No Ordinary Flower

I remember discovering these lovely purple flowers for the first time. I think I was maybe four years old. The little pinkish-purple flowers were growing outside my grandma's kitchen door. I loved the color! I decided to pick a few and take them in to Grandma. She was ingenious at finding just the right vase for every flower-picking treasure. Imagining its perfume to be as lovely as its brilliant color, I got closer, and took a whiff. Peeyoo! What kind of flower is that?!? I was utterly shocked. Why do these flowers stink? Did God make them this way? I ran inside to ask my grandma.

She just laughed. "Those are chives!" she said. "I cut up the stems and sprinkle them on soups or deviled eggs. Take another whiff and imagine them adding extra flavor to something savory." I wasn't entirely convinced, but I took my grandma's word for it. Let's just say it was an acquired taste.

How many metaphorical chives are there in your life? --Things that appear to stink on the surface, until you find out they have a completely different purpose, nothing like your original mindset.

When I saw these lovely chive blossoms growing in the Herb Garden at Hampton Court, they instantly reminded me of my grandma, and I had to take a picture to paint from, to remember them.

Great news! This painting, Fresh Chives, laced with memories of my grandmother, on display in an upcoming show.  (Don't worry -- it's not scratch and sniff!) "Fresh Chives" is part of my latest series, 100 Days in Europe. #16/100 (84 to go!) I'm really excited about this show, called Small Treasures, opening this weekend. I have 24 small paintings in the show. Most are just 4x10 -- I love this new panoramic format! This is one of my most affordable series, ranging in price from $125 to $210, perfect for gift-giving, and a perfect size to tuck anywhere in your home or office and add some color and light.

Now, of course, I love chives. I cook with them all the time. In fact, they appear in my new cookbook (link at left), in the recipe for Hungarian Chicken and Dumplings, and in the recipe for Almond-Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive dressing.

--My cookbook is on sale at Art Access too. (Because it's also an art book). Not local? Just give them a call. I'm sure they can work something out.

Art Access230 South 500 West, #125Salt Lake City, UT 84101  801-328-0703

Heroes: William Morris, St. Pancras, and Maximus

We visited the William Morris Gallery today. I have always loved his work, and his philosophy. His goal was to beautify the world, through both preservation and creation, and make fine art affordable to more people, so everyone could have something beautiful in their home. This work room is the studio of my dreams!

Next we stopped at St Pancras train station, where we caught the Eurostar to Paris last time we were here. You cannot believe how magnificent this architecture is! Photos don't do it justice! Curious about St Pancras himself, I checked out the fount of all wisdom, Wikipedia:

Saint Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity, and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is Greek and literally means "the one that holds everything". Hero.

In the evening we found ourselves once again in the majestic Royal Albert Hall, this time to see the movie Gladiator with a live orchestra playing the soundtrack. It was wonderful for our film students to see all the musicians involved in creating the orchestration. And Maximus is the consummate hero, a conqueror who was a humble family man at heart, sacrificing everything to save the republic ideal of Rome.

Connecting the Dots

We took a fabulous day trip to Stonehenge and Bath yesterday. The ancient stone circle was as beautiful and enigmatic as ever, and the walk there through the forest and rapeseed fields was breathtaking.
It was a little cold and drizzly, but I wouldn't have missed this walk for anything.
The stones never disappoint. A mysterious prehistoric structure that took hundreds or thousands of years to build must have had an extraordinary unifying purpose, with a plan carried out generation after generation, sustained by a community of people working together.
Next stop was Bath. These are the Roman Baths discovered in 1880. It's amazing to think that Jane Austen would have been living and working here in the late 1700s and early 1800s, still with no idea this entire bath and temple ruins were there, 20 feet below street level.

One of the more fascinating parts was this section, where you could see entire layers of history marking the walls. You can see where the Rimsn bath was, and where the Norman monks built their own hot springs bath on top of it, then Victorian buildings atop that. The stains on the walls show the water level on the pump room in Regency times. It wouldn't be fully excavated for another hundred years.

From this vantage point we could piece together so much history in a way that all came together and made sense. It reminded me of the way the restored gospel helps us piece together eons of religious history and suddenly it all makes sense.
Bath is an utterly charming city and we wished we had more time exploring there.
One final observation on the National Health in the UK: On our way to Stonehenge, about ten minutes away, there was some heavy traffic and then we came to a stop. Probably 30 cars gave up and turned around and left. It turned out there was a bad motorcycle accident up ahead. Once all the cars turned around we were near the front and could see exactly what was going on. There was a guy who had been thrown off his bike and was lying face down on the pavement in the middle of the road. No one wanted to risk moving him for fear of a neck or spinal injury, so they stopped traffic and left him there. For TWO and a HALF HOURS. That's right--police got there after about an hour. They called for an ambulance, which arrived after two hours--just a little station wagon mini ambulance with no ability to move the victim. It took another forty-five minutes for a real ambulance to show up and clear the accident scene. The guy could have died!

