We have a guest blogger today – Darya Pino from Summer Tomato. We “met” last spring while taking an online blogging class, and I have been reading her faithfully ever since. Thanks to Darya, I have made changes in my eating and lifestyle, and I feel so much better because of it! I read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” recommended by Darya, and it has literally been life-changing. For those of us with food issues, Darya is a breath of fresh air! And…there is NOTHING like food from the farmer’s market! Plus – since so much of this blog is about creativity, why not apply it to eating? So without further ado, here’s

“10 Creative Tips For Healthy Eating”

Darya Pino

(Bio: Darya is a scientist, San Francisco foodie and advocate of local, seasonal foods. Get more healthy eating tips at her blog, Summer Tomato . Follow her on Twitter @summertomato .)

Food is the key to health. Whether you want to lose weight or simply live a fulfilling, active lifestyle your diet is the most important factor in your success.

But I am not talking about trendy superfoods and gimmicky diets. These things make big promises, but are never a real solution. Research has shown over and over that the only true path to health is an overall pattern of healthy eating. Vegetables, fruits, legumes and other natural, unprocessed foods must be the foundation of your diet.

Since processed and industrial foods are so common in Western culture, I have found cooking at home to be the only realistic way to improve your healthstyle .

So where do we start?

To make home cooking and better health a reality, it is critically important to embrace variety. Every natural food contains a unique profile of nutrients that work together in a special way that cannot be mimicked by dietary supplements. To capitalize on this ingredient diversity it is vital to consume a wide variety of whole, natural foods.

And while variety is important to health, it is equally important for quality of life. No one can eat fish and steamed broccoli every night of the week, so food and flavor creativity is key to better nutrition and maintaining your healthy lifestyle.

Here are 10 tips for infusing creativity into your cooking to optimize health and happiness:

1. Avoid the temptation to fall back on the same dishes and flavors. Nothing is more boring than eating the same thing over and over again. Even if you only know how to cook one or two things, try adding new spices and ingredients whenever possible.

2. Learn to explore new recipes. If cooking is not your strong point you can start by expanding to dishes that are prepared similarly to ones you know. If you can’t cook at all, try making more exotic salads and other raw foods. Just start playing with flavors and you will become more comfortable in the kitchen.

3. Learn to explore new ingredients. Vegetables are rarely very expensive and can be a wonderful source of inspiration for your cooking. Fresh herbs and new spices are also a great way to discover new tastes and flavor combinations.

4. Let the farmers market and the season dictate food shopping, not your cookbooks. Few things are more inspiring than a bountiful haul of ripe, farm fresh vegetables from your local farmers market. Go to the market without an agenda—just find what looks good and figure out how to cook it later.

5. Learn to talk to the farmers and ask for serving suggestions. Even if you think you know how to cook a certain food, ask the farmer you are buying from for recipe suggestions and ideas. They will often share with you how they have been eating it, and sometimes discuss how it is being served at local restaurants. This is also a convenient starting point for a Google recipe search.

6. Find specific cooking recommendations on the internet. Once you’ve narrowed in on some flavors to explore, make use of the internet to find specific recipes. Google can be infinitely more useful than any number of cookbooks. Be sure to read through the recipes before choosing one. And don’t forget to read reviews if they are available!

7. Do not tie yourself to one recipe. I often find that different recipes for the same dish have different appeals to me. For example, one might have flavors I like better (or have on hand) and another might be a simpler technique. Learn to creatively combine different recipe sources to customize your dish to your taste. Once you’ve mastered your own version of the recipe you can post it as your own!

8. Search for recipe ideas that specifically combine foods you have purchased. You do not have to limit your recipe search to one ingredient or cooking method. Frequently you will find that different cultures use the same ingredients as a base to create very different flavors. Have tomato, lime, chili and cilantro? Explore dishes from Mexico, Southeast Asia, North Africa and Southern India.

9. Use restaurants for inspiration. If the idea of cooking Moroccan food is appealing in theory but you aren’t really sure how it should taste, try finding a local restaurant and ordering a few of their most traditional dishes. Restaurants are a fantastic source of flavor inspiration, and you will be surprised to find how easy it is to make ethnic cuisines that seem impossibly complicated.

