Honestly, sometimes I have the same problem with my husband. It’s not that he hates vegetables. Quite the contrary — he loves veggies. Well, CERTAIN veggies. Others, he’d rather not try. But that hasn’t stopped me from being adventurous in the kitchen (and at the farmer’s market).

The latest delight has been eggplant — in particular, the fairy tale kind. Yes I know, technically eggplant is not a veggie; it’s a fruit. But I treat it like other veggies.  And I’ve found the easiest way to introduce new vegetables to a picky eater is to roast them in the oven.  No subterfuge necessary. The roasting typically brings out all the best qualities of the vegetable. Fairy tale eggplant is perfect prepared this way — and it certainly sounds tasty: fairy tale fries. Even my 5-year-old niece is intrigued by the name.

Fairy tale eggplant; photo courtesy K. Neer

To make the FFTs, preheat your oven to 400 F. While it’s heating up, wash the eggplant, cut off the tops and then quarter them (slice in half length-wise and then slice each half length-wise again). Toss the quartered pieces in some olive oil and spread onto a baking sheet. Then top with a light sprinkling of kosher salt and pepper and pop in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. There’s only one caveat to this preparation, though. Typically, when I roast asparagus, squash, Portobellos and other veg, if there’s anything leftover, it’s good the next day.  However, I don’t think fairy tale fries are leftover-friendly. So far, we haven’t had any leftovers to test – but the texture of the eggplant leads me to believe they’re best enjoyed just after roasting!

Bon appétit!

Do you have any favorite homemade treats? Share ‘em with us here or on our Facebookpage. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

First, let me explain the ‘sort of’ comment. Sadie’s absence is still very prominent in my life. What many friends have told me is definitely ringing true — I will grieve her departure for a long, long time. I still think of her every day and I miss her as much today as I did that first day without her. But a couple months ago, I found myself looking at her photos and smiling rather than immediately tearing up.

Noticing this change, my husband started looking at animal rescue Web sites and some of the local shelter pages, too. A friend of ours volunteers at a local APS (animal protection society) and said she’d be glad to meet us there one weekend whenever we were ready(thanks again, Tania!) . Rather than over thinking it, I checked our calendar and set up a Saturday meeting. The moment we walked in the door – even before meeting any of the dogs, I knew we wouldn’t go home without filling out an adoption application. No matter any previous hesitation or worry running through my mind.

In last year’s post, I mentioned that we found Sadie at just the right time. And it seems to have happened again. We saw Mugsie’s photo on the APS Web site and knew we wanted to meet him. There was something about his face. (As you can see, what a face it is.)

Mugsie
Photo courtesy K. Neer

After meeting him, along with five other awesome dogs, we wished we could take all of them home. But that wasn’t possible. So we settled on just him (for now…). The APS takes a few days to review adoption applications and get pets ready for adoption, which gave us a few days to get ready, too.

To get ready, I started the way I do with most any new thing — I stayed up late that night and did some reading. I found several helpful articles around the Web — including some right here at HowStuffWorks and Discovery. Granted, I knew a lot already — having previously been a puppy parent. But I did find new info and it all made for interesting reading. Here are just a few of those articles:

• How to Choose a Dog
• How to Care for a Dog
• How to Solve Dog Behavior Problems
• How many words do dogs understand?
• Is a dog really a man’s best friend?

A common theme repeated throughout the articles I read is how important patience is — especially for people who have had other dogs and might not remember the early days. Your new dog — be it a puppy or an older dog — will need time to adjust to his/her new family and surroundings. It could take a few days to a few months for your new pooch to feel completely at home. And what you do in the early days can help set the tone on how that goes.

After I finished reading, I started the actual preparation — meaning even more fun stuff like heading out to the local pet supply store. Before bringing your new bundle of joy home, make sure you have these essentials: a collar (with an ID tag), leash, food (and food/water bowls), treats (essential for training), toys and — if you plan to crate train — an appropriately sized crate/kennel. Next, sit down and think of some house rules. Will it be OK for the pup to be on furniture? Are certain rooms off limits? Are you going to crate train? Where will your new pal sleep? Who is responsible for walking the dog and when? (This is key when bringing home a puppy or dog who is not housetrained.) Same goes for feeding and keeping track of medications (heartworm medicine and flea/tick treatments, etc.).

