Art Bento

Peepshi and Octodog

2011-05-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

While in South Carolina last weekend to visit my family for Egg Day, I decided to try out a couple of food projects on my nephews, Gavin (5) and Max (2). For the main course I made octodogs (octopus shaped hot dogs) on a bed of macaroni and cheese. For dessert, peepshi (peeps sushi)...

I made octodogs for the first time a couple years ago. The process of making the second batch was much quicker, but unfortunately much like the first batch, no one ate them.


Pretend eating- he couldn't handle the eyes. It kind of looks like he is yelling at them.

Octodog with broccoli hair

Nope.

A couple months ago, my friend Phoebe sent me a link on how to make peepshi. The second I saw it, I knew I had to try it.

The first step was to decapitate the peeps and cut 3/8" slices of rice krispie treats.

Rolling the sushi with fruit roll ups.


Not only did it get one Karate chop of approval...


Peepshi got a double Karate chop of approval.

Adventures in Asiatown

2011-02-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Starring,
Phoebe and Ben

Featuring,
Samples from Park To Shop

Basil seed drink with honey, grass jelly drink, ferment red date bean curd, fried gluten (irregular) with peanut and soy sauce, wax gourd beverage, and durian pudding.

First course, Durian pudding and wax gourd beverage

The consistency was like hard slimy jello.

The smell was sweet with a side of bad.

It tasted truly awful.

There were chunks of durian that were very hard and almost inedible.

The after taste was surprisingly sweet.

Ferment red date bean curd with made in Taiwan caused a feeling of intense euphoria and bewilderment followed by involuntary facial contortions.

Ben was no longer smiling after ingesting this large chunk.

The texture was like soft cheese

It tasted like medium spicy vinegar cheese

It expires in 1 year but when was it made?

Ben and I cleanse our palates with basil seed drink with honey.

It smelled like bubble gum and had a sweet flavor.

Phoebe sampled the red date bean curd on an onion and chive Sky Flakes cracker.

Phoebe said, "I think it's expired"

Grass Jelly Drink

Smelled like minty medicine.

The chunks of jelly were disconcerting but still drinkable according to Ben.

He said that it gets better the more you drink.

Fried Gluten (irregular) with peanut and soy sauce was not bad.

Sesame sweet balls

Sesame sweet ball, tree stump chocolate with a cookie center (very much like Twix without the caramel), and french cookies.

Thrift shopping

2011-01-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

Egg roll eating contest at the Asian festival

2010-05-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

My neighbor Bill and I rode our bikes up the street to the Asian festival yesterday. The main attraction for me was the egg roll eating contest. When I first read that there was an "egg roll contest", I thought it was an egg roll making contest. I would have been interested in watching that because egg rolls are one of the things I know how to cook, but was even more excited to find out what was actually happening.

It was a rainy morning and since I have been looking for opportunities to ride my new Peugeot, we waited until the sky cleared and headed out.

Spike kinda looks like an egg roll.

When we first arrived to the street blockade, a cop was yelling at a man to get out of the street over his car speaker. The man wandering in the street was completely oblivious to the fact that the loud voice coming from the cop car was talking to him. The cop said more specifically, " You in the white shirt in the middle of the street, get out of the middle of the street" then added, "And pull up your pants".

We walked through the booths that lined the street on Payne Avenue and made our way over to the food. First we tried an egg roll and pot stickers from Pearl of the Orient which were delicious. I had a bowl of Ginger rice noodles with Shiitake mushrooms and Bill had Sweet and Sour Chicken both from Li Wah. I have been wanting to try Li Wah for a while and will definitely be going back.

The second stage was inside Asia Plaza where there was a martial arts show going on. Guys were kicking and chopping wood planks in half and showing off their skills to 80's metal. It was rad.

The Egg roll Eating contest was at 5:30 on the main stage which was under a tent in the parking lot of Asia Plaza. The winner would be the first of 11 contestants to finish 9 egg rolls. I envisioned a heaping platter in front of each competitor, but a styrofoam plate of 9 would have to do. They were given water, cups and condiments which were in nondescript yellow and clear squeeze bottles.

