This Saturday night: Farm to Fork (to Fabulous!)

Opening reception Saturday, March 16, 7-10pm.

Showing with my friend and fellow artist Alicia Rheal in our From Farm to Fork (to Fabulous!) exhibit. The opening reception is a gala celebration and benefit for the Walls of Wittenberg. More info, and the poster, below. Highlight? Why Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats of course.

This is going to be a really fun (and delicious) opening reception! (Click on poster to enlarge) And, if you drive up early, you can visit Nueske’s Company Store in Wittenberg (Sat. hours: 8-4).

The WowSpace is located at 114 Vinal St – Wittenberg, WI. Easy to find…Just look for the 8ft hanging hog carcasses and the giant pull-toy pig (cuts) in the front windows along the main street of downtown Wittenberg!

And here’s more info about the Walls of Wittenberg ongoing mural project.

One section of the wall installed for now….

Installing…. That’s an 18ft long Hampshire stud boar on right (the model, Pioneer is owned by Monson Show Pigs in Richland Center). And that’s an 8ft pull-toy pig in front window.

Sausage making!

This is turning into an annual event…. Making sausages with Bryan (and Alicia). This year we made 3 kinds: a Longuiza one, a southwestern (hot) one, and a mild apple/herb one.

Made them this past weekend so that they could “rest” and the flavors meld (in the fridge, and now in freezer) for a “Handmade” gathering this upcoming weekend. This pork is from last year’s (2011) hogs.

Here’s the hot one:

Porkert brand sausage maker

 

This year’s hogs are still in the pasture. Butcher date coming up in September

Why the sad face? Because this year’s pigs-now-hogs are super-cute and friendly–always talking and happy to see you (and your food gifts)….

But, I guess that means happy meat too.

We used Bryan’s Porkert sausage maker, from the Czech Republic (here’s a link to what looks like the all-metal version). I want one!

The Tunnel of Mortality

The Tunnel of Mortality, a life-size tunnel-book installation at Artisan Gallery, has been extended to September 9th, 2012! The next reception is Friday, July 27, 2012, 5-9pm at Artisan Gallery.

Here’s some shots (click any image to enlarge):

“Come in.” said the spider to the fly….

Once you step in the door, you are in a floor-to-ceiling, darkly wallpapered, little anteroom, about 8ft x 8ft.

Back wall and right corner of anteroom

Chairs are upholstered in the same, matching, printed fabric as the walls.

The richly detailed wallpaper is actually a 10in x 10in linocut pattern printed black onto burgundy duckcloth. About 480 times. If you look closely at one of the “tiles” you will see the underlying theme of the show:

If you look behind you to your right, the outside light looks blinding compared to the dramatic low lighting surrounding you.

Taxidermy chicken NOT for sale.

As you step through the door, into the anteroom, The Tunnel of Mortality is that big framed piece on the right-hand wall. It looks like any other of the framed woodcuts, except as you walk towards or by it, it changes (since it’s a 3-dimensional space, not a flat piece). If you’re not paying attention though, it doesn’t “read” as an interior space, but rather a mirror…or something. A number of visitors were looking behind and above them to figure out where the projector was. Most think it’s a mirror, but can’t figure out how come they don’t see their reflection.

Matching tablecloth and upholstery! This is really the only time I’ve gotten into “interior decorating” (in our real house, nothing matches. I mean, who has time when it takes this long to make pretend rooms?).

Walk into the center of the room, turn to your right, and there’s the tunnel.

The Tunnel of Mortality, framed.

I’m not going to try to explain how this looks in real life, since you really have to go experience it to get it. Suffice it to say, that it’s confusing at first since you can’t quite tell what you’re looking at. Some have said it feels like a mirror.

And here’s a cropped panorama of the center section:

All woodcut or linocut prints on fabric or Tyvek.

Reception is this Friday, 5-9pm at Artisan Gallery (directions).
And the show is up through September 9th.

So, come check it out!
Experience the tunnel!
Sign the camouflaged guestbook!
Read some of the entries in the guestbook here.

More linos…

Listening to rebroadcast of the Cluck: From Jungle Fowl to City Chicks interview on Larry Meiller’s show (archives) that Susan Troller and I did earlier in the year, meanwhile drawing carcass for segment of Tunnel of Mortality that is upcoming solo show in June atArtisan Gallery.

Oh yeah, and my first reduction tees! (hint to you tee printing folks: if the lino is cut out in a shape, you can just line up color #2 by matching the outside contours of the block shape to the outside edges of the print shape) Just did 2 prototypes (pink thermal shown) to see if it would work…. It did!

