I winged my way into these gigantic raspberry scones this morning. 

Also remade this, accidentally lost in the Great Data Erasure of 2009. It’s always better the second time around anyway. 

I’m reading The Craftsman, by Richard Sennet- I’ve only just started, but it’s great so far. He says many smart things about the social functions of workshops and authority, and how originality somehow gave artists less autonomy and more vulnerability. There’s also this: 

Workshops present and past have glued people together through work rituals, whether these be a shared cup of tea or the urban parade; through mentoring, whether the formal surrogate parenting of medieval times or informal advising on the worksite; through face-to-face sharing of information. 

 

I’m having one of those reading experiences that reaffirms what I already believe, in other words. I’m lucky to run a workshop in NYC; I love being able to bring a wide variety of people together to work in a social hub. Shared workspaces are the ideal solution for the making of impractical objects in a city where real estate gets in the way of starting things.

Two Wounds by Chris Diken, an awesome book.  Published by Uninhabitable Mansions, which seems to be a publishing collective? Perhaps? In any case, they have a sewing machine, and a good story, and a whole lot of hand cut pages.

And you can buy direct from the Uninhabitable Mansions website, as well as see lovely photos of other things they have made. You can also buy from Desert Island, the only place that can convince me to go to Williamsburg. 

I’m eating hot chili cabbage and running the fan in the kitchen to cool it off after baking a raspberry buttermilk cake. 

Summer’s my favorite time of year. 

My hard drive died last weekend, and now it’s like my computer has dementia. It reminds me of how nice it is when things fall apart in a really dramatic sort of way, because that means you have room for something new.

I made this most amazing strawberry tart tonight, in honor of my friend Miriam, who’s is coming over for dinner tomorrow. It made me glad that it’s May, with many baked goods full of fresh fruit in front of me, and not November, with plenty of turnips to look forward to. Nothing against turnips, but you know. Look at that tart. Beats root vegetables any day. Lives up to the word tart.

I made a poster I liked, really liked, this weekend as well. This is a proof in progress, but you get the idea. I haven’t made something I’ve really liked that wasn’t food in awhile.  

Word of the day: 

This Saturday: May 2nd. The Brooklyn Food Coalition is sponsoring a day of lectures, workshops, demos and more. There’s an extensive schedule of panels on subjects like food policy and activism, starting a co-op, urban farming and community gardens, food and culture and more. It all looks completely fabulous.

You can register and see the full schedule of events here.

I, of course, have to work. When is there going to be an event scheduled on a Sunday? Monday afternoon anyone?

Can’t stand them. 

Does anyone know why Monday is Asian wedding photo op day in Prospect Park?