Let me be clear: I absolutely detest the taste of beets! But I have found a new appreciation for this vegetable, and what it can do for me on Valentine's Day, or any day. So what does Valentine's Day have to do with this oh-so-ugly-on-the-outside root vegetable (that is somewhat heart-shaped, when you think about it)? I mean other than being perfect for puns--"My Heart Beets for You!" or "You Make My Heart Beet Faster!"
It's all about the color. I adore magenta. And I think that beets are such a lovely hue, I decided to give them a chance in the art studio, although I am not about to serve them at my dinner table. Earlier this year, I kinda, sorta tried. To serve beets. Last summer, Caroline wanted to try them, since she'd never had them before. So just for fun, I bought some huge ones and roasted them. Then she was afraid to try them. (I don't blame her!) Before I threw them out, I marveled at their rich color, and since our PTA was adopting a food theme for their membership campaign last fall, and I was trying to think of ways to incorporate food into the art curriculum, I thought I'd see what I could do with beets.
Here's what I discovered: beets are not good for dying fabric, as the color rinses out. BUT, beets do a great job of staining paper! You can cut beet slices into shapes and arrange them on paper...flower petal shapes, for instance, arranged radially. Push down on them and remove, and--voila!--you have a magenta "flower" print! You can also pick up a piece of beet and "draw" with it, though it might crumble and leave little beet bits to deal with. You can push your finger onto the surface of a beet slice and then create a finger print on your paper. You can paint with the juice from a can of beets.
Beets and beet juice work well with paper masks and stencils. So...without further ado, I introduce to you the one Valentine I have made so far this year--and it's all thanks to a can of beets and my handy-dandy Micro Mini taklon fan brush (from the set I mentioned a recent post).
Heart Beet, Zentangle-style! I cut a heart-shaped mask out of paper, and then used the fan brush to apply beet juice from the edge of the mask outward onto the tile...a reverse stencil. It left a white heart defined in the center, which I was more than happy to tangle! |
So...did my husband notice my highlights? No.
My kids? No. But one of my dearest friends at work noticed right when she saw me today. Thank you, Erin!
Perhaps I'll have time to complete a few more Valentines. It's always a nice day for a Valentine, isn't it?!
Let me know if YOU do any beet-work! (Or what you think about mine.)
lovely!!! looks like your heart beets to a different drummer...er..."tangler" :)
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Thanks for sharing. My DD wants to grow beats this year. Now I know what we will do with them :-)
ReplyDeleteVery clever, Amy! Lovely tile too!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Nancy! Thanks for word play!
ReplyDeleteThat's cool Cris! My DD talked me into growing tomatoes last summer. They took over the deck, and we were annoyed by the slugs who'd take just a taste, and then leave a perfectly good tomato to rot, but it was worth it whenever we added one of our homegrowns to a salad, a sandwich, or just savored it by itself.
Sue, I LOVE "clever" and strive for it, but so rarely achieve it...I am honored by your response! Thank you!
If I can get caught up on other things, I hope to post more HeartBeets soon!
Absolutely beautiful tile and you've inspired me to try something new! See, inspiration all around! My husband never notices when I get highlights put in my hair either. Last time it took him four days before he FINALLY asked "did you do something to your hair?" and he'd been waiting in the car when I had it done! Men!!!
ReplyDelete