Jennifer Lorton

Happy St. Patricks Day

2010-03-17T15:52:00Z

Getting Ready For Artfest

2010-03-16T16:32:00Z

I'm preparing to go to Artfest. It should be wonderful. I'm taking classes with Michael deMeng, Patricia Seggebruch, and Jesse Reno. What an amazing opportunity to learn from, and be inspired by, such talented folks. I'm also looking forward to going back to Port Townsend. It's going to be tough to tear myself away from what I've been working on, but I'm sure I'll have a great time.
The theme for Artfest this year in fairy tales. I'm not much of a fairytale kind of girl, but I did a little frog-prince inspired painting to share.

Part of the fun of Artfest is the trading. Almost everybody brings a little something to trade. I just received an email saying to my trades are in transit, and I can't wait for them to arrive. I have so much to do before I leave, so I better get to it. I hope my trades make it in time!

Meatless Monday - The "Go To" Speedy Salad

2010-03-15T23:21:00Z

Honestly, I really don't have any business calling this a recipe. It's just a little something that I threw together for lunch. It's a quick, one bowl, meal that's satisfying and delicious.

With that disclaimer in mind, here it is. Cook a vegan chick patty any old way you choose (nuke it, fry it, stick it in the toaster oven, you get the idea). Pile a big bunch of mixed greens in a large individual salad bowl. Once the chick patty has cooked, chop it into pieces. Toss it in with the greens. Top with vegan Caesar dressing ( I like Spectrum Naturals Omega-3 Vegan Caesar). That's it, lunch is served!

Tid-Bit O' the Day - The average American consumes 260 pounds of meat per year. So how about giving the vegan thing a try, at least one day a week? It's not bad, once you adjust to it, and the benefits range from personal to global. It really would make a huge difference. Thanks.

Flowers On A Friday - Soft Light

2010-03-12T20:33:00Z

I couldn't have done it without her "help".

My Birthday

2010-03-11T17:15:00Z

Well, I'm older. It's bound to happen, and here it is. Birthdays always seem like a time for reflection and goal making. I am filled with mixed feelings today. Generally, I suppose I should be a bit dissatisfied with my life. I definitely am going through a phase where I have it so un-together. I haven't been this uprooted in a long, long time. I'm still living out of boxes and I turned my back on financial security. I need to make some major changes, and I'm still completely baffled as to what I should do. I long to feel settled.
Now despite all this blah, I am completely worked up and exhilarated. Crazy, right? I have this idea. Which I am currently apprehensive to share. It still feels like a fragile little baby that I need to keep bundled up. Soon enough I will share it with all of you, but for now, I need to nurture it privately. The part that I do want to share, is the excitement. I haven't been this creatively inspired in years! It is so much fun. My head is so filled with ideas that it overflows into my dreams. I need to keep a notebook by my bed just to catch everything that appears during the night. It's like that excited, all consuming, falling in love feeling. It just seems to make sense. All those life experience that seemed so disjointed, they seem like preparation for this next step.
So, this birthday is a mixed bag of chaos and clear direction. I thought the image above pretty much sums it up. Kind of dark and gloomy with signs of life beginning to grow. If I'm allowed a birthday wish, I ask for support, and lot's of it, because I'm going to need it. It's time to live one of my favorite quotes "Leap, and the net will appear". Here I go, I'm leaping, I hope the saying is right, or this could be a mess, but I don't think so. In any case, it's certain to be an interesting adventure.
Thanks for being out there.

A Page From The Security Envelope Journal

2010-03-09T12:31:00Z

I started assembling the security envelopes into a journal. I don't think I will bind them all together until I complete the pages so that I can easily incorporate more sewing, and I can press the pages flat. They want to get a bit wavy when I paint them. Here is a view of a couple of the pages. I'm enjoying the process, and I think the journal will be very interesting when it's completed. I'm still amazed that all that wonderfulness hides inside envelopes that we all throw away.

And The Award Goes To ... Bulghur Wheat Pilaf

2010-03-08T18:12:00Z

OK, it is possible that I spent a little too much time watching the Academy Awards last night. Maybe I can blame it on the fact that I lived in, or near, Hollywood for so many years, but I do like to see all the pageantry. I'm not absolutely positive that this recipe deserves the award, it has stiff competition from the udon noodles, but it is quite good, and would know how to work-it on the red carpet. Well, maybe not, but let's pretend. This one is dedicated to my sister Meg, and all the people that made this recipe possible... you get the idea. And the award goes to...

Bulghur Wheat Pilaf

2 Tbsp vegan margarine
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup bulghur wheat
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth
5 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water, then sliced
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground pepper
handful of pine nuts (optional)

In a medium saucepan sauté the onion, in the margarine, until it's tender and slightly browned. Add the bulghur and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the pine nuts, and bring to a boil. Cook on medium high heat for a few minutes allowing the bulghur to soften-up. Remove from the heat and allow it to sit and absorb the remaining moisture. At the last minute toss in the pine nuts.

Lens Flare

2010-03-06T14:27:00Z

As I recently mentioned, I am currently obsessed with lens flare. It can add a little sparkle of magic to an otherwise ordinary photograph. I learned to love it, and wish for it to happen, when I started taking pictures with my little LOMO cameras. Their funky plastic bodies regularly allow light to seep in, creating undependable, but sometimes lovely results.
Here are a few of my favorites, where lens flare helped out in a big way.

And here is a video (that I had nothing to do with) that makes great use of the romantic, and vintage, quality that lens flare imparts.

