daffodil repotting

photograph by rinne allen

tin railroad building

another old building in madison, georgia. this one is an old train station. don't know which I like better, old weathered wood or old weathered tin!

words and photographs by rebecca wood

crepe myrtle

photo by kristen bach

studio visit: cameron garrard of eloquin

our friend and neighbor cameron garrard works out of a backyard studio behind her house near downtown athens. cameron studied jewelry & metalwork at UGA and has since made jewelry and other things by commission out of this studio space. i love the diffuse light over her main work table and all of the textures and edges around...

to see more, visit www.eloquin.com

words & photographs by rinne allen

vines in greenhouse

photograph by rinne allen

more hellebores, with gilt leaves

photographs by rinne allen

insect hotel

photo by kristen bach

lemon cardamon cream pie

everybody loves a cream pie right? we had family visiting from boston the other day so i whipped up a southern cream pie with some florida lemons.  

it's an easy one to make and eat!

-pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees to pre bake your crust.  you can make your own or use a store bought one, hopefully your crust will look prettier than mine!  When your 9 inch crust is ready to bake, bake for about 9-11 minutes or until the crust begins to brown.  if your crust bubbles while baking, poke with a fork to let the air out.  

-to make the custard use a medium sized sauce pan.  add 1/4 cup corn starch, 3/4 cup unrefined sugar, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp cardamon.... and stir until combined.  

-in a small bowl beat 3 egg yolks and 2 1/2 cup whole milk, and the zest from 3 lemons. when mixed pour into the sauce with your dry ingredients

-on medium heat, whisk your custard until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes

-remove from heat and add 2 Tbsp of unsalted butter, and the juice from 3 lemons.  Stir into custard

-put in a bowl and chill until you are ready to assemble pie

-while custard is cooling, make your whipped cream.  in a large bowl pour 1 1/2 pints of organic heavy whipping cream and whip with an electric mixer or hand held immersion blender.  When it begins to thicken, add 3 Tbsp maple syrup and 1 Tbsp vanilla.  mix until thickened.  be mindful to not over-beat or it will begin to separate and turn to butter.  

-when your custard and pie shell are cooled you can assemble pie. carefully spoon a layer of custard into the shell and then spoon your whipped cream

-return to your refrigerator and chill until ready to serve.  i put some zest and cardamon on top just before serving but that is optional.  

-enjoy!

recipe and photo by kristen bach

rain on screen

photograph by rinne allen

2015

we are all looking forward to this new year and enjoying the fresh start it gives us. we made another calendar this year, this time with rebecca's tree of life drawing on the front. note, this calendar is big: 22"x27"!

they are free, and are available with book orders, at r.wood studio ceramics, and at treehouse kid&craft...enjoy!

curly willow

photograph by rinne allen

brocades

on a warm, wet winter's day, I explored the nearby community garden.

I love a glorious tangle of old and new and dead and alive! I love most when it forms a complete and complex tapestry of muted colors and many stages of life, reminding me of some old middle ages tapestries. it would be so awesome to embroider this on some grey wool if I had the time! anyway, dreamy details. maybe you can embroider it?

words and photographs by rebecca wood

tin siding

photograph by rinne allen

rebecca's house, part two

two weeks ago, rebecca shared photographs of her new house. here, i am sharing photographs of her house that i took this fall...i love how rebecca has something from outside- a cutting, a flower, a pod- in every room of her house. most of these things end up in her paintings eventually, but in the meantime they make for beautiful vignettes.

yellow holly

photograph by rinne allen

In Bloom

our friend hope hilton is curating a show at ciné , titled 'in bloom'. after all of her artists had installed their pieces, i came in and created a piece for the show, a simple flower arrangement. nothing showy, just what i found in the garden earlier today. i did tuck in a sprig of winter honeysuckle from a neighbor for fragrance, and also some browned camellias from another friend...i plan on going in and changing it or freshening it up over the next 6 weeks while the show hangs.

arrangement and words by rinne allen

treetop

photograph by rebecca wood

winter squash + coconut soup

i make soups a couple of times a week throughout the winter months.  i love packing a ton of vegetable, flavors, and nutrients into one pot and getting a good baguette to go alongside.

this week i roasted some winter squashes that i had been storing and used up some other vegetables we had on hand to make a delicious winter soup.  i always try to have coconut milk on hand so i can add them to soups when they call for them.  this soup can be made with carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash or a combination of all three!

-pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  

-cut two small or one large winter squash(s) in half and gut.  apply a light coat of coconut oil to a baking sheet and put the squashes cut side down.  roast in the oven until the squash is tender, 30-40 minutes should be good but depends on the variety of squash.

-in a large soup pan dice a yellow onion and green pepper, 3 inches of fresh ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, and saute in 1 Tbsp of coconut oil.

-when the vegetables are tender, add 4 cups of vegetable stock.  

-dice 3 small sweet potatoes (or 2 large) and 3 carrots and add to soup pot.  When the winter squash is done, spoon out the squash and add to the pot.  

-cook on medium heat until all of the vegetables are tender.  

-slowly add 1 can of full fat coconut milk.  Remove from heat and let cool for a bit.

-in batches, blend soup until it is very smooth.  Return to heat, stir in sea salt to taste.  

-top with some sriracha sauce if you want to add some spice.

-enjoy!     

red berries

photograph by rebecca wood

a flower with love

i love this little book. i am a big fan of bruno munari; he created so many things that i love, many of them for children...this little book sits near my desk in the studio and i flip through it often. where else can you get a sunny dose of color as well as ikebana tips, complete with instructions for using a half of a potato as a kenzan (flower frog)? i also love the section at the end where he invites the reader on a woodland walk...it isn't until 4 pages later that you realize that the woodland is actually a terrarium of moss and rocks...but the point is clear: bring nature inside and enjoy it.

words and photographs by rinne allen