...And sometimes, you fly

Yesterday, I was going to do a "Spontaneity is humbleness in the face of the Awesomeness of the Universe" page, but I got distracted first by looking for pics of the Riddler that weren't too cartoony so I could start thinking about character sketches for the comic Steve wrote, which I offered to draw for him, because the sketches I started on the train into the city are terrible.
Riddle me this: Why does my Riddler look like anime Snape?

Because I have no feeling for the Riddler, and the realism skills of a 3rd grader.
and then that morphed into a plan for a page on the previously mentioned 3rd option. Given that my plan was to do a page about spontaneity, it seemed silly to not be spontaneous.
Based off this page from Fables & Reflections

I have created this version (Pitt Pens and gesso and watercolor)

Which I'm actually very pleased with. Rarely do I finish a page and think, "hmm, that's actually good. If this were a real painting and not a page in my journal, someone might buy this" but I have that feeling about this page. Dunno how much it really counts, since it's not all that original, being largely ripped from the actual Sandman illustration, but I like it. Perhaps one day, when I get my act together, I'll turn it into a real piece in a format I could actually sell.

Last week I was enjoying the glory of spring and did a mixed-media (pitt pens, watercolor pencils, stamps, ink, acrylic, collage paper, real flowers and gesso) piece based on that. Some parts I'm really happy with, others not so much.

In Other News: There was CAKE. It was glorious. Chocolate Strawberry Moouse Cake FTW

God, that looks like the whole top of the cake is on fire... George must be really old. But no, it's only a dozen candles. They're just really bright. 

(The cake is delicious, but it might have benefited from not needing to be transported from New Ro to Brooklyn, as it got slightly squished and melty in transit)

Recipe:
Cake (adopted from the internet):
1c coffee
1c milk
8oz pureed Strawberries
4 egg whites
2c flour
2t vanilla
2c sugar
3/4c baking cocoa
2t baking soda
1t baking powder
1/4t salt

Combine coffee, milk, strawberries, vanilla and egg whites. Mix well.
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet mix.
Beat 2 min until well blended.
Bake at 350 in two 9-in rounds (buttered and floured) for 30-35 min

Moouse (my family's chocolate moouse recipe):
4 eggs, separated
8oz bittersweet chocolate
vanilla, grand mariner, or coffee to perfume
2c heavy cream

Whip egg whites
Whip cream and perfume
Melt chocolate
Temper chocolate with egg yolks, then combine and mix well.
Fold chocolate mix into egg whites and cream. Fold, do not mix, or you'll lose the fluffyness.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight to set. Can be frozen.

Chocolate Ganache (flat out stolen from the internet):
8oz semisweet chocolate
1c heavy cream
1t rum (I used grand mariner)

Chop chocolate into bits
Bring cream to a boil then immediately pour over chocolate.Whisk until chocolate is melted. Add rum.

Assembly:
Take 1 cooled cake round, spread a layer of moouse. Top with layer of sliced strawberries, then another of moouse. Place second cake round on top. Pour warm ganache over top of cake, dip aprox 6 strawberries (leafy bits removed) in ganache and use them to decorate the top. Return to fridge.
I had enough Strawberries (I bought a 2lb container) and ganache left to make about a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries. Also delicious.

I had a very good weekend. George and I wandered Prospect Park, watched Ponyo and Amelie, both of which were excellent, made meatballs for dinner and crepes for breakfast. Delicious and happy. Sunday, lots of people came over for his birthday and we played about 10+ hours of boardgames before pizza and cake.
I'm so happy, it's freaky. Really, it worries me a lot.

Plauge sucks

I am sick. My nose is stuffed and I feel icky. I want to be able to either give in and just collapse or tell the cold to go to hell and just get up and paint. But I really have too much to do for either of those to be viable options. Instead, I slept late, and my plan for the day revolves around bed, tea, knitting, and painting cards. Why must I still make at least another half dozen cards? I feel like I've been doing this forever. I'm suddenly so glad that only about 15 of my friends responded(well, ok, so some of them live together, so they only get one card for multiple people). Time for another card background and maybe a shower. Then more knitting while I watch serenity (finally). I live such an exciting life, here in my world of pjs and tissues. Why are we out of the tea I like? And out of honey? I am not pleased.

I think I'm in love

So, a couple of weeks ago I went to the Met to hang out in the Greek/Roman wing and do some sketches. It was disappointing, and very full of people. It had lost the magical old-world "British Library feeling".
Yesterday, I decided to go to the Cloisters (which is the Met's medieval building, in Fort Tyron Park). I'd never been before. It had the "British Library feeling" 100%. It was amazing. Where has this place been all my life? I don't even find the medieval art particularly interesting in general, but the cloisters are made of old stone and magic. I had a great time. And the park is lovely.
Then I went on a failed quest for a few knitting things I needed, met up with Jove (spent way too long in St. Mark's comics, but they had the end of the Joss Whedon Astonishing x-men run, which I'd been on a quest for for like a year and a half). Then we found Jon and Robin, had really cheap, but good, Indian and saw The Blind Side, which was good.
Today, I am going back into the city to meet Jove for some sort of free "NYC Jedi" show (sounds weird, but might be fun) and then Jon and Robing and some people they know to go to a bar. It will be a good weekend.
Except that everyone else has snow, and I just have yucky rain. Who ordered this weather?

No Productivity Here

RISD was really good. And exhausting. I have no pictures because I am an idiot and my camera told me very quickly that it had no more memory, which, like an idiot, I believed, because I hadn't emptied the memory card in ages, but no. It had partially ejected the memory card when I took the battery out to recharge it and it was recording to internal memory, and now I can't get them out. Oh well. If you want to see my awesome costume (Stacey, Kate and Sophie's also) check facebook. Virgina put up nice pictures. There was not enough sleep involved.
RHPS went well too. I did not cut my feet. We devirginized like 15 froshmonkeys. I got a cup of water down my shirt. Unfortunately, my CD skipped a whole bunch so next weekend: cables and we'll play from my ipod. Yes.
Today, I had a Jane-a-thon. Watched Jane Eyre and Becoming Jane, both depressing and not especially fabulous, merely ok. Also, I've been painting and such like. I finished the painting I started over break, for the online folk-art class I'm taking. I liked working on wood, rather than canvas, but there is no where to buy just planks around here, so I had to use obscenely expensive pre-made wood thingies, so I'm back to canvas for most stuff probably for a while. I'm pretty happy with the painting overall.

I also started what was going to be an unspecified collage background. However, it was one of those things where the papers just spoke to me, and I suddenly felt the need to skribble with crayons, then add water-oil pastels, smudge them everywhere and it just sort of all happened.
I have a really good feeling about it. I've been seriously inspired by these doodles http://charmagnecoe.com/ and I think that in that vein I'll be putting an ink-watercolor doodle into the center. Possible a flying/back-bending lady, possibly something completely different. I'll do some sketches this week and we'll see what happens.
Adin and Sasha are coming for Rocky this weekend, so it will be fun, but not restful or productive. I've agreed to have the cast party in my house so, it will be crazy.
Plus, a dunp of art from the last couple weeks. A painting. Two art journal spreads (4 pages). And my knitting. Still madly in love with this yarn. Started the second skein a few weeks ago, so I'm more than half done. With any luck, I'll have a purse by break and can start working on something new while I'm at home. Maybe I'll make a trip into the city for a pattern and some redonkulous yarn and make something more challenging than a rectangle. A hat maybe.