Philly Travel Nature Photo

Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education Bird Count and Hiking

2012-01-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I attended my first Bird Count at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. We joined a group in progress, in charge of one quadrant of the nature space, we had to keep our eyes peeled for any flickering in the trees or shrubs and our expert birder helped us identify and keep track of what and how many we found. There was a surprising variety of species for the middle of Winter in Philadelphia, but he said this was the southern migration location for many Northern birds.

Birding guide helps our group spot species in the meadow

My sister in her new owl hat

After walking a small loop of trail we spotted, two kinds or vultures, red tailed hawk, tufted titmouse, carolina chickadee, several sparrows, a variety of woodpeckers, geese, jays, cardinals, dark eyed juncos, morning doves (there were many more but we got there late).

Tallying up all the birds from all the groups

All the groups return to the Center's library to share what they found, competitive birders in the group gloated over the rarer species and higher bird counts, and we were all amazed at the vast variety of bird life to be found. Birders shared best locations to find certain species and compared the tally to past years counts.

Bird case with owls

The event was free and coffee, juice and snacks were provided. Afterward we stopped in the gift shop and looked over the stuffed bird toys for my sister and the tree id books for me.

A great find in the gift shop

The Bird Blind with pictures and viewports for adults and kids

The Schuylkill Center with rainwater cisterns on the right

Solar array in the parking lot

I returned to the Center later in the week to walk some more of the extensive trails, spending about an hour and a half hiking the Ravine loop and taking pictures of the birds and winter landscape. There is a lot of ground to cover and interesting eco art installations by international artists all around the grounds.

Carolina Chickadee at one of the many feeding stations

Creek waterfall on the Ravine Loop Trail

Vulture above the treeline

The trail can be a bit steep at places

Eco art space: Kids bird blind? Fun design

Beech roots intertwining

Springhouse pond, a good place to spot frogs

The Springhouse: spooky

Bird and Native Plant Shelter

Plants, birds, construction of the shelter

Interactive Exhibits inside the Center

Striped Sparrow munching at one of the bird blind's many feeders

Returning to the main road on foot (I traveled to the center on the 9 bus from Center City) I took the Grey Fox trail through the woods, startling a pack of deer, and ended up in a stand of pine trees that looked more like I had wandered into an Eastern European forest.

Pine plantation on the Grey Fox Trail, where I saw the deer

Under the canopy of the pines, good place for hide and seek, or a nap

Urban Girls Produce Farm, one of several farms near the entrance

Back to the main road: Hagy's Mill Rd. at Port Royal

For those who venture here on foot, the short cut through the farm is less dangerous in this area with no sidewalks and steep inclines or dense foliage along the road, with cars whipping around curves without thought to bikes or pedestrians. The 9 bus to Andorra drops you off at Ridge Ave. and Port Royal and you walk about 2 blocks uphill to the path to the farm. At the farm take a right around farm one, down and up the windy path to farm two, then follow the trails straight ahead to the Center's main entrance or to the left to meet up with Grey Fox loop. Here's the google map

They have events every weekend for families and adult offerings like the upcoming book discussion with Alex Mulcahy from GRID magazine, and they are open every day from 8:30-4:30 pm.

Etsy Nest Furniture for the Kitchen and Living Room

2012-01-05T20:22:00.002-05:00

I came across some really amazing furniture lately so I wanted to share some recent favorites for the home:

Kitchen:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53380453/pair-of-midcentury-modern-chairs-in

http://www.etsy.com/listing/85881960/white-1960s-small-saarinen-style-table

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80935893/kitchen-lighting-with-custom-fabric-drum

http://www.etsy.com/listing/72753143/artichoke-thistle-linen-tea-towel-set-of

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71819496/eat-your-greens-sign

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75576592/red-nautical-accent-chair

Living Room:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65824880/can-shelf

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71892063/amber-sunset-clear-and-tangerine-mason

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52525351/curved-bay-window-bench-recycled-douglas

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66636810/wolf-den-coat-rack

http://www.etsy.com/listing/83275425/blue-1960s-mod-retro-arm-chair-milo?ref=v1_other_2

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71838632/vintage-mid-century-modern-1950s

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62678062/diy-furniture-leg-bench-or-coffeetable

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84395032/owl-pillow-hand-screen-printed-felted?ref=v1_other_1

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79114282/soft-moss-very-soft-hand-woven-green-rug

New Cookbooks for the New Year!

2012-01-03T21:50:00.002-05:00

I just found out I have a cousin who works at Powell's Books in Portland and I was so excited I asked for a gift card from there for the holidays. While most of the books are going to be for school, yesterday I ordered tons of cookbooks! I found one great new book on making jams, pickles, sauces and crackers, then I browsed all the low priced used cookbooks and found book after book under $1:

You can see how varied my interests are :)

I also got one other one on Farmer's Market finds in the Fall, all for $38.

My local bookstore didn't have much in the way of cookbooks,

so this is the next best bet.

I searched used cookbooks by price here:

http://www.powells.com/used/cooking-and-food/

I'm so excited to start canning! I know, a little popular right now, but I got some recipes for corn relish, salsas, jams and more when I was waiting for the doctor and reading Better Homes and Gardens. They actually have a guide to canning online: http://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/preserving-canning/ and I'm hoping to host some workshops with Handmade Philly in the Spring.

Landscape Architecture Blog

2011-12-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

I'm taking on some new interests by pursuing a degree in Landscape Architecture, with a concentration in Environmental Restoration, and in my first semester we started blogs for a landscape history class:

http://formsandlandscapes.wordpress.com/

The classes include drawing, native plant id, design, engineering, drafting and work outdoors, so it combines alot of my interests and I get to keep photographing and exploring (more excuses to travel!). Looking at the work of Frederick Law Olmstead makes me want to visit NYC in the near future to check out Central Park and Prospect Park with a new focus on design, as well as some of his parks in the Pacific Northwest and Louisville, KY.

Here is a basic graphics drawing assignment, actually one of the
short projects we did this semester, from start to finish:

Base map with contour lines (what the instructor gave us)

Color-coded map with prohibited areas colored in
(either too steep, too flat, or too close to the protected wetland and stream)

My plan drawing with required fields, amphitheater, park office, trails and parking

With the wetland and amphitheater colored in

Adding the title and base color for the trees

Adding the ground cover and the rest of the title block info

With the fields and evergreen trees added in

A close up

The critique in the studio with a few of my classmates' projects. Mine is on the far right.

I'm enjoying drawing again, but the pace is very quick and it has been a long time since I spent days in the studio at a time, so it's been an adjustment getting back into the culture, but as my engineering teacher said, he loves Project Runway because he loves that studio culture and I love watching the creative solutions everyone comes up with.

I love the diversity of what I'm learning, too. I'm studying native plants and visiting ecosystems in different parks in the area, doing calculations for engineering and storm water management, learning how to draw landscape graphics and layout pages, and learning about the history and writing papers, so it's like every part of my brain is being used at once and I get to be outdoors in nature. Being bent over a table drawing for hours at a time has taken a toll on my back and drawing hand, though!

Website Launch and New Collectors Photos for a Year

2011-10-29T17:13:00.003-04:00

The NEW website!

I'm also starting a Collection Series:

Grab bag from the Print Drawer

I store my prints in a file drawer in my apartment that has grown quite full and includes film prints and digital prints with images ranging from ones taken a week ago to ones from 2008. If you select this option (which I would be really excited to see someone try it out) you will get 10, 8 x 10" prints of a variety of subjects. Since this is a new option, I'd be happy to go over the images with you and help you select the ones you would enjoy the most.