10. Be creative. Creativity is absolutely essential for upgrading your healthstyle. Getting out of your rut and learning to love cooking and eating is the critical first step. It does not matter where you start, just find foods you enjoy and get creative!

I really love this piece. It was marbled on a white polysatin, and it so reminds me of a sunrise. I am working to try and do some more quilting on this piece, but I need a focal point – I’m open to suggestions for how to embellish this.

Our arts support group meets for the first time tonight. This is mainly getting to know each other, with a healthy dose of show and tell. Every time one of us gets together with another, we always feel so good talking about a art. It just makes sense to have a way to stay in touch regularly, and expand our group a little bit. We need a way to keep each other motivated and share information. I know that once the school year starts, I will need to have some deadlines, and bring something new each month will be good for me. I’m looking forward to this, since last month I spent the evening in the ER.

I’m on a waiting list for a “Craft show” in November. We attended this last November and were impressed with the organization, and we felt some of our marbled products would go well. The waiting list is evidently long, but the organizers are trying to not duplicate vendors, so if someone drops out, we may move to the top faster. Either way, we need to start planning for the show.

I marbled more paper this weekend – went well, and I am working on trying to get the moire pattern down – cool pattern with lots of movement – can’t be done on fabric because of the fast absorption rate of the fabric and liquid. Hubby is at work making new combs to try out, and we had visitors at our marbling session a week ago – we should probably pull together class information again.

I went through our drawer of “we will never sell these pieces, they are too gorgeous” to find I actually have couple of new ideas for some of them. One piece is a full three-quarter yard of waves – and it deserves to be framed by itself – this would make a great restul, peaceful piece in a therapist’s office!

For some reason, I can’t get the Vista Print emails any longer, despite three phone calls to them. I need to look for another source for quality, reasonable, online printing. Anyone have any suggestions? Anyone used Moo? Thanks for any help!

PS – TOMORROW – special guest post from Darya at Summer Tomato!!!

I was hoping, when I started a regular pattern of blog writings, that I could do some marketing on Saturdays – hence the “Saturday Special.” This has not been my most successful day because I can’t keep up with changing images, especially since Cafe Press isn’t as “intuitive” as I would like it. I did set up a friend’s store – The Edge of the Sea of Cortez – and you will see some really cool sea creatures, many of whom are endangered. Betty Hupp is the co-author of “The Edge of the Sea of Cortez,” a book about the sea creatures you will find tide-walking. Check out the store for an indication of some of her products, with more to come.

I really like this image, created a few months ago, and part of the “Indigenous Images” series I am working on. I put this on a t-shirt for this week – limited time only! I also have this image on a small ornament – looks really cool.

Digital Marbling (TN) is unique – I take a piece of marbled fabric – or two – and manipulate it to other intriguing images. Loads of fun to do. I am learning a lot about photo manipulation – what an amazing field. Were I younger, I think graphic design would have been my career field.

About a year ago I created a great background, and my digital partner Suzan used a shot she had taken of the Grand Canyon – makes for a very dramatic image. You can find this on notecards this week. The image is also available on a small magnet.

Also over a year ago I started my “Fossil” series, again from a traditional marbled stone pattern on fabric. The background has loads of possibilities! It’s available as a small poster this week and as a small mug.

Have fun exploring! If you are interested in Betty’s book on the Sea of Cortez, here’s the Amazon link.

I worked with Photoshop for a while this afternoon, and NOTHING clicked – no tutorials, no playing with filters, nothing. The photo at the left is one from a while ago – I was working with blending modes, and added a background of marbled fabric for an interestng sunset effect. Rather than push it and get more frustrated, I put the work away (saved, of course – ya never know…), and started getting caught up with some favorites on Twitter. What an amazing source of great articles and ideas!!

Katydid Designs is offering an e-course starting September 7: Multiple Streams of Income. I’ve taken a couple of Photoshop classes on line and had a great time. I took a blogging class on line (31 Days through Problogger)) and learned a huge amount – so much so, that I have spent the summer really working on some marketing ideas, getting a support groups together, and of course creating some new art (marbling tomorrow and doing more paper – yay!).

My art is my stress-reliever, since I am still teaching full time, but this year, with Arizona ranking 50th in the nation for support of education, everything about the job, paycheck, hours, and class sizes is up in the air. After being able to spend the summer creating art, I am really concerned with the lack of time come next week Wednesday. I still have a number of years before I can retire and work at my art all the time. So I am looking for other opportunities, and I learn really well on line!

