the art of breakfast with danny gregory

January 23, 2013 ~ jama ~ 16 Comments

Now you can eat your breakfast and draw it too! Enjoy this video about author and journal illustrator, Danny Gregory. I love to watch artists work. Never has a cup of PG Tips and an onion seed bagel been so yummy!

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Learn more about Danny’s work at his Official Website. See his gallery of illustrated journals here, and check out his blog for even more.

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peeking into carl warner’s a world of food

November 13, 2012September 14, 2017 ~ jama ~ 25 Comments

“Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies . . . “

When I first heard these lyrics, little did I realize one day I’d actually be able to see and practically taste an alternate universe where everything is made of food. Thanks to London-based photographer Carl Warner, I can hula ‘neath pasta palm trees, tiptoe across cucumber bridges, climb cocoa-dusted mountains, skinny dip in a lemonade pool, and practice my backstroke in a sea of mushroom soup. Naturally I’d live in a nougat house and lick my lollipop trees every hour on the hour. Does this man know me or what?

*Yellow: Couscous, rice & grains desert, Emmental cheese pyramids, pasta palm trees, tortilla chip plants, tagliatelle & crispy pancake, mushroom and bean gondola.*

Open Mr. Warner’s new children’s book, A World of Food (Abrams, 2012), and just see if you don’t want to climb into every page and eat your way to oblivion. Featuring twelve wondrous, magical, incredibly edible color-themed foodscapes, this tasty tome will tempt and delight kids ages 1 to 100.

Continue reading →

A sampler from the FEAST exhibit by Julie Paschkis and Joe Max Emminger

September 24, 2012September 23, 2012 ~ jama ~ 19 Comments

bread girl — “Good Morning” (Julie Paschkis, 8.5″ x 10″)

Happy Monday!

Let’s start the week off in the best possible way by looking at several of the gorgeous paintings from FEAST, an art exhibit at the Grover Thurston Gallery in Seattle featuring the work of award-winning children’s author/illustrator Julie Paschkis and her husband Joe Max Emminger.

The September show includes separate paintings by Julie and Joe Max, as well as a number of collaborative pieces, most of which are related to the theme of food and feasting.

papercut — “Ever Together” (cut paper by Julie Paschkis, 12″ x 20″)

I’ve been a big fan of Julie’s work for years — she’s illustrated several of Janet Wong’s and Julie Larios’s poetry collections, as well as a number of folktales and picture book biographies. She’s known for her love of folk art and pattern (she also designs fabrics), and she likes to make bread and SOUP! 🙂

It’s such a treat to see Joe Max’s work; though I knew Julie was married to another artist, I hadn’t seen any of his paintings before. You lucky Seattle area peeps can sashay on over to see this wonderful exhibit in person. The rest of us can focus our appreciative gazes at the FEAST blog and the Grover Thurston Gallery website (whom you should contact directly if you’re interested in purchasing).

Julie’s gouache paintings are of various sizes. Joe Max’s paintings were rendered in acrylic and are 30″ by 44″. Collaborative pieces are all ink and gouache.

Enjoy this mini feast from FEAST!

summer feast — “Summer Feast” (Joe Max Emminger)

things — “The Things We Leave Behind” (Joe Max Emminger)

unseen guest — “The Unseen Guest” (Julie Paschkis, 23″ x 16″)

canning — “Canning” (Julie Paschkis, 15″ x 22″)

bluebird — “Flow Blue” (Julie Paschkis, 8.5″ x 10″)

crunch — “Crunch” (Julie Paschkis, 16″ x 22″)

cake — “Cat and Cake” (Joe Max Emminger and Julie Paschkis)

jug — “Jug and Cherry” (Joe Max Emminger and Julie Paschkis)

Amazing, right? I’d like to steal that piece of cake in “Crunch” right off the table. Love love love their work! I should also mention that if you attend the Closing Potluck Celebration on Saturday, September 29 (1-3 p.m.), you get to take home one of the bread pieces! (Click here if you’d like to make your own bread sculptures.)