When I found out I could take a blah, uninspired photo and add a fake-O lens flare in Photoshop I felt a little guilty, but I was excited.

Before - OK, but a bit blah

After - with fake-O flare.

Much better, right?
I'm still going to seek out legitimate lens flare, resist the urge to go faux, feel guilty when I fake it, and I always love the little LOMO's, but the fake stuff is pretty darn fun too. Sorry.

Flowers On A Friday - Blushing

2010-03-05T13:14:00Z

I'm Enchanted By This Video

2010-03-05T02:50:00Z

I'm enchanted by this stop motion video called Lost Things. Maybe it's her red hair, or my current obsession with sun flare (more on that later), I just don't know.

And this one makes me giggle uncontrollably.

Learning To Paint Again

2010-03-03T21:16:00Z

I'm working hard to figure out Photoshop. I recently had a major breakthrough and a whole world of possibilities opened up. It is such an amazing tool! It is capable of so much when placed in educated hands. I feel like I'm only just beginning to tap into the possibilities, but I'm having fun. It's like learning how to paint all over again, but this time I don't have paint all over myself.

Here are some the elements that were layered to create this piece.

I also played around with the colors, saturation, and a lot doodles that imported into the program. What do you think? I think it's kind of interesting to look at the pieces and see how they all came together.

Duck, Duck, Goose

2010-03-02T21:21:00Z

I stopped the other day to snap some pictures of a gaggle of geese, and a duck, or two. I have to say those geese had a very bad attitude!

Flowers On A Friday

2010-02-26T16:37:00Z

Junk Mail Remix

2010-02-25T23:19:00Z

I started a new painting today. I'm loving the idea of using junk mail to create color and texture on the canvas. Rather than starting with random strokes of paint, I collaged junk mail all over the surface. If you look carefully some of you might recognize some of these materials. Netflix flaps, my favorite security envelopes, and an outdated Urban Outfitters catalog pieced together to create a patchwork of random colors and patterns.

After that, I applied my plaster mix, allowing bits and pieces of the junk mail to show through.

Mendocino

2010-02-25T00:16:00Z

I've been working on some artwork featuring the sweet little town of Mendocino. I'm going to make some prints, magnets, cards, etc. with some of the new artwork. I'll show the products as they come hot off the presses. Here's a peek at the images.

So Proud

2010-02-23T18:50:00Z

My "baby girl" performed the other night at Frankie's in Mendocino. She did really well. I may be biased, but I think she is lovely when she performs (she'd get all embarrassed if she heard me saying that), she has a authentic and tender quality that is refreshing to watch. Yep, I'm proud!

Udon Noodle Soup

2010-02-22T15:18:00Z

This is the perfect throw-it-together-on-a-cold-day-comfort-food (Carol, I'm thinkin' about you girl!). Similar to, but so much better than, packaged ramen noodle soup. It only takes a few minutes to prepare and I'm convinced it will scare away any cold or flu thinking about coming your way.

Udon Noodle Soup

3 cups water
1 jumbo collard leaf, center stem removed and sliced into strips
1 bundle udon noodles
2 1/2 tsp "Better Than Bouillon - No Chicken Base" or any vegan bouillon to taste
1 tsp Chili Sauce (I like Sriracha), this amount will have a kick, adjust to your liking
2 tsp peanut butter - I know this sounds weird, but think spicy Thai food, it adds creaminess and richness

Bring the water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add the noodles and the collards, and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the noodles are tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix until everything has dissolved. Serve.

Tid bit time -The cost of cardiovascular disease, which is linked to a diet high in meat consumption, was $ 475.3 billion in 2009 as opposed to $96 billion in health care costs related to smoking during a four year period of time between 2000 and 2004. How much of that do you want to pay? Just a little something to think about.

For The Love Of Graffiti

2010-02-20T22:49:00Z

I have a serious thing for graffiti! I love it. I'm influenced by it. Inspired by it. I wish my art looked more like it. I like the grit and the rebellion. There are some very gifted folks out there doing some amazing work. I thought I might share some stuff that is currently inspiring me.
This trailer for the movie "Exit Through The Gift Store".

The blog Stencil History X gets me all worked-up. And I admire the work of 2:12.

I still love the street art that I found on my trip to Chicago.

Cat-O-Lympics Hiding Event Wrap-Up

2010-02-19T14:39:00Z

Well, today is the big wrap-up for the hiding event in the Cat-O-Lympics. The competition has been fierce! I had no idea so many kitties would want to compete against Miss Ness. You can see, or not see, all the competitors in action, by going to their blogs. There was Bootsy Woo , Manny and Derry doing a fine job of hiding in and under furniture. Milo showed expertise in hiding from Alfie. Owen went with the classic brown paper bag hide while Angel went with the red zippered variety. One cat hid in a cat house and Annie was nearly invisible in a cat tent. In a bold move, Pineapple, Cash & Flo offered no pictures, but boldly boasted about their skills. And who could forget Nessa's expert moves?
We would also like to give a shout out to Jim and Bob for the first rate commentating, it wouldn't have been the same with out their insight!
Well folks, I guess the time has come. We'd like to see all the cats out in the podium area for the medal presentation - what's that? None of them will come out, they're all hiding?! That figures! I guess instead of medals we will offer cat nip to try and coax them out.

What? Still hiding! Champions through and through! Maybe next year. Thanks so much to everyone that played along.

My Video

2010-02-18T21:07:00Z

Look at me, I'm painting. We were playing around, and created this little video as a test.