If you answer “yes” to any of the following, you might want to consider checking out this course.
* Are you struggling to make a living doing what you love?
* Do you feel like you are working all the time and getting nowhere?
* Do you feel overwhelmed and confused about all the ways artists and crafters can make money?
* Are you always jumping from one idea to the next without following through on anything?

Laura Bray, an artist with an M.B.A., will teach you how to create income by doing what you love. Specifically designed for the creative personality, this online course will teach you how to develop a successful business and how to have fun while you do it.

* Learn that creating multiple streams of income is the fastest way to reach your financial goals while making a living a doing what you love.
That has been my goal all along, but I just can’t seem to get it together. I am interested in hearing from those of you who are having good luck with this.

* Learn how to leverage your artwork and projects to make money for you over and over.
I have an idea about this, and that’s how I got into digital marbling (TN), as a way of getting more mileage out of a great piece of fabric.

* Learn how to create passive income. You can be independently employed, go on vacation, and still make money!
I am so intrigued by this idea….

* Find out the many ways an artist or crafter can make money from their art. You probably haven’t even thought of some of them!
I know eBay has been okay for us – would love to increase weekly sales. Etsy seems stagnant… what else is there?

* Learn from experts in creative income areas such as; online selling, art licensing, children’s book illustration and craft shows.
I want ideas!

* Create a personal business plan, outlining your income choices and the steps you need to take to make your plan a reality.
There’s got to be more to what I am attempting – and not having any successes!

So think about it…and keep making your art!

We were standing by our car in Sedona, when I saw a robin hop along the ground with green stuff in her beak. She watched us for a minute of so, and then flew up into the tree. If you look at the center of this tree, you will see momma, her nest, and her babies. It was a wonderful moment with nature.

Speaking of nature, I am reading a really amazing book by Van Jones, called The Green Collar Economy. He is the founder and president of Green for All. You can’t get to his personal website any longer, since he is now a Special Advisor on the economy for President Obama.

Early on he talks about the environmental movements, starting with the respect the Native Americans paid to the land and then touching on Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I read Carson’s book when I was a sophomore in high school. We needed to write a review as an assignment. I just recently came across the paper – I heavily criticized the book, on the basis that our government would not condone the actions and destruction she was documenting. I was extremely naive at the time and have since been supremely disillusioned. But I guess deep down I still retained some of the naivete.

Johns really hits the racism within our environmental problems. I guess if I paid attention more – and had a lens other than a white middle class one – I would have seen this. Hurricane Katrina – who got left behind? The poor and the people of color, who didn’t have the resources to be able to flee the clity. Here’s one excerpt:

“The world stared in disbelief. The truth slowly sank in. The citizens of that once proud city had been left to the tender mercies of what could only be called a ‘free market’ evacuation plan. Everyone who owned a functioning car (and who had a working credit card) was perfectly able to flee. But those who didn’t own private vehicles, those who didn’t have credit cards or savings accounts, whose who were two days shy of a payday that might have let them buy a full tank of gas were left to face the flood waters, alone….the reality was painfully simple: an awful flood had come, and the United States had left behind its poor, its black, its disabled, its infirm – to ‘sink or swim.'” (p. 69)

That is pretty harsh. And you wonder what it has to do with Jones’ premise for a green-collar economy to fix the environment and the economy. He goes on to point out in his chapter on eco-equity:

“As we move into this age of ecological challenge and opportunity, our first principle must be ‘Equal protection for all.’ This ideal is key because, in an ecological crisis, those individuals, families, and communities without money and status will always be hit first – and worst. When the floodwaters rise, fires rage, droughts parch, or superdiseases attack, the most marginal cannot afford to get out of harm’s way. They cannot afford to protect themselves. And still worse, once the crisis has passed, they are least able to bounce back, to rebuild, to recover. Therefore, as dangers multiply, we must revive – as a cornerstone commitment in our national life – the deep principle of equal protection.” (p. 66)

Very strong stuff to read and internalize. Yet he is very positive about grassroots movements in building a green economy. So – just a few thoughts. We all share this planet, regardless of our political or religious views. We ALL need to become involved in a green future.