5 x 7" fine art photographs

The new print collection series are fine art prints on sustainable sugarcane paper, available in three sizes, one print each month for a year (or you can choose to get them all at once).

Its kind of like a CSA for art, you support the artist by providing a more sustainable way for them to progress and try out new ideas without the burden of all of the upfront costs on the artist alone.

I'm getting the sugarcane prints which are a beautiful, sustainable by-product of sugarcane processing, white paper with a slight texture to the surface. I've been selling prints on this paper in my painting shop and customers have loved them. They are printed by a very professional gallery/independent printer here in Philly, Silicon Gallery, so you're helping support an artist, and indie business and a green paper industry.

8 x 10 fine art print collection

11 x 14" fine art print collection

5 x 7 Print Collection

These images are just examples of the kind that might be in the collections and I'm looking for more feedback on what to include. Personally, I would like to get a wide range of the person's work and I think it would be exciting to wait each month to see what print arrived in the mail. You could get it as a gift for someone and surprise them with a print and note each month.

I love gifts that last.

Prices:

5" x 7" fine art prints for a year: $150

8" x 10" fine art prints for a year: $220

11" x 14" fine art prints for a year: $300

If you want to get a test print before you buy the whole item, you can buy a print sampler and I'll ship you a proofs so you can see the paper quality and the ink color saturation.

Delicious New French Cafe

2011-09-05T18:23:00.000-04:00

New to the Spring Gardens section of Philadelphia is Cafe L'Aube, a Crepiere and cafe with a wide selection of savory and sweet combinations of spreads, fromage, meats, fruits as well as your average baked goods and excellent coffee and coffee drinks.

I stopped in after hearing about the cafe from some neighbors and was charmed by the decor, atmosphere and the friendly and exacting owner and chef. When there was some mishap with the quality of my coffee (nothing that I noticed...), he refused to let me drink it and made me a new cup right away.

I've stopped in since then for coffee or a muffin, but today I finally tried a sandwhich: The Savoire, turkey, brie and fig jam on a baguette. It arrive on a large plate with fresh salad and home-made mustard honey dressing and was so unbelievably delicious...I was stunned. The menu has so many delightful and surprising combinations, I'll be back soon to try more.

The location is fantastic, looking out on the Mural Arts Diego Rivera inspired lanscape mural and a block from the Spring Gardens community Gardens and the newly renovated Roberto Clemente Playground, it pairs well with a stroll through the neighborhood.

http://www.cafelaube.com/

Great Front Stoop Gardens and City Planters

2011-09-05T13:31:00.002-04:00

Reclaimed wood planter, Girard Ave.

Raised bed vegetable garden, West Philly

Front yard flower garden, West Philly

Wine barrell planter, Center City

Stone flower planter, Center City

Driveway planter, Center City

Assorted planters, Center City

I was collecting images of inventive ways Philadelphians harvest every inch of exterior space to grow food and flowers and here are a few examples. Some of these gardeners use mere inches of passage space (as in the driveway planters) while others enjoy the comparatively large postage stamp front yards of West Philly.

Using the vertical space is one great idea, as well as choosing compact varieties that compliment each other in color and texture. Choosing a planter material that is appropriate to your setting is also essential, such as the reclaimed wood board planter, beautifully blending with the cream stucco and sepia brick. I'm on the look out for a great planter for my front stoop, but I haven't found the right material or container yet.

What is your favorite source for planters?

Fabulous Fashion: Handmade

2011-07-23T18:33:00.001-04:00

Click on each image to see the shop of each designer:

Bikes of Philly Photo Contest

2011-07-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

Leave a comment under your favorite bike photo on my flickr site and get entered for a chance to win a free bike photo!

Chocolate Tart Recipe

2011-07-23T15:45:00.000-04:00

I spotted this recipe in Food Magazine and loved the look of it, but the taste is even better. The cocoa in the recipe makes all the difference and the organic cocoa I found at Whole Foods is amazing. I made this tart the first time for a 4th of July dinner, not with pears as the recipe suggests, but with strawberries and rhubarb I was saving in the freezer. It was delicious, but the berries gave it a shorter shelf life. The second time I tried the pears when I made it for my garden's summer potluck. It dissapeared pretty quick. Today I'm going for broke with fresh peaches. Really almost any fruit would work.

The recipe also calls for almond flour or making your own in a food processor, which I substituted with wheat flour without any problem.

Happy Garden Cards to Die For

2011-06-20T21:33:00.002-04:00

I found a set of these cards in a high school classroom I was visiting and had to have them, so I searched Etsy, only finding partial sets until I spotted this one at Bright Wall Studios. These awesome retro cards has plants and tips on growing them but the surprise is all of the gardening advice from canning, pickling, making terrariums, designing medicinal herb beds and Ready Made-style building projects from outdoor tables, benches, window boxes and kids garden projects. The indoor gardens section is a trip back in time to when folks filled their houses with plants and had stands with grow lights and incorporated plants into their interior designs. It's amazing how relevant the whole set is and how much more plant saturated people's lives were back in the day. I'm in OCD Garden heaven.

Screenprinting at Bartram's Gardens

2011-06-12T16:02:00.000-04:00

I scored some great new t-shirts, hand printed by artists on the lawn at Bartram's Gardens this weekend. I heard about the Art in the Open program through the Print Center's email newsletters, and stopped by the Buffalo Exchange for some cheap t-shirts to print and decided to layer the designs over each other.

While I was there I wandered around and checked out the trees, flower gardens, some cool raised beds with pitcher plants and hand twisted vine trellises and the boardwalks to the waterfront. They are having a membership sale for $25 till the end of June and you get all kinds of free passes and discounts. I picked up some unusual tomatoes and peppers while I was there, they have on sale for $3 each, pretty good for good sized plants and varieties like Czech Black and Bishop's Hat you won't ever find at Home Depot.

Four Worlds Bakery and Coffee

2011-06-12T15:32:00.000-04:00

I finally made it over to Four Worlds Bakery to grab a coffee and pastry on my way to Bartram's Gardens this weekend. The new storefront is anchoring development on Woodland Ave. where the Tool Library, Woodland Lumber, University Green, a tea house, solar homes, a new child care center and soon a tacoria are reviving the street's business district. You can catch the 36 trolley right to the door at 47th and Woodland Ave. Like an old school bakery you want to get there early to get the good stuff!

Food from my Garden CONTEST

2011-06-12T14:57:00.001-04:00

My garden has been supplying enough dino and red russian kale for three families a week and plenty of spicy radishes I finally figured out how to use, I've been slicing them up thin and putting them in quesadillas and omelets. I've been waiting and watching two broccoli heads develop and they are pretty close. Any ideas of good recipes to use them in? Leave a comment with a recipe idea and get put in a drawing for a free 8 x 10 print from the garden!

Food from the Farms

2011-06-11T10:11:00.003-04:00

After the great farm dinner I placed my order from Harvest Local Foods, selecting from a list of weekly offerings that has grown very large, including dry goods, fresh fruit and veggies, jams, jellies, chocolate, coffee, meats, prepared foods, cookbooks, milk, yogurt, and much more.

Here's my cooler of food delivered by Carly from Harvest Local Foods for the week:

Boylan's birch beer, Hillacres Pride Horseradish cheddar cheese, potatoes from an African-American growers alliance in North Carolina, scrapple from High View Farm (where the dinner was held), Shady Lane Farm eggs, yellow squash, turnips, apples, carrots, cucumbers, Kauffman's apple snitz (dried apples snack), garlic scapes.

