Art Forms

"Hill Country Turners Exhibit. Fine woodturnings of decorative and functional art." That was all the Calendar of Events listed for the exhibit at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center for the first week in December.

It is said that Michelangelo carved away at a huge block of marble, chipping away at all that wasn't the David, until the David emerged. I guess that all sculptors and carvers could say that, but that simplistic explanation certainly minimizes the skill and patience that artists display.

This exhibit's works were displayed in a small room and a few of the pieces caught our eyes. These two creations by Anna Rachinsky were two of the smallest pieces that we saw. The finial box (left, in photo) was made from hackberry and purple heart and the Oval Flame Bottle was made from box elder and African blackwood.

There were bowls of various sizes on display, but these were two of the most intricate ones.

The larger bowl is made of cherry, maple, walnut, bloodwood, and yellow heart woods. There were 1145 individual pieces of wood in this bowl. 1145 tiny pieces of wood. Just amazing. The price of $1650 is a significant amount of money, but when you look at the detail and the beauty of the work, it is a reasonable figure for this creation.

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And speaking of creations, Kate's culinary creations, in my mind, are also works of art. She calls this bruschetta pasta salad. It is angel hair pasta tossed with chopped, seeded fresh tomatoes, basil, minced red onions or scallions, olive oil, and garlic. The garlic is cooked in olive oil at a low temperature to get rid of the garlic's raw taste. She adds red wine vinegar to taste for a little acidity. It is served at room temperature.

This is her version of a pasta salad sold at Altomonte’s Italian Deli in Doylestown and Warrington.

For my taste, I prefer pasta with chopped tomatoes over pasta with sauce.

Then there is my favorite way of serving pasta--with prosciutto di Parma, peas, roasted red peppers, in a sauce of heavy cream flavored with parmesan cheese and cracked pepper.

Ahh, the many forms of art.