–a warm-up on a chilly day in the studio
Why am I showing you food on our tile blog?
…and what do these items below have in common?
If you’re a devoted Trader Joe’s fan, like we are, then yes…they all came from TJ’s.
Tracy and I were hard at work in the studio yesterday, when that ‘need to feed’ came over us. Since we weren’t quite ready to break for lunch, we did what all hungry people do…we talked about food. With hands covered in clay, we mentally created our lunch…
…let’s start with the lovely Creamy Tomato soup from a carton and add from there. Bake the fish, then place bite-sized flakes of it in the soup bowl. Heat the soup with a bit of plain yogurt and curry sauce, then ensconce the Vera Cruz Whitefish in the creamy red liquid . Once all is steaming hot in the bowl, let’s toss some freshly chopped cilantro, bok choy and green onions on top. With the heated bowl warming our hands, we take that first spoonful…
It sounded so delicious and warm on this chilly day in the studio that I was inspired to make it today, then write about it. And, I feel like I cheated a bit since I got so much help from Trader Joe’s.
Okay, it wasn’t cheating…we were in the middle of a workday! And it was so darned satisfying and good!
Stay warm, my friend.
–movement…a theme for February
Movement.
…as this new year is still fresh and full of promise, we remind ourselves of the rewards in…
the movement of the body,
…the movement of ideas through conversation,
…and the movement of the penciled-hand across the page…
Are you moving a part of yourself ?…or plan to?
Leave a comment–we’d love to hear.
Happy February!
–Mary’s Market
If I were looking through the Ramona Paloma tool box for a very useful tool, I would pull out “the morning walk” device. It’s hard to find something more effective to adjust the “thinking knob” than a walk in the canyon toward our favorite hide-out, Mary’s Market on Woodland Drive.
As Tracy and I finish up our 2012 bookkeeping and make plans for 2013, we remember that perspective is always better after an early stroll with the dogs. The mornings have been lovely and cool these recent weeks and I can feel the fresh air circulating through our creative process.
And, we are showing a small collection of our work at Mary’s–through the first week of February. May I suggest a walk up there? You’ll be greeted by a warm atmosphere, some cheerful tile and a hot cup of coffee.
561 Woodland Drive Sierra Madre, CA 91024. 626/355-4534. Closed on Mondays.
–Merry and Happy!
Each Christmas, Tracy and I have found little special somethings to gift each other with…little somethings that brought a chuckle or an “Aaaah–you remembered!”
This year, we decided to give each other the gift of time…
As we work across the studio table from each other, conversation abounds. Often, we have miraculous ideas for “Funtivities” and Field Trips that we don’t always know how to insert into the schedule.
But we took the helm. We chose to have a choice in the matter.
One day last week, we turned off the phones, closed the studio door and headed for our kitchens instead.
We reconvened for a soup exchange and holiday movie. We gave each other the gift of time spent enjoying.
Tracy cooked up an amazing chicken soup with roasted corn, brown rice, veggies and a nice bit of green chile heat. Soozee rustled up a butternut and pear bisque loaded with curry and a squeeze of lime. We dusted off the “White Christmas” DVD (apparently, we’re just a couple of sentimental gals), and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, singing along with the “Sisters” bit in the film.
We were so pleased with ourselves! We diverted the season away from it’s busy pacing to serve ourselves up a large portion peace and joy…and delicious soup!
Warm wishes of Happy and Merry to our friends of Ramona Paloma Tile. We are truly lucky to know you!
See you in 2013.
–Wheelhouse Holiday show
As we go speeding into December, Ramona Paloma has one last show for the year.
This is a favorite.
Please stop by The Wheelhouse Pottery Studio, Holiday Sale on December 7 & 8, located at 1831 Santa Fe Place in Monrovia (just beyond the corner of Duarte and Myrtle).
Tracy and I will be there on Friday evening from 6pm – 9pm, along with many ceramic artists. Then on Saturday, Dec 8 the sale will continue at 10am until 4pm. Our Saturday attendance may be spotty, but we know the Wheelhouse will take good care of you when you come by.