It's so nice to come home after work and have fresh local farm food food sitting in the

entryway of your house waiting for you!

I made omelets with the scapes, turnips, potatoes, apples this week.

Farm Dinner Today, Harvest Local Foods

2011-06-05T09:06:00.003-04:00

Sunday June 5, 2011

I spent the day at High View Farm meeting all of the animals : guinea fowl, chickens, goats, sheep, horses, kittens, then feasting on great local foods and brews under the trees and hearing more about Harvest Local Foods, where I order lots of my local food from.

Pam and Mary Ann, the owners of HLF were nice enough to give me and a friend a ride to the farm dinner, a celebration of local food growers and their company's 5 year birthday.

Harvest Local Foods, buylocal@harvestlocalfoods.com, 484-461-7884

High View Farms,166 Monmouth Road, North Hanover, NJ 08562

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

2011-05-20T19:53:00.000-04:00

I started seeing Rhubarb in the market last week and decided it was time to make a rhubarb recipe.

I found an old Martha Stewart Living with several recipes including this one I modified

to make strawberry rhubarb muffins.

After chopping up the rhubarb stalks and strawberries I started on the batter. Martha has you whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda (I just stirred it). In a big bowl, use the mixer to blend 1 stick of butter or 1/2 cup with 1 cup of sugar until "pale and fluffy". I added an egg, then blended, then another, then blended, then added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and blended. Then you add half of the flour mixture, mix. Martha calls for 1/2 cup of sour cream here, but I went with about a 1/4 cup of skim milk, then you add the rest of the flour. If it looks too thick, add a bit more milk. Add the strawberries and rhubarbs (it called for 8 oz. but more is nice).

Use some butter to slick up the muffin tins (I also tried a bunt pan). I made two batches to get one small bunt pan and about 15 muffins.

I have Smart Balance butter in the house which I used on the pans and it didn't work so hot on keeping the muffins from sticking, but I made it again with a class and substituted butter and they popped out of the tins just fine. I let them cool on my pizza stone, and a metal rack would be good, too, then sprinkled powdered sugar on them with a mesh colander. Ta-Da! The bunt pan went to the office and was gobbled up in 30 minutes and the muffins will be on sale at the Spring Gardens Community Garden Tag Sale and Organic Plant Sale tomorrow, May 21st, from 10-2 pm at 18th and North Streets, just below Fairmount Ave.

What Are They Thinking?

2011-05-08T12:58:00.000-04:00

Leave a comment with your take on what they might be thinking

and win a card with a funny animal picture!

Volunteer at your Local Urban Farm!

2011-05-07T20:58:00.001-04:00

I visited Farm 51 for their workday today and fell in love with their space, a diverse mix of raised beds of vegetables, chicken coops, nice people and good food.

Hammock lounge area

Thinning the turnips

Round Coop

The side yard

When I arrived this morning at Farm 51, crossing the street from the 13 trolley stop, I was worried I was too late, but coming around the house I saw people working in the side yard, and met the guys behind Farm 51, Andrew Olson, a landscapes manager and Neal Santos, a photographer for the Philadelphia City Paper. Andrew was very generous in offering me coffee, crumb cake and a place to stash my camera and I got to work removing strawberry plants (which I brought to Spring Gardens and donated to the City Harvest plot) and replacing them with lettuce starts (not really sure if they'll make it, it was nice and sunny out today) and putting scallion starts in another bed.

Neal and his friend were building a new raised bed and every time I looked up a new person had walked or ridden up on their bike to volunteer or share a greeting, amazement, encouragement or get gardening advice (what do you do about giant racoons?)

I helped fill the new bed with dirt then took a break to sneak a peek at the hens in various coops around the yard and check out their backyard picnic tables and lounging areas. The house was beautiful and the had coffee and snacks set up on the glass enclosed porch. The crumb cake was delicious and moist and I realized why it is people show up for Farm 51 workdays, early on a Saturday morning and happily get dirty and sweaty in the hot sun.

What Are They Thinking?

2011-05-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

The caption contest is back!

Add a caption in your comment and win a free card with a funny animal picture!

I LOVE INDIE PA!

2011-04-30T13:22:00.001-04:00

I am so excited about this new site IndiePA.com. They contacted me last week about this new website they put together featuring artists, makers and musicians from all over the state, making it easy to find homegrown goodies wherever you go!

Matt and Darice explain it this way: "As Pennsylvania residents, creatives and explorers, we have a special love for PA originals – and we wanted to share that love with the world. While traveling around our great state, we tend to collect arts related information. Slowly, our tiny collection became a stack, and eventually the stack became a mountain (not to mention the long list of bookmarked sites on our computer!) We decided something had to be done. That’s when the idea for IndiePA was born.*

I applied and now I see I'm on the front page!

The listing looks so yummy with work from my three Etsy shops merged together and easy to read links to all of my sites and the shops I consign with here in Philly! Hooray!

I think this is the start of an amazing movement to not only connect with other Philly artists through Handmade Philly, but to reach out to our neighbors across the state! Hello Pittsburgh! How ya doing Scranton! Hi ya Lebanon! Hola Altoona! Howdy Harrisburg!

New Room Painting in Progress

2011-04-22T19:57:00.005-04:00

I'm not-so hard at work on a new painting

from a magazine image of a nice little room
with a big comfy chair and a desk.

The pencil sketch was sitting on my desk

for several weeks before I happened to
get home today before dark and inspiration struck.

I picked this olive green for the background.

Check back for updates!

The rest of my interiors paintings and prints are at
http://www.allisonspaintings.etsy.com/

Bike Art and Woods and Nature Photography at Fairmout Arts Crawl

2011-04-16T10:27:00.013-04:00

The Arts Crawl in Fairmount is Sunday, April 17th, from 2-6 pm and I will be at 2014 and 2015 Fairmount Ave. with two shows: one of Philly Street Bikes at Fairmount Bicycles and the other, Walk into the Woods at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine. The whole exent is amazing with street performances, artist demos, bike rentals, free food and drinks, free Thai massage and Acupuncture demos. The whole hood is filled with art, over 70 artists and all the shops are open. It's a great neighborhood atmosphere.

Take the 33 bus from downtown and get off right at 20th and Fairmount or ride your bike over and get a tune-up while you are there!

Orange Bike and Shadow, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia

Greyhound Station, Chinatown, Philadelphia

Red and Blue Bikes, Chinatown, Philadelphia

Gull Flying Over Marsh, Ocean City, NJ

Wissahickon Creek, Philadelphia

White Dahlia, Spring Gardens Community Garden, Philadelphia

Black Rock Falls, Bushkill, PA

Philadelphia Seed Swap

2011-04-03T19:11:00.010-04:00

The Seed Swap at Earth Cup Cafe, 45th and Pine Streets

Yummy Squash, Bean and Eggplant Seeds

Sorting the seeds into catagories

Mira and Joel, Co-Coordinators of the Philly Seed Exchange Mira is also involved with the Blue Red Yellow project growing plants in the city to make natural dyes. She was featured in Grid Magazine and had a demo table at Swap O Rama Rama last year.

The Philadelphia Seed Savers are holding seed swaps across the city this spring so be sure to check out this link to see when the next ones will be held!

There are two swaps coming up April 9th

This empty lot at 44th and Locust Streets
had a new sign when I passed it today and they are looking for help!

