Realistic Sculptures

Don Mueck is a London-based photo-realist artist. Born in Melbourne,Australia, to parents who were toy makers, he labored on children's television shows for 15 years before working in special effects for such films as Labyrinth, a 1986 fantasy epic starring David Bowie.

Eventually Mueck concluded that photography pretty much destroys the physical presence of the original object, and so he turned to fine art and sculpture. In the early 1990's, still in his advertising days, Mueck was commissioned to make something highly realistic, and was wondering what material would do the trick. Latex was the usual, but he wanted something harder, more precise. Luckily, he saw a little architectural decor on the wall of a boutique and inquired as to the nice, pink stuff's nature. Fiberglass resin was the answer, and Mueck has made it his bronze and marble ever since.



His work is lifelike but not life size, and being face to face with the tiny, gossiping Two Women (2005) or the monumental woman In Bed (2005) is an unforgettable experience.

Ann Arbor 2007

After over 8 years, we went back to Ann Arbor, MI last week! Our main agenda was to watch the Wolverines beat the Notre Dame Irish, and boy, did my team deliver! We started with two really devastating losses at the beginning of the season, but hopefully, the team is back on track, especially with this past weekend's win over Penn State.

In addition to seeing the game, we also wanted to visit our beloved campus because, after all, that's where my husband and I met during our Freshman year. Albeit, our romance did not blossom until the summer after my sophomore year, what better way to look back into our past and be thankful for each other than to stroll the beautiful campus and dine at the many delightful restaurants we used to frequent. On one occasion, I took a walk by myself on Saturday morning before the game started and quickly blended in with the university students becaused I had donned that day's omnipresent garb: a UM football jersey, blue jeans and sneakers. I even joined a few happily buzzed fraternity crowd, as I joined them in the chant, "Go Blue!" They weren't any wiser to the fact that I am over a decade older than they.

It was as if I had never left what I call my "ole stompin' grounds." I zig-zagged through the crowds, visited the student union and treated myself to a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop. I have lived in many places in my life, but Ann Arbor felt like my "hometown" to me. It is such a quaint town, full of culture, great food and intelligence. Just being there made me want to learn more, just for the sake of my love of learning.

It was great to reunite with some of our closest friends. We've managed to somehow still feel close to each other, despite only seeing one another every few years or so. One of my friends kidded and said that our group doesn't get together in one place, "...unless Joy blows in through town!" It warmed my heart that my friends are doing so well and moving ahead in their lives.

We received sad news before we left for Ann Arbor, however. One of my husband's closest friends passed away due to an undiagnosed heart condition. We were beside ourselves when we heard the news: he was only 33 years old and was our best man at our wedding. We visited his gravesite while we were there, and we paid our respects to his family and friends. My husband helped with moving his friend's belongings out of his apartment. I wish that we could've at least left for Ann Arbor sooner in order to see him one last time.

We took a short road trip to visit my grandmother as well. After my grandfather passed away a couple of years ago, things have been difficult for her, especially having to live in a big house all by herself. After much encouragement from our family members, she agreed to try out an assisted living situation. While she misses her home that she lived in for over 30 years, I believe she is in a better environment after seeing her apartment. They have various activities throughout the day, gourmet meals and people around her to keep her company.

So, we were able to accomplish many things during our trip back. I've created a slideshow from some of the pictures we took while we were there. If you have read this far down in the blog, thank you! Not too many people have long enough attention span these days!

Tomato Steak With Breaded Goat Cheese and Herb Salad

One of my favorite pasttimes is watching the Food Network and picking up cooking tips and tricks to integrate in my own cooking. I made this goat cheese appetizer last night to accompany Cy's always delicious grilled rib steaks. It takes 5 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to prepare!

[Recipe courtesy of Michael Chiarello from the show "Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello," and edited according to my own experience making the dish.]

This salad looks best when the tomato slice and the goat cheese slice are about the same size. So if you can only find goat cheese in small logs, you may want to serve 2 goat cheese rounds to each diner and perch them on slices from small tomatoes. Be sure you take all the stems off the herbs carefully so your guests can enjoy just the soft leaves.

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon water (I didn't use water, as I wanted to make the bread crumb extra crunchy)

1 egg

4 rounds fresh goat cheese, about 2 ounces each

4 thick, ripe beefsteak tomato slices (or cut thicker slices for smaller tomatoes)

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the herb salad

2 cups lightly packed mixed tender fresh herb leaves such as basil, chervil, tarragon, Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, chives (1-inch lengths), or young cress (here, I used sweet basil, cilantro, parsley and diced red onion)

Red wine vinegar

In a small, shallow bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper to taste. Add the water and work it in with your fingers to moisten the crumbs lightly. In another small, shallow bowl, beat the egg just until blended.

Dip one flat surface of each goat cheese round in the egg, and then in breadcrumbs, patting the crumbs in place. Repeat on the other flat surface, leaving the sides of the rounds uncoated. Refrigerate the coated cheese rounds for about 15 minutes.

Center the tomato slices on 4 salad plates. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is almost smoking, add the cheese rounds, one coated side down. Cook until lightly browned, about 45 seconds (more like 25 seconds for me), then turn and cook on the second side until the cheese just feels quivery, depending on the thickness of the rounds. Place a cheese round on each tomato slice.

In a bowl, toss the herbs with a splash of red wine vinegar, a light drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mound the herbs on top of the cheese, dividing them evenly. Serve immediately. You want the goat cheese to ooze out of its sides - great presentation! And very yummy too.

San Diego Zoo 2007

Here are photos from our little trip to the San Diego Zoo back in early August. My family had a great time! We had a couple of good shows, watching the gorillas and the chimps. Especially the chimps. One teenage chimp climbed up on the high beams (pictured), and kamikazed onto a group of chimps below. They were trying to take their late morning naps, but this playful chimp wasn't going to allow any of that! Finally, after a few leaps, what appeared to be the matron chimp of the group got really angry, sat up from her repose, and clapped her hands (paws??) loudly and shook her head at the prankster. She was reprimanding the clown! I could've watched them all day, but dang, it was hot that day... and it wasn't even noon yet.