Once you have the house rules sorted, it’s time to think about your dog’s care beyond your home. Do you have a vet? If so, schedule an appointment for your new dog. If not, ask for recommendations from friends, the folks at the rescue group or the shelter where you adopted the dog and make an appointment. And, finally, find out about puppy/dog training classes for you and your new buddy. Classes are great for helping you and your pet learn how to communicate with each other and for socializing (for you and your pet!).

Preparing in this way has served us well so far; Mugsie seems to be adjusting quickly and happily to his new home. And now the only thing left to do is love Mugsie and ensure he has a happy, healthy life with us — and that’s what we plan on doing. I only wish Sadie and Mugsie could have met each other; they’d have gotten along fabulously I’m sure.

Strawberry jam photo courtesy K. Neer

If you’ve read this post, then you know I’m a strawberry fan. And you also know that May is National Strawberry Month. So, of course, in celebration of this (and other things), I found myself happily picking strawberries with friends early Saturday morning. We were pretty industrious.  My husband and I managed to pick several pounds (our friends picked even more!). So, what’s a girl to do with several pounds of fresh, ripe berries?

Well yeah, washing and snacking happened pretty quickly when we got home. But after that, it was time to do something I’d never done before — make strawberry jam. Lucky for me I have a super talented friend (thanks, Vicki!) who walked me through the process, which was super fun and not as complicated as I had imagined. You can find step-by-step instructions in cook books and all around the Web (for example, there’s some great info here), so I’m not going to duplicate all of that now. I’ll just share a few key tricks my friend shared with me.

First up, Vicki had all the necessary gear on hand (gigantic pot, funnel, magnetic lid lifter, jar lifter and more), which you can get in a cool kit, and plenty of jars at the ready. You can wash/sanitize your jars in the dishwasher and keep them hot in there while you’re preparing the jam mixture.  A potato masher like this makes crushing the berries easy. When you’re new to the process, it’s good to make a few batches trying both powdered and liquid pectin to see what works best for you. Some people prefer to make jam without added pectin, but the process takes longer/requires added cooking time.

Even after jam-making, we still had berries. I have this great piece of art in my kitchen by Paul Friedrich that asks the question, “Am I in the mood for evil … or pie?”

The awesome Evil or Pie art piece by Paul Friedrich hanging in my kitchen
photo courtesy K. Neer

My answer to that is (almost) always: PIE! So I made some.

The strawberry jam and strawberry pie I made after picking fresh berries over the weekend
photo courtesy K. Neer

Here’s my recipe — it makes two pies:

Crust:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup chilled shortening (I like to use the shortening sticks, which I refrigerate)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 7 to 10 (maybe more) tablespoons ice water

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix dry ingredients (flour and salt) and then add shortening using a pastry blender to mix. It will start to look like pea-sized crumbles.  Add ice water by the tablespoon — start out with 5 tablespoons at first — and continue to blend. Add additional ice water sparingly until dough takes shape. Divide into two equal-sized balls. Roll dough out on floured work surface and place in a ceramic or glass pie plate. Crimp the edges and use a fork to poke a lot of holes in the crust — along the bottom and up the sides. When both crusts are ready, place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (when crust starts to turn light golden color, it should be done). Remove from oven and place on cooling racks.

Filling:

• 2 cups mashed strawberries
• 5 cups sliced strawberries
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch

When the crusts are cool, fill each one with 2 ½ cups of sliced strawberries.