Philly Bikes, Center City South

2011-03-27T20:24:00.007-04:00

Philly Bikes, Reading Terminal Market

2011-03-19T08:29:00.004-04:00

I'm going to start posting my newest Bikes of Philly photographs today and throughout the week. I'm leading up to my bike photo show at Fairmount Bicycles on Sunday April 17th from 2-6 pm, for the Arts Crawl in Fairmount. They are at 2014 Fairmount Ave. I'm also showing across the street at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine!

I decided to offer a free print if one of these bikes belongs to you! So far only one person contacted me about their Bike Love bicycles in Northern Liberties.

Check them out and tell me what you think. http://www.etsy.com/shop/allisonostertag

Philly Flower Show

2011-03-12T19:22:00.014-05:00

Matisse-themed garden

Mosaic table with sedum

Recycled paper cut out projections

Rock garden patio planting

Carousel of floral topiary

Cement planter with cauliflower

Urban renewal display

Cactus vendor

Vision for agrarian city

There were many good ideas at the Flower Show this year, including making planters and outdoor seating out of cement, outdoor mosaic tables with rock garden centers, great window boxes and pots filled with edible crops and recycled and repurposed materials from abandoned industrial sites to mushroom wood from mushroon farms.

I went overboard on seed purchases and picked up some organic plant food. Still looking for some apple mint. There were lots of scented geraniums of every flavor, too!

Mouse Cookies: Cutest Ever!

2011-03-06T13:50:00.008-05:00

I found this Dita Von Teese recipe in Instyle magazine last month just before a potluck and knew I had to make them. The recipe called for almond slivers, but I was only able to find pumpkin seeds at the co-op, so I went with those. They were very easy to make and I was having fun rolling them up in my hands and adding their little currant eyes, ears and noodle-tails while listening to Kids Corner on wxpn. They were a hit at the potluck and I got lots of comments afterward.

Vivian Maier's Found Photography

2011-02-14T20:40:00.001-05:00

Vivian Maier

A photographer whos work was only found after her death. Amazing video on the website.

Mariposa Cop Valentine Craft Sale Saturday 10-4

2011-02-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

Snow Day in Fairmount

2011-01-27T12:54:00.011-05:00

Comparing Composters for the Garden

2011-01-15T13:03:00.017-05:00

I stopped by the garden today to drop off some food scraps to compost and I started looking around at all of the composters in our community garden. Because of the blanket of snow, it's easy to spot the different designs and I thought it would be interesting to hear from the gardeners what they think of the type they selected.

The Earth Machine was given away for free to residents who attended a compost workshop with the city. Not sure if it is still going on. Many of the garden members have these.

The fancy tumbler compost bin. So pretty. It holds less than other compost bins, but should process faster because it is being mixed more throughly. What did you guys think?

My compost bin. I got this one two years ago when it was on clearance for $40 and had no idea how huge it was until it arrived. I've never filled it more than 1/4 full because the base is so wide. I had some trouble snapping the lid full on, and the lid blew off in a strong wind storm we had last year, so now I have a brick ontop to hold it on. There are removable panels on all sides, though I usually end up pulling compost out of the middle. There are holes for air circulation in the front and it doesn't get mucky in there, usually the compost is too dry. I would drill some holes in the top to let rain water in.

This Super fancy zig-zag composter of course belongs to one of our most industrious and prolific gardeners and has seperate chambers inside to add air to the compost and help it process more quickly.

One of the most basic, but very functional, compost designs that many gardeners have set up involved making a wire circle and sometimes supporting it with poles driven into the ground. Super easy but requires some wire. They suggest it measures 3 ft across to build up enough heat to break things down.

A basic compost box. This gardener buid out of scrap wood with broken ends screwed together with since cross-braces to keep it sturdy. Cheap and relatively easy. I built one of these in New Orleans out of two by fours and chicken wire and it worked wonderfully. I made a little wire flap on the front and made the legs tall enough to lift it 1 ft. off the ground to make it easy to get the black compost out. I filled it mostly with dead leaves, some yard dirt and added food scraps daily. The following spring I had a huge rubbermaid tub full of beautiful compost. When you enclose the bottom, you can place it anywhere in the yard: ours was in a corner on the concrete patio.

One of the most simple designs I have seen. This gardener stuck some poles in the ground (bamboo sticks) and interlaced some more sticks horizontally. Then in goes the yard waste. Genius.

Any full-sized trash can can be made into a compost bin with a few holes drilled to let air circluate and to let waste water out of the bottom (and bugs in). This is a rubber trash can.

This is a woven fiber hamper made into a compost bin. Simple.

Another fancy tumbler. This one has rollers underneath that you just give it a spin and a large hatch to get stuff in and out. The base has a spout and I'm not sure why since it's not connected to the top. Anyone know?

A trash bag! When you have no place else to put your yard waste, you could just bag it up and let it sit. It will break down and reduce in size over time, but could smell yucky from having no air circulation.

This two bin system was made out of teak and very pretty looking. The design is simple. You fill one side with waste for a while. Then you move it over and leave it to cook down. While it is cooking, you start filling the other bin.

I'm not sure if this gardener is composting or trying to keep his hibiscus from dying over the winter, but this was a sheet of black plastic covering a mound of dried leaves. The plastic was held down with bricks on the corners and 6" slits had been cut in the plastic to let air in. Don't see why it wouldn't work for compost that is cooking down.

Another lovely tumbler, this one with a hand crank and bright gren accents. Looks like fun.

I thought this was one of the most inventive solutions: a pop up mesh hamper.

This design I have seen several places: you get three shipping palettes and attach them together to make three sides of your open bin.

The very easiest and cheapest way to go is a pit in the ground. My dad has done this for ages in his backyard and he rotates the location to the four corners of the yard, burying the old one each year when he is done. The neighborhood cats love the open design, but my dad's yard is so fertile it grows more cucumbers and tomatoes than he knows what to do with.

Finally here is a super-inventive design I found for a homemade tumbler:

It's hard to fight the desire to buy the newest and coolest design from an on-line catalog, but there are some really cheap and easy ways to make an effective compost bin yourself.

How to Make and Use Compost the Ultimate Guide by Nicky Scott was a fantastic resource I read last summer that includes reviews of the pros and cons of the designs above as well as recipes for what you can put in compost, temperatures, and more advanced concerns.

Leave your comments here and on the Spring Gardens Facebook Page.

Happy Composting!

Windchimes in Ceramic Shop

2011-01-02T17:34:00.004-05:00

Photos from the Bike Path

2011-01-02T17:24:00.009-05:00

I've been taking some short bike trips down the drive here in Philly and taking pictures with my half-broken point and shoot camera as I go. I keep it in my back pocket and have gotten pretty good at shooting while riding.

Artist to Watch: Bonnie Macallister

2010-12-26T18:07:00.005-05:00

I recently found this blog for a fellow Handmade Philly member, Bonnie Macallister. It was amazing to see all of the shows and arts orgs. in Philly she is connected with, people I'd never heard of before. Where is the Germ Bookstore?

SWAPTASTIC HOLIDAY

2010-12-19T09:33:00.011-05:00

I made it a goal to swap as many gifts as I could this year because there's just no need to be broke the whole month because you overdid it on the gift giving. I asked my friends to go easy on the gifts as well.

So I started by asking Etsy sellers who had items that my familyand friends would like if they would be up for a swap. AMAZINGLY, three different sellers I've never talked with before said YES!

