“the ‘WHY CHEAP ART?’ manifesto”

Posted: May 19, 2011 | Author: becca neumann | Filed under: Gallery - Quotes | 1 Comment

PEOPLE have been THINKING too long that

ART is a PRIVILEGE of the MUSEUMS & the

RICH. ART IS NOT BUSINESS !

It does not belong to banks & fancy investors

ART IS FOOD . You cant EAT it BUT it FEEDS

You. ART has to be CHEAP & available to

EVERYBODY. It needs to be EVERYWHERE

Because it is the INSIDE of the

WORLD .

ART SOOTHES PAIN !

ART WAKES UP SLEEPERS !

ART FIGHTS AGAINST WAR & STUPIDITY !

ART SINGS HALLELUJA !

ART IS FOR KITCHENS !

ART IS LIKE GOOD BREAD !

ART IS LIKE GREEN TREES !

ART IS LIKE WHITE CLOUDS IN THE BLUE SKY !

ART IS CHEAP !

HURRAH !

– Bread & Puppet, Glover, Vermont 1984

Black Alder Coffee Table

Posted: May 17, 2011 | Author: David | Filed under: Gallery - Visual | 2 Comments

Coffee table made of black alder, with a satinwood base and dovetail keys of padauk. This was made in January 2006.

this the source tree, planted circa 1920 in Winnetka, Illinois.

Cherry Veneer Lamp

Posted: May 15, 2011 | Author: David | Filed under: Gallery - Visual | Leave a comment

Cherry veneer, hemp twine, and a walnut base. Completed in 2005.

7 lbs 9.4 oz of No Regrets

Posted: May 14, 2011 | Author: becca neumann | Filed under: Chronicles of a First Time Parent | 1 Comment

Separately and together we each held off on having a child. Because we were wise to live some life first? To gain more experiences to share with our child? Because we were knee deep in successful and fulfilling careers? Or because we were terrified of it? I’ll speak for myself. I was terrified of having a child…the responsibility, the 24/7-ness of it and my growing vocabulary of “what-if’s”. Working with children over the years did tempt me with thoughts of adoption as well as having one of my own. However, witnessing such darkness in the lives of these children and their experiences made me concerned for how I would be able to protect my own child, while still giving him/her space to grow.

After a solid 7 years knowing my now husband and learning the depths to which I could trust and rely on him, I began to open up to the possibility of having a child. We learned I was pregnant in August of 2008 and I went on to have a healthy pregnancy. Our daughter joined us in April of 2009 and I’ve been counting my blessings ever since.

It’s not about hovering, worrying, living with the “what-if”s”, but about opening up, expanding, breathing deep and with eyes wide open. To be her guide I need to live, breathe and practice the qualities and values I want her to embody. The icing on this cake is not only do we have a beautiful, happy and healthy daughter, but we are becoming better individuals as well.

David Abram, “Becoming Animal”

Posted: May 12, 2011 | Author: David | Filed under: Gallery - Quotes | 1 Comment

“One of the marks of our obliviousness, one of the countless signs that our thinking minds have grown estranged from the intelligence of our sensing bodies, is that today a great many people seem to believe that shadows are flat. Suppose however, that a bumblebee is making its way from a clutch of clover blossoms on one side of the road to another cluster of blooms in an overgrown weedlot across the street, and that as it does so the bee happens to pass between me and the flat shape that my body casts upon the pavement. The sunlit bee buzzes toward me, streaking like an erratic, drunken comet against the asphalt sky, and then it crosses an unseen boundary in the air: instantly its glow dims, the sun is no longer upon it – it has moved into a precisely bounded zone of darkness that floats between my opaque flesh and that vaguely humanoid silhouette laid out upon the pavement… That silhouette is only my shadow’s outermost surface. The actual shadow does not reside primarily on the ground; it is a voluminous being of thickness and depth, a mostly unseen presence that dwells in the air between my body and that ground. This living shadow is born afresh every dawn, or rather, the shadow is what remains of the night as the night’s gloom flees the advance of the rising sun.”

Planting Seeds

Posted: May 10, 2011 | Author: becca neumann | Filed under: Child Centered Activities, Farming off the Farm, Little Green Thumbs | 2 Comments

This weekend we planted spinach, sugar snap and carrot seeds and transplanted our mixed green and arugula sprouts. In another month or so we will plant cucumber, patty pan squash, brussel sprout and pumpkins seeds along with tomato starters. Farmer Martha has some extra eggplant starters so we’ll add those to the collection. Our little one walked around saying “Good hepper (helper), good hepper”.

John Ruskin

Posted: May 8, 2011 | Author: becca neumann | Filed under: Gallery - Quotes | Leave a comment

“Industry without art is brutality”

Supah Dupah Zuppa

Posted: May 6, 2011 | Author: becca neumann | Filed under: In the Kitchen | 2 Comments

In our house, we like to call soup “zuppa” (zoopah) – a habit I picked up after dining at a fabulous Italian eatery in Chicago’s Old Town. The zuppa we eat most often is a vegetable barley, adapted slightly from Moosewood New Classics. This recipe easily feeds 4 adults.

1/2 C hulled barley

3 C water

3 Tb olive oil

2 C onions, chopped

1 1/2 C potatoes, 1″ cubes

(parsnips and turnips cut into 1″ cubes make nice additions)

1/2 C celery, diced

1 C green pepper, diced

1 C carrots, chopped

1 C green beans, 1″ cut

1 C yellow squash/zucchini mix, cubed

1 C mushrooms, chopped

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 Tb dry sherry

4 C organic chicken stock

3 Tb barley miso

ground black pepper & salt to taste

1/3 C parsley, chopped

crusty bread for sopping up broth

Rinse barley in strainer, then add to water and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours (stirring occasionally). In large pot, saute onions with olive oil until golden. Add all of the prepared vegetables to the onions and cook until tender. Add marjoram, thyme and sherry, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. In separate pan, heat stock. Once heated, add 1/2 C stock to miso paste and stir to loosen. Stir the miso paste/stock into the vegetables. Add salt, pepper and parsley, cover and simmer 15 more minutes. Results are SUPAH.