Artist & Illustrator
I’ve been wanting to start this series of P.E.I barns for some time, but I only have a few pictures from last summer to work from. There are so many gorgeous barns on this island. My hope is to drive all around this coming summer and document them. I tried to get out to take some photos a few weeks ago (patience is not my strong point) and the winter roads proved to be too much for me… I think it is best to wait until the snow thaws.
It seems we are all a little obsessed with foxes these days… can you blame us?
This week’s Small Fancy theme is “Current Obsessions”.
In our backyard…
In books we are reading…
and at the Confederation Library.
Pretty much every week I wish I had more time to work on my Small Fancy comic. Some weeks I don’t think there is any way it will get done in time. This was one of those weeks. There was a car accident, a 5 year old with an ear infection, a baby with some sort of nasty stomach flu and bark-y cough, throw in a sick husband and there was little time for drawing.
This is what I managed to get done this week. It is far from what I had hoped to do, but I am trying to let go of what I think things should be and just be happy with what they are. I’m finding each week my Small Fancy comic is a lesson in this.
This year for Sosi’s birthday party loot bag we decided to do something a little different. We set up a craft table for the kids to each do a drawing. We scanned each drawing, printed it onto iron-on transfer paper and then ironed them onto a t-shirt for them to each take home (luckily we had my folks here to lend a hand to the assembly line).
It turned out to be so much fun. In all the mayhem I totally forgot to take pictures… which is really too bad because each kid’s t-shirt turned out so great! All so different and unique. I think they were all really happy and proud of the results.
I’ve been a little obsessed with iron on transfers lately. I’ve had a package of them for probably 10 years that I’ve always wanted to use, but never got around to it. This year I took the plunge! We made t-shirts for all the kids on our Xmas list. I forgot to take pictures of those too, but they were similar to this one here.
Now that I’ve started, I can’t stop! Here is one I did today. I was trying to cover a stain on one of my favourite shirts. I really like how it turned out, but I can still see the stain…
I love old photos. I found these yesterday while I was searching through pictures for this week’s upcoming Small Fancy.
Up until now, we haven’t been able to figure out who Ila looks like. I think this first picture solves the case. She looks like me! (I can’t explain the joy this brings me… Sosi is little a miniature Paul, minus the beard)
This one is of me and my sister. I think it could just as easily be a picture of Sosi and Ila. They look very similar to us.
I can’t believe she’s 5… how did this happen?
I don’t usually let Sosi use my camera… but I was trying to buy us some reading time. It worked. It kept her busy (and quiet) and we got this great portrait of ourselves.
I have been doing a lot of research lately and dreaming about future projects. I wasn’t expecting much when I requested this book from the library, but was very surprised when I opened it and saw these gorgeous colour plates.
American Girl has put together a really sweet book about horses. Some of my illustrations were lucky enough to be included.
Just finished and sent out this little portfolio/booklet out into the world.
Katie asked me to post my lentil soup recipe. The one I make on New Year’s Day is made with brown lentils and whatever is in my fridge. Nothing to write home about at all. However I do have an amazing red lentil soup recipe that I got from my dad. It is ridiculously good and easy to make. Everybody around here loves this soup, most of all me. I can throw it all together in a few minutes, put it in on the stove, forget about it, and it is ready in no time.
Yummy Red Lentil Soup:
1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup diced ham (i use whatever left-overs I have… ham or spicy italian sausage. you don’t need a lot)
3 cup water
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
Wash and sort lentils. Heat oil in a large pot over a medium high heat. Sauté garlic, onions and bay leaf in oil. Stir in ham or sausage. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Stir in lentils and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, reduce and heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. 4-6 servings.
Here is another recipe because we all can’t be good and eating lentils all the time. My best friend Magda proved why she is my best friend with this recipe. She passed it on to me the last time we talked. It involves an Eatmore Chocolate bar and nothing else. Don’t let that put you off, it’s soooo good. A perfect quick and yummy dessert. Sosi loved these and named them “Madames”, which seems a little fancy for a dessert made from a second rate candy bar that not many people seem to like, but it strangely suits them.
Sosi’s “Madames”:
Cut 1 Eatmore ( i think these are only available in Canada…) into about 6 or 7 little squares. Place them fairly far apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and heat in a 350 degree stove for about 10 minutes. Once they have melted down into bubbling thin waffer-like circles, they’re done. Let cool, and enjoy!
I just finished this custom piece for a sweet little Lily in Vancouver. So happy to be back working with fabric. Hope to do some more real soon.
I am slowly finding my way back into some sort of a routine after the chaos of the holidays. It feels good. I’m not getting as much work done as I would like these days, this little munchkin has been keeping me pretty busy.
This week’s Small Fancy comic is up. The theme is “Guilty Pleasures”.
This past week I have been lost in a fog of sickness and sleeplessness that I am just starting to come out of.
I did manage to make lentil soup on New Year’s Day. There is a tradition I remember learning about while I lived in Italy as a teen. They believe that eating lentils on the first day of the year will bring you prosperity in the New Year. I am not usually a superstitious person, but this one has always stuck with me. There is something so simple and humble about it.
I hope 2010 is full of love and brings much prosperity to you.
I finally finished Ila’s Christmas gift. In the days leading up to the big day it became more and more clear to me that it wasn’t going to be finished in time. There was just too much to get done. I decided to just let it go.
I’m finding this is the key to happiness these days. Plans change, things I want to get done don’t get done, time to myself never seems to happen. Instead of fighting all this, I’ve decided to surrender to it.
Sosi added a little scribble to this piece on a particularly naughty day. My first instinct was to get upset with her, but then I thought about it more and I thought what a sweet contribution to her sister’s gift. It certainly speaks of our lives these days. There are no boundaries between my life, art and these children, it is all one big messy imperfect pile.
Wishing you a very happy holiday! See you soon.
Lori Joy Smith
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