Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Melbourne skies

Standing on a balcony at a friends, surrounded by gums and watching the local bats setting off for the night, this sky presented itself. It was indeed a lovely evening, quite a contrast to the thunder and fat raindrops now falling. I'm hoping it calms down before I head out for a late supper and midnight gig in the city. Although I haven't had much time for weaving over the past few weeks, I have managed to fit in baking. Last night I made a sweet tart shell, filled it with pastry cream and covered it with fresh berries. I'm enjoying practicing my pastry skills and I'm getting better at making custard. Which reminds me - there is enough pastry in my fridge for another tart, perhaps for another present as February is filled with birthdays. It is never as much fun eating sweets alone as it is sharing, especially among friends and family.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Pero

I took this portrait of Pero in Pula when I visited family quite a few years ago. Although there are exciting things around the corner and plenty of work planned in order to get there, I've been feeling the itch to travel. This past week I've been playing around with old negatives in photoshop, all while wishing I had access to a darkroom to print them on fiber based paper. I've been keenly watching the progress of some of my studio mates who are building an analogue darkroom. I'm hoping it will be complete in a few months and I'll get to hang in the dark again.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Simple pleasures

I've spent the morning watching the news and I feel so thankful that I have food in the garden and family and friends that are healthy and happy. Yesterday's heat has all but gone this morning so I'm going to make the most of it. Today I'll be finishing off some hand made presents for friends as well as testing a cake for another's wedding. Called a devil's food layer cake, I'm imagining it will be similar in crumb to a genoise base, layered with caramel and chocolate ganache, then covered in a fine layer of cake crumbs. I haven't yet decided if the crumbs are too fussy, in which case, the ganache will do the honours. Topped with some fresh flowers, I think it will make a simple but beautiful wedding cake that is hopefully as delicious as it looks.