people who were integral in making the mural happen. thank you.
front north wall. that little fella flyin around with the jet pack is my astrObOt tribute to neil armstrong who has made a few appearances around armstrong hall of engineering at purdue. there's a QR code on the top television that leads you to the 'making of' video.
front south wall. initially this wall was a mess. but now i think it may be my favorite.
back north wall. the gold robot in the construction helmet is troweling in the concrete as a tribute to the folks that build this badass canvas. the QR code is on the end of the board that the green robot holds.
back south wall. i'm so glad i got good enough weather to be able to paint in the pipes. they are such a fun part of these walls.
mindy and i went to greenville, ohio today to install my new show at the gallery at historic bear's mill. what a cool place. we had an easy and enjoyable drive there, chatting and bullshitting about i can't remember what. we stopped and ate lunch in an empty steak 'n shake at 10:30 in the morning, which is always an interesting stopover.
when we arrived at bear's mill julie greeted us and showed us around the space a bit. we began unpacking and talking through a layout. mindy always helps me when i do things like this. she has a great eye and usually keeps me from making mistakes. it was a fun install this time (they are not all fun). the mill had christmas music playing all day which mindy knows i only secretly enjoy (until i can't take anymore [but it's only the end of november, so ok]). what started out daunting kind of began to build itself as we began putting things on the wall. it's a great work for this space. the old blended with the new. the spray paint in the ancient (but still working) mill. the work and the space complement each other so well. i'm very happy with the finished result. there is so much to discover in it and in the warm glow of the wooden mill, it's easy to spend time doing so.
after we finished our install, we explored the mill a bit. again, what a cool place. we wandered upstairs where all the mill machinery is. all the huge gears and old leather belts. it was a steampunk paradise.
after playing around a bit, we walked outside and down a straw-covered trail. the river and the dam and the flood lock house and the brisk air and the setting sun and leafless trees. awesome.
we drove back and stopped in indy for dinner at some shitty overpriced italian place in irvington. but we had a fun day and the show looks good. the opening is on friday at 6pm. i'll be giving a short lecture about the installation at 7pm. if you live around the area, please come to the show. stop in greenville for a world famous Maid-Rite and come check out how we've transformed the space in bear's mill.
Only if you ate with your eyes might parsnip fries taste like real potato-y french fries. Parsnips are more like carrots, they have the same sweet taste. You'll either love them, or hate them. I don't think it's possible to be indifferent towards parsnips! If you are looking to switch things up a little, this is an interesting lower carb recipe to try!
Ingredients
1lb of parsnips, peeled and cut into thin sticks (like french fries).*
olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
Toss parsnips in a large bowl, coat with olive oil (about 1 tbsp) and spices.
Arrange parsnips in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15 minutes, turn them, and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes.
When the parsnip fries look crispy and slightly browned, remove and enjoy!
* we like them thinner so they crisp better in the oven.
It snowed last night! Just a light dusting, but snow nonetheless ...
This is my favorite time of the year. It's nice to know that after the long, oppressive summer, there can be a beautiful, icy reprieve! What a breath of fresh air!
No, no. I didn't eat a polar bear. Neither did I go to the zoo. I don't like zoos anymore. It just seems cruel to have beautiful, exotic animals removed from their natural habitats and living in captivity. But having said that, it is still a Saturday afternoon treat for me to see these polar bears at the San Francisco zoo enjoying 10 tons of fresh snow on their birthday. Pike, 30, and Ulu, 32, are twice the age of most polar bears! They look so happy it breaks my heart that they can't have snow everyday.
I mixed up a batch of traditional chicken gyoza filling and a fancier Thanksgiving turkey version, packed up some snacks and DVDs, and hauled everything in a huge box to my friend, Corrinne's. We distracted her kids with food and cartoons while we spent the afternoon wrapping gyoza after gyoza. Time flies when you're chatting and having fun. We wrapped 100 gyozas without so much as breaking a sweat. The recipes weren't perfect -- they weren't salty enough. But hey, as far as imperfections go, I think this is an easy fix. In fact, I thought the gyozas tasted just fine with dipping sauce. But in case you aren't a fan of dipping sauce, I tweaked the recipes a little to give them slightly more oomph.
So here's the improved recipes of the gyozas we made ...
Traditional Chicken Gyoza Ingredients
1lb ground chicken
1 can (8oz) diced water chestnuts
1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked overnight), diced into tiny pieces
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 cups of shredded napa cabbage
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine; optional)
1/2 tsp sugar
store-bought gyoza wrapper Fancy Thanksgiving Turkey Gyoza Ingredients
1lb ground turkey
1 apple, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup of dried cranberries, chopped into smaller pieces (optional)
2 cups of shredded napa cabbage
1 cup diced cremini mushrooms
1/3 cup sage walnut pesto (recipe here)
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
store-bought gyoza wrapper
Directions
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
Scoop about 1 tbsp of filling and place in the center of a gyoza wrapper.
Fold, press and pleat the tops together into a crescent shape.
To cook:
Brown gyozas in a skillet over medium heat (add a teaspoon of grapeseed oil to prevent sticking), about 2 minutes each side.
Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water (beware of steam). Cover immediately and simmer until most of the water evaporates.
Remove lid and fry for another 1-2 minutes until the bottoms are brown and crispy.
Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice (I used this recipe).
For a great vegetarian version, check out this recipe by our friends at ArtDuh.com.
beautiful weather brought mindy and i back out to the wall to fill in more background details. these things seem a bit pointless, but in the end, the ignorable details are what tie everything together. i finished out the rest of the front north wall with some astrObOts (my tribute to neil armstrong) and more pipes and gears. it is looking pretty filled up at this point and i think this wall is finished. just needs the ugly scribbles on the tv fixed.
i got started on the details on the front south wall today also. i placed two pulley stencils near the top of the wall. then ran a length of chain stencil to different robots pulling on it. i also touched up some of the shading that i hadn't filled in yet. and added a couple versions of the little robot i used in walton to help ground the wall-e and R2-D2 in the corner.
perhaps another day or two and i'll have everything finished out.
We took some time out of our busy schedules yesterday to sneak a little more details into the front north pylon. Here are some visual clues to what we added ...
Now can you spot the differences between yesterday's photo ...
