Firebirds of Night and Day

I painted a skateboard deck last winter for a gallery show, and I was pretty happy with the design so when I got a bit of time this summer/autumn I decided to render it on paper=) I called it "Carpe Diem, Carpe Noctem" because "Seize the Day" and "Seize the Night" are some of my favourite sayings. And these Firebirds are reminiscent of night and day, so there we go - a Latin title for a Russian fairytale inspiration. :)

"Carpe Diem, Carpe Noctem"

Here's a close up of some details

And the original deck:

The deck was painted with acrylic paints and Staedler markers for the linework

The work is inspired by Russian folk tale of the Firebird
Original was about 7 x 17" (I think, I'll double check later)
Painted with waterproof inks
  
Prints on Society6{here}
and RedBubble {here}


Happy Monday!

Plum Cake

While I'm completing some art, why don't I share a dessert I've made a couple of weeks ago. This is a recipe which I modified from my mom's recipe, and it's a perfect one to celebrate the start of the autumn season.

I give you - Plum Cake!

I also tossed some blueberries in :)

Plum Cake

Ingredients:

- 3-4 large eggs

- ½ cup of sugar

- 2/3 cup white flour

- 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour

- 10-12 small plums

- 1 tablespoon of almond butter

- 1 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest

- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- ½ teaspoon of lemon juice

- pinch of salt

-unsalted margarine for greasing

- bread crumbs for greasing

Directions:

1: Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the pie pan with some unsalted margarine and dust it with some bread crumbs.

2: Slice the plums. Set the sliced fruit aside in a bowl. Feel free to add any other stone fruit, like apricots into the mix too – it’ll be delicious! This time I thought I’d add some blueberries.

3: Pour the sugar in a large bowl and whisk it together with the eggs using a mixer on low speed until the two are well combined. Add the almond butter, a pinch of salt, lemon juice, and vanilla, then mix for a few more minutes at a medium speed.

4: In a smaller bowl combine the cinnamon, flour, baking powder and lemon zest. Now, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, a little bit at a time, while the mixer is at a low speed. Mix until the batter looks creamy and smooth.

5: Pour about half of the batter into the baking pan. Arrange about half of the sliced plums on top of the batter, and set the rest aside to decorate the top. Pour the remaining batter as evenly as possible over the fruit. Finally, take the last of the fruit and arrange them nicely on top.

6: Cook for 30-35 minutes at 350F until the top is lightly golden. Check to make sure the pie is baked by taking a tooth pick, bamboo skewer, or knife and piercing through the middle of the pie. If it comes out clean, then the dessert is ready. However, give the cake some time too cool before attempting to take it out. If it’s too warm, it will stick to the sides and break as it comes out.

Enjoy! It pairs perfectly with tea :)

Miscellaneous Mexico

Here are some miscellaneous photos from my trip to Mexico :) I didn't edit too many, just a few that caught my attention=)

seashell on the beach

A Snowy Egret that I stalked one morning

It was quite photogenic and I think enjoyed the attention

I think this was a little blow-fish that unfortunately didn't make it

Some fancy tentacle shoes from a statue down at Puerto Vallarta center

Me, pretending to meditate with a pina colada in one hand and a strawberry daiquiri in the other

Me, whilst stalking the egret

And now for some videos and animations!

Stingray wipe-out!

wipe-out 2.0

Lastly, is a video of a baby turtle heading for the ocean. ("Division" by Moby)