Proving you can find inspiration at home, the always creative Dot Speyer Rocha has begun a series of Instagram posts where she is transforming her adorable daughter Birdie into the subjects of famous paintings.
It seems using whatever we have on hand these days is as applicable in art as it is in the kitchen. Dot adorns Birdie with a petticoat, a bunch of beets, and an extension cord to recreate Frida Kahlo’s 1939 painting The Two Fridas.
I know you won’t want to miss any of these remarkable recreations so be sure to follow @dotasinpolka on Instagram.
P.S. If Dot’s name seems familiar I bet Dot’s Blue Plate Specials will ring a bell.
Patience Blythe is a metalworker, teacher, gardener, and writer. She lives in Elgin in a funky older home with her husband Cody, pup Oscar, and their cats Nakano and Tomoe.
She is an avid gardener and has recently become a beekeeper. Be sure to check out her gardening videos on her IGTV channel.
1. Why did you move to Elgin?
We moved from Dripping Springs. It is a funny story. We had planned to take over a friend’s farm in Garfield while she went to France, but the deal didn’t work just at the last moment. We had made a lot of plans and concocted a lot of ideas, and were sorta ‘what now?’ about everything. We couldn’t find a place we liked in Dripping and so Cody said to me; “why don’t we buy a house?”. I laughed at him and said, “sure…let’s do that!”. A few days later, I said, “what about that house in Elgin?” as I had seen our house pop up for the last year. He said Elgin was too far and I said “why don’t we just go and look?”. Neither of us had ever been to Elgin, except for to pass through on 290. So we came to drive by the house and get some bbq at Southside. The rest is history; we loved the town, loved the house, somehow qualified to buy it, and three months later, moved here. That was February 2018. Soon I transferred to Elgin Middle School and Cody was hired by the district as well. And here we are!
2. What compels you to spend time creating?
I feel compelled to create each day. Otherwise, I get antsy and, frankly, sad. I find that creativity keeps the Big Sad away. I am quite a nervous person and find that when my hands are busy, I am happier and more relaxed. I also love seeing, with the passage of time and attention to creativity, that hand-eye coordination grows and the work is better, more alive, more fun, more me. I am also compelled by the way we “write” our lives down in the work we make.
3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.
1) That time passes by very quickly and you would do well to find a way to remember things a bit more concretely, so that memories can be called up with the feelings attached
2) My friends are the most important piece of my life
3) We humans have far more in common, regardless of where we are on the physical planet, than we could ever be different
4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?
1) Making – 2 rings, a bracelet, a dress and a quilt
2) Reading – Carl Sagan’s The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (it’s AMAZING and so relevant, being that it was written in 1995)
3) Watching – Twin Peaks and the West Wing and also Beginners (tonight)
4) Listening to – various Spotify playlists but a lot of Pink Floyd and Kurt Vile
5. Cake or Pie?
BOTH!!! But I really love making pies the most. I like eating chocolate cakes and lemon ones, too.
My sister and I landed in sunny Southern California on Memorial Day weekend 1981 (I was 16, Kelly was 13) to live with our father and his family in an idyllic town in nestled in the San Bernardino National Forest.
Our father was a musician and introduced me to the music of Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt, Bill Monroe… and John Prine.
John Prine was revered by my father and his musician friends. “Fish and Whistle” and “Hello in There” were two songs that made their set list on a regular basis.
John Prine’s Bruised Orange was a constant on our turntable. I don’t know this for a fact, but I think I may have been the only 16-year-old in Riverside county blasting Court & Spark, Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town, and of course, Bruised Orange when I was home by myself.
I have a hunch I won’t be the only one blasting these songs today.
And bet I won’t be the only in my family thinking about our father.
Bean & Noodle 