update

Let's see...

1. I opened a shop on etsy. Now you can buy my crafty goods, play with my nipples, and purchase funny things I picked up in Korea. Check it out. I'll do custom stuff too.

2. I'm in Canada. It's so cold, it's oppressive. It's just wrong.

3. I'm working on a lot of good ideas. I haven't ever been so active creatively and motivated to seek out opportunities to show my work. I feel spectacular about this.

4. I'm starting a new (snail/real) mail-based project. Email me if you are interested in participating and I'll send you details.

5. I slacked towards the end of thing-a-day. I couldn't keep up with posting. I made a thing or two a day, but I got lazy with the documentation. Disappointing.

salon

I don't even know where to start.

The presentation I gave at the FPA Salon was SO MUCH FUN! What a fantastic audience. I gave away pieces of koco and met a collections of wonderful creative people. To note a couple, I shared the evening with painter Jenny Kanzler and photographer Corey Armprester.

This was exactly what I needed to make my return to the states feel like a welcome home. I'm inspired to do more storytelling in public, do performances, make things, and start collaborative pieces.

The First Person Arts people were just amazing, totally funky fabulous menches. AND they invited me to come back for an update on the project! So, I'm busy giving pieces away and collecting stories, so if you'd like a piece of koco, holla at me!

I haven't always loved Philly, but it is a city that is kind to artists and I'll have to take advantage of this while I'm around. I'm willing to give it another try, and if this truly is the city that loves you back, I may end up here longer than I planed.

Pieces of Koco: Cell Phone Recycling

My cell phone from Korea wasn't anything close to the flashy superphone one would expect, but I like the story behind it. My first Korean phone died when I dropped it in a gigantic puddle. My second phone wasn't that notable, and strangely enough (for me) I can't even remember what happened to it. I do remember when I got the phone shown above though!

My job in Korea was just about the most ideal situation one could ever ask for. Of course I still complained from time to time, but it was great, particularly for the random perks. One of these perks came at the ten year anniversary of Samsung's sponsorship of the university. They plopped 700 bucks in my account and a brand new 500 dollar pda cell phone on my desk. It had everything, it could do anything. In an iphone-less world it was like discovering sliced bread. The only thing it didn't do: English. I asked my Korean tutor if he could help me sell it. And he did, for 450 bucks! Then I bought my co-worker's old phone, but discovered that I couldn't use it with my phone service, so I sold it to my student who wanted it for her mother, and in the end I got my final Korean phone from the friend of my tutor, who gave it to me for free, so I took them both, and my tutor's girlfriend, out to my favorite vegetarian restaurant. Great fun.

Now I have no use for this phone, or the other old ones I've come across laying around in my house. I wasn't sure if anyone could make use of my Korean phone here in the states; I'm so out of the loop on whether people even activate used phones. I wasn't going to just throw them out, particularly after recently discovering how nasty these rechargeable batteries are. So, I decided to recycle it with T-Mobile per the recommendation of my dear friend Rose. Apparently, "100% of the net proceeds from handset recycling now benefit the charitable efforts of the T-Mobile Huddle Up program." From the info and pictures posted here and there, it looks like they are doing some good stuff for kids and communities. Fabulous.

I do have one complaint/comment regarding this recycling program adventure. From the site, I found a bunch of T-mobile locations near my home, but only the corporate locations accept the used phones for donation. In all of the three locations I visited, including the last one where they finally took my phones after consulting managerial staff, employees were all surprised that T-mobile even had a recycling program. None of them had even heard of it.
Disappointing.

Pieces of Koco: Spiderman Wallet

When I lost my wallet in Seoul, sometime in September last year, Zaza gave me this Spiderman wallet as a replacement. LOVE HER!

It got me some cool points with somewhat geeky boys, but I had a flashback to the late 80's/early 90's every time I took it out. The velcro made SO MUCH NOISE. I'd try to open it in my bag or leave it open in a pocket, to avoid turning beet red at the register. It was a blaring call for everyone in the store to turn their attention to me. But it was cute and a much appreciated gift. Now I think someone else could enjoy it, maybe a cute somewhat geeky guy.

search & destroy

How do you lose a memory? How do you find another?

found a glass chicken 

without a head, document

destroy evidence

 

things i made

Today was kinda nuts. I had a funny feeling when I got up. I didn't feel like doing much, but motivated myself to organize my art supplies. Then this afternoon a building exploded in my neighborhood a couple doors down from the house I grew up in. Still, I got around to making a couple things.

These hangers remind me of ladies shopping with too many shopping bags dangling off their arms. Or like they are saying, "Why do I have so much tape? I don't know."

