Sunday, November 2, 2014

Writing for Hugo House


I just finished the 30/30 writing challenge to raise money for Hugo House. I surpassed my goal and raised $300. 


Haiku written during October 2014 Hugo House, 30 minutes of writing for 30 days
diane tchakirides


October 1

I am the only person in this café
Without a tattoo
my marks are all on paper.


October 2

The clouds were pink puffs
at sunset 
in a red lined horizon
end of day driving home

October 3

Five stems of orange
chrysanthemums, one by one, 
petals falling down

October 4

These days heavy petting
happens 
mostly with the cat
I need 
a boyfriend

October 6

I’m catatonic
With a cat on my lap, my
medicine is purrs

Oct 7

Silver disc in blue-black sky
a Basho moon makes
night shadows beneath the trees

           
October 8

A raygun filled with stars 
shot me in the heart and I wept
a thousand moonbeams

October 9

A misty peace rolls in 
with some clouds and the tide
two lovers take a sunset selfie



October 11

The Foxy Lady
Latte stand sells sex in a
Double D tall cup


October 12

Though flatulent and
prone to snoring the beauty
loves her bulldog beast

October 14

I remember a summer 
day with a dog and a man
swimming in a river


October 15

Writing is tough stuff
Practice leads to habit then to flow.
Words find their place in line.


October 16

Morning luxury
at the kitchen window  with
sunlight streaming in


October 17

Her tan lines fading,
Summer, hops a hayride and  
blows a kiss to fall


October 18

It’s not poetry
or is it? The sound of the
rain in October

October 19

This is crap, I suck
at writing says my head, don’t
listen says my hand

October 20

I like to say words
Out loud, Coriander sounds
spicy on my tongue


October 21

this going to work
is surely overrated
trading life for money


October 22

Morning eyelash kiss
a wet nose nudging my face
Kitty wakeup call

don’t have much to say
today so I won’t say much
‘til it’s tomorrow

October 23

hot pink sari with
gold threads running through
streets of silk and fire


October 24
For Louis Collins

He prefers travel
to islands but only those
you haven’t heard of

with names like Penang
and Mauritius. He returns
with stories to tell

October 25

Will the result be
different if I write by
hand or computer?

October 26, 2014
The wind blew through last 
night and stole my oak tree's coat
of yellow and red


October 27

Farmer's market foodporn:
purple potatoes and
rainbow chard
I weep with desire
for the absinthe caramels
a
nd twice baked croissants

October 28

Reclining in the
bathtub looking at pretty,
pink, bubble wrapped toes

October 29

Full on autumn now
where did the hummingbird go?
to the land of bloom?

October 30

I'm rollin' with it
this poem, this chapter, this life
could be over soon

October 31

The vampire came
and I offered my neck but ‘twas
Candy corn he wanted



the end.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Brunch at Bastille in Ballard and the Sunday Farmer's Market

It was a feast for the eyes and stomach today in Ballard.
Here's today's Haiku:

Farmer's market food
porn: purple potatoes and
rainbow chard
I weep with desire
for the absinthe caramels
and twice baked croissants

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Fall haiku


Her tan lines fading,
Summer, boards the hayride and  
blows a kiss to fall


Thursday, October 9, 2014

30/30



I'm raising money for Hugo House by writing for 30 minutes a day for 30 days. I've been trying to write one haiku during the thirty minutes and I'm starting to get in the groove of writing again. After reading The Artist's Way I used to have a daily routine of writing first thing in the morning when I woke up.

I stopped this years ago when the internet started taking over and when I started working full time. It feels good to be putting works on paper again. Here are some samples of my writing so far.

If you would like to contribute to my fundraising efforts for Hugo House you can do so here:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/dianetch/3030


October 1, 2014
I am the only person in this café
Without a tattoo
I make my marks on paper.


October 2
The clouds were pink puffs at sunset
In a red lined horizon
End of day driving home


October 7
Silver disc in blue-black sky
a Basho moon makes
night shadows beneath the trees


October 8
A raygun filled stars
shot me in the heart
and I wept a thousand moonbeams

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Pesto

We have fantastic farmer's markets in Seattle. I bought two bunches of organic basil for $4.00 and tonight I made pesto. There is nothing like the aroma of garlic, olive oil and basil.... The recipe is from Jane Brody's Good Food Book and uses less oil than is traditional.



Pesto
3 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt (if desired)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups basil leaves firmly packed
1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Place basil leaves in food processor with metal blade. Start machine, drop garlic down. When it is finely chopped, pour in oil. Add nuts with machine running. When nuts are ground, add Parmesan. Turn off machine when well blended. Stop machine and scrape sides as needed. Makes about 1 1/4 cup, which generously covers 1 pound pasta.
Note: We freeze pesto in 1 cup containers or 2 tablespoons per ice cube in ice cube trays.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Glorious August in Seattle

Late summer is my favorite time of year in the Pacific Northwest. The days are gloriously sunny and the nights cool and full of stars. Farmers markets are bursting with colorful dahlias, fresh basil, blackberries and other local foods. There is a sense of urgency...the end of summer is coming and I'm trying to take in as much as I can to store up for the long winter ahead.....


Sunday, August 24, 2014

Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search

So tomorrow the 50 artists who made the first cut in the Global Talent Search will be announced. Here is the entry I submitted along with the one I didn't submit. In the end I decided I wanted to make a bold statement and stand out...I still like the other one, Grow, too.

Which one do you like?






Monday, August 18, 2014

Global Talent Search - Thinking about terrariums

I turned in my entry for Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search last night...I had a hard time deciding between two of the paintings I had done...We had two weeks to work on it and I did about five paintings. Here are parts from the one I didn't submit. I'll show the one I entered on August 26.

It was a fun project. I had a blast painting...I used mostly gouache and watercolor with some pen and ink thrown in.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Daily drawing 7/24/14 Floral Zendoodle


I am starting to add color to these pen and ink drawings. The colors on the top one were inspired by a beaded bowl I bought in Mexico.

Strung out cats : daily drawing 7/23/14


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A drawing a day

I'm back into the practice of making a drawing a day as a way to expand my illustration portfolio and to get into the practice of picking up pen and paper. Here is today's drawing.

copyright diane tchakirides 2014

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Making metal houses

I just finished up another metals class. I ended up  with the theme of houses and home. Here are a few things from the studio today. I'll be selling them in my etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/artnestbydiane




Sunday, February 9, 2014

I love texturing metal

I started taking metalsmithing classes in 1997. I continue to take classes and I love texturing metal. Here are some examples of recent projects using foldforming, rollerprinting and etching techiniques. Many of these are available for sale in my etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/artnestbydiane?ref=si_shop