kudos and brickbats

Vintage Lady 1
284-001H

up coming shows and classes ta ta!

Contrast this with the endless list of boring, nothing added stamp shows, with the same vendors coming from old and new promoters who are jumping on the get rich quick band wagon. Not only does this dilute the base making almost every show unprofitable but also it hurts the stamp stores in the local area for months afterward, having skimmed the disposable cash from their customers. And it is the local stamp stores who initiate and educate the newcomers into our craft as well as carry all the goodies necessary to our addiction. I am afraid that when these promoters finally do cut back on the new shows the damage will have already been done as stamp stores are closing at an alarming rate.

Sad to say that Artiscape will no longer be in Coshocton as that venue is being changed dramatically. Seems they cannot make it as a public accommodation. Lisa has promised a new location, at least as good and closer to Columbus (saves the 90 minute drive in the dead of the night to get there). My classes did sell out in the end and Lisa and her staff, having gotten one show under their belt, provided a seemingly effortless experience. This is a show that makes a difference and the local stamp store was a vendor.

The entire trip was made worthwhile seeing The Hun entertain a large group of ladies in the lobby at show's end with his old jokes. He searches the world for a new audience rather than get new jokes. I spent some quality time with Teddi Fine (who took my amulet bag class at last year's retreat) whose work has progressed to the point where she is now represented in several galleries.

Go to Lisa's web site for information on the next show - this has become a retreat you do not want to miss.

Vintage Lady 2
284-002H

My next show will be Art Unraveled in Phoenix, August 25th to 29th. I will be teaching the Gourd Evening Purse class, which was so well received at the Creative Palette in February. There are seats left in this class (and in some other classes with world class, wonderful teachers, as well). I will also have a booth there with my pewter and such. For more information go to the Art Unraveled web site. Many attendees are sharing rides and rooms to reduce the costs, so check it out.

I am looking forward to Clay Quest coming up in November in St. Marys, GA, venue of the Creative Palette and home to my friend Paula Amari. This is a new show devoted to polymer clay that will take advantage of a great venue. Check it out here.

If you ever find yourself north of Jacksonville, Florida, you owe yourself a trip to see Paula at Old Town Crafts in St. Marys. The store is so full of stuff that I have visions of it exploding one day, Check out her web site.

Vintage Lady 3
284-003H

just in case you think i am the only crazy one

"While books are often presented in Earth-lettering on quaint bundles of paper swathed in a cloth cover, Powells.com also offers a wide variety of stock from the far corners of the universe. Try a wet-book from the Osiris Nebula, which consists of seven intergalactic languages, alternating randomly from one word to the next, stitched into the severed, twenty- foot-long tongue of the Sloggarth beast. It's a reading experience you'll never forget!

"Cooking in space is difficult but rewarding, according to Ruth Reichl Mark III, whose earlier incarnation wrote the bestselling Comfort Me with Apples. Ruth's third clone enjoys cooking for friends while in hyperspace: 'The vegetables on Regula VII are so delicious and enormous — but they're also man-eaters. Having to behead your arugula before you can eat it makes every salad that much tastier, since you're grateful to be alive.' "

More on the Rub n' Buff caper from Suze Weinberg - "I've also had Rub n' Buff confiscated from my check on bags -so that, with the addition of having to practically undress at every check point, take out the computer, remove the friggin shoes, off with the jackets, the video cameras, etc, etc and so forth....makes me totally want to stay home!"

new stuff

There are two new flyers (busy me); No.56 is vintage ladies in chic hats (a la the Red Hats) plus Flyer No. 57 has new fetish designs and borders - all Native American influenced. The Turtle Border, 286-003H, on the right is a sample.

On flyer 56 there is a quote that has generated more calls and comment than any of my other recent stamps. I was slaving away one dark day in December and listening to NPR radio when a reporter began telling the story of a remarkable boy he had met in South Africa. N'kosi Johnson was ten years old and dying of AIDS. He was an orphan, both parents having already died of AIDS, and was being brought up by relatives and his village.

He was so bright, articulate and positive that the reporter asked him how he coped. N'kosi answered that he lived by a mantra that he repeated to himself several times a day:

Do what you can
With what you have
In the time that you have
In the place where you are.

The reporter was blown away (and so was I) and I knew I just had to get that quote made into a stamp. Fortunately NPR repeats their shows on different stations through out the day.

People from all over the country have called to tell me how much that quote has moved them. N'kosi died last year at age 11, but he left the world with a reminder of his huge spirit and grit.

we get emails

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After reading through your newsletter, I thought you may like to know about the website (url below), if you don't already know about it.

I learned of it from a friend of mine that lives close to the gourd farm. We just caught the tail end of it this summer's festival, but I saw enough to tell you, it is quite large and has rows and rows of troughs filled with gourds in every size and shape. I never realized that so much could be made from gourds. My friend has an amazing piece from an artisan that uses only unusual shaped ones and creates very beautiful figures out of them. There's something for everyone there. Hope you enjoy it.

Gourd Festival

Christine D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I enjoy your newsletter immensely. Your latest newsletter makes me want to get to Art Unraveled and since I am in Tucson, I should!!!

Linda T

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great newsletter, a real pleasure to read. Thanks for the bright light in a stack of very necessary but dull mail. I'm off to make the chicken soup.

MD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bistro hun

I have been a cheesecake fan since my parents took me to Lindie's on Broadway in NYC as a kid. Trying to cut back on carbs, I have figured out a really terrific, and low calorie version, that can be prepared entirely in the bowl of your food processor. Yup, first the cookie crust, rinse out the bowl, then the filling. If you do not fall in love, I will refund your money.

Cheesecake The Hun's Way

4 to 5 ounces of Graham Crackers (I like the new chocolate grahams from Nabisco)
3 to 4 tablespoons of melted butter

Grind the cookies finely in a food processor and then pour in the melted butter and process a few seconds more until fully incorporated. Place the buttered crumbs into a 9" springform pan and press firmly with your fingers (or use a small smooth sided glass as you would a rolling pin), about one inch up the sides and all over the bottom. Rinse out the processor bowl so no crumbs get into the filling.

Filling

One-pound container of Ricotta cheese (regular, low fat or non fat)
Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese (regular or low fat)
2/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute (I like Splenda, now available in bulk)
3 tablespoons of honey
4 egg yolks
Pinch salt

Put the ricotta into a colander set into a larger bowl, and let stand overnight in the refrigerator. A small amount of water will seep out - to be discarded.

Process the ricotta in the processor for 30 seconds until smooth. Break- up the cream cheese into the ricotta and pulse until fully incorporated.

Add the egg yolks one at a time - processing until fully incorporated. (I have tried whole eggs and two whole and two yolks but the whites make too loose a cake for my taste.)

Add the sugar and process until dissolved. Add the honey and process until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the spring form pan. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with a large piece of aluminum foil (in case your spring form leaks) and place in a larger pan or dish. Place the assemblage on the middle rack of a pre heated 350 degree oven and add water to the outer pan until it comes half way up the side of the cake.

Bake one hour and twenty to one hour and thirty minutes until the center of the cake is set and lightly brown. Let cool in the oven for 30 minutes or so, then remove from the water bath and set on a rack until room temperature. Refrigerate four hours or overnight.

That's all for now!
Roberta