Chinese Painting Class, 23 May 2009 – ii

A week ago, our Chinese painting class met, as it does, once a month. This month’s subject is officially the peony, but we moved into something else….that story shall follow. Let us stay on track, though!

The Peony

The peony is an incredible flower, long held in esteem in many cultures for its beauty.  In general, it prefers a cooler winter than we have in California, but one of my classmates mentions having success locally.  Beautiful photos of the flower make you want to grow some!

The Teacher

Mr. Ha – whom we frequently call “Teacher” – or Harris – arrives from some distance by 9:30 a.m., to our classroom in Oak Park.

The Class

We drift in. Paulina has supplies if we need some. Classmates pick the subjects to paint (such as the peony for this month), or ask Teacher to do a painting or calligraphy demonstration.

As I mentioned in the earlier post in this series, it is traditional in Chinese and Japanese schools to copy a painting to learn how it was done. This means looking at the painting closely, and analyzing it. For myself, this is really difficult – I don’t consider analysis part of painting. But, with analysis, comes practice, and from practice comes skill, and finally mastery of the subject. The work develops the mind, the hand, the kinesthetic memory, and from this can flow a spontaneous painting which is simple in content, yet masterful in execution. It is worth the effort.

The Books

Publishers are always producing new “how to” books about watercolor techniques, or impasto, or drawing, or whatever. Asian publishers are not any different, though for some strange reason, they tend to publish a lot of books about Chinese or Japanese painting. These books cover traditional subjects, such as the peony, and often have an entire book devoted to one subject. Step-by-step, a final painting is demonstrated. How to load the brush, and which colors to use in this process are shown. Brush stroke direction is indicated, or sequence.

The painting originally chosen for this session was quite complex, with peonies in many different colors; you can see the painting to the right, or for a larger one, here.

Teacher chose a simpler one for class demonstration, which I think was far more effective than the original because it is less overwhelming. What needs to be remembered is that we are watching Teacher as he paints. This means we need to observe his brushwork – how he maneuvers the brush on the paper, what colors he chooses, and how he loads his brush. As students, we can practice from Teacher’s demonstration, and then move on to copying a more complex painting when alone in the studio.

Yarns of the City – 30 May 2009

Eva’s Needlework, Thousand Oaks, CA

People of talent are found everywhere.  In particular, I like Eva Wiechmann of Eva’s Needlework. She’s a creative designer, having a number of books out. She has a series of books out called Pursenalities – lots of purse patterns, knitted, crocheted, and felted. Her newest one is called Simple Stitches, which contains sweaters and tops.  You can purchase these books at her online store.

If you are in passing through Thousand Oaks, check out her store. It’s the kind of yarn store I enjoy – jammed with stuff. She has an excellent selection of pattern books (in addition to her own). Samples from her books are on display, too, which gives the knitter a chance to see what they really look like.

Beer from a Chef

The New York Times reports that Ferran Adrià has created a new beer “that behaves like wine.” A couple of thoughts came to my mind as I read the article:

First, I think it’s great that a famous chef is interested in elevating beer to the level that wine has held alone for so long. It’s my opinion that beer deserves a seat at the best tables in the world. Lots of beers pair wonderfully with food, from pale crisp lagers to deepest darkest stouts, and I think its fraternity reputation does not reflect the amazing range of beer
available in the world. In this regard, Ferran Adrià does the world of beer a service by his interest.

Second, though, I have to admit I was a little irritated by his choices (at least as they are described in the article). I was expecting something that really does behave like the best wine – something that, like the best Belgian Trappist beers, can be laid down for keeping over the years; something that has the complexity and depth of the best English Imperial Stouts; something that has the regional character of the amazing American IPAs. Instead, we get a blend of a Wit and a Pilsner.

Both Witbier and Pilsner are very fine beers in their best examples and both have long histories, but they are not the type of thing most diners in fine restaurants would expect to find on the menu. Pilsner (as interpreted by American megabreweries) is the basis of the myth that American beer is all weak and bad, and pale wheat beers are regarded by some as not much better than training-wheels beers one step removed from “Lite” beer.

On the whole, this smells more like an exercise of a chef’s ego or even a naked marketing exercise than a genuine attempt to create a beer that has the refinement of wine. The tasting notes in the article read to me like they were written by a wine person who has not had much experience with beer, but who is aware of the reputation of the chef responsible. This is not to say, though, that I won’t try it if I see it on the shelf at Whole Foods.

Yarns of the City – 27 May 2009

Fabric Town USA, Ventura, CA

I love this store!

I’ve been shopping here for years. This is an old-fashioned, family-run store, located in the middle of Main Street of Ventura, CA. There are fabrics, sewing and knitting supplies, upholstery materials, patterns and buttons. Everything is beautifully displayed – the plain exterior belies the inside, trust me – and the service is superb. Many people who work at Fabric Town have been there a long time, and the service provided is some of the best by staff who know what they are talking about. Change is counted back to you, too, so no one is dumping a bunch of bills and coins in your hand. There is a courteousness here which dates back to earlier days.

Fabric Town carries high quality fabrics, if you sew. Silk, cottons, wools. Patterns include Vogue, Butterick, McCalls, and Simplicity, and some of the newer firms as well. Notions for sewing are all over, with a good button selection, zippers, pins, and whatever you might need. All is very reasonably priced. If you quilt, you won’t be disappointed, either.

Yarns and knitting supplies include acrylics made by Red Heart and Paton’s, as well as the good wools, cottons, silk blends, merinos, bamboo and such by Cascade, Berocco, Trendsetter, Crystal Palace, Knit One Crochet Two, and others. There are sock yarns, DK, sport, aran weight. The yarns are divided into categories, such as sock, and then nicely displayed on glass or wooden shelves. The book selection is not large, but the ones they have are nicely chosen. They also carry Clover knitting notions and my favorite aluminum needles, Susan somebody! They do not have an extensive class schedule, but have some knitting classes posted here and there.

Here is where they are located:
2686 E Main St
Ventura, CA 93003
(805) 643-3434

Although the address is on Main Street, you have to go around to the back, next to the BofA teller area. Check them out! They are open 7 days a week, too.

Granola Girl!

As we all know, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”  Some will disagree, but I won’t.   No breakfast, no fun, not nice.

I’ve been craving more “summery” kinds of food for mornings, and fruit with granola, or yogurt-fruit-granola are some of the best.  Light, but sustaining, and not a lot of work, either.  So, yesterday, after having it on the back of my mind for the past week, I finally rummaged through the pantry to see what I had.  I had oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, golden and black raisins, dried montmorency cherries, walnuts.  I eyed the candied ginger and dried white peaches and hazelnuts, and decided that those should be saved for other things and times.  I also looked at the spices, and decided on mace.  I like its difference.  Here is the recipe.  Amounts can vary as desired.  If you do a bigger recipe, increase cooking time.

Granola Girl Granola

Preheat oven to 400 F, and then drop to 300 when you bake it.

In large dutch oven, melt together 1/2 stick butter (about 4T), some maple syrup (real stuff, please), and a couple T of lightweight oil.  Stir it up a bit to blend.  Then add:

5 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. pinhead oats or ground flaxseed

1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

handful pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and raisins and cherries, as desired

ground mace – or other spices if you want (I like cinnamon, nutmeg, and Chinese 5-spice)

Coat all ingredients with oil-syrup-butter mixture.  Then put into oven, dropping temperature to 300 F.  Set timer for 15 minutes, and then stir thoroughly.  Repeat 2 more times, for a total of 45 minutes or so.   As it cools, it becomes crispier. Store in plastic container.