After everyone was was situated, there was a simple 3-2-1 countdown and the egg roll smashing began.

The large man in the blue jerseys technique was to pour the water in a cup and dunk the rolls into the water before stuffing them in his mouth. I have seen this done in hot dog eating contests to make the bread soggy. Hmmmm....

I forgot to mention there was one female contestant.

Yellow shirt is down to his last roll.

Yellow shirt, who happened to be sitting in front of the trophy the whole time, was the first place winner by a long shot. The other contestants had at least 2 or more left when yellow shirt finished. Blue Jersey came in second and black shirt placed third. Most of the crowd did not stick around for the medal and trophy ceremony. Looks like dunking egg rolls may not the way to go and standing might be the key to getting it down quicker. These are just a few nuggets of information I took home with me from the first annual Asian festival.

I Suck at Baking

2009-11-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true, I am not a baker. I refer to my attempts at cooking as food projects. Sometimes it's not necessarily about the actual flavor of a dish but more of a visual creation using food. I can follow a recipe just fine- but then somewhere along the line, things sometimes get a little askew. I will say that I usually do not pick easy food projects. What's the fun in that? Which leads me up to my latest baking failure:
pumpkin pie from scratch.

I was given a sugar pumpkin from the farmers market that sells fresh fruits and vegetables at my work. I'm not into pumpkin soup so decided to make a pie with it. I got a recipe on line that I think was from Martha Stewart and started on my pie making adventure.

I forgot to get a picture of it whole so I put it back together after it was cut in half to take this picture.

I poked a knife into it after 45 minutes like the recipe told me but it was no where near being done. It was still liquid in the center. I ended up cooking it another 45 minutes then let it cool for a few hours.

The Final Results:

The wonderful aroma that filled my loft was not an indicator of what the pie actually tasted like. It was sweet and eggy. Not a good combination. The crust on the bottom in the center never quite cooked all the way through. I thought an hour and a half was too long and was hesitant to leave it in longer. I guess I should have. I needed a food processor to puree the pumpkin mush but left it behind in my last move. I couldn't use my blender because the last thing I used it for was to make paper due to my studio blender going on the fritz. The only thing I had was the ol' vintage Mixmaster which didn't get it as smooth as a blender or food processor would but decided to press forward anyway. That was also not the best decision.

I thought that since this was the first time I have used the oven in my new place that maybe it doesn't hold the temperature. I had an oven like that in a past so it was not out of the question. I borrowed an oven thermometer from my neighbor Shay to see if this was the case but unfortunately, it was not. So basically, I made a bunk ass pie.

I have some of the pumpkin puree left over and froze it to use in another recipe I have for pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage. Hopefully it will be more successful.

New Blog & Website Update

2009-11-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

I decided to start a blog specifically for my art and studio stuff. This one will remain an eclectic blend of food, photographs and other curiosities.
www.malloriefreeman.blogspot.com

Also, I have finally learned how to build and maintain my own website which is a huge relief! All of the images and information has been updated so check it out!
www.malloriefreeman.com

Spicy Dames and Tales of Mystery

2009-08-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

An exhibition by Mallorie Freeman
Spicy Dames and Tales of Mystery
August 28 - September 13, 2009

William Rupnik Gallery
1667 East 40 St., Unit 1-A
Cleveland, Ohio 44103

Opening reception 7-10 pm Friday, August 28, 2009

After-party at Lava Lounge 10 PM - ? AM

Visit www.wrgcleveland.com for directions

Join us for a glimpse back in time at Mallorie Freeman's "Spicy Dames and Tales of Mystery", a solo exhibition of new oil paintings, handmade paper and mixed media artworks. Paying homage to pulp novels of the 1940's, Mallorie exquisitely recreates these torrid tales of mystery, murder and mayhem in large scale artworks. Her compositions become an investigation into the femme fatales of classic nobility and makes one question the nameless denizens that reach through her canvases. Man must sacrifice love, honor, everything - to learn the answer...

