Yesterday I worked on making a new image to represent the Food Font project.
I attended a picnic over the weekend and I found lots of people who were willing to get a picture taken of their hand holding a piece of food.
I think the image gives the message of food + creativity + community which equals Food Font!
Links:
I have not written too many (or any) food reviews on my blog. I recently ate dinner at SPICE kitchen for my birthday and it was so good I wanted to write about the experience.
SPICE Kitchen and Bar was “born” out of Spice of Life Catering Co, which is a well-respected seasonal upscale catering company here in Cleveland. For all food that they prepare, at least 80% of all ingredients come from small family farms practicing sustainable forms of agriculture within a 100-mile radius of Cleveland. The owners and chefs behind SPICE see using local food a way to support independent growers who they see as “strong stewards of our land.”
The restaurant opened up earlier this year and is located near the Gordon Square Arts District on Detroit Ave. All of the fresh herbs used in their are grown at Spice Acres, three primary gardening properties that are owned and operated by Spice of Life farmers and chefs both in and outside of the city. The gardens also serve as way for Spice staff members who are interested to learn more about gardening.
When I went to SPICE last weekend, the menu was printed on paper, which makes sense since the dishes are always changing. As an appetizer we had the polenta chickpea fries with spicy remoulade. The fries served in a glass and were perfectly shaped like longer and slightly thicker French fries. They had the texture and flavor of polenta mixed with a earthiness flavor of chickpeas with a fresh rosemary. They were lightly salted and the sauce complemented the flavors of the fries.
We also had the bibb lettuce salad with pickled onions, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cayenne pecans and buttermilk dressing. The pickled onions were a treat. They were slightly sweet and sour and the buttermilk dressing reminded me of what a homemade ranch dressing would be like.
Since I don’t eat meat – I am a cheap date and I usually only have a few dishes I can eat for an entrée. I ordered the Summer Risotto with radish and snow pea salad with parmesan. The risotto was bright green and had a Springlike flavor of sprouts and snow peas that was complemented by the wide pieces of grated parmeson. I savored each bite which had the lightness of the fresh vegetables mixed with the heartiness of the rice and parmeson. It was a generous portion, and I ended up taking it home.
The restaurant has a classic “farm and family” feel. Water was served in mason jars. A single flower was in a simple vase. Brown paper was on top of the table. The service was very helpful and was able to answer all our questions about the food.
The food is always changing at SPICE. I look forward to seeing what is on the menu next time and I have a feeling it will be sooner than later.
Image Source:
Kristen Baumlier and spicekitchenandbar.com
In honor of tomorrow’s picnics. A FRESH SWEET CORN – Food Font image.
I will be putting out a Food Font inspired image each week.
Food Font is my new project where people make alphabets out of food, and later are able to
use these and other food alphabets in a fun, free, interactive online design tool.
Links:
Ok. I usually wait until everything is done and perfect to launch anything. Since I will be doing a Kickstarter campaign started in mid-July for part of the project – it is recommended that I start to get the word out about the project early. (This also gives me a chance to get over some of my perfection issues. )
My new project Food Font has a new website that I will be continuing to build this summer. Food Font is a project comprised of design workshops, font making activities and the use of the interactive online design tool FoodFont. The project supports education, interaction, and communication about food, health, and design. With the Food Font project, people make alphabets out of food and later are able to use these and other food alphabets in a fun, free, interactive online design tool.
For the project, people make an alphabet (also called letterforms) out of any kind of food. A set of letters could be made out of one kind of food, or several types of food. Some Food fonts that have been made include a kale font, holiday dinner font (made of food from a Christmas dinner), a French fry font, a vending machine food font, a packed lunch food font , and a chopped vegetable font. The letter making activity is a great way for individuals and groups to have fun and to interact and talk about food.
At the Food Font event, each letter created is photographed. These are later edited and loaded into the online Food Font interactive design tool. With this tool, individuals can load up the food alphabet that they helped create as well as use the other food alphabets in the system. You can type in words, choose backgrounds, resize and rotate elements, and do basic layout techniques to make images that can be saved, shared electronically, and also printed. The tool can be used to make images, posters, signs, greeting cards, and other printed materials.
The project is meant for anyone to do, which includes community members at Farmer’s market or at a community garden, teachers and students in a classroom or by a restaurant, by “foodies” and people who love food , or by you with your friends and family. It is a fun, creative activity that anyone can do of any age, and in any size group.
To get the word out about my project I am currently scheduling a number of Food Font events during Summer and Fall of 2012. With the events, I hope to get the word out about the project and to inspire others to make their own food alphabets. So far I have a event scheduled in Buffalo, NY on July 28th, and one that is being finalized for the Lakewood Farmer’s market in Lakewood near Cleveland, OH. If you have ideas about where a Food Font event should happen let me know. I am booking gigs now.
Links:
Do you feel worried about the future? Do you experience depression, insomnia, exhaustion, or anxiety? No – this is not an advertisement for a new drug, but an art project that explores “Americanitis.” “Americanitis” is a condition that was first diagnosed in 1869 as a nervous condition resulting from rapid modernization. This condition was later exploited by medicine shows that peddled “Americanitis Elixirs” that claimed that they would relieve stress and calm the nerves.
