The Orange-Tarragon Trout with Smoky Green Beans (from America’s Kitchen’s 30-Minute Suppers, Fall 2010) was an absolute hit at my house last night. I swear, you’d think I never cooked anything, the way everybody wolfed dinner down.
And ironically, I’d procrastinated my way through two bags of almonds and my first pound of green beans were fed to the worms before I could bring myself to tackle this very simple recipe. Maybe I was intimidated by the fresh tarragon? I had no idea that fresh tarragon tasted a bit like licorice…In any case, I still made lots of substitutions – see for yourself.
Orange-Tarragon Trout with Smoky Green Beans
1. Make tarragon butter: Mix 6 T butter, 1/4 c minced tarragon, and the zest of an orange. (I used the zest and juice of one lemon instead.)
2. Nuke a pound of trimmed and cleaned green beans with a 1/2 c of water for 5 minutes or until bright and green. Drain.
3. Mix green beans with 1/4 chopped smoked almonds and 1 T tarragon butter. (I used the “spicy and tangy” almonds from trader joe’s.)
4. Pan fry the fish fillets: I used a pack of frozen roughy from Trader Joe’s. Pat dry. Dredge in flour. Fry in oil/butter. Drizzle tarragon butter on top.
5. Serve with rice.
Look, mine looked liked the picture in the magazine!
My food thing at the moment may seem overly controlled, but I am surprised to report that weekly menu planning not only frees me up (mentally!), but is also proving to be cost-effective. I really, really love not having that every day oh-geez-look-at-the-time-what-can-I-throw-together-for-dinner panic.
In a nutshell, I jumped on board with a Real Simple magazine article that provided a month’s worth of 30-minute dinners. (I couldn’t find a link to the exact article, but many of the same recipes are featured here at the month of 400-calorie meals article.)
From there, I began instituting a weekly menu planning session with Bella (and a tiny bit with Chad) early on in the week. It’s critical to get the whole week planned out in advance, so that I can have my shopping list ready to go BEFORE I go shopping. Sounds obvious, but since grocery shopping for the upcoming week can start by Thursday (we hit Trader Joe’s, Ralph’s, and the farmers’ market once a week; and Costco every second week) I need to start menu planning by Monday so that it’s done by Wednesday.
This is my sophisticated process: I scribble the days of the week on the back of an envelope. We all fill in the menu at dinner over the course of a couple of nights. I write the ingredients I need on the front of the envelope and carry this list with me all week. Then the list gets plunked on the front of the fridge with a magnet. We follow these parameters:
Monday – Soup and bread
Tuesday – Chicken
Wednesday – Beans
Thursday – Wild Card (ha! usually we go “wild” by making grass-fed hamburgers…)
Friday – Fish
Right now, my favorite resources are the following:
30-Minute Suppers from Cook’s Illustrated (Fall 2010) – (btw, there is a free iphone app for Cook’s Illustrated that lets you access 100 of their best recipes) This issue has proved to be well-worth the $8 I spent buying it off the newstand at Costco. We’ve tried 7 of the 62 recipes and loved every one – in fact, we determined as a family that we should eventually try all 62 recipes.
“Dinner for a Month” Real Simple magazine article (Oct 2009)
and from the library…
The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2009
The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy family Cookbook
Tuesday -Â Quick Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives (p 6 of 30-Min Dinners)
Wednesday – Chili and Cornbread (actually, the chili recipe is from the current issue of Cook’s – but instead of buying the whole issue, I just skimmed the article and then took a picture of the ingredients…)
Thursday – Saag Paneer (don’t normally buy cow’s milk, but the recipe in the Best of…2009 looked so delicious)
Friday – Orange-Tarragon Trout with Smoky Green Beans (p. 39 in 30-Min Dinners)
The irony is that after months of following a weekly menu plan, the week I decide to post about it, my planning goes awry. (I think because we were in holiday mode for MLK, Jr.)
Last night we made nachos and guacamole – no bread, no soup.