Next, mix the cornstarch and sugar together in a small bowl. Place mashed strawberries in a medium-sized pot over med-high heat. Stir in the sugar/cornstarch. Continue to stir until mixture starts to boil; it takes about 4 or 5 minutes. When it starts to boil, turn the burner off and stir mixture until it takes on a gel-like texture and goes from a slightly milky/lighter pink to a clear/deeper color. Set pot aside for a minute to cool slightly. Then pour over fresh berries in pie shells. Use a spatula to spread warm filling evenly over the fresh berries. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

You can prepare fresh whipped cream to serve on top or just serve it as is. And if you’re someone who doesn’t think it’s a dessert unless it includes chocolate, don’t worry — you can add some.  Sometimes I drizzle melted dark chocolate in the pie shell and up along the edges of the crust prior to adding the fresh berries. It looks nice and tastes good, too.

Do you have any favorite homemade treats? Share ‘em with us here or on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Our journey began in Quincy, Mass., where “Young Bird Season” introduced us to pigeon racing. “Nation” took us over to Amposta, Catalonia, Spain where we followed athlete Jesus Navarro as he trained throughout the countryside. “Unfinished Spaces” brought us views of the remarkable, lush beauty of Havana and “Sivan” put us among feverish fans in a soccer stadium in Tel Aviv. A Chilean beach and Jamaica were our final destinations of the day via “The Lifeguard” — an interesting character study — and “Marley,” an incredibly comprehensive look at legendary musician Bob Marley, respectively. Our travels continued like that over the next three days as we attending more screenings.

I’ve been fortunate to attend Full Frame for the last few years, and each year it gets better and better. I’m a big fan of documentaries so going to the festival is an incredible treat. Directors, producers and even some of the subjects of the documentaries are on hand for Q&A sessions after the screenings. There’s a mixture of old and new films. For example, Stanley Nelson was being honored this year, so there was a screening of “The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords,” which Nelson made in the late 1990s.  And among the new docs were many domestic and international debuts including world premieres of “The Waiting Room,” “Fanuzzi’s Gold,” and “Herman’s House.” There were old and new stories, too. In fact, one of this year’s edge-of-your seat docs, “The Imposter,” focused on a plotline that happened more than 15 years ago.

While I’m glad I saw all of the 17 docs I screened, there were a few standouts for me:

• Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
• Beauty is Embarrassing
• The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords
• Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
• The Imposter
• Marley
• The Queen of Versailles

Of these, my very favorite has to be “Beauty is Embarrassing,” in which director and cinematographer Neil Berkeley trains his lens on Emmy-winning artist Wayne White. If White’s name doesn’t (yet) ring a bell, his creative endeavors should. His iconic creations have been seen on “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” and in music videos for Peter Gabriel and the Smashing Pumpkins. Shortly after the documentary begins, White prepares us for what’s to come as he declares, “I want to try everything I can. I want to take this painting idea and see if you can do a puppet version of it. I want to take this cartooning and turn it into a set. I want to take this set and turn it back into a painting.” Oh, and Josh and Chuck — if you’re reading this, I got to speak to Neil Berkeley briefly after the screening — he’s a fan of Stuff You Should Know and was sad to learn he’d missed y’all at SXSW.

If you can’t make it to Full Frame, don’t let that stop you — maybe you can attend another film festival. There are loads of them going on year-round. For example:

• Arizona International Film Festival
• docfest (New York International Documentary Festival)
• Hot Docs (Canadian International Documentary Festival)
• LA Film Fest (Los Angeles Film Festival)
• Sheffield Doc/Fest (Sheffield International Documentary Festival)
• Silver Docs (AFI/Discovery Channel)

Do you have any favorite festivals — film or otherwise? Share ‘em with us here or on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

What's your go-to fragrance? Photo courtesy Katherine Neer.

In honor of spring, what with all the fabulous scents swirling around outside — and inside thanks to new fragrances hitting store shelves — last week I wrote a blog post on how to select a new scent. As a fun follow-up to that post, I decided to ask what fragrances my coworkers at HowStuffWorks are currently favoring. So, if you’ve ever wondered what the HowStuffWorks offices and their inhabitants smell like, you’re in luck.

