Artist: Molly Trezise
Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MollyTrezise
Commentary: Molly Trezise
Molly’s style offers a modern take on Americana by combining hand-drawn images with graphic patterns, and a strong pop-art reference. Portraits are created by hand on glass using permanent ink and spray paint. Molly’s works are worth checking out. They are a great example of modern iconoclasm. Her work is detail oriented, rich in color and depth. All of her works remain true to her style and would sit well paired together.
Artist: One Love Art
Website:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/OneLoveArt/227724555551
Check out my new blog:
http://one-love-art.blogspot.com/
I love Nan’s work. Pure inspiration, mood, randomness with a balance. The piece above is examplary of his style. This is the closest to Jackson Polluck that I have seen without diverging into chaos. The prices on etsy are reasonable. The works would suit an open space extremely well. I can also fully agree with the one love mantra.
Two weeks before the Christmas holidays of 2009 I set out to create non traditional mead. While the concoction I brewed is not technically considered mead (it’s actually an agave pulgue) its flavor profile and composition are so similar that I like to consider it within the same category. The difference of course being that I used unrefined blue agave nectar as my base sugar as opposed to a traditional honey base. Once this base completely fermented using standard bread yeast, I added 2 lbs of honey, 10 lbs of wild dark plums in sugar base and an additional dose of fresh yeast. Secondary fermentation continued for two months with a resulting alcohol ABV of around 9%. The addition of the plums really changed the flavor profile of this drink. The agave nectar on its own produced a slightly bready but very smooth and subtle beverage. This beverage was much less harsh at 1 month than meads tend to be. The plums significantly acidified the drink so in order to balance out the tart profile I added .75lbs of un-fermentable sugars. The resulting beverage at 4 months is pale to pinkish in color, sweet but not cloying, and sips like a tart Belgian lambic without the funk. It is defiantly a sipper, not a session brew. The vanilla stick is unnoticeable if present. The lighter alcohol compared to mead will make this a pleasant evening drink during the warmer summer months should it last that long in the keg. It serves best cold.
If I was going to brew this recipe again, I would avoid the plums altogether and add a dose or two more of honey, in order to raise the abv. I would let this ferment to dryness and serve as a champagne. I’m coming to learn that my personal preference is on the dryer side.
Grain Bill
Plum Wine Agave Base
- 9lb dark agave syrup
- 2 lb dark honey
- 5 cans of plums in heavy syrup and 1 large package of prunes (Around 1-2 lbs dextrose sugar syrup)
- .5 gallons pale ale base (1lb grain)
- Standard bread yeast – primary fermentation
- Champaign yeast – secondary
- .75 lb lactose sugar
- ½ stick of vanilla bean for aroma
Artist: Michelle Daisley Moffitt
Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MDaisleyMoffitt
Commentary: Michelle Daisley Moffit works in vibrant patches of unadulterated color. Her works are cacophonous collaborations of brush/knife strokes, impasto techniques, and texture. Primary and Secondary colors dance from the canvas in unadulterated joy. Repetitive forms interact upon the canvas – moving from top to bottom or side to side. These shapes are often familiar and easily recognizable, consisting of circles, squares, hearts, etc. Michelle’s works are bright and vibrant. They would well accent a kitchen or other well lit living space.
Artist: Sam the Dot Man
Website: http://npaper-wehaa.com/yes-weekly/2009/12/01/#?article=671157
Commentary: Sam McMillan the 83 year old painter Winston Salem native is a beacon of light for those of us who hope to remain artistically inspired during our golden years. His works inspire scores of children and adults yearly. To put it simply, the Sam is retired, driven, full of artistic vision and driven. He speaks with a wisdom which only comes through experience “If I go tonight, I’ve lived a life that most people don’t live it because I love everybody in the world, everybody. If you do that, somebody’s going to love you.” Sam’s love can be seen in his work, each piece an object of passion, an object of resplendent childhood impulse, a collection of dots linked through color, and repetitive automation. As an artist working in a folk medium, Sam has carved out a niche for his work. The vibrant dots blend well with the American southern cultural landscape. If you are lucky enough to have purchased or been given one of Sam’s works, the highly lacquered aspect will allow them to last for generations.
Artist: Corry at Silver City Iron
Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilverCityIron
Commentary: Once in awhile it is worth noting an artist who works in forms other than paint and canvas. Corry is one of those artists. I have been following his work for the last few months, and slowly watched the rise in his product line. Corry builds beautiful hand forged furniture and sculpture using traditional blacksmithing techniques. I am particularly fond of his joinery skills and the apparent craftsmanship of each piece. The wine barrel side table he made reminds me of a similar piece that I finished myself a few years back. His work however is better. The works function as both artistic centerpieces and functional sculpture. If you are in the mood for some modern day furniture with an eclectic appeal than his works are worth viewing.
Artist: N. Lambert
Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AtelierLambert
Commentary: N. Lambert is a life-long fine artist, former graphic designer, and an art educator at the middle school level. N. Lambert works primarily with bees wax and acrylic pigments. The works are tactile in nature, often comprised of a three dimensional element. Box and circle shapes are prevalent in the abstract works. Pieces created exhibit a refined primitive element similar to new age modern South American art. The works evoke a sense of grown up artistic play, doodling with form and color as opposed to pen and paper. On the creativity scale, these works are original. They would look well, paired or set up in a display for comparison in a calm inviting room. N. Lambert’s works demand attention and would simply look too cluttered in a space where they visually had to compete.
Paintings created during the first few months of 2010. Lindsey created the smaller aced etched metal tree scene. I created the larger 4 by 2 foot works using oil, concrete, enamel and found objects. Not sure if these are fully done yet, however they are close.