And tonight, besides making last night’s soup, I going to make Linguini with Walnut-Sage Pesto – simply because a friend texted me the recipe and I happen to have all the ingredients on hand. I’m going to omit the cheese though, because we’re all being calorie-conscious here. We’ll have the Moroccan chicken next week.
1/3 cup walnuts
1 9-ounce package fresh linguine (6 ounce dried)
1 packed tablespoon fresh whole sage leaves
1 large garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus additional to taste
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet & toast until lightly golden & fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let cool.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the linguine according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
3. Combine the parsley, sage, garlic, & salt, black pepper & walnuts in a blender; pulse until finely chopped. Drizzle in the olive oil & blend well. Add 3 Tablespoons of the parmesan; pulse quickly to combine.
4. Transfer the pesto to a serving bowl & add 1/3 cup cooking water. Add linguine & toss to combine, adding remaining pasta water as necessary. Top with remaining cheese & additional black pepper to taste.
While some people bemoaned the rainy weather that we’ve had, you, well, you completely reveled in the rain. Your dad was on vacation the whole month of December and we dragged him along on lots of puddle walks.
Because of your dad’s vacation time, we also got some good camping time in. Luckily, it all happened just before the rains poured down. In fact, the weather was absolutely stunning in Joshua Tree mid-December. We camped for two nights and were visited by many people who love you, including your gramma and grampy. We even made it out to Joshua Tree a second time to see blissfully engaged Nathen and Reanna while they were in town. That, plus my parents’ visit for a week, meant LOTS of family time this holiday season. I really thought the construction vehicle and skateboard stage was going to last a lot longer. I was settling in for the long haul. But instead, you’ve moved over into that boy-thing of loving guns, swords, and light sabers. You love building and playing with the train set Santa brought you, but you love it even more when you take it apart and make every piece of train track A GUN, so you have a big huge stack of guns.
You have really developed a terrific relationship with your dad. It’s so sweet to see you guys loving on each other! You enjoy his company so much that I was even able to take an early childhood Waldorf workshop this weekend – four hours Friday night and seven hours on Saturday – you hardly noticed I was gone. Instead, you were thrilled that Bella was going to read and play with you until Dad came home from work.
I’m still thoroughly enjoying your language development and increasing understanding of the world. Today in the car, you suddenly demanded, “Where we going?” When I told you we were going to Ted’s Place for breakfast, you asked, “Does he have toys though?”
I said, “It’s a restaurant. I don’t think so.”
He continued, “Does he have toys though? Does he have Buzz Lightyear? I think so.”
I let the subject drop, but guess what? Ted’s Place DID have toys (via 50 cent gumball machines) and there WAS Buzz Lightyear. And it’s been months since we’ve been to that place!
You crack me me up dude!
I love you,
MamaP.S. On one of many bike adventures down to the creek bed to harvest mule fat wood for fire kits.
Here we go with another winter cycle of Playgroup in the Woods. (I’m resisting the temptation to continue calling it Waldorf in the Woods, because I’m not actually a trained Waldorf teacher.)
The story will be a simplified version of the Grimm’s fairy tale Star Money. (I can’t wait for next winter to do The Mitten! There was a sweet how-to article in the last Living Craft magazine for making the mitten out of felt and all the animals out of wood.)
The craft will be a felt birthday banner.
The winter cycle songs are as follows:
Follow, follow me
To the ring of the fairies
Follow, follow me,
Where the fairies dance and sing.
Gather with you now
All the magic you can carry,
As we circle ‘round the dancing fairy ring.
Now look around
We’ve made a ring
By holding hands you see.
Yes, here I am,
And there you are,
Together we are we.
1. Winter’s Mood by Betty Jones
All outside is dark and cold
But just beneath the earth
Sleep seeds from which new life springs
Bringing Nature’s gifts to birth.
2. Snowflakes
Oh- Where do you come from you little flakes of snow,
Oh- falling softly falling on the earth below.
On the trees and on the bushes
On the mountains so far
Oh- snowflakes do you come from where the angels are?