I’ll begin with Holly, because her description of why she likes the scent she’s currently infatuated with is just so awesome:

“My current favorite is Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Shango — an eclectic mixture of red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane. When I wear it, I get that same giddy, happily rabid feeling that I have when I’m in Walt Disney World.”

And FYI, in case you don’t know, Holly lurves Walt Disney World. Really, really, lurves it.

The folks at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab got some other rave reviews — both Tracy and Lauren appreciate the “Victorian, fougère with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea” fragrance of BPAL’s Dorian. Lauren says it’s “nice for (maybe metro-ish) dudes and for ladies – it can go a little powdery with all the musk, but it’s a great balance of sweet/dry and has a subtly spicy warmth.”

Deblina wears D&G Light Blue simply because she thinks it smells pretty and distinct, but not overpowering. And Sara G is also concerned about her fragrance not being too heavy or perfume-y, which is why she loves Joe Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey. Sara says it’s lovely and so very fruity and springy.

Chanel is a fan of Flower by Kenzo (me, too). Its profile is composed of top notes of Bulgarian roses, Parma violets, cassia and wild hawthorn with middle notes of Bourbon vanilla, opopanax and white musk over base notes of hedione and cyclosal.  Chanel also recommends Fresh’s Citron de Vigne, which she describes as spring in a bottle!

Alison has been wearing Burberry Brit, which she loves because her husband bought it for her. She thinks it smells “sophisticated and lovely” and says after spritzing some on, “It feels like I’m done dressing and ready to face the world.” Its official profile contains Italian lime, icy pear, green almond, white peony, sugared almonds, amber, mahogany, vanilla and Tonka bean.

Candace, a fig fan like me, is currently beguiled by Hermes Un Jardin de Mediterranee, which reportedly is like “a walk through a dappled Mediterranean garden” and appropriate for men and women alike. And speaking of  fragrances for men, Jonathan was kind enough to participate in my impromptu survey. He wears Star Trek Red Shirt cologne, which, according to Jonathan, smells nice and is distinct without being overpowering — likely thanks to its top notes of green mandarin, bergamot and lavender, and base notes of leather and grey musk.

And as for the How-to Stuff team — Jessika’s of-the-moment favorite is The Body Shop’s Rougeberry, which has top notes of raspberry, tangerine and apple, middle notes of heliotrope, rose, violet and peach, and base notes of musk, amber, cedar, vanilla and sugared almond. I’m a fan of many fragrances, although I do have a few standby scents that are mostly citrus-based. I use Origins Gloomaway grapefruit body soufflé pretty much every day. In addition to that, when I do wear a spritz of something, right now it might be Fresh’s Bergamot Citrus (top notes of blood orange, bergamot, middle notes of Italian mandarin, grapefruit and black pepper, and  base notes of French cypress, oakmoss, Moroccan cedar and bergamot citrus) or Chanel Chance Eau Fraîche.

What’s your signature or of-the-moment fragrance? Share your scent stories here or on our Facebook page. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Signature scents are nice -- but you don't have to limit yourself to just one. Photo courtesy K. Neer.

Spring has officially arrived — as witnessed by the purple, white and yellow blooms abounding in my front yard. Along with these bright colors comes an array of delightful scents wafting by in the breeze … and at your local mall. Yes, that’s right — the mall. If you’ve somehow missed all the colorful ads splashing around the Internet or the teasers in your print magazines, here’s some news: Spring is a popular time of year for fragrance launches. And what better way is there to take advantage of this than shopping for a new scent.

First off, know that your nose has its limits. So when you set out on your shopping spree, keep that in mind. Before you head out in search of a heady new scent, leave your usual at home, in the bottle. It’s OK to scrub and smooth with your favorite scented shower gels and lotions because you’ll likely be using these products prior to dabbing or spritzing on your new scent. But any additional fragrance beyond that will just confuse your senses. Donning a three-quarter sleeve shirt or a top that exposes even more than your wrists is a good idea — you’ll need the real estate for testing. And, if you have some whole coffee beans at home, grab a little zip-lock baggy and dump a scoop in there — you can use it to reset your senses between scents.

