Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom...you would have turned 80 last Sunday. So hard to believe. Did I ever get a chance to thank you for introducing me to the world of art as a young girl. I'll  never forget our trips to Denver to see amazing works of art at the Denver Art Museum. I still remember attending opera, the ballet and the numerous plays you took me to. I'll never forget the first time I saw "The Hobbit" with you, and was gently, but firmly, pulled into the world of Tolkien. Oh, all those Saturday morning modern dance and art classes at the college. Those wonderful hikes through and up the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. 14,000 foot peaks! With you! I can only hope that I have done as well as you did, with my own two children (who you would have loved immensely). I understand now why Dad called you "Cheri" (not your real name of Marilyn), because this means "darling" in french. And you were exactly that...

Pictured above: Marilyn, 1955, taken by my father, Thomas Jones.

Dear Diary: My Life. This Week...

What a week. After spending Monday and Tuesday posting new "goodies in Etsy, I have turned "inward"– exploring new work involving Mom, and how her early death affected me. I'm thinking about this because I was recently asked to submit to a new publication that is "in the works". It involves answering some tough questions about my experiences as an "artist", and a request for some art that is inward-looking, personal. I have been skirting the issue for years, knowing full well that some day I would have to embrace Her, fully, in my art. I have felt her in the studio with me, as I peruse old photos of her. All I have left of her "life" are her old cookbook (her notations are in the margins, along with unknown bits of dried food), one of her art history books (complete with her handwritten lecture notes) and her photos from the 1950's, right before I was born. As I work on this particular piece, I seem to be having some heartfelt, silent conversations with her...feels good. Love you mom.

Pictured: work in progress.

Some wonderous words for the "Monday After"...

Visit Rebecca's blog, Requerda Mi Corazon, to read some really moving words about the Holidays. I think they will help to make this "Monday After" hangover go a bit more smoothly...

Also, I wanted to share my resolutions for 2010:

• Go back to Mexico

• Learn more Spanish

• Do more hiking

• find my creative "true north"

• help others find their creative "true north"

My Holiday Gift to you: Mom's Rum Ball Recipe

Every year, during the Holidays, I reconnect with my mom (who passed away in 1980) by cooking some of her recipes. I drag out her recipe cards and the old, tattered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, whose time-worn pages are full of family memories and 'history'. Her notations (and mine) are written in some of the margins. There are crusted remains of  past cooking adventures on some of the pages. That cookbook is probably older than I am. Here is one of my mom's own recipes, I hope you try it out! (Caution: limit intake of these cookies, you may need a "designated driver" after consuming too many of these).

6 cups vanilla wafers, crushed

3/4 cups  rum (more or less)–I like the strong taste of rum, you may want to use less!

6 TBSP white Karo syrup (sweetened corn syrup)

6 TBSP cocoa (unsweetened)

2–3 cups chopped walnuts

3 cups powdered sugar (more or less)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl (hands work best!), except for the powdered sugar. Roll mixture into small balls, then roll in powdered sugar. Put into tightly sealed containers. Flavor increases with age! This recipe makes enough to share with  family and friends...Thanks mom! Love you...

For more information and history of the wonderful rum ball, visit Wickipedia.