<![CDATA[Janna Maria

<![CDATA[Janna Maria - notes]]>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:06:37 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Sale!]]>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:55:03 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/02/sale.html

I'm having a sale over at my Etsy shop! These two items have been my best sellers so I've continued to offer them, mostly through word of mouth locally, but today I added them to Etsy again so I can offer them to those of you farther away! If you're in Montreal I can create a custom order for you that does not add shipping and we can arrange a pick-up place and time.

So, for the next two weeks these two lovely jems are 30% off.

Enter the coupon code "covet2012" at the checkout.
Buyer beware, they are very cozy!

xo Janna

]]><![CDATA[Logwood, madder and brazilwood. Oh My!]]>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:41:20 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/02/logwood-madder-and-brazilwood-oh-my.html

More printing with natural dyes. These photos aren't out of focus, the prints have just transferred that way, which I love.

]]><![CDATA[printing]]>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:29:45 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/01/printing.html

Success in print samples on silk!!!!

]]><![CDATA[Gorgeous print...]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:23:50 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/01/gorgeous-print.html

I got my Walter Helena print in the mail this week and it is so gorgeous. Nadine's photography style mimics watercolour and her paper and print choice really supports that quality. I actually like the way it looks on the cardboard it came in (which I think is more to keep it from bending in the mail).

]]><![CDATA[Natural Dyeing]]>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:49:15 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/01/no-title.html

from left to right; cochineal, brazilwood, osage, madder, fustic, logwood

When I am dyeing textiles I feel at peace, but also highly charged. It gets me vibrating with excitement (I can hear Lauren and Ali giggling at me). Its a phenomena I sometimes call yarn drunk, a term I first used with Ana while driving away from having bought a car load (literally) of hand-spun merino at a really good price. If I remember correctly, my shear joy came out in the form of an ongoing evil cackle.

I think I'll just say that yarn drunkenness applies to all textile related bliss, since I don't want to make y'all think I'm drinking my fabric dyes (dye drunk? hrmm I don't think so).

So, as the left evidence implies, I spent this weekend in bliss dyeing yarn swatches for a natural dye experiment I'm doing. You'll hear more about that later. Just know I am in my happy place :)

]]><![CDATA[Anchor/Cradle installation]]>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:34:15 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/01/anchorcradle-installation.html

I'm pretty sure this winter in Montreal has been even milder than last year. We only got a huge dump of snow for the first time yesterday, and it feels like its been no colder than -10 for a while now. Yes, its been snowy and slushy, but not how I remember it being last year around this time. I haven't even seen the snow-plow parade yet.

Yesterday I was going to do a photo shoot of the Anchor/Cradle at school, but the the new snow fall was so ideal (this was the beginning of what was 3.5" by the end of the day). So I carried it over to Parc Jarry in the morning before class and found the perfect tree in the perfect spot. It was easier than I expected to get it tied up on that branch.

I would have really liked to leave it there for a day or so, but I was afraid it might get stolen or taken down by the city and I need it for an upcoming show, so..... it was a temporary installation; long enough to get some good (higher quality) shots with the new camera.

]]><![CDATA[Snowflakes]]>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:01:50 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/01/snowflakes.html

snowflakes on my sealskin mitts from Ulukhaktok

I just got home from waiting for the bus in the snow for a full hour. It would have been wretched if the snow hadn't been so mesmerizing. Until now I've never actually seen snowflakes shaped like....snowflakes - the kind you'd make with scissors and paper. They just make me smile. AND because each flake is so flat they create a faceted blanket on the ground which sparkles like diamonds. Amazing.

When I walked in the door I told Danny that was going back out to take pictures and he asked me, with serious conviction, what I had been smoking. Haha. He'll understand once he sees it for himself.

]]><![CDATA[Interfold Magazine Launch Party]]>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:50:15 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2012/01/interfold-magazine-launch-party.html

Come to the Interfold launch party, featuring this piece of mine in the mag and this piece at the launch party.

Interfold Magazine is a " fine arts publication at Concordia University that acts as an exhibition within a magazine curated around a theme". Their premiere theme is 'confines'. I haven't see it yet, but the front cover looks promising :)

There will be beer, mixed drinks and grilled cheese! Yum.

January 14th @ 9pm
1175 Rue St. Marc, Montréal

www.interfoldmagazine.com

]]><![CDATA[Freezing rain]]>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:33:15 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2011/12/freezing-rain.html

I attempted to capture the freezing rain on the trees outside our apartment from our porch the other night. Danny and I had taken our time walking home from dinner with friends to enjoy the icicle scene. It was really beautiful. But once I got home there was no way I was going to brave the ice sidewalks again in order to get better light.

]]><![CDATA[Nancy's shortbread]]>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:10:08 -0500http://www.jannamaria.com/2/post/2011/12/nancysshortbread.html

Nancy's Shortbread
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 sugar
1 cup butter

Cream butter and sugar. Sift in flour. Knead well.
Roll into logs and cover with wax paper. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
Cut cookie from roll (1/4" - 1/2" thick).

The recipe says bake @325 for 15-20 min, but mine took about 30 min before I saw a little bit of browning which is how I like it.

For these I also added raspberry jam by pressing the ball of a teaspoon into the tops of the cookie dough and placing a small dollop of jam on top before putting them in the oven.

This Christmas season I've received a number of cards in the mail from my mom containing family holiday recipes; pretty special. One of them was my great aunt Nancy's shortbread. I tend to assume that anything as good aunt Nancy's shortbread is probably really hard to make well, but this recipe is quite possibly the simplest recipe ever with only three ingredients: butter, sugar and flour. And so delicious; Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside (with or without jam on top). With that said butter is the main ingredient, so since I don't have any will-power when it comes to treats there has been a lot of tummy aches and heartburn around the house lately ;)

Also a lot of scenes that look like this:
Me, as I walk into the room to present Danny with my first ever batch of fresh baked shortbread: (in a sing-song voice) "I know how to make shortbread!"

Danny: (echoing my tune) "I hope you like man-boobs"

Happy Holidays,
xoJanna

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