wildwood revival

this past weekend, i had the pleasure of experiencing wildwood revival, a small music festival on the outskirts of athens. the festival describes itself as being 'a little bit country, a little bit rock n' roll, and everything in between'. you could camp by car, tent, or trailer in the rolling countryside next door, so we chose to bring our dear little teardrop camper. upon walking up to the festival, you came upon a grand italianate plantation, and to the left was an open air market, wine truck, and the amazing barn with the glowing lights reading 'wildwood'. one thing for sure, I will be back next year. 

photographs and words by kristin karch

queen anne's lace

photograph by rinne allen

hilltop barn

this newer barn was perched on the top of a round, steep hill. beautiful proportions and silence all around...

photographs and words by rebecca wood

old stairway

photograph by kristin karch

the rosenbaum house by frank lloyd wright

i love visiting florence, alabama.
while i often go there to work (with my friends at alabama chanin), there is so much to explore. i had been to this frank lloyd wright house in florence many years ago, and was happy to visit again this weekend when i was with friends in florence.

the house was built by the rosenbaum family in the late 1930's and was the second 'usonian' house that wright designed. it is the only home in alabama that he designed, and one of just a handful in the south.

walking through a wright house is such a sensory experience; whether you like his architecture or not, his spaces give off a certain feeling that i really like because you are constantly aware of what is outside the house, or, at least i am. the proportions of his spaces are small and the ceilings are low, which forces your eyes toward the windows and the outdoors.

if you are ever near florence, this house is worth a stop because experiencing a wright house is such a rare thing in the south.

photographs and words by rinne allen

tiger swallowtail butterfly

photograph by kristin karch

arrangement space

rebecca made a space on her front porch where the light is good for flower photography. there is a wooden table with a painted wood panel behind it. it has a different color on each side, or you can drape fabric on it. the light is lovely and good for rain or shine. here's some bouquets rebecca has done this summer.

photographs by rebecca wood

fairytale eggplant with red pepper sauce

fairytale are my favorite varieties of eggplants.  their lovely skins are striped with purple and white and they fit in the palm of your hand.  they also have a sweetness that other eggplants don't have.  when preparing these little gems i usually think to stew them but last night i decided to roast them and serve a simple roasted red pepper ragout atop.  this is a perfect side or can be served on top of a bed of pasta.  last night it was a hearty meal for our rainy weather!

ingredients

a dozen..or so fairy tale pasta

extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion

2-3 large or 4-5 small red peppers

4 cloves garlic

a handful of herbs, i used basil and parsley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

directions

-pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

-slice the eggplant in half, lengthwise

-in a collander, toss heavily with salt and let rest for 15 minutes or until they sweat

-rinse with cold water

-toss with olive oil, salt and pepper

-line a roasting pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper and place eggplants cut side down

-line another cookie sheet with parchment paper

-put red peppers on sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper

-put both peppers and eggplant in oven to roast for 20 minutes

-while roasting, dice onion and garlic

-saute for both in olive oil until translucent

-when eggplant and peppers are done roasting....remove skin, stems, and seeds from the peppers

-place peppers, onion, and garlic in a blender and add herbs, blend 

-remove the stems from the eggplant and place in a bowl

-spoon the ragout over the eggplant and serve warm

photographs and words by kristen bach

carved

photograph by kristen bach

alabama on alabama at heath ceramics

a little bit of the South has made its way westward, to heath ceramics' new exhibition space the boiler room. titled 'alabama on alabama' (because the entrance to the exhibit conveniently sits on alabama avenue in san francisco), the show includes work by southerners and longtime collaborators, butch anthony, and john henry toney, as well as our own rinne allen.

alabama chanin and heath ceramics have had a creative friendship for many years, which has yielded a beautiful collaboration in the form of heath's alabama chanin-designed dishes. here in this show, the full range of what alabama chanin can create is on view, with their indigo overdyed & appliqued quilts, their signature hand-sewn garments, and stacks upon stacks of their swatchbooks filled with samples of their unique fabrics for viewers to flip through. complimenting the handwork of alabama chanin is the work by the other southern artists that have worked closely with alabama chanin over the years, and everything feels synergistic and cohesive.

rinne recently went out to heath to give a talk about her harvest project, and shares some images from the show with us here…

word and photographs by rinne allen

mulberry bush

photograph by kristen bach

roadside barn

there are so many old tobacco barns in western north carolina and eastern tennessee. around every bend, it seems, you come upon another stunning scene. this one was right on the side of the road with roses growing at one end. the combo of rusted tin and old wood was too much!

photographs and words by rebecca wood

lichen + branch

photograph by kristen bach

greener than green

it's amazing what a few rains can do.   with just a couple showers everything is bursting with green!

words and photographs by kristen bach

luna moth

photograph by rinne allen

black-eyed susans

from the garden

photograph by kristen bach

blueberry picking

each summer, my daughter and i go blueberry picking at buffalo creek berry farm.  this year we visited on a cooler day with an overcast that brought lovely light and made the berries really pop!  we froze most of our berries and hope that they last us until next year!

words and photographs by kristen bach

glowing webs

photograph by kristin karch