3. Finger Plays For Winter Fairies (by Mrs M of http://www.shiningstarschool.com/)
What do I see under the moonlight
Why it is winter fairies in the winter night..
How many are there? Let me count!
One (finger up) for the Frost Fairy freezing the dew
Two (fingers up) for the Wee Blue Fairy, oh so cute
Three (fingers up) for the Mossy Elf, wrapped in wool
Four (fingers up) for Snowflake who never gets cold
Five (fingers up) for Brother Wind who blows and blows (put five fingers up to face and blow thru….)
One fairy runs away, two fairies fly (one finger runs, other hand shows 2 fairies flying)
And all the others….say good bye! (wave hands then open and shut goodbye)
4. Wintertime by Betty Jones
Oh, hear the winds call           Raise hand to mouth and sound out “wooâ€
Listen to the nuts fall         Snap fingers
See the squirrel gather its food, Flutter fingers and reach forward to gather
To bed goes the bear,         Lumber around the circle
All the creatures prepare        Stop, hold hands, and sit down
For the wintertime mood.        While holding hands, raise hands
Soft snow falls at night         Flutter fingers to floor
Covering the earth crystal-white Spread fingers outward away from body
While all are snug in bed,        Sleeping gesture, eyes closed
But with the sunrise              Eyes closed, sweep arms upwards
Children open their eyes         Open eyes, fingertips meet above
To play in the snow instead!      Stand together, rub hands together
The air is so clear                     Stretch upwards, deep breath, exhale
Wrapped in warm winter gear,    Pretend to dress
Out to the snow we go!            Pretend to trudge in circle
Jack Frost bites the nose         Stop, and pinch nose
And soon freezes our toes! Bend down, rub toes
Now starts this wintertime show! Stand and turn around in place; extend arms outward from sides in gesture of gratitude.
5. Two Little Hands (Do all the actions in the verse)
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap.
Two little feet go tap, tap, tap.
Two little hands go thump, thump, thump.
Two little feet go jump, jump, jump.
One little body turns round and round.
One little body sits quietly down.
6. Dot, dot, dot
And a big question mark.
Little spiders crawl up your back
Little spiders crawl down your back
Little spiders crawl up your arms
Little spiders crawl down your arms
Cool breeze, tight squeeze.
Egg on the head and the yolk drips down.
Creepy crawlies, creepy crawlies…
Gotcha.
The Story Song
Anything can happen
In a fairy tale or rhyme
When you say the magic words
Once a upon a time
Handwashing Song (sung in the mood of the 5th)
Time to wash our hands,
Time to wash our hands
Welcome, welcome
Welcome to our table
Welcome, welcome
We all join hands together. (We sing this until every one is at the table)
Snack Time Blessing
Earth who gives to us this food.
Sun who makes it ripe and good.
Sun above and earth below,
Our loving thanks to you we show.
Blessings on our meal.
Goodbye Circle
Who will come to my wee ring?
My wee ring
My wee ring
Who will come to my wee ring?
And make it a little bit bigger?
The earth stands firm beneath my feet. The sun shines high above. Here I stand, so straight and strong – all things to know and love
I can turn myself and turn myself and stop me when I will. I can reach high on my tippy toes and hold myself quite still.
The Goodbye Song (REVISED to reflect lyrics and tune from A Child’s Seasonal Treasury)
Goodbye now, good-bye now, we leave you now and home we go.
Good bye now, good bye now. Good bye to all of you.
It’s time to go or we’ll be late.
Let the children lead us to the gate.
Good bye now, good bye now, we’ll see you soon again.
Radio Shack is currently hosting a pretty great cell phone trade-in program. Bring in all your old cell phones (sans cases, but WITH chargers for more cash) to your local Radio Shack and they will buy them off you and put the amount on a gift card.
For example, we went into Radio Shack yesterday to buy Bella her first brand-new iphone. We brought in six old cell phones with chargers: 2 RZRs, 1 samsung blackjack, 1 blackberry, and 1 1st gen iphone. We got $141.90 back. I kid you not. The iphone alone got $84 – and it had stopped working (although it turned out that the problem was a corroded sim card – still NEW 3g iphones are $59!)