One was James Steeno who runs jsteeno on Etsy. I saw the listing for the cards below and asked him if I could get an 8 x 10 of just the cardinal, my sister's favorite bird. He said sure and after checking out my shop selected my bike cards as a trade.

James is an illustrator and watercolor painter in Milwaukee, WI and in addition to the bird paintings, I really like his Milwaukee Skyline painting. He was super nice and matted the cardinal print and got it in the mail with plenty of time for the holidays!

Another seller, Brenda Gartman with the shop Bgartman is a Handmade Philly member with me and when I asked her about her dichronic glass necklaces and swapping, she said she has a certain family member who is into biking who might like one of my bicycle prints. When I shared the site with my mom, she of couse picked out the most expensive necklace

I also found this cute necklace for my sister who really loves owls:

Brenda was great about the swap and selected two other pieces from my ceramics shop to trade, a balloon pot and one of my new succulent planters. Today I'm headed off to Media, PA to meet her and swap the gifts (a huge help sinde ceramics can be expensive to ship!)

Finally, Tara of Sewtara, agreed to swap for this awesome coffee cuff:

She made it fun by saying she wanted a surprise! "Something cool in Philadelphia" so I looked through my print drawer and picked out one I thought wasn't too obvious but was awesome.

Her coffee cuffs are hysterical, like this Hello My Name is...

I'm still waiting on this one, but Tara's in Toronto, which is not too far away, but mail from Canada to the US seems to take forever!

Succulent and Cactus Pots

2010-12-05T13:44:00.010-05:00

Here Come the New Ceramics!

2010-12-04T13:23:00.007-05:00

Cases of ceramics with photo labels

Boxes of ceramic items in transit

I'm spending the weekend working on new items for the holidays and FINALLY adding new items to my ceramics shop on Etsy: allisonsceramics.etsy.com It has taken me forever because my work was in storage in my dad's basement for the last 5 years and I had no place to house it in my own house, but that's all changed!

Today I will start posting them to my Etsy shop and next Friday they will be for sale at the University City Arts League Holiday Craft Sale along with my photography, cards and wall hangings. The UCAL Holiday Craft Sale runs through December 23 and has wonderful handmade art work from their many students and professional artists. a portion of the proceeds benefit the Arts League in their providing visual and performing arts classes in West Philadelphia.

Cooking From The Garden and Farm

2010-11-28T10:46:00.022-05:00

I've been cooking every weekend, mostly because I have no money and need food and getting it from the garden where it grows for free is the only way to eat, but I love cooking so it's been a fun time. I stopped by the garden last weekend and found turnips, chard, over-grown scallions, chives, fennel and the usual herbs and a few leaves of collards that were not hole-city. Oh, and a few red tomatoes!

I got them home and wanted to capture my harvest so I started taking pictures on the counter, which turned out to be a great backround for green veggies. I'm just so proud I can grow a vegetable. They may not be gorgeous, but they're mine!

I cooked up some Middle Eastern Stew, then muffins, first with banana, barley, oat, then with pumpkin from the Halloween pumpkin and pumpkin seeds.

Washing Greens

Cutting the Chard

This weekend I cooked up similar but better stew, Yam and Chard Stew.

1 large yam

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 turnip (I used three small ones)

1/2 yellow onion

10 large chard leaves

1/2 cup rice (I mixed basmati and arborio)

3/4 cup red lentils (I got them from Margerum's Herbs)

1/2 tablespoon curry

1/2 tablespoon cumin

salt and pepper

I'm working on my food photography in hopes of getting some cookbook or local farm/food vendor advertising work. If you know anyone, let them know I'll do it for free to get some experience!

I convinced my family to fork over $4.50 a lb. for a bird from a local farm in Lancaster and despite all of the complaining about the price of turkeys at ShopRite, it was beautiful and tasty. We joked about having no idea how to cook a turkey without a pop-up button or wrapped in plastic, and it did take an hour longer than we thought it would, but it was super good.

I brought over beets and Peruvian Purple potatoes from the garden (further convincing my family I was crazy), but my mom loved the potatoes and you barely need butter they're so smooth. My mom has a funny masher that makes everything look like fat noodles.

Walk Into The Woods Opening Night

2010-11-22T17:29:00.013-05:00

Walk into the Woods Opening is Tonight

2010-11-19T10:10:00.007-05:00

The show opens tonight at Wellpoint and I'm very excited. The images include waterfalls, creeks, trails, and rocks from Bushkill, Dingmans Ferry, the Wissahickon, the Adirondacks and Ithaca. If you know any hikers, campers, outdoors folks, environmentalists, geologists, biologists, bring them along!

I think my work appeals to a particular crowd of folks who can see the beauty in some lichen on a rock surface and the peacefullness of water in a creek.

The show opens at 6 pm and runs until 8:30 at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine, 2014 Fairmount Ave. in Philly and there will be food, wine, hot cider, and I'm raffling off a prize of an original 11 x 14 photograph. You get a raffle ticket just for coming. There will be music and free acupuncture and massage demos throughout the night. Should be lots of fun!

Sneek Peek and Neighbor Thanks

2010-11-15T12:35:00.013-05:00

A wall hanging at Wellpoint

Brochures

Photos hanging in the back room

I hung most of the show this weekend and it's looking great! I'm excited about all of the finishing touches that will happen this week, purchasing cider from Mugshots, buying wine, picking up raffle tickets, selecting the raffle prize, getting votives for outside, balloons...

Flower photo grid in the waiting area

I passed out flyers to many neighborhood businesses and they were nice enough to post them in their windows (even if upside-down!). Thanks so much!

Wellpoint Show is Getting Closer!

2010-11-05T20:13:00.006-04:00

My photography show WALK INTO THE WOODS is getting closer: Friday, November 19th at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine at 2014 Fairmount Ave. The large prints arrived from the printer today and I am very happy with them. The show emcompasses two rooms and a hallway in the center and the opening will be from 6:00 - 8:30 pm.

There will be free massage and acupuncture demos, hot cider, wine, food, music and everyone who attends will get a raffle ticket to win a free signed print!

Walk into the Woods is a collection of photographs from hikes on paths in parks and nature preserves, some as close as the Wissahickon trail and others in the Adirondacks, Ocean City New Jersey and Bushkill Falls, PA. Included are detailed studies of the multi-hued surfaces of rocks spotted with lichen, moss and fern and sweeping landscapes from marshes in New Jersey.

Another section of the space features close up photography of poppies, mums, dahlias, sunflowers and other flowers from the Spring Gardens Communtiy Garden, only acouple of blocks away.

I found the frames at Arts and Craftsman at 3rd and Market streets where they were surprisingly well priced after I decided an Internet frame order would take too long to arrive.

Keep an eye out for the flyers in the neighborhood. I'll be posting them up everywhere!

Phoenixville, PA

2010-10-25T19:16:00.011-04:00

When I arrived in Phoenixville this Sunday after a 2.5 hour journey on the train and then a bus that tours every suburban mall and plaza and hideous corporate park in the region, I was excited to see the small town main street was worth the 45 minute wait at the Norristown Transportation Center.

I came for an architectural tour, but thanks to Septa's "signal problems" I missed the tour and wandered around on my own. Bridge street serves as their main street, crossed by Main street (little odd) running parallel to the river. Church street is further up the hill and had several churches (surprise) and a block of older houses with second story wrought iron balconies on porches that reminded me of New Orleans. The homes are unique and some are being renovated and the unusual woodwork restored.