Please join the artist, curator and crew in celebration at Lava Lounge, immediately following the gallery reception on August 28. A swank atmosphere, killer beats, and drink specials welcome show goers. Recent artworks by William Rupnik are on view in the downstairs lounge. Lava Lounge is located at 1307 Auburn Ave. in the historic Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.

My Cleveland

2009-06-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

These are not the best copies but here are all of my photos from the This is Cleveland exhibit. Only 16 were in the show (they have a * under the photo). Some of the photos are missing from the group and I am not sure why. One was of the mannequin sitting at the piano by the window at the Happy Dog. One was at Bill's loft of the mannequin sitting in a chair with Spike the cat. And one was a shot of my studio.

I was interviewed by Garrett Weider for the Examiner about my series of photos- check out the review.

* Edgewater Park

* Edgewater Beach

* Edgewater Pier

* Skate park behind the Rock Hall

Skate park behind Rock Hall

* Goodtime III

* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

* A weird train in the bed of someone's pick up truck in the parking lot on East 9th Street Pier.

* Behind the Science Center

* Claes Oldenberg's Free Stamp

Hot dog vendor at Public Square with Phoebe Marie assisting

* Terminal Tower

*The Happy Dog brunch

* Cleveland Cold Storage building

* Chinatown

*The best Best Corned Beef in Town sign

* Franklin Castle

* Paintings by Arabella Proffer at William Rupnik Gallery

Arabella Proffer

2 dollar 3 olives Happy Hour with Arabella Proffer and Gina DeSantis

Mirror in my studio

This is Cleveland- All the stuff I see

2009-05-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

I was invited to participate in a photography show at Low Life Gallery in Cleveland, OH called This is Cleveland- All the Stuff I See. It opens on June 12th and will also be up for the Waterloo Festival on June 27th.

The concept is:

30 people were given disposable cameras with 27 exposures to document their Cleveland over a 14 day period.

The photographs were developed and a small exhibit committee selected the 16 best photos from each person.

The first time the photographers will see their work will be at the opening night reception.

The photographers include:

Allisun
Marlee Brown(Shoparooni)
Steve Barrett
Dave Desimone (Low Life)
John G.
Cleveland SGS
Mallorie Freeman
Phoebe Marie
Genna P. (Messy Magazine)
Bob Peck
Leigh Ring (Pink Eye)
Bill Rupnik
The Sign Guy
Heather Young
Justin Vaughn
Jeff Koski
Wolf
Miss "Carol" Firecracker
Marijana
Leah Stephanic
Leigh (Afternoon Naps)
Chris (Grays Auction)
Kustom Pink
Cassandra
Joshua Rex
Rick Sans
Moe
Ray (the Helper T Cells)
Ryann Guitar Anderson

If you can't read it- it says:
Opening Reception June12th-27th 7pm-11pm
Low Life
16001 Waterloo Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44110

I have an on going series of photographs that started in 2002 when I moved from Portland,OR to Cleveland,OH. I shot photos of my mannequin at vantage points along the road throughout the trip across the country. I bought the mannequin in 1991 at Antiques in the Bank in Ohio City and it has managed to be one of the few items I have kept over the years. I repaint it every so often but certain areas have always remained the same.
This is it in 2002:

Devils Slide, Utah

Pony Express- Gothenberg, Nebraska

For some of my pictures for the show, I drove around town with my pal Phoebe who is also a photographer in the project. The mannequin modeled in all of my photos like a tourist in the city. It was tons o fun and I can't wait to see how they turned out. I am also happy that my main cat Bill Rupnik is in the show and hope his cat Spike's mysterious kitty boo boo gets better.

Here are a couple more things that fascinated me today

Can someone tell me why the word hot is in quotes? It's either hot or it's not.

I also saw this on a box of art at work today

It is the most interesting spelling of the word frame I have ever seen.

