Pencil Sculptures

After the recent Art Prize event in Grand Rapids, I've been intrigued by the concept of art - what is art, what materials can be used to create art, how do we view art. I've also been reminded of the gift of creativity given by God to people. I recently received one of those forwarded emails we all get occasionally, but this one showed a variety of sculptures all made by colored pencils. It was so interesting that I showed it to my second graders, and we tried to figure out how the sculptures were made. So I googled "Pencil Sculptures" and found this website by artist Jennifer Maestre.

Jennifer creates these amazing sculptures by cutting hundreds of pencils into 1 inch sections. She then drills a hole in the center of each pencil section to make a bead and sews them all together. (Silly me thought they were glued and wondered how the glue could be strong enough.) What a lot of thought, time, and energy is involved, but the result is amazing.

Here are a few pictures of some of her pencil sculptures.









The email I received also included a few of those "lessons" or reminders about life. These life lessons can be applied to pencils, but more importantly, they are great reminders for us as we go through life.

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS:

1.) Everything you do will always leave a mark.

2.) You can always correct the mistakes you make.

3.) What is important is what is inside of you.

4.) In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings, which will make you a better person.

5.) To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

Steve Green

I just returned from a wonderful evening of worship. Christian recording artist Steve Green had a concert at my church tonight and it was fabulous! He sang some new songs as well as some old favorites. I bought his newest CD since the one I have is from a while back. One of the highlights for me was when he sang "A Mighty Fortress is our God" acapella, moving up a step for each verse. It was so powerful. The concert also fit in so well with our morning worship - what an awesome day!

Recipes

One of my kitchen cupboards is filled with cookbooks. I have all kinds: cookbooks from churches, schools, Quick Cooking magazine, a family reunion cookbook, and even a complete set of the Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery (published in 1966!). My cookbook cupboard also contains a file folder stuffed full of recipes from the newspaper and various magazines; some carefully cut out and others ripped from pages and in no particular order. And finally, right in the front of the cupboard, sits a little brown recipe box containing handwritten recipes gathered years ago when I first moved out on my own.

You would think that I would be a wonderful cook with all these cookbooks. Unfortunately, I enjoy reading the recipes more than actually making them. And lately I'm realizing that when I do want to cook or bake, I'm no longer turning to any of the cookbooks in my cupboard. Instead I turn to my computer and the wonderful "google" search button.

Last weekend I had a pile of soft, mushy bananas and decided to make banana bread and muffins. I found this wonderful recipe for Banana Oat Muffins from the allrecipes.com website. They are actually the best banana muffins I've ever tasted; I can't believe I made them! And they have oatmeal in them, so they're healthy. I also added a little cinnamon and some pecan pieces. Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe.

Maybe I'll go through some of the cookbooks in my cupboard on our next snow day.

Banana Oat Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas

Directions:
1. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.