It’s also good to arm yourself with a little research prior to hitting the mall. Whether you’re a pro or a novice, here are some basics that will come in handy:

• Fragrances generally fall into one of several categories based on what the dominant scent is — for example: aromatic (think herbs like rosemary and basil), citrus, clean (also known as fresh or green — think fresh-cut grass), floral, fruity, spicy or Oriental, and woody.
• Fragrances come in varying levels of concentration — essentially it’s a balance between the amount of scented oils and the alcohol or other ingredients. For women’s fragrances, perfume (or parfum) is the most highly concentrated formula, meaning it’s going to have the strongest fragrance, the most staying power and the highest price tag. Eau de parfum or eau de perfume is next in strength followed by eau de toilette and other formulations falling under names like body mist, body spray and so on.
• Fragrances are usually a combination of several different scents, which fragrance creators refer to as notes. There are top notes, middle notes and base notes. The top notes are the first scents you’ll be enjoying upon application of the fragrance. These will be evident during the first 15 minutes or so. After that come the middle notes, which you’ll smell for up to an hour after the initial application. And, finally, come the base notes — the scents that will linger the longest, typically several hours after you’ve applied the fragrance. *This information just may be the most critical when preparing for your new purchase.

OK, now that you have these basics down, it’s time to ponder what fragrance family (or families) to go for — it helps to narrow down the field prior sniffing samples on the shelves. Even if you’re fairly new to the scent-wearing game — perhaps you have only one bottle of Chanel No. 5 behind you — you should be able to figure out what fragrances appeal to you. Mostly I’m a citrus fan. But I also like things that are considered green/fresh/clean. So I typically gravitate toward fragrances in those categories. If you’re still unsure, try to call up a friend’s or family member’s scent that you like and ask what she or he wears. Make note of it — the salesperson will likely know what fragrance family it belongs to. With all this information in mind (or hand – it’s good to write a few things down) it’s time to go shopping.

It’s really best to hit the fragrance counter first before running any other errands or doing any other shopping because you’ll want some time to test and sniff and re-sniff. It’s not about smelling multiple samples in one go, though. Most folks recommend trying no more than three or four samples at a time — otherwise you’ll become overwhelmed and everything will start to blend together.

Begin by asking a salesperson for a little help. Let him or her know what fragrances you like or what scent family you’re looking for and that you’d like to try just a few samples. You can begin by sniffing the samples, giving your nose a break between each by getting a whiff of the coffee beans you brought with you. (Many stores will have their own beans, but I’ve found that sometimes they’ve lost their aroma — so they don’t help.) At this point, you might find a fragrance that you love so much you’re ready to whip out your credit card. But wait — the only way you’ll really get a purchase-worthy idea is by testing it on yourself. So the next step is to spritz or dab one, two or a few on you.

As mentioned earlier, it takes several hours for a fragrance to fully develop. Since you’re not likely to stand around the perfume counter all that time, here’s a handy way to remember what you sprayed where. Let’s say you’ve selected three to try. If possible, see if the salesperson has take-home samples. Next, mark each sample 1, 2 or 3. (If take-home samples aren’t available, use one of the fragrance blotter cards and be sure the fragrance name is on the card). Spritz or dab the first one on your inner left wrist and mark a small #1 there. Then test the second one on your right wrist and mark #2 there. Finally, spray the third fragrance on your outer left forearm and mark that spot #3. Now you’re free to window shop, run errands or have lunch with friends.

As the day progresses, take a moment to sniff the test areas. Your goal is to see if you like the way the fragrances are wearing throughout the day. And don’t forget to clear your head between sniffs using the coffee beans. By the end of the day you might just have a new scent. If not, repeat the process the next time you go shopping.

