“Wedding of Andromache and Hektor:” Sappho
Posted: June 27, 2012 Filed under: Art & Healing, Gallery - Quotes 1 CommentSappho’s is the sun-drenched voice of the first female poet in the Western corpus. She lived on Lesbos, an island in the Aegean Sea, a place of grains, grapes, olive groves and orchards.
Her lyric poems, written during the 7th century BCE, largely exist in fragments yet her voice rings bold with passion and candor, an ecstasy of the senses. In this telling of a wedding feast you can feel the excitement, envision the coming together of family and friends, hear the heavenly songs of love.
Wedding of Andromache and Hektor
The translation is by Willis Barnstone.
Summer = Strawberries
Posted: June 23, 2012 Filed under: Farming off the Farm, In the Kitchen 3 CommentsBy the calendar, summer came one day early (the leap year added one day to February). But in truth, summer arrives when the strawberries are ready for picking. 
And go picking today we did!
So now our household is all about whipped cream and shortcake and berries-a-plenty. Alice Waters’ “The Art of Simple Food” has this recipe for Cream Biscuits – a/k/a shortcake; just add strawberries and whipped cream!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together in a large bowl: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 4 teaspoons sugar (optional), 2 teaspoons baking powder.
Add 6 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces then add the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry blender until they are the size of small peas.
Measure 3/4 cup heavy cream then remove 1 tablespoon and set that tablespoon aside. Lightly stir into the flour the remainder of the cream with a fork until the mixture just comes together. Without overworking it, lightly knead the dough a couple of times in the bowl (this is pretty vague and not sure we hit the mark) turn it out onto a lightly floured board, and roll out about 3/4 inch thick (ours was about 1/4″ thick).
Cut into 1 1/2 inch circles or squares (we ended up with three or four times as many, but they worked fine all the same). Reroll the scraps if necessary. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly brush the tops with the reserved cream. Bake for 17 minutes, or until cooked through and golden. Let cool, then top with strawberries and whipped cream.
…and we hope you find a field to forage…
One Hundred Love Sonnets: Pablo Neruda
Posted: June 19, 2012 Filed under: Art & Healing, Gallery - Quotes 1 CommentFrom the “Morning” sequence, this is sonnet XVI:
Community Children’s Garden
Posted: June 12, 2012 Filed under: Art & Healing, Child Centered Activities, Little Green Thumbs 3 Comments
Several community garden members and one Board member got together on Saturday to help plot out the Children’s Garden. We planted strawberries, pumpkins, lamb’s ear, mint, a lavender bush, tomatoes, a creeping onion and bean seeds. A small butterfly bush will soon be added. The lay out of the garden and walkway was designed to appeal to children’s senses and create easy interaction as they move throughout the space. Brushing the mint and lavender will release aromas, and the tomatoes, beans and strawberries on the outer edges will let children easily pick from the sides of the bed.
My daughter and I added painted rock critters this morning – two butterflies and one beetle. We will make several more soon.
on the nature of love…
Posted: June 9, 2012 Filed under: Art & Healing, Gallery - Quotes 7 CommentsAh summer! The idyllic time of year, so nice to sit upon the beach or to lay under a large green tree, gazing aloft as clouds drift by, or perhaps we pick fresh berries and eat pie a’la mode, or that time honored tradition, to idle away hours with a really good book.
My summer reading shall be upon the nature of love. (Well, with little E around, I shall also read aloud Dr Seuss, Beatrix Potter, etc. but the point remains…summer is here.)
With the theme of love firm in my mind, off I dashed to the South Portland Library to grab an armload of poetry, from Sappho to Anne Sexton, from Rumi to Pablo Neruda, with all viewpoints in between. How rich this field!!
Throughout the summer, love poetry will adorn our Art Farm.
You see, our dear friends, planning their September wedding, have asked me to help. More precisely, to serve as official for their ceremony, their Notary Public. Now, this is entirely new to me, and at hearing their request I was speechless and without breath. But of course, yes, I do!
And so off I set now to help craft their ceremony and to give voice to the song deep in their hearts. One fine place to start this odyssey might be these lines from Rumi:
I, you, he, she, we
in the garden of mystic loves
these are not true
distinctions
Another starting point, prudent and practical, would be the State of Maine, Department of the Secretary of State, “Notary Public Handbook and Resource Guide”, from which I quote:
“Often, couples want other persons involved in the ceremony. This is not an issue; however, the Notary Public must, without exception, (sic) do the exchanging of the vows and make the pronouncement of marriage in addition to signing the marriage license.
Official: As an expression of your mutual desires and purpose of being joined in marriage, you will please join hands.
(Addressing the man by name): Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love, honor and cherish her, and in all respects to be a faithful husband so long as you both shall live?
Answer: I do.
Official: (Addressing the woman by name): Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love, honor and cherish him, and in all respects to be a faithful wife, so long as you both shall live?
Answer: I do.
(Rings may then be placed on the fingers.)
Official: Since you have entered into this honorable estate of matrimony by mutual promises, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of Maine, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
Worry Doll Follow-Up
Posted: June 4, 2012 Filed under: Art & Healing, Child Centered Activities 3 CommentsHere are some of the worry dolls created by the elementary school children I worked with in May. Some of the children shared their worries during the art making process. Their ages were reflected in the types of worries they articulated. For example, the younger children talked more about characters from stories which caused them distress while some of the older children talked about getting into trouble at school and having to face their parents. One young girl in particular began group very disorganized and needed much 1:1 attention from me. Once she was able to focus on the doll making, she became lost in the process. She was able to work independently for short spells and seemed to calm down. Another child talked incessently about how she needed a “big doll for my big worries and a small doll for my small worries”. It seemed that she was creating order through the process of separating out her needs and devising a plan.
It was my honor to work with the students and I hope that the dolls continue to bring both joy and relief to their experiences.
an Art Farm 