Author: -N-

Thursday Night Monoprints

Upon a friend’s recommendation, I signed up for a monoprint class.

A what??

I know what a monoprint is, but I have never, ever done one.  So, per instructions, I bought a gelatin plate and a roller.  Then I showed up, wearing old clothes and an apron, and really, not knowing what I was going to be doing.

The instructor, Alison, was great.  She had a package of materials for everyone, nicely presented, and I felt like I was going to open one of the most exciting presents ever.  She also told us a lot of stuff – but better, she showed, and we did.  And here are the results.

Iris
Sand
Little Fans

Now I know how to do a monoprint, and boy, did I have fun!  I’m so glad I followed up on my friend’s suggestion.

Honey-Sweetened Cheesecake Recipe

Once more, dietary changes are forcing cooking and baking changes.  Some results are rather dreadful.  Others have proven to be quite good!  So it was with this cheesecake.  No sugar, no gluten.  The biggest problem was finding the dry curd cottage cheese. also known as hoop cheese or farmer’s cheese.  I found the cheese at the local Whole Foods, and neither my husband nor I had ever tasted it – but we did, and liked it.  It is a rather dry cheese, not sweet or salty, with a bit of a curd, but very fine, like ricotta.  The original recipe is from this blog, but I changed it so that I made one 8″ cheesecake, instead of 4 individual ones.  The only thing beside pan size that I changed was the baking time.

Honey Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 300 F, and by the time you have your crust ready, you can pop the crust in to bake.

Crust
1 1/2 c. almond flour
1 t cinnamon
3 T melted butter
1 t honey

Mix flour and cinnamon together. Melt butter, mix in honey. Stir together to form a soft dough. I used a fork to really work the ingredients together. Place the crust mixture into an 8″ spring form pan, lined on the bottom with parchment paper, and sides buttered. Working from the center out, press the dough onto the pan. Build a shallow edge along the rim of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 F. Remove and let cool completely.

When you are ready to make the filling, preheat oven to 350 F.

Filling
1 lb. farmer’s cheese
1/2 c. SCD homemade yogurt
3 eggs
1/3 c. honey
2 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon zest

In a blender or with a hand mixer, combine cheese and yogurt. Cream for about 5 minutes – texture will change and become more creamy as you work. Add the rest of the ingredients, and beat until very smooth. Batter will be very thin. Pour carefully into cooled crust. Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes. Check to see that the center of the cheese cake is set. When set (the cake no longer jiggles when shaken lightly), turn off oven and open door. Let cheese cake cool about an hour, and then move to refrigerator. Serve with fresh berries.

Comments
I had no idea what to expect from this recipe, but those who tasted it (served at a dinner party) really liked the flavor and lightness of the cheesecake. It wasn’t very sweet, which can happen with many honey-based recipes. The lemon zest complemented the fresh fruit – we used blueberries and raspberries. Without the fruit, the cheesecake might be a bit unremarkable if you are used to big, thick slices of New York cheesecake.

This, for us, is a definite winner!

 

Mesa, Sunrise: Practice!

Every artist practices.  Pianists do scales.  Painters paint.  I, on the other hand, have never been fond of practicing anything because I always want to do.  However, I am finding myself rather stumped at the moment, and have decided I do need to practice.  I need to practice brush strokes and colors.  I realized this after I lay down this wash for the mesa and lower portions of the painting, which for now are at a standstill.

Looking at everything, I am thinking about two things.  What colors should I use?  What brush should I use?

Colors don’t require a brush choice, so I have dabbled with reds for the mesa, as you can see below.  There are combinations of Burnt Sienna, Quin Gold, Yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, Organic Vermilion, and Pyrrol Orange.  Doing these early in the morning, I didn’t label them.  That’s okay, because  I know the colors I used, and I will check them out during daylight.

Next, I need to decide on a brush.  I am inclined to go with a flat, so I can draw straight across to show the sedimentary layers of rock.  Those I will get to sometime tomorrow and then choose colors and – yes! – practice making some strokes and mixing the colors strong enough to make some good contrasts, too.

Mesa, Sunrise

For the next week, my schedule is a bit different.  I have to be in to work 30 minutes earlier than normal, so I did this quick sketch in my Stillman & Birn softcover book.  The ink is iron gall.  I tried to keep the lines minimal, enough to capture important elements of the landscape, but not so much that they become dominant or what will (eventually) hold the image together.  Hopefully I will be able to work on shadows and light, working to good contrast.  I seem to need lines – I am comfortable with them – that are clearly visible.  Interesting to find out how we all work, eh?