I also decided to make a knit bracelet. I was inspired by the cashmere bangles I saw at some way pricey SoHo boutique over the summer. This is my first attempt at making knit jewelery.

First I cut out the neck of an old black t-shirt and doubled it by twisting it like you would with a hair scrunchy. Then I wrapped ribbon around it. I stitched the ribbon with teeny-tiny stitches and thread that matched. Then I took a piece of knitted lace (an old swatch I knitted for a sweater I decided not to make) and sewed up the seam around the ribbon covered piece.

Eh, I dunno, sorta looks like a donut.

hey cupcake

What's up with the extreme icing? I saw these today at an upscale market in Center City Philadelphia for 3 bucks. I think my body would go into shock if I ate something like that.

Looking at them I was suddenly reminded of that scene in Death Becomes Her, where an extremely obese version of Goldie Hawn waddles into the kitchen and opens the cabinet stocked with frosting, in every flavor. She grabs one, rips open the container, and starts eating its contents with her fingers.

These were even worse. They were selling for 5 dollars at Chelsea Market in NYC. I looked at the Elmo cupcake in the front and realized I had the exact same expression on my face--one of utter disgust. Who on earth would buy such a thing with that much icing on it? Could I get some cake with that frosting please?! I imagine these are made for kids, but anyone who'd let a kid eat something like this shouldn't be allowed to care for a child.

Tanya's Borscht

From Tanya, to Vera, to Anita, and now to me... Today was the day we would finally documented it properly.

Here's my mother's version of the borscht story:

There are many versions of borscht. I guess every Ukrainian/Russian/Jewish grandma had her own version. We have never tasted borscht like ours anywhere. We’ve seen borscht on the menu on a few occasions at Jewish delis or at ethnic restaurants, but our version has never appeared. It seems as though borscht is unique to each family and depends on what on what is available in the refrigerator at the time of making. My grandmother, Tanya, made borscht almost weekly and according to my mother, Vera. It was a staple in her house, especially during the depression years. It was sometimes hard to find beets and meat in the mid-1930’s in Chicago. On those occasions one would improvise, however we remember that my grandmother’s borscht was pretty consistent.

There is a story that Vera tells about borscht. It goes like this: When she arrived in America with her parents in 1922, they went to live with Grandma Tanya’s brother Saul and his wife Clara. Clara had one daughter at the time, a baby about Vera’s age, named Alyce. Tanya was feeding Vera borscht one day and Clara said in Yiddish, “The de greena (immigrant) doesn’t know how to feed a baby. Babies don’t get borscht. They won’t grow.” But grandma ignored Clara and fed Vera borscht anyway. Vera grew just fine and turned 86 in August.

I recall Vera and I visiting my daughter when she was an undergrad at NYU. We made containers of borscht and brought them to the dorm. I wonder how the smell was received when she heated it up. The soup does have a distinct odor of cabbage. I once brought some to school (in inner city Philadelphia) for lunch and one student came to my door after smelling the warmed up borscht and said, “It smells like wet dog in here.” 


---

***WARNING: Borscht can be dangerous!***

TANYA’S BORSCHT

1 can of whole tomatoes with the juice (28 oz.)
2 ½ cans of water (use the can as your measuring cup)
2-3 fresh beets cut into cubes
shank bone with meat, or cubes of beef for stew (about a pound) or 4 – 5 short ribs
(Your choice, but you want it lean as possible. Short ribs are not too lean)
1 medium whole onion
1/4 cup of green pepper cut in 1/2 inch strips
1/4 cup of barley
one carrot cut in 1 inch rounds
2-3 red potatoes, peeled and cubed

Put the first five ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to boil. Then add the potatoes, green peppers, barley and the carrots after it comes to a boil. Boil for about 15-20 minutes until the meat and beets become tender.
Then add: 2 lemons juiced

Then add: 1 head of cabbage, shredded

Cook until the cabbage is tender and adjust the taste with salt, pepper and perhaps a little sugar if the soup is too sour. Sprinkle on chives at serving.

This freezes well in containers with tight fitting lids.

The making of borscht is dangerous. It is dangerous because cutting fresh beets into cubes can be difficult (they are very hard) and they stain your fingers, clothes, cutting boards, and counter tops. Use the lemon rind to clean up the stains. The cutting of the cabbage is dangerous too. The cabbage is hard and unwieldy at times. Be careful. And then there is the danger factor due to the cabbage. This can be flatulence producing, and therefore dangerous.

The making of borscht is not exact. One has to practice and make it often, using the freshest of ingredients. Eventually, the measurements will be become second nature and you will have created your own version of Tanya’s Borscht.