This shot from Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona is now my screen saver. Every time I look at this I feel my blood pressure go down. This is just amazing country, with rock the best red-orange you can find. One thing about this summer is recognizing “me” as a work in progress. I am learning to stop and smell the roses – and look at the red rock – a lot more often. I’m realizing I have nothing to prove to anyone, I’m happy that I’m a teacher and have a great job – and believe me, it took a while to get to that point! The start of school is approaching, and while I am looking forward to it – I love all the planning leading up to the kids arriving – it does mean an abrupt end to a summer of art and marketing. My goal is going to be to maintain the momentum started last April. I have lots of things coming up art-wise to prepare for, and I do work well with deadlines – all those years of student theater got me to work under pressure very well.

I started out last week wanting to do some sewing to keep me occupied so I wouldn’t want to snack. Took the doctor very seriously after the scare this summer about losing weight – just finished trying on some “old” tops in the closet…you know the ones – for when we “lose” weight and they will fit again….and I have several new ones for the start of school. Yay me! I went through my stash, starting with two dyed fabrics I did. They’re the ones on the lower left and middle right. I pulled lots of batiks and the pile kept getting warmer and warmer – hey, it’s summer in the desert!

So I sewed half-square triangles for a day. Sunday hubby and I started playing around with a potential pattern. The more triangles I put up on the wall, the hotter the piece got – and it gave itself a name – “Desert Heat.” Coincidentally it was 108 that day. Here’s a shot of the design center.
I have done some more, but no pics yet. I also have out my “bamboo” strips to continue working on a marbled piece that will be three-dimensional.

As I was looking for fabrics, I happened across a “finished” piece of marbled fabric I call “Sunrise.” I love the fabric, but when I was done, it didn’t do a thing for me on the wall. So I want some ideas – I am more than willing to take the cloth framing off and the quilting out to improve it. The piece just has me stumped. It’s not a great pic – I’ll try and do better. Any and all ideas welcome!!

Our art group will have its first meeting next Monday – I am excited about that. And my friend Suzan hopefully is coming down from Sedona so we can play before and after the meeting – nice way to ease into the start of school.

Stay tuned to the blog – Darya from Summer Tomato is working on a post for us on food and creativity. More to come…

This has been an incredible week for cool stuff from the web. I am getting lots of tweets of art sites and interesting articles. So I’ll pass on to you the best of the best! Most of the stuff I can’t get pics for!!

* The Blooming Lotus – I got this site from Ideal Bite, which is a daily newsletter (you can subscribe) about being ecologically responsible. As Jen, the owner, says “at Blooming Lotus, natural and organic are not marketing buzzwords — they are a way of life.” Check out how they walk the talk.

* Spinning on the Edge – International Call for Textiles – Textile Tide Pool Project. Textile artists – check this out. I have written for more clarification about the project, but at first glance it seems very worthwhile – bring a light to the fragile tide pools of the world.

* Think Geek: Rock Paper Scissors Lizards Spock – for you Big Bang fans (of which I am certainly one), there are some cool t-shirts here!

* Anagrams from WordSmith – type in your name and get a variety of anagrams from your letters. I got some weird ones…..like “Ad Molar Inn” – lots of fun! And if you like that, look at John Langdon, who did the ambigrams for Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons.” Really explore this site – there is great art work here!!

* Digital Art Guild – Art Through Technology. Great articles and images.

* From Health.com – 20 Little Ways to Drop the Pounds and Keep Them Off. I’m working on doctor’s orders to get the weight off, and every little bit helps!!!

* The Lazy Dyer from Melody Johnson – since I have just started dyeing, I found this blog entry really great. “Not Exactly the Right Way…Just Exactly My Way.”

* If you’re using Facebook, then check out these mocked-up Facebook pages – absolutely hysterical!! You need to subscribe to The Best Article Every Day.

* From The Huffington Post comes this article and video about a five-year-old girl and her plan to feed the homeless. The best thing about this video is the reminder that all of us can effect change.

* And finally – from YouTube: Mascara Painting to Betty Davis Eyes. Unbelievable!! Who knew?

And you have seen the LED sheep, right???

ENJOY!!!!!!!