I didn't mind waiting there--I had my sketchbook and the scenery outside was beautiful. But I was stunned at the slow response time by the national health to an "emergency."

The newlyweds arrived in London!

We have been so excited to have Jordan and Austin join us here in London! We met them at the tube station, and walked them back to our apartment. We took them out to a Pub for dinner, for the real London experience on their first night here.

Jordan wasn't too crazy about the mushy peas that came with her fish and chips! But the Lamb Shank Shepherds Pie was delicious.
We walked to the south bank to show them the spectacular view from the bridge.

Then we saw a restored print of His Girl Friday, which was outstanding--such fast-paced, clever dialogue and a great story. Unfortunately it had been too long a day for our weary travelers and they slept through the entire movie. (No judgment here. I spent several comatose jet-lagged hours here myself. Our teenage son has the incriminating snap chat photos to prove it!)

A London Landmark, and a Sanctuary

After the Tower of London we stepped inside the oldest church in London, just a few steps northwest of the tower. We were met by the most charming and unassuming tour guide, who showed us the Saxon Arch (670 a.d.) and then the Roman floor (180 a.d.). He also told us wonderful stories, and the origin of ceremonies such as "beating the border," and delivering a red rose to the mayor annually in payment for the unauthorized construction of a bridge that has long since disappeared.

We walked just a few more blocks and discovered another church, designed by Sir Chrisopher Wren in the 17th century, that was bombed during WWII. Only the tower remains, and a few outer walls, but the church and the city have left it as a reminder, and turned it into the most peaceful garden. What could have been an ugly scar has been turned into a peace of refuge and contemplation in the center of a busy city.

After a lovely stop, we walked along the Thames to the National Theatre and saw "Les Blancs"...a very sobering and thoughtful play about race relations in south Africa. It reminded me of the book I read about orphanages in Nepal, where some of the charitable work we do as Americans actually ends up furthering and increasing the problem of child abduction there. Balancing our charitable impulses with real information and what will truly do the most good is never as simple as it seems.

Kensington High Street

First of all, a giant shout-out to our adorable nephew who is serving as a missionary in greater London. We ran into him by chance at the Hyde Park chapel where we hold class two mornings a week--what a great surprise! He seems so happy and loves being a missionary.

After class and a brief lunch of Waitrose delicacies we went to Harrods. No trip to London is complete without a visit to Harrods! I found this inspiring watercolor book that I'm very excited about and eager to work through some of the exercises.

Already lamenting a hasty last-minute decision to leave my easel and painting kit at home, I researched art stores in the area, knowing London had to have a great one. I found an excellent one located right on Kensington High Street (same road as Harrod's) and made a few essential purchases so I can continue to paint while I'm here.

They're Here...! Pub food, BFI welcome our students.

The students arrived yesterday. All day long we met groups of them at the tube station and walked them to their dorms. Then we had a big group dinner in the upstairs room of a favorite pub, where they served up all sorts of traditional British fare: Bangers and Mash, Lamb Shank Shepherds Pie, and Fish and Chips. Here's what I had:

Everything was delicious!

After that we walked them over to the BFI, where we bought mountains of tickets to feature films.   By the time we were leaving to head back home, it was pouring rain, and then started hailing! Thank heaven for down parkas, good raincoats, extra umbrellas, and gloves!

Signs that We're in London

First of all, Jet lag is real. Getting up and going this morning was pretty challenging. The good news is, we're here for nearly two months, so it's kind of like having an annual pass to Disneyland...there's no pressure to wear yourself out trying to see it all at once! We have plenty of time.

One of the things that delights us in Britain is the signage. They're far more courteous than American signage, and also use a lot more verbiage. Here are some examples we love:

We also love the century-old iron typography of the signage on the tube station:

White on White in London

After an easy direct flight, we drove past street after street of beautiful white row houses in stately South Kensington until we arrived at our flat. Already it felt like we'd only just been away for a short spell, even though it's been nearly two years since we were last here. We quickly pulled coats out of our bags as we stood on the porch, the reality of the brisk air and chilly rain setting in: we're in London! Again!


Once settled in our flat, we walked to the tube station, then on to Chelsea to see the student accommodations.

We were surprised to find ourselves in the Bridal district, with beautiful gowns adorning many of the shop windows. It brought back vivid and memories of our daughter's wedding just four days ago, the joy still fresh. We held hands as we walked home in the cold night air. Once again we were greeted by the white buildings of South Kensington. Here, white signals home.