The town is filled with independent businesses that had a home-made and fun feel, from the second floor bookstore with snarky signs, to the hand carved lava rock fountain store, to the movie theater playing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the Fire House Bingo Nights (every Tuesday!). It's renovated, but still seems to belong to the town, not to trendy new business start-ups.

Right along the river, the old foundry was made into a Schulykill River Museum with a bridge, a small falls and a paved nature trail. Two bike stores in town rent bikes, including a tandem, for $9 - $14 per hour.

Iron Hill Brewery and Majolica are amoung the restaurants that offer local farm fresh foods and there were several coffee houses to choose from including a nice one with handmade ceramics piled up in the window and applesauce muffins

I'm planning another trip back to bike the trail and try the restaurants.

Upcoming Show: Space Planning

2010-10-20T19:15:00.011-04:00

I'm currently showing work at Wellpoint Oriental Medicine in Fairmount in Philadelphia (2014 Fairmount Ave.) in an evolving show over the month. I had to move some work in to keep the walls from being empty as another artist moved out, but I only had the work sitting around my house to put up on short notice.

Starting next month, date TBA, I'll hang work in the waiting area, hallway and a second room that doors treatment doors open up to face. The space appealed to me because the eastern medicine, acupuncture and massage connects well with my nature photography and environmental conservation interest. It led me to start thinking about Feng Shui when I was hanging the nine pieces currently in the waiting room (the flowing water photo should flow into the building, not send energy out).

I wish I had more training in wall placement and creative show hanging. It's always a struggle to hang shows myself and feel like I did something to make the work more dynamic and not just static dots on the wall. Anyone teach a class in show hanging?

Come check out the results as they change from what I already hung in the space to the new pieces that go up in early November!

More Pictures from Swap O Rama Rama

2010-10-06T17:21:00.007-04:00

Dana Henry's design for a Franken-pin. Her designs were fantastically simple and amazing.

My finished felt interpretation of her design.

The line for screen printing was long at times. This is the chickadee line (I got that print last year on a tee I love).

The Handmade Philly table was popular with the 8 and under crowd as well as adults.

A finished creation.

Almost Live from Swap O Rama Rama

2010-10-03T12:12:00.010-04:00

Here we are walking into the Urban Outfitters storage building for the Swap O Rama Rama!

What an amazing space: ferns, fish, native plant garden outside, giant crochet vases, fun.

Setting up supplies for the Handmade Philly table Monster Pins wokshop.

The fabric table. Wow.

The cafe!

Come join us from 12-5 pm today at the Navy Yard. Drive down Broad street till you see the Navy Yard sign past the last Broad Street Line stop. Keep driving straight until the river is straight ahaead and take a right! Minutes from downtown. Nice bike ride too.

Trouble the Water the Movie

2010-09-12T11:51:00.006-04:00

Wow, what a powerful movie. I watched this last night and I was so amazed, not just by the fact that it's a true story, with actual first person video of the entire storm (Hurricane Katrina), but what really struck me was that it was from the point of view of a poor couple from the 9th ward who were struggling to survive before the storm but had the foresight to document the event and to seek out documentarians to get their story out there, never victims, but always strong and caring.

If I taught high school in the city, I would show this to my students in a heartbeat because it really gives voice to the voiceless and shows their experience is a shared experience and a valid experience, wherever you come from, you can be in charge of your choices and your future, no matter what life throws at you. The woman filmmaker, Kimberly Rivers Roberts decides to record her neighborhood and the storm, keeping her caring, sunny disposition throughout, later revealing a powerful rap persona, Black Kold Medina and we learn she has had a life no one would envy but has not let this keep her down.

Moving! (Not Far)

2010-09-01T17:05:00.014-04:00

Yay sunlight!

My new view.

I'm moving to a new apartment and I'm in week 2 of packing hell, but today I got another look at the new apartment and I'm starting to think how I might set up the space.

Table $199 and chairs $79 at West Elm (can't afford it, but a good idea to start with)

Gateleg table from IKEA $69

Papasan Chair $105

Antic Attic $250 (another dream)

$68 from Australian shop Mookah

Time to hit the yard sales and flea markets!

Where did all this stuff come from?

Packing tips:

1) Get boxes at the liquor store. They are free, abundant and small so perfect for packing those heavy books without giving you a hernia.

2)Keep some of the dividers in the boxes. I used some to sort paint tubes, kitchen utensils, spices and to pack glasses. It's nice because you can look into the boxes and see all of your stuff, instead of un-newspapering things forever.

3) Crank up the radio.

Art Cards Artist Finds

2010-08-31T17:16:00.013-04:00

Here are some of the Artists who I've collected cards from at shows:

Bird Sculptor Michael Van Houzen

Nature Photographer Elisabeth Bard

Jeweler Michele Judge

Dino Artist Robert F. Walters

Fabric Art Shop The Flashbulb

Farm Photographer Janet Woodcock

Artists Tiny Meat

Jeweler Penelope Rakov
Painter Scott Ratinoff

Illustrator Jillian Kesselman

Photographer Erik Dahlager

Photographer Paul M. Stevens

Bushkill and Dingman's Falls

2010-08-26T13:25:00.006-04:00

Bushkill Falls in the Pocono region of Pennsylvania is about a 2 hour drive north of Philadelphia and has some beautiful hiking trails and waterways to explore, including more waterfalls than you can count. Bushkill trails include many, many stairs and the red and blue routes are fairly challenging, like a hour on the stairmaster. You'll feel the burn. These pictures are from both Bushkill Falls (a series of falls along a 4 mile trail) and Dingman's Falls (two falls) only about a 20 minute ride apart from each other on route 209. If you keep traveling north on 209 you'll pass many other falls and lakes as you drive along the Delaware river. Bushkill is a tourist magnet, so get there early to avoid the crowds. They also have animal talks where you can see and learn about rescued animals from the region including owls, skunks, frogs, turtles, possums and more.

Visit to the Magic Gardens on South Street

2010-07-28T20:12:00.013-04:00

Last Saturday I crossed into another world in Philadelphia at 1020 South Street. I've passed by the gates many times but never ventured inside. What I found was as transporting at the Penitentiary, a place where you can wander and forget you are in Philly at all. After passing my suggested donation fee to the very sleepy door monitor who gave me the robot spiel about the size of the building, I was able to venture up and down, inside and out of the house without interference and enjoy every minute detail and enormous mosaic.

I suggest going on a Sunday morning as you also get to enjoy the gospel singing from the church next door. It was the perfect background music for exploring the grotto paths in the outdoor courtyard, which the streetview only gives a glimmer of. The scale of the whole thing is hard to grasp and the artist, Isaiah Zagar is still at work on the art he began creating in 1994. He walked through the home while I was wandering around. You can also take a walking tour of his many other area mosaic facades including his former business the Eyes Gallery further up South St.

There are great details to enjoy like the ancient ratty laminated binder page of Frequently Asked Questions including "Can I take pictures? Yes. Can you take a picture of me? Yes."

As I left I realized it was a destination much like I would travel across the country to see (or across the ocean to Spain), but it was in my own city and I had never gone before.

Check out more at www.phillymagicgarders.org

New Mural In My Neighborhood

2010-07-15T21:42:00.001-04:00

I love this new mural on Fairmount at 19th street:

New Painting Finished!

2010-07-10T12:52:00.002-04:00

New Painting In Progress, Second Shot

2010-06-27T19:05:00.001-04:00

New Painting In Progress, Second Shot, originally uploaded by freeduh2.