Artist: Stuart Pearson Wright
Website: http://stuartpearsonwright.com
Commentary: Stuart Pearson Wright paints with the hand of a man who knows his abilities and has honed them into a cohesive and compelling vision. Unlike runners, painters must find their own path to success. Success for a painter is not as easy as being the fastest man on the field. Stuart has managed to find success, despite the less than obvious path to it. His work possesses the qualities of seduction, nudity, death, and decay. The color choices are often muted with an aged appearance. Graphic elements are highlighted through darker hues contained within the paintings. Women engaged in various actions are often his primary subject matter. Each work appears to have the qualities of a classic created before its time.
Artist: Cheryl Molner
Website:http://www.cherylmolnar.com/
Commentary: I found Cheryl’s work through www.artistaday.com which is an excellent resource which profiles emerging and talented artist. There was an art movement in the 70’s and 80’s in California where artist painted in a realistic yet boxy style. Images and subject matter often included perfectly manicured lawns and American dream homes. Cheryl’s work reminds me of that movement. Her subjects are collections of homes inclusive of their lawns and formal facades. She uses muted lighter tones often working in springtime colors balanced by earth hues. She works in various media forms from collaged paper, to oil, to painting atop building blueprints. Her work is intriguing and in series would allow for amble comparison. Her website and work history are worth a view.
The Art of Fermented Beverage. I brewed this one at the start of February 2010. The recipe is my own although it plays on traditional themes.
Belgian Double Hopped Shaggy Blond Ale
Batch Size: 5 Gallons
Grain Bill:
- 8 lbs 2 Row Pale American Malt
- .5 lbs Carapils – Dextrin Malt
- .5 lbs 70l Caramel Malt
- .25 lbs Rolled Oats
- 1 lb Dark Mountain Honey
Hop Schedule:
- 1 oz Summit hops @ 75 Min (Start of Boil)
- .5 oz Summit hops @ 60 min
- .5 oz Summit hops @ 30 min
- 1 oz UK Progress @ 30 min
- 1 oz UK Progress @ 5 min
Additives
- .5 oz sweet orange peel @ 10 min flame out
- 1 oz coriander @ 10 min flame out
- Super Moss @ 10 min to flame out
Specs:
- O.G. 1.056 – 16 Plato
- Single Grain mash at 150-154 degrees for 1 hour for sugar conversion. Raised temperature to 158 for sparge out.
- SA04 Dry Ale Yeast – alcohol tolerant to 10%. Good Flocculation and Sedimentation. Medium Attenuation.
- Fermented at 65 degrees on primary for 5 days and secondary at 50 degrees for two weeks.
- F.G. 1.010
Tasting Notes
This brew will please the palettes of many beer connoisseurs. It is brewed with traditional Belgian spices (sweet orange peel and coriander), using American dry ale yeast and malts, with a bit of honey for higher alcohol and lighter mouth feel. A small percentage of rolled oats have been added to the recipe to aid in head formation. A generous amount of hops have been applied to bitter the beer in order to balance the malt and to add a floral aroma to the nose. Dextrin malt has been added to increase the body to handle the added hops, and a small amount of caramel malt has been added to darken the color a tad in order to reflect the heftier body and alcoholic weight of this ale. The alcohol content weighs in at an estimated 6.5%. While present, it is not overpowering and the beverage drinks easily. Fruity aroma’s from the UK Progress Hops, Coriander and Honey dominate the nose. The finish is dominated by the bittering affect of the summit hops. The beer is dry, with a spicy yet refreshing depth. It has a consistency and mouth feel similar to a ginger ale, yet with much greater depth and complexity. The immediate finish is dominated by orange and citrus flavors.
This brew is a hybrid between a traditional American IPA and a Light Belgian Double Blonde Ale. The pairing suits both styles well. The brew has the body of a Belgian beer with all of the associated complexities, yet manages to have the dry finish of a highly attenuated IPA. The combination is a surprisingly good balance between hoppy, malty and Belgian flavor profiles.
Served under low carbonation the brew drinks similar to an English ESB perhaps due to the UK Progress Aroma Hops and Dry Ale Yeast which produces slight fruity esters. Under low carbonation the head remains small and lacy on the glass. Under high carbonation, the brew drinks closer to a Belgian double with a full 1 inch thick head of white foam originating from the underlying oats and dextrin malts.
If produced again, I would only potentially change the hop profile. A bittering hop and floral aromatic fruity hop should be used. The addition of a cascade hop or centennial hop during a dry hopping phase could potentially add additional citrus notes on the nose which may add additional complexity. The citrus flavor in the brew today becomes present on the finish.
This beer would be best served as a late summer or early springtime beer. There is not enough color or malt backbone to serve as a fall or winter beer. It would pair well with most foods, especially spicy foods and aged sharp cheeses.
Artist: Jill Moser
Website: http://www.jillmoser.net/
Commentary: Jill Moser’s work is reminiscent of silent statues gazing out at a changing world. Her works are created using monotone or black/white color palates which capture the solemnity of the works. Jill works on paper and canvas, creating her forms through silkscreen, printing and painting techniques. In the center of white negative space, slightly skewed to one side forms emerge. These forms often appear pre -complete in that the viewer is compelled to determine their final shape. The pieces are left abstract. Circles or lines jump from one side of the page to the other connecting and intertwining the forms. Jill’s work is austere, solemn and profound. One can view the pieces and uncover the beauty of winter. I would like to own one of her prints. I would place it in a calm room, a room for thought, a room for making decisions. 