So, my advice to you. Get searching through desk drawers and get yourself over to Radio Shack ASAP. No need to purchase anything.
Hey, not bad! I’m sitting and writing down my goals on January 3. Despite the fact that I painted my toenails (with Bella’s new OPI color Extra-va-vaganza) with my first five minutes to myself of the new year (Husband -> work; Bella -> school; Baby -> napping). Last year, I didn’t get to my goals until February 10.
If you were reading me last year,  two years ago, or three years ago, you may remember that I’ve given up standard new year’s resolutions for goal setting three times a year, but that I’ve only ACTUALLY written goals in January for the last three years. My, how time flies.
I’ve just added April 1 and August 1 as reoccurring annual goal-reviewing and goal-setting events to my iCalendar. We’ll see if that changes anything at all.
Personal
1. My first goal is to continue to implement a weekly routine. I am more apt to get something done if I have a specific focus for the day and I found that Christian and I both really benefited from a weekly rhythm. I also discovered that if I allowed myself not to worry, say about dusting, for the week, I planned a dusting “event” for dusting day. That meant that windowsills got dusted! So did the ceiling fan! In fact more got dusted than ever before. Ditto for the mending – instead of an enormous pile of forgotten items in my closet – I had at least one piece of repaired clothing a week! To be clear, on dusting day, I only gave myself a dusting goal of 20 minutes, which was easy to accomplish. Setting the timer does wonders for making a project seem less daunting.
Since I’ve found that my own goals don’t always match my goals for Christian, I’m adding another to some of the days. Hope that doesn’t capsize the whole plan.
Monday – Baking; Art (Watercolor painting/Drawing with beeswax crayons)
Tuesday – Yoga; Clay/Playdough
Wednesday -Dusting; Wiping off place mats
Thursday – Running; Clear desk
Friday – Mending; Toy repair and polishing
2. I accomplished last year’s goal of getting rid of 50 books. And put another 50 in boxes in the garage. I’m still constantly working on clutter, but right now, money’s more on my mind than clutter. I’d like to open an IRA account ($3000 minimum), while also contributing $100 a month to Christian’s 529 college fund (both through Vanguard). Eeps! That’s $350 a month. So, micro-steps: First I need to grocery shop within my $100/week budget, which means menu planning. My goal is to plan a weekly menu every weekend for the following week. This shouldn’t be too hard, as I’ve been working towards this already (Monday-Soup and Bread; Tuesday-Chicken; Wednesday-Beans; Thursday-Wild Card; Friday-Fish)
Business
4. I’ve written longer published art pieces now (500-700 words). And I have contacted (without much success) other art publications. I’ve also now edited a small photography book and begun trading editing/writing work with a local non-profit organization. I’m pleased with the work I’ve done, but still my goal is still to write a piece for another art publication, like Art in America, Artforum, or Artillery.
4. I moved womantalk.org to its own home this year. Woo-hoo! Now the rebuilding and renovating begins. My goal here is to create a tutorial page of all the crafts and projects that have accumulated over the years.
Health
5. Hmmm, Last year, I’d written that I wanted to be less critical of my husband and daughter. I’m still working on that, and I’d like to introduce a more concrete way of being positive using an idea I got from my budding therapist friend Nathen: I’m going to use the 5:1 ratio. Every time I hear myself being critical or yelling, I’m going to be sure that my next five interactions with that person are positive.
6. And while last year I was down to 110 pounds, this year find me nearly 20 pounds heavier, and unable to fit into most of my jeans. Arghhh. And considering that I’m trying to save money, eating less seems more of an option than buying new clothes. Back to counting points in a competitive system with my husband. My goal is to be at 115 pounds by April 1. Losing one pound a week sounds reasonable.
Reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides which doesn’t sound like a very Christmas-y book (it’s not), but it IS all about family and history.