New Painting In Progress, Third Shot

2010-06-27T19:04:00.003-04:00

New Painting In Progress, Third Shot, originally uploaded by freeduh2.

New Painting In Progress, First Shot

2010-06-27T19:04:00.001-04:00

New Painting In Progress, First Shot, originally uploaded by freeduh2.

Etsy For My Fantasy Home

2010-06-12T17:05:00.017-04:00

Someday when I own a home I can decorate it anyway I like and if I had a limitless amount of money or alot of time to build it myself, it might look somethig like this:

View Of Two Trees

2010-05-24T19:09:00.001-04:00

View Of Two Trees, originally uploaded by freeduh2.

I got to visit the Japanese House this weekend and I was in love with the connection to nature from inside the house. I have a small apartment with no view of any nature and I miss it alot.

Red Poppy

2010-05-09T09:10:00.001-04:00

Red Poppy, originally uploaded by freeduh2.

New gardern photos are on flickr and for sale in my etsy shop, www.allisonostertag.etsy.com. I had a blast taking pictures in the garden yesterday and I'm so excited I have strawberries!

Nature Narratives, Fairmount Arts Crawl, APRIL 25

2010-04-24T14:41:00.009-04:00

Tomorrow is the big day and I'm psyched!

I'm calling it Nature Narratives and each piece is a series from one walk once in a place. The only piece that is a collage of different times and places is the grid wall hanging in the back with small 4 x 6" photos of color and chaos. The majority of the images are in wall border strips that wrap from one wall to another and are in sequence from the start of the trip to the end. I selected walks from Ocean City, Cape May, the Wissahickon trail here in Philly, Tigertail Beach in Florida and the Cherry Blossom Walk (21st Street between Parrish and Brown). Also in the show are a wall of quads, four images in a grid, of pictures from my hike in the Ashville, NC Blue Ridge Mountains, taken just last month.

I hung the show last night and it was really strange to not have any frames and trying to get everythig level and flush on the walls was a challenge, as was the huge wall in the back of the Beehive Hair Salon. I'm not a big fan of rickety ladders and heights, I just imagine stories of people breaking their backs or scenes from America's Funniest Home Videos of people doing stupid things, but all want well.

I'm not sure how poeple will respond to the images, since they are not just pretty pictures of flowers or waterfalls or something. Some are dark and wintery and have fungus and lichen and bare trees or pictures of birds partially obscured in tree branches, but I wanted to show the honest spaces, not just the edited pretty bits, the whole experience. I've been working on this problem since I was in college, and I think this is an exciting way to present a place and a time.

Let me know what you think.

I'll be there tomorrow from 2-6 pm selling quad prints of select images from the show and cards. Stop by, despite the rain. They'll be a band, food and drinks and hair demos going on! Beehive Hair Salon is closest to 23rd and Fairmount Streets, across from the CVS at 2323 Fairmount. Everything in the hood will be open for the Fairmont Arts Crawl with artists and free food and drinks.

Street Photos

2010-04-17T15:38:00.005-04:00

On the street in Philly.

2010-03-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

Write in Your Caption Below: What Are They Thinking?
The best caption wins a free card of the image and caption, so check back to see if you won!

Caption Contest: What Are They Thinking?

2010-03-21T18:30:00.003-04:00

Write in Your Caption Below: What Are They Thinking?

The best caption wins a free card of the image and caption, so check back to see if you won!

Etsy-Tastic Spring Items!

2010-03-21T18:00:00.014-04:00

Weekend Garden Project

2010-03-07T18:52:00.007-05:00

Today I finally got to this project, making a marker for my bed in the community garden, so I can be friendly with my neighbors who ask where is your bed? And this makes it easy to see. It reminds me of houses at the shore that have the cute names and signs.

I found a cement remnant in our rock pile that was about 8" tall and 6" across, cleaned the surface with a rag, and applied a layer of white acrylic paint, then went back over the edges with more white. I mixed blue, green and white together and painted a graduated fade from top to bottom.

The letters were harder to paint, so I painted the letters, then outlined them with a slightly darker green, then went back over the interior of each letter. I thinned out the paint to paint the flowers and it was much easier to work with. My garden has a huge lavender plant, so I wanted to make sure that was featured on my sign.

I dug a shallow trench for the bottom and back filled dirt behind the stone and stepped on it to firm it up so the rock doesn't fall over. You can see there's not much happening in the garden in terms of growth, so this is a bright happy reminder that all will be colorful again!

Silent Spring

2010-02-20T19:13:00.013-05:00

I'm finishing the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, which if you have not read, I think you should. Even though it was printed in 1962, the historic systematic poisoning of our environment is something all people should be aware of and it just makes me want to know more about what is happening now.

Rachel was a marine biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and she blew the whistle on the use of super strength industrial poisons in the water, air and soil, meant to kill a pesky plant or bug but actually killing humans and wildlife and their children for generations to come.

Her observations are supported by studies and stories of rivers where all the fish were killed, sprayings that killed livestock, and people dying of nervous system damage and cancer.

The book was widely read when it came out and lead to public outrage (as well as death threats) and the banning of DDT one of the worst offending pesticides. But as Al Gore points out in the introduction, we still produce DDT, we just ship it off to foreign countries for them to use.

Some of Carson's arguments are very relevant today. She compares the fight against cancer to the fight against infectious diseases of the last century. Instead of just treating people who had diseases like Tuberculosis, scientists looked for the environmental causes and prevented the disease (by removing contaminated communal pump handles). For some reason, though, we think of cancer as a disease we fight through treatment of the afflicted. We don't spend research dollars removing carcinogens from our food, air, soil and water. And she points out, there will never be one magic pill to cure cancer because it has too many causes and forms in the body.

I thought this was going to be an environmentalist book about the planet. But, it turns out this is a book about humans and how we have poisoned ourselves.

Some of the things we can do to combat all this is think about the soap, detergent, bug spray, air cleaner, bathroom cleanser, fertilizer, paint stripper we use and how we use it. Even phosphates in the water can make us more susseptible to cancers. We can think about where our food comes from and how it was treated while it was growing and what was in the soil it grew in and the water it was watered with. We can learn about the companies we live around and buy from and the by-poducts of their manufacturing. And we can learn about the historic dumping and desecrating of our surroundings. I found out recently the place where I work is next to land where lead was being processed for decades. Yikes! We can also support great folks like the ones below: GRID magazine is a Philly free magazine focused on local sustainability. What more could we ask for. I love all of their projects, restaurants, articles, it's just great. The Green Project is in New Orleans and I wish we had one here in Philly. They recycle paint and housing materials and household items, fixtures and furniture. This stuff just heads straight to the landfill in Philly. They have awesome craft workshops, used clothing redesign contests, art supplies and a warehouse and yard full of items for your house. It's fun to look at their items on flickr.

On the upside Philly is now doing Recycling Pays! Yeah! They scan your bucket, weigh your recycyclables and you can redeem points for stuff online! Now if I can just find a container big enough...

LOVE GIVEAWAY on CHIC & PINK BLOG

2010-02-10T14:05:00.009-05:00

Don't miss the giveaway on Chic & Pink's blog of LOVE items: an 8 x 10 Photograph, a 5 x 7 card and a chunky LOVE magnet! Follow the link http://chicnpink.blogspot.com/2010/02/etsy-extravaganza-giveaway-day-3_10.html

and leave a commnet on her site about your favorite etsy item of mine! You can also win a 10oz Sugar Shaker Pure Soy Candle in the scent of your choice from Flower Child 417!