Do you have a signature fragrance? Or a slew of favorite scents? If so, we’d love to hear about them. And don’t forget to follow How-to Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

With 25+ degree variances not uncommon during this time of year, it can be difficult to figure out just the right outfit to take you from a 42°F, brisk early-morning commute to a sunny 76°F al fresco lunch to 63°F (and dropping) after-work dinner and drinks with friends.  So, how does one manage to be stylish but still comfortable during sprinter?

First, do some research. Scour your closet and drawers for lightweight, multi-season items that you can pair for layering. For example, consider starting with a long-sleeve, tissue-weight T-shirt, a pair of opaque tights, and ballet flats or booties. Next, layer on a floaty capped-sleeve or tank-style dress and top with a mid-weight cardigan or mid-weight jacket or trench. If you don’t have a tissue-T that works, swap in a light-weight cardi and still cover it all with a jacket or trench. The same premise works with skinny jeans or leggings instead of the tights. Overall, opt for neutral colors, but bring in a pop of color in one clothing item and/or an accessory — like chartreuse or plum tights, a spring-hued cardigan, or a zesty bag in orange, lemon or lime.

The point to layering, obviously, is that as the temperature warms during the day, you can delete an item from your ensemble. And then, at the end of the day, as the digits start to drop, you can don those items again.

In addition to floaty dresses, super-light Ts, tights, cardigans and jackets, skirts and dress shorts are other great layering options. Again, start with a base of a light-colored, light-weight T-shirt and opaque tights and then pull on shorts (or a skirt) and a crisp cotton shirt. You can top this with a light-weight cardigan or a short-sleeve belted sweater or a three-quarter kimono sleeve sweater. Pair with boots, booties or flats and a bright bag. And a scarf.

Scarves continue to be a stylish finish to most outfits — but during sprinter, it’s their practicality that I love. I have a range of light-weight scarves — T-shirt material ones are great, as are lighter knits and crocheted styles, which you can wear in pairs to mix up texture and color. But that doesn’t mean you should pack away your chunkier-knit scarves — they can provide the right balance to those tights and booties you’re using to make your sprinter outfits work.

Speaking of balance, just try to keep that in mind when you’re layering and mixing things up to create an outfit. We’ve all seen those fashion don’ts. For example, don’t mitigate the fluctuating temperatures by merely topping a go-to summer staple with your favorite parka or cozy winter coat. And don’t try to lighten up a heavy winter ensemble by sliding on a strappy sandal at the last minute.

Certainly this post has been geared toward our female readers — but men, you too can benefit from the basics of this post — layering, balance and a pop of color go a long way in sprinter. And some of you may already be taking advantage of the added warmth mantyhose (a.k.a brosiery) provide — although, I’m still on the fence regarding this fashion trend. Sure, I’ve purchased Under Armour leggings for my husband. But — at least so far — he wears them like long johns to combat cold temperatures, not as a fashion statement.

Do you have any favorite how-to tips to share? Any favorite sprinter ensembles? We’d love to hear about them. And don’t forget to follow How-to Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

It took Chris more than 30 hours to create the "Frances" -- a coat like his grandmom once wore. Photo courtesy Chris Beck.

Katherine: Did you always want to be an artist?
Chris: OK, well no, not really.  Let me explain. I always knew I would go to college — it’s just the way I was raised.  Go to school, get a job, start a career, and plan and save. But, when I went off to school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do — I did know I didn’t want an office job.  I figured that I would figure it out, but I never even considered making a living making artwork.

Katherine: Did you study art in school?
Chris: I have always been in love with the idea of making something from nothing, and mom and dad always encouraged my creative endeavors, but it was a hobby mentality.  Anyway, so I always enjoyed art and took every art class I could in school, but there wasn’t an art major — and I never considered art as a major because I never considered art as a career path.  The art classes in school were basic:  painting, printmaking and drawing.  It wasn’t until 2007 that I ever picked up a welder. I’d never worked with it before and fell in love the second I started burning!  And yes, it was absolutely a self taught thing. Actually my brother-in-law, who is an amazing metal fabricator, gave me a quick “how-to” lesson one afternoon in his backyard in between a carpentry project — it’s all I’ve wanted to do since!