There will be lots of great ceramics in a wide variety of prices and styles–so much fun under one tin roof!
–Handmade adventure
Wow, what a gorgeous building the old library in Eagle Rock is. Why talk about it?
Well, Tracy and I will be joining a new and talented group of artists for a special event in this lovely room.
Acquaint yourself with that holiday feeling in this beautiful, historic building surrounded by interesting art:
“Enchanted Handmade” on Sunday, November 25th.
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Center for the Arts Eagle Rock
2225 Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock
Free parking at the Bank of America
Tracy and I have gotten a peek at some of the artwork that will be shown at this event–We imagine we’ll be doing a bit of gift shopping ourselves. We really appreciate handmade items–they are like no other.
Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock is saturated with interesting restaurants too–have you been there recently? What a lovely outing that would make over the Thanksgiving weekend…engaging artwork and lunch out!
Happy November friends! Have a safe and warm Thanksgiving.
Center For the Arts, Eagle Rock http://cfaer.org/ Enchanted Handmade is on Facebook
–Friends!
Thank you for coming by to see us at Creative Arts Group over the weekend of November 2 – 4.
Tracy and I had such a nice weekend visiting with you guys.
We met lots of new people and treasured the visits of known friends.
We talked dogs (how can we not?),
heard tales of old VW’s that were finally given away after a long time in the garage (but so missed),
the superiority of the feline over the canine was mentioned (political hotbed…that one),
we pondered the differences between an anteater and an aardvark,
considered that mermaids could be both of the rabbit-kind and the human-ish kind…is there a rule?,
conducted philosophical discussions about who’s bowl it actually was–the cat’s or the dog’s…
And one charming admirer wondered where a dog in a canoe might go…?
**Thank you! You guys are the best!
Tracy and I are lucky to know you.
Please keep an eye out for more info about our upcoming show in Eagle Rock on Sunday, Nov. 25.
Cheers!
–we hope to see you this weekend
Just a reminder
we will be at Creative Arts Group Annual Art Festival
this weekend, Nov. 2 – 4
Drop in to say hello.
–three day show coming up November 2-4
Soozee here…Tracy and I are delighted to be returning to the Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre for their Annual Art Festival scheduled for the weekend of November 2 – 4, 2012 at 108 N. Baldwin Ave. We will showing some new designs, along with some previous favorites. We had too much fun last year at this show–so many nice people.
The festival hours will be as follows:
Friday, Nov. 2, Opening Night will be 7 – 9 pm, plus student show and sale
Saturday, Nov. 3, 10am – 5pm, plus student show and sale
Sunday, Nov, 4, 11am – 4pm.
Please join us, along with 60 other artists, for the annual art festival at Creative Arts Group!
–is it hot in here or what?
Coming to you Live!, from Ramona Paloma Tile Studios…HQ.
And it is Hot in here! Unfortunately, our studio is not currently sporting an air conditioner. With today and yesterday in the 100+ degree range, we were a bit concerned about our brains malfunctioning.
Late yesterday afternoon it struck us!…let’s create a swamp cooler–effective and cheap. So this morning, we got the dogs out nice and early for our hilly walk and discussed our approach to keeping ourselves cool. When we arrived back to the studio, we got another brilliant idea! Maybe we can create the same effect in a different way that will be quicker and probably more fun.
Yes, we responsible, grown-up women ran through the sprinklers…again and again and again. The dogs chose not to…I almost think they looked embarrassed for us. Once we were fully and undeniably drenched, we sat down to work in the studio–in our soggy clothes. We didn’t even need the fans. It was a miracle. We were our own personal swamp coolers. Both of us had a marvelous, productive day in the studio–able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…well, almost like that.
okay, so this is not exactly us…but it is about the age we felt.
Happy Autumn Equinox–hope we can celebrate the cooler weather soon.
Ramona Paloma On Facebook
