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You are in for a treat this Monday, a wintery Feed Your Soul: the free art project download from artist Lucy Engelman. Lucy is a recent BFA graduate and illustrator living in Northfield, IL. Her work is whimsical, playful, and at times, slightly mysterious and she mostly likes to stick to traditional forms of illustration with pen and paint. Lucy enjoys drawing pretty much from morning until her head hits the pillow, but also takes time to ride her bike, play with her terriers, and spend as much time outdoors as possible. In addition to working with Indie Fixx, Lucy has had the joy of collaborating with several magazines and publishing houses listed on her site. To see more of her work and find her contact information, visit www.lucyengelman.com.
I asked Lucy a few questions about what inspires her and how she feeds her soul.
What do you do to feed your soul?
I love spending as much time outside as I can. In the warmer Midwestern months, I work outside all day long or as long as the wind will let me. I feel completely rejuvenated and inspired by nature and its constant growth. It inspires me and feeds my soul in every way. In a more intellectual way, I listen to podcasts on a daily basis. From storytelling to scientific explanations to historical recaps, I love learning and listening. Since I am out of school now, and still thirsty for knowledge, podcasts are the perfect fix.
What would you say are your biggest inspirations in your art and life?
I am most inspired by my animals and all animals for that matter. The way they move and interact completely fascinates me and I could watch them for hours. I also love plants—especially greenhouses. I am inspired by science, although it is not one of my strengths, I still find it to be very mysterious and beautiful.
Are you a sunset person or a sunrise person?
Sunset. Lake Michigan. Michigan-side. I am neither a morning person nor a night owl—I simply like my sleep.
by guest contributor Heather Buzzard
A new kind of vinyl has been released at the record store, and it’s cute, cozy, and cool enough to hold all of your favorite monies. The re-purposed vinyl wallet was one of a thousand and something stuffs and things for sale at the maker’s paradise, Indie Craft Experience Atlanta, brain baby of Christy Petterson of a bardis and Shannon Mulkey from Patina. Local music hub Criminal Records recently morphed into a pop up shop for independently designed goods, or, more obviously, a place for price and environmentally conscious shoppers to get all their holiday gifting knocked out in one fell swoop.
Pop up shops are to grown-ups what pop up books are to the younger set: interactive, fun, exciting, and better and better with repetition. This year is Atlanta’s lucky 13th ICE market!
Originally modeled after handmade shopping ops in Austin and Chicago, the Atlanta tradition has now grown into a major indie arts mecca.
Notably, this year’s market featured many squid and cupcakes. Thankfully, there was no shortage of super heroes.
To follow in the footsteps of the indie aesthetic, the grand opening extravaganza featured well-loved food trucks, “Oh Goodie” bags chock-a-block with free swag, and local independent musical act Christ, Lord, a band that magically wrenched attendees from the checkout line to the dance floor and back again in the best of ways.
Watch out for one of these handily-dandily made Christmas markets to pop up under your feet and shake the ground with grassroots goodness!
| About the contributor: |
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Heather Buzzard is a freshly hatched graduate of Emory University, where she studied creative writing, sociology, religion and environmental science. Her time is spent frolicking as a musician in two Atlanta bands, dressing up for silly photoshoots, inventing recipes, and drooling happily over her Indie Fixx work. |
If you’ve been reading this blog over the years, then you probably know that I love all things Scottish…especially Ewan McGregor. I also love Papa Stour, which is a online boutique that highlights the best in Scottish contemporary art, craft and design.
In a holiday frame of mind, I curated a collection from Papa Stour of some of my holiday decorating wishes.
Give peace a chance….loving these ceramic ornaments from Little Flower Designs. Choose from Peace, Joy & Hope. Lovely sentiments for the holidays and any time of the year!
I made this cake a few weeks ago to test it out for my holiday celebrations and it passed the test! It’s like gingerbread fig newton with icing…yum! The crystallized ginger bows add a little kick as well as make this cake adorably cute for holiday gatherings.
Gingerbread Fig Cakes with Bow Decoration
(adapted from Sunset Mag)
Ingredients:
Cake
1 cup chopped dried figs
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butte , room temperature
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons of flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup of boiling water
Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Decoration
crystallized ginger (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour a rectangular cake pan.
- Put figs in a small bowl and pour in boiling water to cover.
- Beat (using a hand or stand mixer) brown sugar with 1/2 cup butter until fluffy and pale. Add molasses, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, egg, egg yolk and beat well.
- In a seperate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt and in a bowl.
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture and beat until smooth. Then add 3/4 cup boiling water.
- Drain figs, chop and stir into batter.
- Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for approximatye 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Beat 6 tablespoons of butter in a bowl until creamy. Add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, milk and beat until smooth. The icing should be thick and stiff, if not add more powdered sugar.
- Allow cake to cool before icing.
- Optional: when serving, use crystallized ginger to decorate each serving. I used a paring knife to slice thin strips to use to make a bow.