I'm absolutely convinced, after comparing today's recipe with my mother's above, that there is no one version of Tanya's Borscht. Here's what I saw today:

Roll over Notes for more instructions and details.

My mother and my grandmother crack me up, make me so happy, and still have the ability to embarrass me like no other people on the planet.

old jeans--> new thing

I wore out my favorite pair of jeans, but couldn't seem to let them go. They just fit my butt so well. I hoped to make a small rug, but this turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected. So, I made a trivet instead.

To make it, I cut the jeans into long strips about one inch wide. Next I ironed the strips.

I wanted to make small and large rolls. To make the larger roll I folded the strip in half. For the small ones I cut the strips in half so they were 1/2 inch wide.
Then I started making the rolls. I stitched at the end to keep it together.

Lastly I started sewing one roll to the next.

first thing

I'm making a thing a day for the month of February. I usually have no problem starting projects, or making something everyday, but finishing is a different story all together. This month I'm focusing on finishing projects that are almost done and documenting the finished products in addition to starting new ones. I also hope to use as many of the materials that I already have and reusing old things (like an old pair of jeans) to make new things.

What I did before:
I made this from Noro Kureyon yarn. It's 100% wool so it felts easily. I knit a big rectangle all in garter stitch (knit every row) and threw it in the washer. It shrank to 12 by 8.5 inches.

What I did today:
I folded it like an envelope and seemed up the sides, which I realized later I should have done before I felted it. To finish it off I crocheted a small latch and put a button on it that popped off a wool skirt I never wear. Tah-dah!

products that inspire awe

I make it a point to visit pharmacies in foreign countries because I find it far more informative and exciting than most famous tourist sites. I've come across some strange products in my day, and my recent finds are so ridiculous, I have to share.

I found these men's products in the Family Mart in Bangkok. It wasn't the product as much as the advertising. All of these products are some kind of face wash. On the two Degaze products they had the image of a guy bending over flashing a peace sign; I just don't get it. The two products on the right had silly names: Ride Me! and Beat Me! I don't know what they were going for.

Recently I've discovered that you don't even have to travel that far to find things that make no sense or just laugh out loud in the aisle. Apparently Walgreens stocks some of the most bizarre products. My fabulous friend Eleni found this gem, and had to take a picture, and email it to me. It was that funny. BOD, now only 5.99! "I want your BOD" My response: Brilliant! Disgusting! Amazing!

When Kiersten suggested a late night trip to the Walgreens in Brooklyn last week I was about to jump out of my skin. We share a love for these places, and we have no qualms about being the weirdos standing in front of the hand soap for 20 minutes to find the one that smells the most pleasing for the best price. This visit was notable.

We found some great stuff. In addition to singing greeting cards and snake oil, we found garlic conditioner. It was GROSS. After smelling it, (we had to open it to see what it smelled like, who wouldn't?) I don't know why you'd ever put something this pungent in your hair.

Pieces of Koco: Frogs

59 Frogs. Made out of glass, metal, plastic, tiger's eye, jade, wax. A hat, two ornaments, a pair of earrings, a ring case, a photo of a Mexican Frogboy. Red ones, blue ones, and a couple that glow in the dark. A few that hop, one that squeaks, one that has tongue that jumps out at you.

I don't collect frogs. It's hard to believe by looking at this, but I'm telling the truth.
This collection chose me, I never decided to collect frogs.

My Aunt Marne is a great gifter. She has fantastic taste, a word traveler (even went to Antarctica) and she's very generous. For some reason she thought that I collected frogs, so everywhere she went she'd pick one up for me. I'd accept it graciously and never really told her. People saw this building collection of items my aunt got me, and assumed that I collected froggies, so I started getting frogs from other people. My mother even bought me frog flip-flops and frog socks. I bought a box of plastic tropical frogs to add some color to the collection, but the majority of these were gifts.

In the summer of 2005 I traveled to Thailand with my aunt. We shopped and got massages like it was our job. Marne had to stop at every vendor selling wooden frogs. She bought at least a dozen in all shapes and sizes. I realized, at the 4th or 5th vendor, that the reason I got all those frogs was because SHE really likes them.

I have grown quite attached to them though. I'm not sure if I'm ready to let go of all of the frogs in the collection yet. HOWEVER, I will be giving pieces of the collection away at the First Person Salon at the Gershman Y, Feb. 13th from 7 -10PM (For more info. see: First Person Arts). I will give you a frog. In return you email me about its new life, or tell me a story, or write a poem, or take a picture, or whatever, for the archives.