the hummus was completely overpowering and I was only able to eat about half the sandwich.  Maybe I'll try the Mediterranean food stall next time.

Along with lunch, we also picked up some fresh produce and meat for dinner this week. 

One thing that I liked about the market was that the personality of each of the vendors really came through. The stalls and restaurants all had different signage and design so nothing seemed cookie cutter.

 

Margaret and I did a little bit of consulting work with the developer. We recommended a local artist, Dan Steinhilber, to creature a custom chandelier for the main entrance and we were thrilled when they selected him.  Dan often uses consumer materials in his art and this chandelier was made using water bottles. As part of the project, the developers asked Dan to take on a local high school art student as an apprentice for the duration of the project.  You can read more about the project here.

The area around the market is pretty industrial and I'll be curious to see the impact of the market on the rest of the neighborhood. This is the view across the street from the market:

Happy Caturday!

Need a laugh? Check out Buzzfeed's 26 Essential Cats for Every Occasion

I love #4 (above): "For when you're all dressed up, but your plans got cancelled."

Art Everyday

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Piet Mondrian, Avond (Evening): The Red Tree, 1908-1910

Piet Mondrian is best known for his abstract color block paintings, but he was also a wonderful landscape painter. I particularly love his trees which range from naturalistic to nearly abstract.

Tasty, Hearty, Veggie Dinner

Last night was one of those nights when I couldn't think of anything at home that sounded remotely good for dinner and I felt too lazy to stop by the grocery store or go out to dinner. I've been eating a lot of pasta the last few days and was craving something fresh and healthy, but a salad didn't sound good... so I turned to the internet for inspiration and came across a couple of good options.

This recipe from The Wednesday Chef looked great, but I didn't have any of the ingredients.  So I kept hunting. Then I found this recipe on Orangette and decided I'd do something similar, but with a twist. I had a bunch of veggie odds and ends around and thought I'd throw everything together and see what came out (I knew I could always fall back on a bowl of cheerios).

I started by sauteing half an onion (chopped) in olive oil. Once the onion was soft and transparent I added one clove of garlic minced and salt and pepper. Next was half a can of diced tomatoes and half a can of black beans. Separately, I boiled half a cup of barely and one carrot (I fished the carrot slices out before they became mushy and added them to the tomato/black bean mixture).  While I was waiting for the barley to finish cooking I noticed the ingredients in the saute pan were starting to get a little dry despite being on low, so I added a bit of beef broth (I would have preferred chicken or vegetable broth, but we only had beef broth in the pantry). Once the barley had cooked through, I added some chopped swiss chard to the saute pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes. I served the vegetable mixed over a bed of barley (rice, couscous or lentils would also work great I think). The meal was surprisingly delicious and only took about 30 minutes (most of that was waiting for the barely to cook)! I think I'll put it on a regular rotation, using whatever veggies I have on hand at the end of the week.

Note: this ended up being more than I could eat on my own, but not enough for two (Ian didn't have faith my cooking prowess/was too hungry to wait and opted for left over spaghetti. He ended up trying a few bites of mine and gave it his seal of approval).  In the future I plan to double the "recipe".

Art Everyday

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Harry Callahan, Eleanor, 1947

The National Gallery of Art recently had a retrospective of photographs by Harry Callahan. Photography is not my strong suit, but even without much of knowledge of the technical aspects of photography, it was obvious that Callahan was a master of the medium.  His photographs are subtle and quiet, but powerful. I'm kicking myself for not going back to see the show a second time! Check out this review (and slide show) of the exhibition in the Washington Post.

For Your Monday

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A cool and funky necklace.

Love these lamps.

I thought Jack was a complainer, but he's got nothing on this French Bulldog puppy. Watch to the end!

Some great, free, downloadable labels courtesy of Design Sponge.

Amazing winter photographs from FieldGuided.

Funny expressions from Michelle Obama.

Did you hear that the remains of Richard III were found in/under a parking lot?

Photos of people waiting for trains.

100 museums to see before you die.

Art Everyday

Lady with a Hawk, Pahari Style, Guler School, c.1750, paint on paper, 8 1/8 x 4 1/4 inches.

Happy Caturday!

It's the little things in life, right?