Katherine: Is metal your favorite medium?
Chris: If I could paint, I would paint. I am amazed at what people can do with paint. But I love what I do; it makes me happy. I tried every traditional medium out there:  oil, acrylic, pen and ink, watercolor, wood carving, wood burning, pastel, plaster cast, etc., nothing ever really clicked with me, though. It was as if every piece I painted or carved never felt completed, but I couldn’t figure out what was missing. It wasn’t until I started burning metal that I actually felt right on the inside and that it looked right on the outside.

Katherine: Who are your biggest influences — you mentioned Charlie Lucas at the art show?
Chris: Yes, as far as artists are concerned, Charlie is no.1!  He made me want to just go right out and weld, weld, weld!  Charlie is just awesome! As an artist, mentor, encourager, and friend.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and I am proud to know him.  My dad, too, was an amazing influence in my life. Every technical skill I learned was from watching him; he was an amazing man.

Katherine: Is the process of upcycling — taking something old and making it something new and different important to you?
Chris: Green stuff is hot, hot, hot — but for me what’s important is not really the idea of “Saving the planet” so much as it is “Look what you threw away.” It’s a fine line, but there’s a big difference. So many people want to label something green or upcycled or recycled — I am much too simple for that — I just think it’s cool that trash is beautiful.

Katherine: What’s more exciting — making a piece or seeing the final product?
Chris: This is a great question. My wife will tell you that I “hate” everything I’m working on until it’s complete. I would love to say that I am this reserved cool guy who just loves every moment of the process, but truth is if I have an idea, I want to see it in my mind and then have it be so in my hand. I get really impatient during, but I get so excited in the after. But then I am ready to move on to the next one.

Sculptor Chris Beck at the 10th Annual Fearrington Folk Art Show. Photo by K. Neer

Katherine: How long have you been a fulltime artist?
Chris: I am in my third year full-time. I was working as a carpenter renovating Victorian homes when the housing market crashed — found myself without  a job literally overnight. It’s a scary thing having something you think will last as long as you want, but sometimes you have to realize that your life isn’t your own and the good lord might just have other plans for the life he has planned for you to live — at least that’s the way I see it. I found myself utterly out of control and completely reliant upon him — and he is good.

Katherine: How were you able to make this work as a full-time job — how do you get your work out there?
Chris: I am still trying to figure this out. I do a lot of shows, because right now that’s all I know how to do. There are a few galleries that carry my work, but mostly it’s the road that keeps me busy.  But yes, my job is my job and I have a great job and I have been blessed to go and see and do all over this great nation. But if you want the truth, I would love to figure out how to take it to the next level — like a Nate Berkus special or something.

Chris typically invests around 30 hours (sometimes more, sometimes less)  in each sculpture, which is made from old roofing tin. On the first day, it takes at least 10 hours to get the metal “crunched and wrinkled and beat up.” On the second day, Chris spends his time cutting the metal and then by the third day, he’s ready to weld it all back together to form the structure of the piece. Then it’s ready to be painted. You can check out more of Chris Beck’s work at his Web site.

Oh, and don’t forget to follow How-to Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Apparently, I called out right before it happened. Then I slammed directly down to the ground with several Gs worth of force, cracking my hip and shoulder against the floor, shooting my glasses off while bending them into a ridiculously contorted position and simultaneously pile-driving my face into the wooden floor. The very next thing I remember is looking up into the face of a burly EMT dude who was asking me a question in fishbowl language.

In the interim, my fiancé had dashed upstairs from the basement ‘Man Cave’ (don’t worry, it’s not misogynistic — I have a ‘Lady Lair’ on the ground floor, and it’s WAY cooler) and he found me seizing on the floor. Apparently I was in a full tension body grip, and he immediately dialed 911.