It got me thinking about how easy it is to lose our family history – sadly, it often only takes one generation. For instance, I hardly know anything about my grandparents! I’ve decided to give my parents journals from Bella and Christian in which they can write memories of growing up in Korea. So right now (besides stuffing stockings…) I am concocting a list of starter sentences that will act as writing prompts throughout the journal. The journal for my mom will be slightly different than the journal for my dad – but here’s one list of writing prompts:
My name is Sang Nam Lee. I am your grandfather.
I was born in…
The night I was born…
When I was born, my parents lived on an apple farm. I was my parents second son. My older brother was named…
I remember that he used to…
Everybody said that he…
I had two sisters too. Their names are Sang Eh and Sang Won.
I remember that Sang Eh liked….
She was known for…
Once she..
I remember that Sang Won liked….
She was known for…
Once she..
The house we lived in was…
My favorite thing about the house was that…
I’ll always remember that…
My earliest memory is…
My mom was a great cook. She used to make…
I remember that my mom…
This is what I know about my grandparents (my mom’s parents):
My dad was…
One thing people always said about my father…
He was good at…
This is what I know about my grandparents (my father’s parents):
This is what I know about his life:
When I was a kid, I was really good at…
Once, I…
When I grew up I thought I would…
I wanted to live…
My favorite thing to do with my friends was to…
In the summer…
In the fall…
In the winter…
In the spring…
My favorite holiday was…
I started school when I was…
My school was…
I got there by…
My favorite part of the school day was…
Sometimes…
After school I would…
The part I didn’t like about school was…
For lunch I would eat…
One teacher I remember is…
My favorite thing to do outside was…
The Korean War started and…
I remember that…
We had to leave my house because…
When I was a teenager I…
Once I got sick and…
I remember that…
I served in the military as all Korean boys are required to do. I did my service as…
I thought it was…
Once…
When it was finished, I…
I went to college…
I remember that…
My closest friends were…
I liked them because…
When I went to medical school, I often…
While in school, I made money by…
I lived at…
When I would visit my mother and sisters, they would…
We would always…
When I met your grandmother for the first time, I remember that she…
I remember that her parents…
My family was…
I decided to specialize in radiation oncology because…
When I married your grandmother, the ceremony was…
I remember when your mother was born…
We were living…
I decided to move to the United States because…
I decided to stay because…
What I remember about Columbus, Ohio was…
I remember when your uncle Songbae was born…
He was…
What I remember about Chicaco, Illinois was…
I remember when Sue Emo was born…
She…
I’d always hoped to have ______ children.
We moved to Virginia, to the Perry Penny Drive townhouse because…
We moved to the Rockville house in…
What I liked best about living in that house…
I liked being close to Washington DC because…
We went on lots of family camping trips. Once I remember…
I’m finding that the new holidays I celebrate with my kids are my favorite ones; when festivals and ceremonies are created, they can be made with thought and love and without sugary treats and material gifts.
This is the second year I’ve participated in a Waldorf-style Advent celebration and I think I’ll have to do it every year from now on. It is such a sweet ritual – and full of meaning. And I don’t even consider myself Christian! I’m aware that Advent is counting down to Jesus’s birth, but I also believe that these many festivals of light in the darkening days resonate deeply in all of us, as we naturally turn inward towards our own light when the days are chillier and shorter.
My friend Darlene hosted the celebration in her home on the third Sunday before Christmas. She was careful to set it up so that it was not a social event, but really a quiet, contemplative, more sacred time for the children. She helped prepare all the parents by calling each home and singing the songs she was using into the answering machine, to make sure everybody had a chance to learn the melodies.
We began by entering her home through the back door, as the advent spiral was set up in the darkened living room. All the children were seated at the large kitchen table expectantly. The parents stood around the edges. Darlene very briefly explained the meaning of Advent and then as I read the poetry she’d given me, Darlene surrounded each candle with the appropriate objects and then lit it. I believe that it is a Steiner poem.
The first light of Advent is the light of stone–.
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.
The second light of Advent is the light of plants–
Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.
The third light of Advent is the light of beasts–
All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.
The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind–
The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.
When all the candles were lit, we enjoyed them a moment by singing together.
