Saturday, March 16, 2013

Spring Me



Spring comes early here. All the rest of the country is freezing cold and dark. We are planting and planning. The wonderhub built a bunch of new raised beds and cleaned and replanted all the pots.



 My adorable mother-in-law bought us a flat of heirloom tomatoes and basil at Roger's Gardens. They had a special event called Tomatomania, which is the perfect name for a place that sells two hundred varieties of tomatoes. They had everything from romas to beefsteaks, tiny yellow cherries and pink blushes, black zebras and Amish varietals. Now, I'm dreaming of summer pizzas and tomato salsas.



So now are 'maters are in pots up to their necks in good soil, with three aspirin at the roots in full sun. They've doubled in size in the last week.


  
 We had some beautiful guests over last night. Joel and Tori McKinney and their daughter Abby. They are artists that live on the Banks of Plum Creek, in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. http://www.blackhawk-studios.com/

We noshed on cheese and baguettes, drank beer and tea and talked about art. We talked about making art, learning art, art in the schools, selling art,  teaching art. Joel and Tori lead summer workshops in bronze casting, ceramic tile murals and fiber arts. How cool is that?


 Tori is an amazing weaver and fiber sculptor. She told me about a spraying diluted bleach on stencils tie-dye technique for dark fabric that I have to try.

 Big Joel and Little Joel. We named our kid after this guy.


 Joel 2.0 and Abby hit it off great. Abby draws Manga and they were off talking their own language.

One of the things that we talked about was how little art education kids get in schools. Big Joel talked about taking middle school kids to an Artist Co-Op and having them pick several artists and write about what they liked and didn't like didn't like about their work.

Art teaches critical thinking, decision making, planning, hand eye coordination. Making art tethers you to the real world and lets you think past it. Making art is a gift that we should give our children.

What are you making this week?

Marilyn.




--

 "Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, color,
 sounds, and work that nourishes you." ~ SARK












6 comments:

  1. OK, I haven't heard of aspirin at the root of tomatoes. Spill, please. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. My awesome Mother-in-law is a Master Gardener and she told us to do it.

    Here's an article....

    http://www.plantea.com/plant-aspirin.htm

    The other tip was to strip off the bottom leaves and plant the seedlings half way down. The little hairs on the stalk are actually roots.

    Tip three is to pinch off any flowers for the first two weeks.

    Bring on the salsa! Marilyn.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great tips! Thanks! Do be careful of the bleach spraying. You can do yourself a mischief if you breath it in! Wear some kind of mask while you do it and do it outside. I'm sure you'll post the results if you try it! Good Luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah, hello. Outside for sure. And I'll post picts too.

      Delete
  4. I'm inspired by your lovely toys and artwork. You are right about art in education...good point. I needed a prod in the right direction with that as I homeschool...and I'm definitely feeling like I'd like to do more art with my kids. Thanks for your newsletters :)
    Happy Easter Marilyn,
    love from Carla

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Carla! More art = yes!

      Happy Easter to you too.

      Hugs, Marilyn.

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.