breakfastlunchtea

There's a good working routine going here. Hard at it all morning, then rewarded with lunch. A proper pause, outside, discussing the mornings activities - and the plan for the afternoon. I do not take lunch seriously enough when I'm back at home…

[And I had a go at making cinnamon rolls (korvapuustit). They were an absolute disaster - not at all like the ones in Café Antique down the road but they looked good. And anyway I thoroughly enjoyed making them - they make excellent cinnamon toast. I will attempt again in England when I have some scales to hand…]

jewels of the forest

Free suppers!
We just don't get to do this as much in England, do we?
I am now quite obsessed…

harvest jamboree

In a previous post I showed all the old Ladybird books depicting images of farmers and crops and cattle. We're currently thinking that it'd be really lovely to celebrate all things autumnal and harvest-like and have a sort of harvest festival-come-harvest-moon celebratory meal.

The harvest moon is next Monday and my big, bombastic efforts aren't terribly likely to materialise for that, but I'm hoping that some way through October - or maybe November - we'll put on a big feast for some of our friends. This is all very steeped in that Victorian tradition of creating elaborately themed dinners, in which guests would partake through fancy-dress.

In preparation for this I've been buying old plates on which I hope to draw with my porcelain pens. All themed, of course. There appears to be a blue/gold/off-white link emerging in the plate choices. And I like that it'll all be a bit mismatched.

Now I just need to get drawing…

season's yield

I remember harvest festivals being a big thing when I was at school: collecting food in assembly to send to 'the poor children in Africa'. At about the same time I was probably looking at books something like this, and although I wasn't much inspired by the contents then, I find something about them rather lovely these days. It's probably nostalgia.

We were thinking that it'd be lovely to revisit this harvest tradition and have a feast with friends to celebrate Michaelmas and the harvest moon. There are some lovely old rituals associated with these historically important days in the calender that I thought could inspire some interesting drawings that I could use in some way for the feast. 

More soon.

banana chips

A parcel from an old student, Huda Abdul Aziz, arrived the other day... Thank you!

ronnie's

maintain life and growth

This summer seems to have been more about travel, food, sharing and friends, than about art. Not a bad thing and I've been blessed with some corking breakfasts, lunches, teas and suppers. Here are a handful.