At the weaving lab

Last week I went to a talk about textile printing organised by The Society Of Chemical Industry at the University of Huddersfield. After the talk I took a tour round the textile department, to see what has changed in the past eight years since I have been studying there.

Things that make me happy

A trip to the art supplies store.



A coffee with my favorite boys.

Some time to print and think

I love experimenting with new colours and ideas. The new paint I use for screen printing is quite runny, but I am happy with the results. The samples turned out great.

Weekend walk

As it's been sunny at the weekend I went for a long walk at the Sculpture park with both kids.



Johanna was thrilled to find some snowdrops

and exciting sculpture.

It's perfect for a walk with the kids. I don't like walking along the road with lots of traffic. In Frankonia we go for walks in the forrest or use Feldwege, small roads amongst fields. They don't have these here in Yorkshire. There are lots of footpaths across fields, but you'd have to climb dry stone walls, so not ideal for pushchairs.

The light was fantastic in the afternoon.

The Camellia House and a sculpture by Sophie Ryder.

Inside the Camellia House it smelled of wood and flowers and you could hear water running. 

I like the structure and marks on this sculpture.

 Johanna finding Isamu Noguchi's sculpture Finding.

On stepping on Legoman

There should be a word for the pain you experience when stepping on a Lego man, as it is such a common pain in parents. Suggestions?

Freitag's Link:
Lego startet neue Serie "Gescheiterte deutsche Großprojekte" 

Friede ist mehr als die Abwesenheit von Gewalt - es ist die Anwesenheit von Gerechtigkeit. 

Peace is more that the absence of violence - it is the presence of justice.

Happy Valentine's Day

Lovely message from John (with spelling mistake).

Links:
Temporary Tattoo, perfect for Valentine's Day - via swissmiss 
Heart shaped smittens for holding hands - lover gloves knitting tutorial
Love will tear us apart - Joy Division on YouTube
"Sorry green design, it's over" - dezeen magazine via Martin Smith

Hanna making Pizza

Late in the evening we made pizza. I was watching Johanna and suddenly I became aware of all the things she CAN do. I picked up my phone and started filming her. Despite just using my phone and imovie and the fact that this is my fist ever edit, this little clip shows that she's overcome all difficulties. She was nine weeks premature and very ill and we've been told all sorts of things she might not be able to do. It's wonderful to start to stop to worry.

A short and fun video of my two year old daughter Johanna making pizza.

 

Making Pizza from Katrin Freitag on Vimeo.

Freitag's Links:
Toddlers in the kitchen
how we montessori - a family trying to incorporate the philosophy of Montessori into their home lives
At Home with Montessori - more Montessori info and inspiration

The Scared is scared (of all the things you like)

the Scared is scared from Bianca Giaever on Vimeo.

Freitag's Links

Tea, grown in in England, is exported to China. Who would have thought?

Amazing toilet paper art installation.

Sweet idea for Valentine's Day.

Very wise post-it-notes on "Things we forget".

This video made me smile:

Experimenting with new inks and old wooden blocks

This is what happens when I find a little time to work in the studio. 

And that is what happens when the little one finds the marker pens.

Celeriac - the underrated vegetable

Celeriac is one of my favorite vegetables. I love it's flavor and versatility. I like it in soups and sauces, as puree and - most of all - breaded.

                                            It's so easy to do, yet absolutely delicious. 

Peel and cut the celeriac in slices about 1 cm in thickness. Steam them for about 8 minutes or until soft, but not too tender. Coat with breadcrumbs by dipping it in flour, then eggs and spices*, then breadcrumbs. For a thicker crust repeat the egg and breadcrumb bit once more. Then fry in some vegetable oil until golden brown.      Enjoy!

Today we had it with potatoes, carrots, leek and cheese sauce.        

* I use a BBQ salt or a mix of salt, paprika powder, chili, coriander seed, caraway seed, nutmeg, pepper, fennel, onion and garlic powder.

The Apprentice

Jacob and John processing the headshots of actress Lucy Bird.