When the lights came back on, Darlene served homemade chili and bread. The child at the head of the table took the bowl and bread and passed them to the next child and so on until the other end of the table was reached. Then we sang a grace. It was very similar to the one we sing in our weekly playgroup in the woods. In this way there was a feeling of communal breaking of bread.
After the food and a little bit of socializing (can’t be helped!), we made our way to Darlene’s bedroom to see her puppet show. It was a simple story about how Advent celebrates the birth of Christ and how Solstice celebrates the (re-) birth of the sun. Then the puppet character walked an advent spiral of his own, lit his candle from the center flame, and then walked back and placed his candle in a star.
Then the kids got ready to do the same! Darlene passed out white candles in specially prepared candle holders made out of a fresh apple (the only “cost” for this event was to bring an apple to replace the one you used). And then we all practiced singing the two songs (“Advent, Advent, A Candle Burns” and “Gloria”). Next, Darlene led the singing group to the living room, which was dark except for a solitary candle burning at the center of a spiral path made of evergreen garland.
As the adults hummed “Silent Night” each child made his or her way to the center to light a candle. Even the youngest 1 1/2 year old lit a candle by himself (he insisted). Then walking out of the spiral, each child placed his or her candle upon a golden star to light the path for the next child.
When all the candles were lit – we sat and sang – and then left quietly (or as quietly as we could manage).
What a lovely night! Thank you Darlene!
P.S. You can see more pictures of the event at Darlene’s post here.
P.P.S. The following videos are of the Advent song and Gloria.
The following events are typical for my family in the holiday season:
1. My father cut me a check for $1500 and asked me to buy gifts for everybody in the family ($200 for me, my siblings, and spouses; $100 for each grandchild; plus shipping to far off destinations). This he did, not to assign an onerous task, but under duress from my mother who is convinced that I enjoy spending other people’s money. She’s right.
2. My sister after a month of emails telling me that she has a list of things she wants, I presume from the U.S., finally sends an email directing me to send her all of her family’s portion of the money because she needs to get new crystal wine glasses at $100 a pop – and that she’ll spend the rest of the money at her own discretion. That’s fine. I like drinking out of fine crystal at her house.
3. My brother says he doesn’t need anything (remember, he’s still trying to keep his total number of possessions to 100) and asks if I’ll put together a care package for his office (nonprofit micro-finance org in Kyrgyzstan). My family’s gift to him, he suggested, could be the postage for mailing said package.
Well, I thought, $200 would buy a lot of chocolate and cakes.
But then, I had a better idea: How about a steal-a-gift party? I decided to send six wrapped $20-30 gifts with instructions. The first person opens a gift at random. The second person can either steal the first opened gift or open a new mystery gift. Repeat four more times, but a gift can only be stolen three times before it is frozen in ownership.
My first list was nice, but impractical because it involved shopping at 3-4 stores during now peak crazy shopping time the week before Christmas (tri-ply saucepan, tri-ply omelet pan, warm pullover, pen/pencil set, Millennium trilogy, woolen socks, chocolates, hats and mittens…)
My second list is better, and practical in the extreme because everything was picked up at my neighborhood Costco in one go:
Snap-on 5 pc tool set
Fleece pullover (gray)
Sweatshirt pullover (green)
Instant Immersion English (9 CDs)
16 GB flash drive
Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Moisture Cream
I’ll use other office goodies as packing peanuts: Am. candy bars, chapstick, and tins of peppermint Altoids.
As for my own family, Chad spend his on two deluxe camp pads from REI, Bella is applying hers to a new iPhone, Christian’s getting a fancy wooden front end loader from Nova Naturals, and I’m taking an Waldorf early childhood workshop in January.
