Going to an undisclosed location in Alabama next week. Remote log cabin. Bringing the fishing gear. But there’s another goal.
Solitude is an opportunity to fold in or extend out. I’m reaching for the latter. Creativity. Calling the Muse. In Mucks boots and a horrid fishing cap.
Packing up. Living on canned food, maybe a fish, and a few ideas. Roughing it brings focus.
“Oh, Alabama, can I see you and shake your hand?.”
The Missus, a painter in acrylics, was looking for inspiration. So today we decided to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art, called Newfields, north of downtown. A sprawling campus of activity normally, we were concerned about social distancing, so we checked their precautions online. Reservations only, limited entries each hour, masks required. Looked good. When we arrived it was clear the museum was enforcing their policies politely and well. There was never more than one other couple in a room, and it felt like we were enjoying a private viewing.
Two floors of art were open, with a third to open after renovation this summer. We concentrated on European and American late 19th/early 20th century painting. Newfields’ collection of Impressionist art is very solid, representing both sides of the Atlantic, with wonderful descriptions of each piece and how one is related to the other, and how artists interacted with each other during that explosive epoch of creativity. Maps representing where artists lived and where their inspirations are located were a welcome touch.
The Missus was particularly delighted with the extensive collection of painting from the Pointillism school of Impressionism, a technique where the painter creates images using just the point of the brush, or pixels of color, using modern display terminology. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, and their students and followers, made for a collection as large as any the Missus or me have seen in all our world travels.
Our eyes sated, but our stomachs empty, we were glad to see the cafe was spacious and safe. Tables were marked clean or needing to be cleaned, so we settled down with the daily special, beef rib paninis with mushrooms, brie cheese and pesto. After our lunch, we wandered the gift shop and decided that we will become members of Newfields. We look forward to the day we can see the entire campus without masks and with a large group of friends!
Factoid: the famous LOVE symbol in the photo was designed by Indiana’s own Robert (Clark) Indiana in 1965 for the Museums of Art Christmas card. He created the sculpture in Newfields lobby in 1970.
#newfields #indianapolismuseumofart #ima #frenchimpressionism #pointillism #robertindiana #love
So, anyway, I wrote this book. I’ve been traveling internationally 2-4 times per year for decades. My last trip was a London – Paris Chunnel trip with the Missus in October, 2019. Then COVID hit. I was crawling the walls!
So I decided to write and publish my travel memoirs. A dozen or so of my 30 countries. Humorous. Because I go without itineraries. Anything happens.
The local magazine is doing a feature on the book. The interviewer said, “I hope you’re not uncomfortable. I’m going to ask a lot of questions about you.” I laughed. “What! That’s my favorite subject!”
So… Available on Kindle and in print on Amazon. For the virus locked down travel lover. Now I need to get vaccinated and fly. Enough of me! Let’s get out there!
#travel #memoir #writing #international
When I was in cooking school, I was taught to prep a rack of lamb French style. Now, you can buy an Australian rack cut with the ribs prepped. The “cap “ still remains. As seen, trim that rectangle off. It’s more fat than you need.
Make a mixture of dried herbs, thyme, oregano, basil and olive oil. Spread the paste over the lamb. In a cast iron skillet, making it a one pan wonder, brown potato slices and onion or shallots in butter until they begin to brown. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
Place the rack on top of the potatoes into a 425 degree oven and cook for 25 minutes or until the meat reaches 135 degrees. It’s really that easy.
#cooking #lamb #castiron
For years I’ve traveled. For love. For work. 30 countries later, I decided to doodle, edit, add, and suddenly I was writing a travel memoir. It’s now published, Being-Worldish, and I’m still astonished it’s finally out there. Istanbul, Majorca, and Hong Kong – they were places I needed to go, but now I’m so appreciative of the lovely feedback and kind reviews. Who knew! I can’t wait to get vaccinated and move on! Stay tuned.
My last blog post was in January of 2016. I was in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, and wrote it moments after I saw on the TV that David Bowie had just died. This blog had been about traveling, cooking and, most of all, music. Bowie’s death sucked the life out of my creative will to continue here. Now, five years later, I’ve written a travel memoir and the juices are flowing again. It’s been a long and exciting five years, and I’m anxious to tell you about it. More to come. Thanks for hanging with me.
“We’ve got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We’ve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that’s all we’ve got.”
David Bowie, Five Years
berowne.com 