Artist Alison Pebworth is bringing awareness to Americanitis with her cross-country tour of her project Beautiful Possibility. The show is a traveling exhibition in the form of the 19th century American Traveling Show. The project’s goal is to engage people about what it means to be American. For each tour stop, Pebworth creates a display of hand-painted posters that are in the style of Side Show/Wild West posters to re-tell American history. She also is interviewing people across America on their thoughts about “Americanitis.”
For the Elixir Social event, Pebworth partnered with some local farms in Cleveland including farmers from City Rising Farm, Erie’s Edge Farm, Gather ‘Round Farm, Let It Bee Gardens and the Possibilitarian Garden Project. Each farm made a special “Cleveland Elixir.” The elixirs were being served from 10 am until 6 at the West Side Market, with different farms serving their elixirs throughout the day.
I stopped by the Beautiful Possibility Elixir Social event in the afternoon and found the show and Elixir social setup in a stall at the end of the produce section of the market.
At the outside of the market, I was greeted by the first Possibilitarian garden and puppet theater, which had setup a full sensory elixir. There was a cardboard structure, shaped kind of like an old-school phone booth, which you were invited to enter once you drank their elixir.
I was given a tiny handmade ceramic cup, which was filled with a pinkish drink that looked like juice. I was directed to try it with a rose petal and to enter the booth. The elixir tasted kind of like and herb flavored cherry juice, and it was slightly sweet. I entered the booth to find some pictures and dried herbs attached to the walls. I could hear some music that sounded like a piano that was far away. I have to say – I felt different when I exited.
I talked to Diana and Daniel, the farmers from Possibilitairan garden, who had made the full sensory elixir. Diana said in making it, they were thinking about the Americanitis project and wanted to use some calming herbs such as sweet woodruff in the drink. The elixir was made of many ingredients, which included kombucha, mulberry juice, lemon balm, sweet woodruff, clover, nettles, spinach, strawberries catnip, thyme, and other herbs. She told me that eating the rose petal and drinking the elixir made a thick cinnamon flavor.
Diana and Daniel have a farm and puppet theatre in the Buckeye neighborhood in Cleveland. I really liked the booth that they made, and I learned that the music I heard was from a small music box that someone cranked and made work while I was inside. Lots of people at the market were interested in trying the elixir, and many would talk with the farmers about the elixir and project.
After experiencing this elixir, I entered the vegetable market area, where there were some of the posters hanging from the Americanitis project. Some of the full color tour posters were hanging, and there was pleated red, white, and blue fabric on the tables. One of the posters that I liked featured a cowgirl trying to balance two baskets. One basket held Dick Cheney, and the other held an Indian. Over the image “Dangling Man, the American Challenge. CLAIM YOUR DEMONS” was written. The posters and setup gave it a world fair/ sideshow look and feel.
There was another farm serving elixirs, and I met members from Let It Bee Garden who had made a Community Service Berry Potent Potion, and also had several other elixirs. I was given another small ceramic cup, and tried the Community Service Berry Potent Potion, which tasted like berries and tea. The label on the elixir said that it was made with passion and love, and was made for patient possibilities. Julia, who is one of the farmers, was wearing a great hat that had various flower petals that covered the hat.
There were lots of people that stopped by to look at the posters, try the elixirs, and talk to the farmers and the artist who was there with the Americanitis surveys. These opinion surveys were available for people to fill out. Some of the questions include, “ Although the term has fallen out of use, do you think Americanitis still exists today? Are there new causes that may contribute to contemporary Americanitis? Who in American society do you think suffers most and least from Americanitis?” There also were sections where you could circle the causes that you believe may still contribute to Americanitis, and what symptoms might still stem from the condition, which listed anxiety, poor digestion, exhaustion, insomnia, and others.
I talked to Pebworth for a few minutes, and she told me about the other elixirs that had been served earlier in the day. Earlier in the day, young people from City Rising farm had created a Mulberry Thyme” elixir, which was a thyme and mint sun tea. They added fresh mulberries as they served it, which made for a lively (and messy) elixir event.
To start the elixir social, Erie’s Edge Farm had served a Stretch Your Roots Sunrise Elixir from 8-9 am that was made from roots. They had been weeding their gardens, and had found lots of roots from carrots, beet, and other veggies. They pulled these out, dried them, roasted them, and then ground this into a fine powder. The hot elixir that they served had a chicory/ coffee like taste
Do I feel any different from the elixir event? I think so. It was really great to meet the farmers and to see so many people trying the elixirs and interacting with each other, with the artist, and with the farmers. It is also nice to know that others are thinking about the stresses of life, and our pace of life today.
Alison Pebworth is in town through June 23, 2012. Check out SPACES gallery website to learn more about the project, and the times that you can see the exhibition.
Image Source:
Kristen Baumlier
Links:
www.beautifulpossibilitytour.com