Plucked lino measures about 30in. high. “Wallpaper” in background is lino on canvas duck cloth about 8ft wide, pigs are reductions on drill cloth, included in panels for ‘Tunnel’ installation

Defrosting a frozen turkey

I get asked every year about how long to defrost a turkey. Not because I’m a noted cook, but because I raise turkeys for meat (so, I’m not an expert). When it’s a food safety issue, the first place I look is the USDA. So, here’s the answer straight from the USDA–you should find everything you’re looking for (and more) at this link:

USDA Seasonal Food Safety (Countdown to Thanksgiving…)

I’ve copied/pasted some of the basics from that above link here:

Most importantly for those of you who don’t cook much:
Never defrost your turkey at room temperature.

NOTE: I’ve often defrosted with both the refrigerator and the “cold water” method (at the end of defrosting period) for those monstrously huge turkeys. Anyway, here’s the basics (from the USDA):

IN THE REFRIGERATOR
Place frozen bird in original wrapper in the refrigerator (40 °F or below). Allow approximately 24 hours per 4 to 5 pounds of turkey. A thawed turkey can remain in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Thawing Time in the Refrigerator
Size of Turkey: Number of Days
4 to 12 pounds: 1 to 3 days
12 to 16 pounds: 3 to 4 days
16 to 20 pounds: 4 to 5 days
20 to 24 pounds: 5 to 6 days

IN COLD WATER
If you forget to thaw the turkey or don’t have room in the refrigerator for thawing, don’t panic. You can submerge the turkey in cold water and change the water every 30 minutes. Allow about 30 minutes defrosting time per pound of turkey. The following times are suggested for thawing turkey in water. Cook immediately after thawing.
Thawing Time in Cold Water
Size of Turkey: Hours to Defrost
4 to 12 poundS: 2 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds: 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds: 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds: 10 to 12 hours

—————————————-
Read more:USDA Seasonal Food Safety (Countdown to Thanksgiving…)
—————————————-

Hope this helps Mom!

And now they are meat…

Took in the last of the season’s harvest this morn (turkeys and broiler chickens). This year (as in years past) we drove them to Twin Cities Pack in Clinton, WI (near Janesville). We left about 4:30am and got there at 6am. I pick the (frozen) birds up tomorrow! I did save behind 3 of these “super chicks” from the batch of broilers. They are from a shipment of chicks that were sent in June and arrived with many dead. Amid the sad bunch of dead babies were these 3 super chicks that acted like nothing was wrong–peeping loudly demanding water and food. I figure after that, they are meant for something else–maybe they’ll be good breeding stock for more meat birds?

Carcasses from 'The Meat Locker' (click to enlarge)

At any rate, they earned it. Let’s hope they are fertile and can lay some eggs. If not, oh well, they are a good addition to the bunch–calm, big, personable girls. And they’re not pecky. Instead, if they don’t want somebody near, they stand up tall, poof out their chest and neck feathers making themselves huge, and the wee little pesky polish (crested) turn tail and run.

Also picking up meat–pork– from Avon Locker Plant over in Darlington, tomorrow. I love this place–best meat processor around (and yes, we tried the others nearby). Incidentally, these are the guys that let me take photos of my hogs when they (as carcasses) were hanging in the freezer. And from which I made some 8ft woodcut of the carcasses. And who (the woodcut carcasses) then made it into a NYC show! Still can’t believe it. Awesome hogs (from feeder pigs I bought from Monson Show Pigs). Awesome carcasses courtesy of Avon Locker Plant.

NYC!!!

What an amazing place! I’ve never been before. When I found out my woodcut carcasses got into IPCNY’s New Prints/Autumn 2011 exhibit (see Press Release), decided it would be a great opportunity to see this city, take a leather bookbinding class at The Center for Book Arts, go to the opening to see my installation, and try to see as much of the city (Manhattan) as possible. It wouldn’t have been possible without my friend Alicia enthusiastically agreeing to be my guide and help teach me how to get around the city. She found a room in an apt. on the lower east side, and every morning we head out walking and taking the subway to my class in Chelsea. Then, while I take the class, she heads out to see her list of things to do. At 3 Alicia picks me up and off we go to see the city. Mostly on foot, but subway too, especially by nighttime…

So here’s a visual diary of Day 1 in the Big Apple (click any photo to enlarge somewhat):

Day 1, Nov. 1, 2011:
We leave our apartment around 7:30am, and walk down the street…

Our apartment on Grand Street, above the Restaurant: El Castillo de Jagua

…to The Doughnut Plant!

Just down the street from our apartment. How convenient for breakfast!

Amazing flavors!

Drooling yet?

Just a normal square donut, right?

Wrong! It's jelly-filled all the way around!!

