pdx

lately i've been day dreaming about my birthday and taking a trip up to portland with hugh (he's never been! a bike fanatic like him?) and staying at the ace.... {sigh}. i'd also like to see this lovely lady who always has a camera in hand. i came across these old bits of color and texture from my trip there about a year ago and am re-inspired...i realize i naturally document details to later draw inspiration upon for paintings. i'd like to learn more about photography as an art form, but for now it's fun to treat it like specimen gathering for paintings.

ORIGINAL work available!

Hi there,

I get lots of inquiries for original paintings so I thought I'd cull together a spot to look through all the available work!


I have original work available at Art Stream Studios, SF MIni Bar (at 837 Divis if you want to pop by), The Enormous Tiny Show and in my shoppe!

Thanks for looking! Please email me with any questions: matimcd(at)hotmail(dot)com

i can't read it, but it sure is cute

i received this danish magazine in the mail last week and have been swooning over the style. i wish i could read it, but it adds a little, well a lot, of mystery.

thanks for the art inclusion! i love this lady's aesthetic. (i think she would fancy my tiger kitten onesies too, don't you? i need to make some more for the upcoming renegade!) the painting featured in the mag is called "speaking 1,000 languages" and available here as a print. i love the idea of the title suggesting internationalism and then to see it in a magazine in another language rocks.

can i tell you what i really love about this magazine? honestly it's the numerous photos of women openly breast-feeding. it's so refreshing! we're in the midst of a baby boom among our friends (we've hosted 3 showers on our rooftop in the past few months) and i love it when my friends feel comfortable nursing in public. i don't know why this is controversial? it seems so natural. I'm with the danes on this one!

xo

mati

colors connect

outside my studio door....

inside my kitchen...

perhaps soon in a painting!

pre-blog inspiration gathering

it's funny to realize how natural blogging is to the artistic process. i have stacks of notebooks filled with notes & inspiration pre-blog... these date back to 2002 (3 years before i started this blog in 2005).

i kind of miss this old school way of cutting and pasting. i do still keep 3 ring binders filled with clear sleeves where i put inspiration from magazines. alas, the on-line world has made it so incredibly easy to inspiration gather... almost too easy and fleeting. i have to say i like a little hunting for my treasures! i appreciate as i'm looking back on these pages how i naturally grouped the inspiration by color, shape and theme. it's also personally reassuring for me to look back after 7 years and with the influence of blogging and art school that the essence of what inspires me remains intact.

anyone else keep tangible inspiration? how do you store it? is there a theme that you notice? how has blogging affected this process?

xxx

be still my beating heart

i am so freaking excited to see this today!


hugh and i had a mini-show last night at the mini bar at 836 Divisadero in SF if you want to take a peek! so we're making it an early day and catching a matinee of this to celebrate :)

i have a bunch of news to share and will be sending out my newsletter next week if you would like to sign for my "secret society" enter your email on the left. i'm brainstorming some treats for you. any requests?

in the meantime check out my newly updated website! please refresh if you've looked at it before! there are 3 portfolio pages and the news page is current!

Kendra's Persimmon Pudding (reposted)

Is really like a moist cake. I'm reposting this because it's persimmon season again!

I saved an email from my friend Kendra (dated xmas eve, 2000 when i frantically emailed her for the recipe for my family's holiday party) and tucked it in my little mish-mash cookbook of faves... and pulled it out today after posting this pic. Kendra's a native northern Californian and plucks persimmons of of her folks trees. such a treat! in SF persimmons are in season and can be found at any little neighborhood stand, at least in the mission. Kendra is an amazing cook, organic farmer and one of my culinary role models (she made 1/2 the appetizers for our wedding!). Thanks lady!

here ya go-

Ingredients:flour, sugar, baking powder & soda, salt, cinnamon (plus nutmeg or ginger or anything else you want to add), vanilla, milk, persimmons, egg, butter, raisins(optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Sift 1c flour with 1c sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon.

Beat together 1 egg, 1c squished persimmon pulp, 1/4 cup milk, 1tsp vanilla, 1Tbs melted butter.

Combine the two mixtures and beat well. Add raisins, and/or nuts if you wish (I prefer pecans or walnuts to raisins), and pour into a greased baking dish. Bake at 300 for 1 hour, and server with lemon sauce (recipe following) and/or whipped cream with plenty of vanilla.

Lemon Sauce:
Ingredients: sugar, corn starch, water, 2 lemons, butter

Mix 1c sugar, 3/4 Tbs cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a heavy saucepan. Add 1c water slowly, stirring constantly. Boil 5 min until clear, add grated rind of 1 lemon (I add a little extra), cook another min. Remove from heat and add juice of 2 lemons plus 1Tbs butter.

Enjoy!

Mati (& implicitly Kendra)

I just noticed the formatting for this repost is cutting off some of the measurements... so here's the original post if you want to make it!

studio time

it's a rainy day, but cozy inside with tea, paint and chocolate...

bluegrass, er, rocks

this weekend we managed to catch some good music at the free bluegrass fest in golden gate park. every year it gets bigger, but somehow we still manage to run into our friends. these photos were taken by bob lake (the awesome mister of jenifer). they nearly stepped on us as they walked through the crowds with their doggie dixie... hey, we know you we said, have a seat. i love the top photo and the line of white turbans, the sun and the crowd shot to the stage as we watched ms neko case. i feel like i'm there again. i've never seen someone more inspired and better with the i-phone camera than bob. he's a talented photographer all around.

my fave song of neko's is that "teenage feeling"... i like this video i found on youtube and the textiles:

i also found this sweet illustrated video of hers... the artist looks like julie morstad, but i'm not sure?:

happy listening,
m

happiness to me is 5 minutes

* husband making the bed

* morning wandering walks of noticing

* school children on field trips

* older ladies with grocery carts and funny hair

* a line for donuts

* freshly clean laundry

* butternut squash soup

* toast

* dried apricots & almonds to snack

* studio time

* sparks of new ideas and color combinations

* my sweet interns caitlin & jenny

* farmer's market mornings

* chapstick

* composting

* holding hands

* wearing my paint caked apron all day

* my clogs

* rolling my pants up high with big cuffs

* soft tee shirts

* silk scarves strewn with pretty bold patterns

* reading bits of the new yorker

* bloggy love

* blue grass