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♥ GOOD NEWS! ♥

Julie will be visiting Alphabet Soup soon to talk about her tasty new picture book, APPLE CAKE (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012)!! Stay tuned ☺.

Have a fabulous week!

♥ Visit the FEAST blog.

♥ More about the exhibit at the Grover Thurston Gallery. Show runs through September 29, 2012.

♥ Julie’s official website is here. She blogs at Books Around the Table.

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tastiest game of scrabble, ever

March 8, 2012September 26, 2017 ~ jama ~ 10 Comments

#42 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

When last we met in alphabet land, we were contemplating a bunch of luscious letter lollipops in an amazing array of colors and flavors.

Today, behold an exquisitely handcrafted set of edible game tiles and racks, made with pure vanilla extract and real chocolate by Andie’s Specialty Sweets of Los Angeles, California. When I first saw these at BB-Blog, I fairly swooned! These faux wood grained beauties are truly too beautiful to eat, and are a fabulous way to express a broad range of sentiments.

*Tiles are 1″ square, racks are regulation size.*

Andie’s also makes many other gorgeous candy and cake embellishments. I like their policy of using fair trade organic chocolate, non g.m.o. sugars and starches, and organic flavorings. Their products are also gluten free, vegan friendly, and free of hydrogenated oils, gelatin, and corn syrup.

I love these pastel Peppermint Buttons!

*Can be made in any flavor (shades of coral, pink, lemon yellow, mint and sky blue).*

And these very cool edible Antique Inspired Chocolate Candy Gears. I imagine architects, engineers, clockmakers and tinkerers would go crazy for them!

Final Swoon: Candy Vintage Inspired Cameo Necklace! Dynamite idea for bridesmaids gifts, birthdays or Mother’s Day.

*Comes with 20″ silk ribbon (flavors: peppermint, lemon sorbet, butter rum and vanilla)*

Okay, what’s a five-letter word for delicious?

Check out all the other goodies at Andie’s Specialty Sweets Etsy Shop. They even have some heart-stopping fungi for scientific types ☺. Enjoy!

♥ More alphabetica here.

Certified authentic alphabetica. Made by hand just for you with love and a hundred extra triple-word squares.

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tasty and tempting typography

February 22, 2012September 26, 2017 ~ jama ~ 18 Comments

#41 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

Here is a very cool way to eat the alphabet!

Vintage Confections makes these wonderful (custom/made-to-order) hard candy typography lollipops in plain, block, or Greek letters. They make great favors for weddings, birthdays, etc., and are unique “just because” gifts. Also great for book launch party giveaways (author’s initials). They come in different sizes and an incredible range of colors and flavors:

Amaretto, Apple, Apricot, Banana Cream (yellow), Bavarian Cream (vanilla), Blackberry, Blueberry, Bubble gum (pink), Caramel (brown/tan – light), Cardamom, Champagne, Cheesecake, Cherry, Cinnamon (hot/spicy), Cinnamon roll (sweet), Citrus Blossom, Clove, Coconut, Coffee (brown), Cotton candy, Cranberry (mild), Creme de menthe, Eggnog, Fleur de sel (see also sea salted caramel), Ginger (natural), Grape (purple), Grapefruit, Guava, Honey (yellow), Horchata (similar to a cinnamon latte), Horehound, Juicy pear, Keoke coffee (kahlua-type flavor), Key lime (natural), Lemon (natural), Lemonade, Mango, Maple (brown), Marshmallow, Peppermint, Pineapple, Pistachio, Plum, Pomegranate (mild), Raspberry (red), Root beer (brown), Salt water taffy, Sea salted caramel (brown/amber), Strawberry/kiwi, Strawberry (natural), Tangerine, Teaberry, Tropical punch, Tutti frutti, Vanilla, Watermelon (pink).