Bella’s stocking: OPI nail polish, Ritter chocolate (dark chocolate with marzipan), Candy Cane green tea (decaf), Rescue Remedy pastilles, See’s lollipop, Mickey Mouse lollipop
Christian’s stocking: chalk, chunky paintbrush, small backpack, Gingerbread tea (herbal), Mickey Mouse lollipop, sm. wooden shovel
Christian’s gift to Bella: a boar bristle wooden hairbrush
(Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Santa Monica) It started with a hairball. Margie Livingston wondered if she could draw the light filtering through that hairball —and with this challenge, launched herself into an exploration of depicting 3D space in 2D space, but always by using a model. In order to produce one of her early paintings, Livingston would build a model, often a grid-like structure of string and wood. Then the small object standing in her studio would provide inspiration for an atmospheric, tasteful oil study in space, form and light.
But recently those objects, built as models and collectively saved over the years, began to garner more interest than, or as much interest as Livingston’s paintings. And it’s no surprise that after ten years of unedited and uninhibited model-making that Livingston has developed a knack for building objects. This first show of sculptures at Luis De Jesus offers a broad view of Livingston’s newly-acknowledged talent.
Livingston is only halfway out of the closet about being sculptor; she is a painter who has begun making objects—with paint. There can be a chasm between the making and the experiencing of an artwork, but luckily that is not always to the detriment of the work. As we all make arbitrary rules to make a comprehensible reality for ourselves inside of infinity, it is quite common for an artist to set parameters for how her work will be constructed. In this case, Livingston works with acrylic paint and sees what it can do off the canvas. In doing so, that she reports that she can feel herself working through many art history giants, including Carl Andre, Charles Ray, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Linda Benglis, and even Barnett Newman. While Livingston is bridging the world of painting to the world of sculpture, she still perceives herself as a painter and describes her sculptures as “paint objects.â€
Granted, much painting does go into the making of her objects, from cubes, dots, decals, and wafer boards; and apart from the wire stringing a length of tiny paint dots from the ceiling to floor, every object is constructed purely of paint. In what she calls “studies for spiral blocks†Livingston literally pours gallons of paint out in sheets and lets them dry for days like so much acrylic fruit leather. Each layer is made of about two gallons of acrylic paint, poured, splashed, dripped, and painted in an expressionistic manner. After making a number of these sheets she rolls the sheets into tight logs like one might roll a jelly or sushi roll. These dense paint logs are then milled with a bandsaw into two 2×4’s that are each eight feet long. Some are cut further into sections. Because of the many thin circular layers of color that are revealed, the resulting cubes look startlingly like something between a tree trunk slice and a mille fiori glass bead.
Even more fascinating is how Livingston recontextualizes, subsumes, and feminizes traditionally macho art traditions, particularly those in abstract expressionism and minimalism (in this sense, she reminds me of LA artist Liz Larner). The image of Livingston heaving paint onto the floor inevitably brings to mind Jackson Pollock wrestling with his penis/paintbrush, a difference here is that after producing nearly a dozen of these canvas-free paintings, Livingston literally obliterates each one by rolling it up (with the help of a few friends) and then slices the log into lengths. The gesture of individual expression is sliced by machinery; layers of accident, collaboration, and culinary skills draw attention away from the hand of the artist and towards the process itself while at the same time, the object is clearly a finished product with presence.
Using a similar technique of wrapping many layers of poured acrylic “threads,†Livingston also produces solid rock-like objects that she calls wraps. These look like plasticized balls of string, but when cut open, they reveal color surprises like geodes. It makes one wonder what cross sections of Jay Defeo’s The Rose (1965) would have revealed. Defeo’s obsession with layering illustrated in the sheer bulk of that piece (3,000 pounds), takes on a completely different light when you think about it in terms of cross-sections. As process-oriented works, Livingston’s works are not monumental in a good way; building up, even obsessively, sometimes productively leads to cutting and revealing.
My favorites though are Livingston’s folded paintings. Lengths of dried paint skin are neatly folded and left sitting in piles. The simple domestic act of folding these swaths of marbled color allows the object to flux elegantly between finished product and waiting-to-be-used resource. Her newest work, such as the melted wafer board, begins to reach the limits of what the plastic paint will do physically (it stretches when hung on the wall) and it will be interesting to see if Livingston’s purist rules change and if her paint will return to canvas or other support structures.
