Leanne's Crazy Caesar Dressing

Not for the feint of heart nor for anyone who plans to be kissed after dinner

Leanne's crazy Caesar dressing serves 4-6
2 large egg yolks
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons of lime juice
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of chipotle mustard (dijon will do in a pickle)
2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce
1 palm full of really good parmesaen sp?cheese chopped. (don't scrimp on the cheese...it really does make a difference)
blend in processor or blender until garlic and cheese are smooth.

This is one of my husband's favorite things so I thought I would share with anyone who is a garlic lover like us.
It really is just a basic Caesar dressing with extra garlic and pepper. I also substitute lime juice instead of lemon for an extra punch. You can use lemon and it works just as well. And for those lucky people out there who have your own chickens this is a great recipe to use up some eggs.
ENJOY!

More from the Bird Queen

This is a platter that I have been making over and over trying to get the exact image that I want.
It is getting very close. After I figure out the image in clay then I think I will try the image in color and also as a lino print. This is the opening line for the Bird Queen story I have been writing. My sweet and talented niece Queen Crafty Girl
(you can't tell I am a proud Aunt can you?) has been writing her own story about the Bird Queen that is AMAZING...much better than mine I'm afraid.

The first line of the story if you can't see clearly, "Once when the sky grew black with feathers, the Bird Queen was born under the old crow tree."






















And here are some bird girls in their finery with feathers flying from their hair.




Robyn over at Art Propelled
did a blog post about crows that I thought was amazing and funny. Crows are a great inspiration for many artists and she highlights some beautiful and some creepy sculptures.

Pictures from the show

This pottery is made by LT Hoisington, A wonderful potter in Greensboro, NC. He went to UNC-G for his masters in art and now teaches at City Arts in Greensboro. If you can take a class by him he is an exceptional teacher. And it goes without saying his work is amazing.


























This next potter is Charlie Teft. He teaches ceramics at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. I don't know his background but he is also an amazing potter. I love his birds and rabbits and his soft subtle glazes.


















And here is my crazy booth. I need to find a way that it is not so jumbled looking.
I am working on my set up. Any suggestions are welcomed with appreciation.

I got tagged

by my most wonderful and talented niece Miss Queen Crafty Girl herself. Visit this amazing girl here Queen Crafty Girl. The plan is to tell 7 quirky and weird facts about yourself and to tag other bloggers to do the same.
Here goes.

1. I love and adore crows and all things to do and love about crows. I love them to obsession, to distraction and revel in the sight of them cawing in the trees.
2. Birds distract me in the middle of conversations.
3. Color can change my mood dramatically. Bright yellow-orange seems to be the color that makes my soul happy.
4. I dance with Ellen when no one can see me. (If you click this link you can see a great horned owl fly onto Ellen's head)
5. I read about 3 to 4 novels a week.
6. I am slowly slowly writing a novel...
7. My favorite body part is feet.

Okay now I tag
Undaunted an amazing painter and ceramicist
Blackburn Arts glass artist extraordinaire
reefbayview stain glass master
haphazard knitter master knitter and maker of all things socks

The Start of a New Painting

Mom and Dad came over to paint yesterday. They both had images that they wanted to paint but I was struggling with ideas. Then the bird girls popped in my head and this is what came out. It is just the start but I am inspired to keep going. Sometimes the paintings I start with Mom and Dad never get finished. I think this one is a keeper.

There is one thing bothering me. The dark sap green of the skirt. I think it may need to be lighter and maybe a different green altogether.

Brave and Proud Mama

Here is Miss Chickweed our youngest dog. Most mama's wouldn't let their dogs anywhere near their pots especially in the green state. But all though our dogs don't fetch or roll over, they are extremely careful with my work. We have never had an accident with my pots. Not once. (although, we did have an issue with a bigger piece that I bought from a friend.) That was the only time in our 8 years of having dogs. I am a proud mama (knocking on wood as I write).

October Craziness.

October Craziness....This whole month I have had back to back shows. Sometimes 2 shows in one weekend. This weekend I will be at the Pottery Festival at the Curb Market in Greensboro. The Pottery Festival is on Sunday the 19th and starts at 11:00 and ends at 5:00.
This is my one of my most favorite shows of the year because I get to see all the wonderful potters in our area. We are so lucky to live only an hour from Sea Grove...a pottery haven in the south known nationally and I imagine internationally as well . It houses the Owen pottery family as well as the Cole's and many, many, more famous potter families.
We also live about 3 hours from Asheville and Penland where art abounds. Many of these wonderful artists come to the pottery festival. Despite the fact that I spend way too much money, it is such a fun day for me.
I will take pictures of my favorite potters (if they will allow it) and post them here with my many purchases.
My fingers are itching to add to my collection.

Art Stock Studio Tour.

Every year the local artists in and around Greensboro, NC have a studio tour. This year is the 11th year we have all been pooling resources for advertising and opening up our studios to the public. I am so excited to be able to open my new studio this year for the first time. Will (wonderful wonderful husband) and Jon( friend and faithful handy man) have worked so hard to get the gallery space and working studio ready. It is beautiful and truly a blessing. As an artist, I am used to working wherever I can. I never imagined I would have a studio built with my specifications. And a such a beautiful studio at that. All I can say is I am a lucky lucky woman....
Come on out and help us celebrate the opening of Stealing Crow Farm's (we named our new house) art studio.
I will be joined by Lisa Skeen: potter extraordinaire, Diane Owens: the most fabulous jewelry designer from Cali, and Melissa Blackburn: glass fusing wonder.
Come help us christen the new space!

Stealing Crow Show at Urban Artware

This month I am the featured artist at Urban Artware in downtown Winston Salem. Because of the season I decided to do a crow show. I wanted it to be super creepy and dark, but as the show got closer, I simply ran out of time. The image I had for this show was sooooo different than what actually was created that I was very disappointed in myself for not working harder and letting the show creep up on me. I do have a calendar. It would be helpful if I would use it.

Besides not having the show meet my vision for it, I will say that I am proud of the work. I just wanted it to be more cohesive. I think I needed a couple more months for the work to come together. Individually, the pieces stand on their own...at least I hope they do.

Here are some of the pieces in the show.

This first piece is a crow head box. The front crow head is the handle for a drawer that slides out to reveal a crow inside.
































There are thirteen crow rattles hanging on the wall.

















And here is the bird King and his bird girls. Above them are lino cuts printed on paper and on clay. I have been working on clay lino cuts for awhile. They are hit and miss at times. But I think these turned out nice. I love laminating the paper prints because they don't have to be framed and that eases the cost for the customer.







And these last little fellows happen to be my favorites. They are little crow box rattles and I love holding them. Each contain a little secret that no one can see on the inside of the unopenable box.