Ever since I was wee, art has always been a part of my life. Paper and pencils consistently trumped my Nintendo while waiting at restaurants, doctor’s visits, school plays – you name it. When I went to high school, as school intensified, I prioritized traditional academics to pursuing my artistic side. Of course, I still sewed and baked, but drawing and painting certainly took a backseat.
With COVID, I revisited my love of drawing and painting. It soothed me and I sought to be surrounded by art more and more. Then last November, I went to Edwin Schlossberg’s exhibit “Once Upon A Time When Everyone Was Conscious” at the Ethan Cohen Art Gallery in New York City.
Like most students, education in the age of COVID has brought one consistency: screens. With technology all about, I’ve retraced my steps to one of my earliest and simplest pleasures (one that actually predates my love of food): art!
Art has been on my mind a lot recently. For an article on the Tufts Daily, I interviewed Dina Deitsch, the Director and Chief Curator of the Tufts University Art Galleries. Even more recently, I helped a high school student with an essay on art and science, and how they are more similar than different. In my view, both of these projects highlighted two pillars of art: observation and expression. In a period of crisis, art allows us to process and understand our experiences. More importantly, I believe that art is a way for us to tap into our flow, connecting where we were with where we are and ultimately, where we want to go.
Nearly three months into school, you begin to notice some things change – mostly in the lockerroom. With people leaving their workout clothes in their lockers, the whole room begins to develop its own signature scent. That’s why I’ve created a super easy-to-make air and clothes freshener with only four ingredients!
In January, I participated for the fifth time in Project Fabricland, a sewing competition, similar to Project Runway. Each week, students meet for three hours to sew garments based on a theme. This year, the theme was Divas. This included style icons such as Marylin Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Cher, among others. Sophia Loren has been my personal favorite icon in all aspects ever since I saw her in one of my favorite movies, Houseboat (1958). In Houseboat, Loren plays a young Italian lady who helps a widower (Cary Grant) raise his three children; they end up forming a relationship after Grant sees Loren providing the care that his children so deeply craved, and being the charismatic person she is. Like all Loren movies, she is feisty and does not play a woman who falls at the needs of a man – she’s willing to throw a slap here and there :). After seeing Loren speak at an event in person, I was inspired by her honesty, boldness, humor, and dashing beauty, and therefore crafted a dress that I believe captures who she is. Continue reading →
Start your New Year wearing something unique. Perhaps something that you’ve made? Within 10 minutes, you can sparkle your sweater up. All you need is a sweater, ribbon, clear thread, and a needle – that’s it!
Card making can be simple – yes, believe it or not, it can! Within minutes, you can achieve a Papyrus worthy card (with a more personal touch) just by following this simple dot technique – it’s simple enough for kids too. Plus, it looks expensive, festive, and creative. Even better, all you need is a pencil with an eraser, ink, pen and paper! This is truly holiday card making made easy 🙂
Miss the summer? I think it’s safe to say that we all do, especially when you’re working hard at your desk underneath fluorescent lights. Most of your year takes place in that type of room, so it’s quite nice to look at a little souvenir from your sunlit vacation. While you still may have the time, put aside 10 minutes to make a DIY paperweight with your collected memories!
On this year’s family vacation, I made it a point to visit my first lavender farm, AKL Maui, to finally witness the home of my favorite scent and essential oil. Here, I was fortunate to see a vast amount of different types of lavender, such as Spanish, French, English, Sweet, growing naturally in the countryside. The farm is quaint, and sits on the side of a mountain, just so that you can see clouds make their way through the lavender bushes growing. As I made my way through the trails, the scent of lavender accompanied my steps. I had discovered that I was only semi-knowledgable on all the benefits of lavender. AKL Maui Farm explains it best:
In January, I participated for the fourth time in Project Fabricland, a sewing competition. Each week, students meet for three hours to sew garments based on a theme. This year, the theme was Fairytales. This included classic tales such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and lesser known ones such as The Gold Spinner. Since Cinderella was my favorite as a child, I chose her, adding a modern twist to the classic fairytale. We’re all familiar with the Cinderella story and her happy-ever-after. After marrying into royalty, one would think that a girl who went from rags to riches would deny her past – yet Cinderella never did this; she continued to be kind and hard working. Inspired by Cinderella’s story, I sped it up to date: what would modern-day working Cinderella wear to her royal appointments? Today, so many women work, and more than just mopping floors. That’s when my idea was born.
Despite the winter holidays passing, cookie decorating is a great skill to have for anytime of the year. My favorite technique is marbling them! It’s pretty, and wonderful for any occasion. Decorating cookies is a great skill to have because you can do it for anything, and it’s impressive! The marble technique is really easy, and elegant. My friend and I made and decorated cookies for a bake sale of the Make A Wish Foundation Club in our school. Together, we made Martha Stewart’s royal icing which is actually gluten free and vegan depending on the meringue powder you use. Everyone was so amazed by how beautiful they all were!
So, are you ready to marbleize some cookies?
Instructions:
Step 1: Separate a quarter of the icing, and dye it with food coloring. (In these pictures, we did not use natural food coloring. If you want to, I recommend these.)
Step 2: After making your icings, fill a bottle for each color you use, such as these.
Step 3: Make a border with the non-dyed icing, and fill the inside in zig zag motions. Border the outside of the cookie slowly, and exerting even force throughout. Then, pipe zig zags with the icing within the border, leaving some spaces blank.
Step 4: Using a toothpick, even out the icing, covering the negative spaces. After smoothing it out as much as possible, gently tapping the cookie on the counter top to make the icing settle.
Step 4: Using the colored icing, pipe an asterisk onto the wet non-dyed icing.
Step 5: Starting on a colored mark on the outside, use your toothpick, and slowly circle around the cookie, and into a spiral shape toward the center. This will create a marble look.
Step 6: Let the icing settle.
And there you have it – gorgeous, festive, and impressive marbleized cookies!