This is the original fabric for today’s experiment. I managed to clean out the computer, back up all the files (first time in 3 years) and sort/file the digitals. I put a folder together of interesting fabric to use for backgrounds. Hence, this first one.

This is the first playing around with lighting. Then I got fancy!

You know I love gradients, and when I applied this one, all I could think of was coral beds. It has sat this way for at least two years. So I pulled it up today to see what I could do with some shapes.

I started adding turtles, one at a time, picking up color from within the background, and trying to use “Rule of Thirds” for a pleasing composition.

Here’s the final – I’m pleased – I didn’t continue with manipulation because I pretty much had the effects I wanted. This would make a good print!

Yup, post 300! Over two years on the blog, as a record, first of all, of my Photoshop classes, and now as the creative journey. It’s really interesting looking back at some of the early work! I’ll have to track down a couple of links….At 500 posts I think I’ll do a BIG giveaway!

So I finally got to “unzip” pics of the finished quilt – well, almost – still have a top and bottom binding to put on. But I presented it and we took lots of photos of it on the bed. So here goes…

Needless to say, I am please and somewhat proud. I designed it from scratch, did massive amounts of free-motion quilting, and got it together so it looks really good on the bed! Now on to some new sewing adventures….

Also in progress – pics of the Sedona trip. Here’s a couple of Oak Creek – notice that wonderful tree and bark – and yes, the rocks really are that red!

There were so many amazing visual sights in Sedona! The Lou deSerio Gallery has amazing Southwest art, including photography workshops – and a 15-year-old son who has been doing photography (award-winning) since he was three. He trained with Ansel Adams, and his black and white are spectacular. These images are from his site.

There were some amazing “leather” sculptures in one of the galleries. The artist is Pat Fetters, and I wasn’t able to find any info on her on line. She molds the leather to glass or plexiglas vases – the texture and colors were fabulous. You had to see these to really appreciate how wonderful they were.

Then there was the Golden Lotus Gallery – oh, my…..Nick Honshin is the artist – in what he calls Asian Fusion. His paintings are a combination of Asian influence – you could meditate to his paintings and never want to return. As his website states: “His art is inspired and flows from the sacred meditational space of the transcendental archetypal symbols of Christianity, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism as well as the shamanistic practices of the world’s perennial philosophies. This fusion of the traditional with the modern highlights the natural harmony of the beliefs, symbols, & practices of East & West. The work reflects the transformation of Perennial Philosophies and symbols into Modern Mythic images of the transcendent moment.”

You simply HAVE to visit his site.

Those of you familiar with sumi-e – a Japanese water-art of brush strokes – will love the work he has done – snakes done in ONE brush stroke. Absolutely amazing!!! Unfortunately, the links aren’t working – but check out his site.

Loads of eye candy – Enjoy!!

Sedona is truly one of the magical places on earth. We spent three days there, and we explored a lot of areas we hadn’t seen before, including walking along Oak Creek. One of our friends, Steve DeVol, is president of Keep Sedona Beautiful, and he put together the following slide show which demonstrates this amazing beauty.

This is just a sample of the beauty – watch the slide show for MUCH more!

One of the things we love to do is prowl galleries, looking for spectacular art. Well, we certainly were not disappointed! Christoper Owen Nelson – WOW! Etched and painted plexiglass. We were stunned with his work – we just stared and stared – and had heart palpitations!

Not content with his work, we headed to another gallery – Visions at the Hyatt Shops. So many beautiful things!! Ulla Darni makes some incredible glass chandeliers – called the newest Tiffany.

Some amazing kaleidoscopes outside the gallery – the “table” moves – and the table is full of plants – a truly unique inside pattern!
Here’s glass, paintings, ceramics.

Another artist we loved – Eyvind Earle. Seurat meets Japanese lacquer – really gorgeous, you need to see them up close.

More tomorrow – just too many beautiful things to see!

Images:
http://www.fastdynamitecms.com/cmsimages/sedona_arizona_cathedral_rock.jpg
http://www.southwestart.com/sept08/21_Under_31/solitude_christopher_owen_Nelson.jpg
http://www.happinessdocumentary.com/images/ulla-Image-.jpg

I wanted to work with the stained glass images I bought a while back in a Dover clip art book. I chose the one at the left, after figuring out I had to download it a a GIF and then to Grayscale, to RGB, and then to a jpg to get the size I wanted. Learned a lot right there! The primary marbling patterned used was the Italian vein, color adjusted for the different effects you will see. I used two other patterns from the papers we marbled:

Here’s the progression to the finished design.