As he tells it, he found me on the floor. Once I was done seizing — which was after only a couple of terrifying minutes — I relaxed and started breathing raggedly. He propped me up and started quizzing me, “Can you tell me your name?” “Can you tell me my name?” “Good, now can you count to 10?” I was pretty skilled, considering. I even, in time, had the foresight to insist we scoop up my wallet con health insurance card before we skedaddled. The EMT people decided I was OK to walk to the ambulance, so I shakily made my way down to the yawning entrance of the emergency vehicle.

I remember riding in the back of the ambulance — mainly because I was watching my fiancées’ headlights as he followed us. I knew those headlights; they were familiar and comforting. I sort of remember arriving in the ER. I kind of remember my parents showing up. Then things started to come in more clearly. Blood tests and urine tests and CT scans and skin glues and the like.

Due to its extremely abrupt greeting with the floor, my eyebrow area bled profusely (you would not BELIEVE how profusely!) and my fiancée and I spent about eight hours in the hospital while my blood congealed and dried all over our clothes — literally, pretty much every article of clothing we were wearing ended up with blood stains. But it’s all good. I’d rather have the Dermabond than stitches, which apparently are more likely to scar. Despite that, we had to endure a couple of weeks of a ghastly jet black/deep purple/going to sickish yellow ring around my right eye from the bruising impression created by my glasses, which made me super fun to take out in public.

Apart from all this, I can give a little advice on what else to expect. I’m supposed to see a neurologist soon. They want to perform some follow-up tests to see if my brain is actually wonky, or if it just needed a biological reboot. I’m guessing a reboot, since I’ve felt fine *mentally* since very shortly after the seizure happened. Physically, I’ve had an absolutely outrageous shiner that’s needed healing, not to mention the two divots near my eyebrow and the ridiculous bruises on my arm and hip that have finally started to fade.

It could have been worse, though. My leftover pool of blood, which was dried up by the time we got home, was about a foot away from a very, very thick glass storm door. If my dome had crashed into that, instead of the wood floor, this might have been a much grimmer blog post. You gotta random woohoo odd serendipity. But, hey, my point is — life does this stuff to us from time to time. We’re lucky enough to get life as it is, so I’m certainly not complaining.

Do you have any how-to experiences — however weird, grim, or delightful — to share? We’d love to hear them all. And don’t forget to follow How-to Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to an annual show that’s been going on for a decade now, I had the privilege of feasting my eyes on a sampling of their — and more than 30 other outsider and folk artists’ — most intriguing handiwork. I have to admit, as with pretty much any art show I’ve ever attended, I didn’t quite “get” all of the things I saw. But I did enjoy seeing it all and learning the stories behind the creations.

Papier-mâché and other work by "Mama Girl"

It was truly awe-inspiring to wander from collection to collection knowing that the compelling sculptures, carvings, paintings, mixed media collages and papier-mâché pieces were made by self-taught artists. And it was even more inspiring to get to hear, from several of the artists, how they had found their art. Some had discovered their talent early in life while others had discovered it much later. Some sort of stumbled upon it while others credited their higher power in guiding them to it. While how they arrived at their art might have differed, pretty much everyone I spoke to seemed to share a sense of necessity in it — in creating their work. And they all seemed to find real satisfaction from their endeavors — ranging from a sort of therapeutic contentment to a serene state of bliss to a joyful ebullience.  The joyful ebullience was contagious.

A robot by Mark May

Although I left with only two small pieces (one really cool robot by Mark May and a papier-mâché sculpture by Mama Girl), I took a lot more with me because each of the “outsiders” and folk artists I spoke to were very generous in sharing the passion for what they do. So the big how-to in this post is this — if you have an opportunity to attend an outsider and/or folk art show, be sure to go and take time to listen as well as look.

FYI — I came home with several ideas and now, more than ever, want to turn our garage into a proper work space for all my craftsy/arty tinkering. As that happens, I’ll post on my artistic adventures with pics, so stay tuned. And, stay tuned for a conversation with Chris Beck, one of the very talented artists I met at the show.

Do you have any favorite how-to tips to share? We’d love to hear them. And don’t forget to follow How-to Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.