Upcoming events and updates

2009-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of switching to a new designer for my website www.malloriefreeman.com and have not updated it in quite a while. I never wanted to be that artist who doesn't update her website regularly, but that is what I have become. It is a sad realization but it will be remedied soon. So, in the mean time, here are some shows I have coming up:

May 16th & 17th
City Artists at Work (another non-updated website)
Group exhibit at M Gentile Studios in the Shovelworks building
Cleveland, OH
-I'll be showing mixed media hand-made paper pieces

June 12th-27th
This is Cleveland (All the stuff I see) Photo Exhibition
Low Life Gallery
Cleveland, OH
-I'll be showing photographs

August28th- September
Solo show at William Rupnik Gallery (formerly Artchitecture Gallery)
Cleveland, OH
-I'll be showing brand spanking new oil paintings

Also,
I have prints for sale at malloriefreeman.etsy.com and paintings at artchitecturegallery.com

In addition to my website you can find updated information on shows and such here.

And one final update-
I have a new job! I am the Preparator for The Progressive Art Collection. The newness starts in May after I take a week off between jobs. Yay!

Vintage Bicycle Bridge Deck of Cards

2009-03-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

I bought this deck off ebay and am super excited about it! I collect decks of cards and this one came in a wooden, hand painted box. The cards have significant acid burn from being stored in the wooden box which kinda bugs me due to my background in paper conservation. But, I do like the character it gives them and can over look it because the box is totally sweet.

Brushes

2009-03-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

I went through all of my paint brushes today and decided to retire my poorly made bunk ones. I didn't even bother to take off the bar code stickers as you can see in the photo below. I generally don't hold onto my brushes for long periods of time and buy new ones for almost every painting.

I love to buy new brushes and don't usually buy any super expensive ones -although I have in the past. I am hard on them so I am not sure if a more expensive brush is for me. I am going to perform my own investigation into that. Cheap brush vs. expensive brush- which is better... If anyone has any thoughts on that let me know.

These are some new brushes I picked up at Home Depot. I love the wooden handles and they are nice and smooth. And they came in a 3 pack for $15!

Octodogs

2009-03-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

I made octodogs tonight and what an experience!

First, I would like to state that I was a vegetarian for 7 years and started eating chicken, turkey and occasional pork a few years ago. Beef still kinda grosses me out. I take bites of my boyfriend's burgers from time to time but that is the extent of it. Oh, except I do eat corned beef once or twice a year.

So anyway, I bought turkey "franks" and kosher beef hotdogs. I started slicing away which was more time consuming than anticipated. I was careful to make sure they all had 8 legs. The beef ones were harder to cut through and grossed me out with its mysterious contents. I had not eaten dinner and was planning on having an octodog. I am not hungry anymore.

I only got a picture of the turkey ones.

Moving on to boiling.

They looked very cute swimming around in the bubbles and there was some curly Q action going on. I decided to fry them in a pan to help hold their shape. This was a good call and I like how they looked after a quick sizzle in the pan.

I used a grain of rice with a speck of black pepper for the eyes.
And they're done!
This one is turkey...

This scary one is beef...

and here it is with part of my studio in the background...

I would definitely make them again!

What?

2009-03-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

What is art bento?
Basically,
#1. I am an artist.
#2. I am about to embark on a new adventure of experimenting with bento.
Slap it together-
That's art bento.

What is bento?

Bento, also called obento, is the Japanese word for a meal served in a box. It's compartmentalized, organized, totally cute and yummy! There is a style of elaborate bento called kyaraben where the food is arranged to look like animals, people, flowers and goofy characters. I'm digin' it.

I have yet to buy any accessories so that will be my first order of business and have also been wanting to make octodogs and will be playing with that this weekend.

I will be posting pictures of my bento adventures, artwork for my upcoming solo show, and any other random things that fascinate me. (like the vintage wooden box of antique playing cards I just got on ebay!)

~Enjoy