Thanks Chic & Pink for the feature!

New Banners for My Shops! Let Me Know What You Think!

2010-01-31T19:25:00.010-05:00

I just created two new banners since my trial of Adobe Elements is getting ready to time out. What do you think? I changed the photo shop banner because it still had paintings in it from when my shops were united. I also found a seller on etsy who makes coffee cup sleeves out of your shop banner! How awesome is that! I ordered one of each of the shops. Here's the old one:

I'm not sure I love the overall color tone, I may keep working on it.

I really like the painting shop.

I'm also working on a ceramics shop banner for a shop COMING SOON!
Bookmark it now! I'll be getting pieces up there soon!

New Painting!

2010-01-23T20:13:00.004-05:00

Here's my newest painting! It's another scene I photographed at the Woodford house in Fairmount Park, here in Philly. I have to tour these other houses.

PHOTOGRAPH GIVEAWAY:

2010-01-22T14:18:00.004-05:00

Giveaway Day Has Arrived!

And the Winner is...............

Paintingpam!

Congrats! You'll be getting a free 8 x 10 photograph of your choice from my etsy shop, www.allisonostertag.etsy.com

You can follow Pam at her blog: http://paintingpam.blogspot.com

I went old-school and put everyone's name on a piece of paper, folded it, put it in a bag and asked a unbiased party (Emily, my coworker) to pick a name. Sorry for those of you who didn't win, but I was really excited by the response so I'll be doing this again soon! Check back for more info! Thanks everyone who is now following my blog! BTW, I would have held the drawing at noon, but we had an office meeting until 2!

FREE 8 x 10 PHOTOGRAPH GIVEAWAY!

2010-01-09T14:35:00.011-05:00

I'm giving away one free 8 x 10 Photograph of your choice, and you can choose from any image in my etsy shop that is 8 x 10 or larger! All it takes to enter is to leave a comment someplace here on my blog (any posting)! When you leave your comment, be sure to mention you'd like to be included in the giveaway! The drawing will be in two weeks and I will notify the winner by e-mail.

New Year, New Fabulous Cookbook!

2010-01-09T12:06:00.010-05:00

For the last couple of years I've treated myself to a new cookbook every year and this year I'm so excited by "My New Orleans" by John Besh. It's a huge beautiful coffeetable book with fantasticphotographs, but what impresses me the most is his mission to save the rituals, incomperable local ingredients, and what makes New Orleans different from getting muddied by post-Katrina influx and disorganization. With sections on celebrations like the Feast of St. Joseph and Revillion, features on strawberries (from the North Shore strawberry festivals), creole tomatoes, figs, seafood and odd items like mirlitons you'll find out alot about New Orleans you didn't even know. The writing is beautiful. Besh grew up in Slidell, LA and trained in restaurants there and in Europe, fought in Desert Storm and returned to the area to settle with his family where he runs several restaurants, so the stories are personal and the photos feature family and people he knows from the city.

I was most impressed with the section on the Vietnamese community and the new Urban Farm Besh is supporting, a 28 acre farm being developed by the community to allow locals to farm, hold a market and sell to local restaurants. Besh also raises his own hogs and cattle in town for use in his recipes. His comittment to local food is a huge asset to rebuilding a sustainable local economy that benefits the residents of New Orleans.

Last year I picked up these two cookbooks at the Big Blue Marble bookstore next to Weaver's Way co-op in Mt. Airy

Mummers Parade 2010

2010-01-02T17:31:00.007-05:00

Here are a couple of my pictures from the Mummers parade yesterday. I love the mummers and I did a research paper on them in college for my art history class on masks. I really appreciate how authentic it is in Philly, not a lot of polish or commercialism, just some folks working together, families and friends making costumes, raising money, painting backdrops, and doing their own choreography, music and working all year to put it together. Congrats Mummers! Thanks for all of the hard work!

Paintings In the Works

2010-01-02T16:49:00.008-05:00

Here's one of the new paintings I managed to get done over the holidays.

And here is the photo I took at the Woodford House in Fairmount Park that I used as a reference image.

Here's another painting when I was first laying out the shapes and the reference image I pulled from a magazine hanging from my bookshelf.

Here's the same painting almost done (no flooring).

Here's the finished one. I'm really excited to finally be working on these again after being away from them for longer than I can remember. I posted both of these on etsy and I'm going to try and get some small 5 x 7" paintings done before going back to work on Monday!

Interview With Collage Artist of Living Feral

2009-12-19T19:49:00.012-05:00

Here's my interview with Tracy, the fantastic Vancouver, BC artist behind Living Feral:, the etsy shop where she sells her work.

1) Your images look like they come from old magazines. Do you have a favorite source? Where do you find them?

Yes, I use pieces I cut from vintage magazines, and occasionally books. I prefer material from the 60s and 70s (nothing more recent) because I like the imagery and colors and print quality from that period. I usually find them scouting around thrift stores (one of my favorite activities). I use pretty much anything I can get my hands on, as it’s getting harder to find older materials - particularly magazines, since so many people throw them out.

2) Your titles are fantastic! How do you come up with them?

Thanks! I wish I had a magic formula, because it sometimes takes me longer to come up with the title than the collage (and I work pretty slowly anyway). Then I sit with the piece and play with word combinations until I find the one that makes the most sense to me. Other times though, I start with a word or phrase – a thought I’m having about something, or a fragment of text that’s stuck with me for years – and that will inform the title. Often I’ll work without any set ideas, and the title will come in a flash. My collage “alice and the rabbit – the later years” was like that. I really wanted to use the image of the woman, and the rabbit worked its way into the composition, and then the title just popped.

3)How long have you been making collages? Do you create in other mediums or styles?

I started making the collages again this past spring, though I’ve made them on and off over the years. For a while I was making little books of collages, and I’d like to do that again. I also currently work with photography and drawing, I really like to sew, and I occasionally paint. In the past I’ve enjoyed etching, and I often incorporated collage techniques into that work.

4) I'm really drawn to your collages, especially the following images: "Farewells are Difficult", "She Addressed Herself to the Dark Hearts...", "For Many Years She Fished..." and "Alice and the Rabbit". My grandmom, Alice looked alot like the woman in "Alice"!

I think it’s a lovely bit of serendipity about your grandmom and the woman in “Alice.” I hope she retained a sense of adventure in her later years!

5)Your work recollects retro sci fi book covers (to me). Are you a fan of sci fi or the art covers?

That’s so interesting! Now that you say it I can really see the connection - especially with the sense of the human in the familiar/yet unfamiliar landscape. I’ve always been interested in science, and my dad’s always been a big science fiction fan, so that’s probably where it comes from.

OMG It Is Snowing So Much!

2009-12-19T16:13:00.006-05:00

I went our last night in the snow to join some coworkers in Rittenhouse Square to build snowmen at 10 pm and I shot a couple of pictures before my camera battery died. Here's my block.
Here's Rose Tatoo:
It was amazing to walk and run in the powder, though it made building the snowmen pretty difficult.

Daytime:

UCAL SALE FINAL WEEK

2009-12-13T15:25:00.004-05:00

Watch the Slide Show of the Opening Night here.

Some of my cards and matted art have sold, and one woman found her sister's house among the photos, so she's ordering a custom print as a gift for the holidays.

Stop by any day this week 3 - 9pm or Saturday or Sunday, 12-6pm, I'll be adding new work to the sale items.