by Loti | May 30, 2013 | Art, United States
West Palm Beach. I don’t pretend to understand modern art. In fact, until this morning, I don’t remember ever reading a definition of it. According to Wikipedia, it is art created from the 1860’s (including Impressionists like Matisse, Van Gogh and Seurat) until the 1970s. Van Gogh, a modern artist? I had no idea. In the modern art era, artists threw away old traditions of viewing the world and used new techniques and fresh ideas to look at things differently. So what is Contemporary Art and is it the same as Modern Art? Generally it is art created since World War II by still living artists so there can be overlap between the two. Take the disc in this photo made by Jacopo Foggini, exhibited at Whitespace in West Palm Beach. He uses methacrylite, an industrial material used in making automobile lights, to create sculptures, chairs, lights and tables. In all sorts of cool colors. His works are considered Contemporary art as he is still very much alive. And I love it. So much to learn in this fascinating world. And to think I have just discovered there is Modern and Contemporary art I like. Including Van Gogh, O’Keeffe and now, Foggini. Just amazing! ...
by Loti | May 28, 2013 | Art, Flowers, Food, United States
Boston. I don’t really think of a banana as a flower, but it turns out it is a flower, an herb (the world’s largest), a fruit and a berry. Well that is pretty cool. Here you see it recreated by the Blaschka’s in their amazing Harvard glass collection. Everything you see is made of glass. Every one knows bananas are really good for you, but I didn’t know they are slightly radioactive. That’s because of all the potassium which shows up as potassium 40 isotope. I also didn’t know they are the 4th largest world crop behind rice, wheat and maize with India being the largest producing country followed by Uganda. Really! And the Cavendish, the main banana we eat, is currently being infected by an unstoppable disease and will probably disappear during our lifetime. Hopefully replaced by another one. Wow. Who would have thought the banana had so much going on. Good thing I just finished one for breakfast. > > >...
by Loti | May 24, 2013 | Art, Flowers, United States
Boston. Amazing, stunning, impossible! All terms that come to mind as I view the Harvard Museum’s collection of glass flowers. Why don’t I know about these beautiful replicas of over 830 plant species made by father and son team, Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, between 1887 and 1936? Turns out they were commissioned by Harvard beginning in 1886 to use as models for teaching botany. Back then, there were no photos, just paper maiche and wax models. The Blaschka’s were able to make scientifically accurate glass models using various glass making techniques which they perfected over a 50 year period. Unfortunately their glass making processes died with the Blaschka’s and no one has been able to duplicate these amazing flowers. Dale Chihuly, one of my favorite glass artists, said the exhibit of flowers was mind boggling and extraordinary. So if you get to New England, be sure to put this on your bucket list. You won’t be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. I am still learning about the flowers and some other specimens the Blaschka’s made. There is a whole world out there. I just have to pick my head up and look! ...
by Loti | May 23, 2013 | Cambodia, Food
Boston. The restaurant advertised Cambodian/French cuisine. Never having eaten Cambodian, we figured why not. Plus it had a photo of a huge elephant beckoning us inside. How could we go wrong? Cambodian food, it turns out is delicious and very healthy. One of the world’s oldest cuisines, it has an emphasis on simplicity, freshness and seasonality. During the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970’s, the cuisine was almost wiped out and forgotten. How glad I am that it is making a come back! The staple foods are rice and freshwater fish. During the rainy season, the whole country is inundated with monsoon rains turning the country into rice paddies. Almost every meal is served with rice. And for fruit, the durian (remember this fruit is banned in many places because of the smell) and mangosteen are the 2 most popular. The food is much like Thai, but without the spiciness. There is a French influence since Cambodia was once a French colony. Lunch yesterday was a shrimp stir fry with a coconut milk, lemongrass broth and brown rice. Yum! If you haven’t tried Cambodian food, I highly recommend it. Especially if the restaurant features a welcoming elephant! ...
by Loti | May 18, 2013 | Health, Korea
Korea. Flying from Atlanta to Seoul, Korea takes about 14 hours (coming home it took about 15). About half way thru our flight one of the flight attendants pulled out a piece of rounded bamboo and set it on the floor. She invited us to walk over it to massage our feet. Really? I had never seen this done. And on an airplane. Cool. Well it turns out, it is very common in Japan, China and Korea. Most households and many schools have a piece of bamboo called a takefume or fumitake (apparently it goes by both names since ta-ke means bamboo in Japanese and fumi means to step on). You step on it, rocking your foot back and forth and it feels divine. As legend goes, it was invented by the Samurai on long travels by foot. At night when they stopped to rest, they would cut a piece of bamboo from the side of the road and roll their feet on it to alleviate soreness. What a concept. Modern reflexology! So simple. And Eco friendly since bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth. So where do I get one? Well, not so fast. After numerous web searches, I can’t find a single one for sale. Not one, except a rubber one with nubs in bright neon. So the search is on. If you come across one, let me know. As an instant stress reliever and massager, why would you not have one? ...