More of my friend Yvonna’s clay artistry. I’m sending her comments I receive from you, so let’s encourage her to get her blog up and writing about her pieces!!

Today’s thoughts are on my first attempts at dyeing fabric. I hope to post the photos when they are dry and ironed.I used Ann Johnston’s Color by Accident to get me started (this is something I have wanted to do for the last three summers – finally!). Things I have learned:

* If hubby helps you, make sure you don’t get dye on him.

* Regardless of how neat you think you are, you really aren’t. I now have red stones in the back yard and colored hands.

* That paper towel you use to wipe up dye? It will still stain your hands….

* Don’t try doing this in your inside studio, unless it REALLY is a “wet” studio.

* Make sure you have an environmentally friendly place to dispose of watered dyes. Check ahead of time!

* Take notes – like why the blue and yellow made brown instead of green. Turns out when they’re dry, I got my green….

* Deep and narrow, not wide and shallow – containers…..

* July in Tucson not the most optimal time to dye outside – do it VERY early morning.

* Make sure when you use your funnel and go from a larger container to a smaller one that you pour SLOWLY….

All that said, I turned out some pretty cool stuff. My yardstick for judging is “Would I buy this commercially if I saw it in a store?” I think I would. So here goes….

This is my favorite – reminds me of a garden….

So there really is a hidden purpose to all this – I want to marble on these, much like Marjorie Beavis – she dyes first, then marbles. I am trying to get some marbled “salmon” for a new piece for next year’s Fish Follies Show. We’ll see how it goes next marbling session.

The work in progress this week is my friend Yvonna, who has rediscovered her artistic side – and wow! Her clay work is absolutely amazing!! I first saw some of her work when we were still teaching together. She brought a salad to our school potluck in this gorgeous bowl that she had made. I tend to find pottery somewhat boring, but this bowl was truly amazing! She has been taking pottery classes at Parks and Rec for the last couple of years and just now bought her own kiln.

She started focusing in on texture in the clay – lots of natural textures: pine cones, cactus spines, leaves…and now she’s using old laces. I am having severe pot envy…..

I know one other clay artist, my digital partner Suzan, and her bowls are perfect, wonderful glazing and shapes – a wonderful serenity to her work. Yvonna is at the other end of the spectrum – her work shouts “Look at me!” I’m trying to get her to start writing her blog – Talking Clay – but we’ll have to push her….she just doesn’t think her work is that good. Au contraire!

So here’s some eye candy for the day – enjoy her work!

I have spent the day so far at the computer, cleaning out old emails, answering emails, updating links – all the stuff you put off doing. However, there has been some amazing stuff I’ve discovered on the web this week – loads of eye candy! So sit back and enjoy!!

* This first is an amazing marbling video by a Turkish master. I was stunned by it – so different from anything I have seen, and so masterful in technique. I should live long enough to be able to do this!

* The Guild of American Papercutters – not a great website, but the gallery has some really amazing photos. I fell in love with papercuts when I watched a master in Shanghai create a lovely cutting of a girl, with just scissors and his own eye for detail.

* A wonderful artist – Harrison Howard from San Diego – vibrant paintings, some interesting Asian influences. His shell series are quite wonderful. I tend to really like vibrant colors (I think the school is “colorist?”), and these really do it for me.

* Clark Little surf photography – words will never do these images justice. The waves, the curls, the movement – you will drool at each image.

* Human Computation – another YouTube video. You know those made-up words we use for encoding to prove we’re really human? Luis Ahn explains how we are helping to digitize books each time we type them – really fascinating!

* The Scribbler – just downright fun to play with – your own scribbles, and you can upload them into an online gallery.

* Art Licensing Info – an interesting resource as we start doing more marketing. Free download e-book on getting started with Twitter.

* 3-D Street Art – more street painting – really great stuff, with how-to photos. Couldn’t figure out how to get a photo to post!

* China’s Olympics Light Creative Flame – interesting article.

* The Power of One – a fabulous video – we can all be instruments of change for the better. Check out additional videos.