Sangria!

It’s amazing where art can take you. I was creating an orange slice for my ‘Fruit Salad’ piece (see the 1/31/09 entry) when I was transported 11 years or so back in time to Ann Arbor, Michigan. I was sitting on the rooftop of the Palio restaurant on South Main, near the Real Seafood Company, being wooed by my (now) husband. I kinda miss being wooed. Anyway, it was late afternoon on a hot summer day and we were sharing a pitcher of sangria on the roof looking over the city. I remember the sweating pitcher with the floating ice cubes and slices of fresh oranges—mmmmm! [Note to self—we have to go back there!]. I started singing the reggae song ‘Red, Red Wine’, off in my own little world. That’s when I decided I needed to make ‘Sangria’.

One of the good things about Bloomington is that I can find anything I need. I started off at Bloomingfoods to get a lemon and a lime to slice for artistic accuracy (I never got my license). I slipped the lemon zest into a green bean dish that I make with peanuts that’s really tasty. In fact, it’s the only way I can get my bean-hating husband to eat them. That’s important because Amy and Andy Hamilton at the CSA slip us tons of green beans every summer and I have to do something with them. Sorry, back to finding stuff. Even with the fruit I still needed ice cubes for the piece. I asked my friend and fellow artist Cappi Phillips if she could help, and she was able to pull several varieties out of her artistic freezer! Cappi is a local mosaic artist (moesache.blogspot.com) who is a professional packrat by necessity (something near and dear to my heart). She made the colorful shutters on the front of our house if you’re ever driving down Ruby Lane in Bloomington. Spring is a good time if you like flowers.



So anyway, this week I was in my art studio sorting through my red yarns and humming ‘Red, Red Wine’. I had my ice cubes and I made my fruit slices, and my pitcher of Sangria re-appeared! If art isn’t magic it’s the next closest thing.


Until next week…