Going to class (uptown) from our apartment on the Lower East Side

Near my class in Midtown/Chelsea: Flatiron

The Empire State Building from Chelsea

Washington Square Park

Some of the great personalities we watched at this great dog park near Washington Square.

This guy was huge! And very gentle--and patient with the not-so-mild-mannered little crazy dogs...

Brownstones near Greenwich Village

West Village storefront

We couldn't figure out how those cars got up in that "parking ramp." Nice signs too, huh?

Pretty awesome-looking cookies, huh? Amazingly we didn't stop

The Evolution Store in Soho. Most awesome store....ever.

Stuffed peacocks??!!? And so much more....skulls, many taxidermied animals (including rats). Check them out. They're online at The Evolution Store

...and man-eating piranhas...

...and of course, freeze-dried rats!!!

My favorite part of Chinatown are the storefront or outdoor markets. Here’s some pics:

Nightime fruit stands....

I love that ducks and chickens are sold/displayed wtth heads still on. You know what your's eating here..

More from the meat market

And we ended the night at Katz’s Deli (in the ‘When Harry Met Sally’ movie). Great visuals and the best reuben ever….

The famous Katz's Deli

Did you know you can have one of Katz's salamis shipped directly to you? Check out their website (katzsdelicatessen.com/)

Like I said, the BEST REUBEN EVER.

The carcasses are going to NYC!!

The email said:
IPCNY is thrilled to notify you that Carcasses from “The Meat Locker” has been selected for New Prints 2011/Autumn, our 40th New Prints show. Congratulations! I am attaching an image to confirm the selection….

8ft long carcasses from 'The Meat Locker' an installation featured in May, 2011 MFA show: 'Pattern to Processing.' Woodcuts on masa, adhered to painted styrofoam insulation panels.

I can’t believe it. I never thought I would make the cut…. The message on their website earlier apologized for the delay in notifications because they’d received over 2,500 submissions(!)–the deadline for sending submissions was August 1, and we still hadn’t heard any results by the end of the month. Total bummer with those odds–I figured there was no way, since typically less than 50 artists are accepted for the show.

Just about went crazy when I found out. Of course the timing was perfect. Rules were that the work submitted had to have been created within 1 year of submission date. Just so happens, my MFA show (and the 8ft carcasses) were finished in May, 2011, so they fit easily within the time limits. And typically, I wouldn’t have been carving/printing 8ft carcasses for a non-MFA gallery show at (Artisan Gallery), since they’re not really commercially viable.** But for New York, for IPCNY’s “new prints” they were perfect. Here’s their mission statement for the New Prints Program:

NEW PRINTS PROGRAM
International Print Center New York’s New Prints Program was created to bring artists’ prints of the highest quality from the widest possible range of sources to the attention of the viewing public. By establishing this unique and ongoing forum for exhibiting prints by artists at all stages of their careers, IPCNY continues its work to enlarge audiences for the visual arts.

Now, I need to figure out how to crate up these four 8ft carcasses. Getting advice thankfully from some curators and carpenters….

**Ironically though, I just might be showing something related at Artisan next June, 2012, in the form of a life-size tunnel book. Stay tuned!

New broiler tees!

Available (for the first time) at tomorrow’s chicken talk at DCHS (see next post below).

(Click to enlarge)

woodcut-printed tees, tanks and v-necks available at DCHS this Saturday, August 6!

Badass Broiler woodcut done

Drying as we speak (or “curing” since this is oil-based ink which is already dry to the touch….), this 4 color reduction woodcut is printed on handmade paper I made in June. It’s 100% cotton, pigmented rag paper (with added sparklies). Closeup at bottom shows the gold sparkling through…..

Your Days are Numbered Cornish Cock!

'Your Days are Numbered Cornish Cock!' * 22in x 16in * 4 color reduction woodcut on handmade paper (click to enlarge)

This is a Cornish cock or Broiler or Cornish Cross. The breed is raised for meat.

The print was made for a folio exchange entitled “Your Days Are Numbered.” (how perfect is that for my seasonal practice of raising animals for meat??!!? Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity). Actually, for the folio they are cropped down to 10in wide, which makes the rooster seem even bigger still (unable to fit into the scene’s dimensions). 22 of the 49 prints were sent off to the folio, and the other 27 I will have available to sell as is (16in x 22in).

Typically, growers butcher these guys at about 8 weeks old. I like ‘em mature, so I let them grow till they’re ginormous and each one dresses out at about 12 lbs. or so. This way, one chicken can be made into various dishes, and frozen, to feed us for over one week.

click to enlarge

And here’s the final closeup of the Avocado Gold paper that I love. See how it sparkles and how the black ink looks exactly like what it comes from: petroleum distillates….

Oh, and when looking up to see how to spell badass, I came across these awesome definitions of the word at the Urban Dictionary.