If life gives you lavender, make . . .

One day as I was walking Winslow, I heard a little girl call out "Mevrouw, mevrouw" (the equivalent of Mrs.).  

I stopped and turned to see two pretty little girls about 7 years old standing behind an iron gate.

Thinking they probably wanted to pet the dog, I walked over.  

One of them held up this little bottle and best I could tell, they wanted to know if I'd like to buy it.  Of course, I said yes.  I gave them the 3 euros I had in my pocket.

About that time their grandmother came around (and of course spoke English!). She told me the little girls were her granddaughters visiting from Switzerland and that they'd tried to get the attention of everyone who walked by, but I was the only one who had stopped.

She explained that their great grandfather was a pharmacist and this was one of his old medicine bottles.  The girls had made a perfume from lavender in the garden and were trying to sell it.

The girls ran off to play while I continued to visit with their grandmother.  Suddenly they ran up and said something to her.  They told her they wish the money I'd given them had been American!

When I got home I realized the bottle had clearly been marked 5 euros (even homemade perfume is expensive here!).  Ha.  Realizing I'd only given them 3 euros, I decided to go back with another 2 euros.

But instead, I dug through our basket of coins and gathered all the U.S. coins I had.  It wasn't much, but at least one or two of each denomination.  

I walked back to the gate, but they were no longer outside.  I dropped the coins on the ground inside the gate.

I walked back by a few hours later and the coins were gone so I guess they found them.  Souvenirs of a visit to Grandma's house in Belgium and a chance meeting with an American.

It's not lemonade, but it actually smells really good and it sits on my counter as a reminder to always buy lemonade . . . or perfume.

Ornamental

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I've been thinking about decorations and gifts.  I decided to search ebay for Belgian vintage ornaments just to see what I might look for when at the flea markets.

I was surprised taken aback by the only results.  

These are them . . . by all means, read the description of these amazing vintage "style" ornaments.

Belgian Sheepdog REINDEER Christmas vintage style ORNAMENTS set of 2

Set of two vintage style chenille bump ornaments...doggie REINDEER...two different doggies in brown chenille with a collar embellished with glitter...with green tinsel belts and wearing reindeer antlers embellished with glitter...one is holding a green bottle brush tree and the other is holding a red and white glittered candy cane...

size: approximately 5" including gold tinsel chenille stem hangers...

IS IT A GIFT?  Just let me know and I can attach a cute gift card with your message...(I also can send directly to the recipient...)

These charming vintage inspired chenille bump ornaments are destined to become the heirlooms of tomorrow…they have been designed and handcrafted with a great attention to detail…the images printed on card stock were carefully chosen from my vast collection of ephemera acquired through many years…Victorian scrap, vintage postcards, vintage wrapping paper, vintage books, etc…many of these ornaments are embellished with glitter…after all, everything is better with GLITTER!

They will come to you packaged in a cello bag tied with a ribbon.

My eBay store has the largest assortment of these vintage style ornaments anywhere…there are kitties, doggies (all breeds), bunnies, babies, gnomes, clowns, snowmen (and snowwomen), witches, pumpkins, owls, reindeer, Santas and something for every holiday – Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday parties, baby showers, wedding showers, etc…so, start your collection now!

These ornaments are perfect to decorate a feather tree, give as hostess gifts, have for party favors or just hang to add a smile to your face…if you want and don’t have a feather tree, get a dead branch from a tree, paint it and make your own! BE CREATIVE!

Not into Belgian sheepdogs? No problem.

Decorating a Thanksgiving tree AND have a pug?  These are perfect for you.

Don't forget the kitschy tchatchke.

Happy Hanukitty.

Tealights

Jim read an article about a guy who could heat a room with nothing but little tea candles and some terracotta pots.  Naturally we decided to give it a try.  Not to heat a whole room, of course, but to see if they do in fact produce much heat.

Turns out they do.

Then I wondered if we could fry an egg.

Turns out we could.

GLIMMA

Reukloos theelichtje

2,59  / 100 st.

The guy in the news article had purchased his tealights at Ikea and it's true that you can get a hundred of these things for just 2.59 at Ikea.  I'm not ready to heat the house or cook every meal on them, but they do indeed put out a lot of heat.

We decided this method worked so well we then made paella.  

Impressive, huh.

Just kiddin'.  We went back to using the stove for this one.

Underrated gem

Lonely Planet is the largest producer of travel guides and it recently published the Best Places To Go in 2014.

Here are the top 10 countries recommended for a visit in 2014 . . . 

1. Brazil 
2. Antarctica 
3. Scotland 
4. Sweden 
5. Malawi 
6. Mexico 
7. Seychelles 

9. Macedonia
10. Malaysia

and coming in at number 8 is none other than . . .

8. Belgium

High emotions in Europe's underrated gem

Historic buildings along the River Leie in Ghent, Belgium. Image by Allan Baxter / The Image Bank / Getty Images

Belgium has picturesque cities – Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent – and in Brussels a walkable capital with great museums. The food and drink is a gustatory blast (think the world’s best beer, chocolate and fries), the countryside flat and placid, the seaside surprisingly chic, while cultural treasures range from medieval masters to Tintin. Yet the words ‘Belgium’ and ‘holiday’ don’t usually mix. From 2014, a huge influx of visitors is expected due to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI – a festival of remembrance lasting until 2018 – which may change preconceptions. Belgo-newbies will find medieval towns where culture and gastronomy meet, with Gothic buildings, paintings by Breugel, Van Eyck and Magritte, canals and cool shops. And they’ll discover mellow meadows, where cows moo beside monuments, and battlefields and cemeteries that testify to the horrors of a war now shifting from living memory.

I've always said Belgium is underestimated as a great place to visit.  So . . . come see us!

Confection Perfection

Last week we bought a springform pan and that can only mean one thing.

Cheesecake.  

And yes, it was creamy and delicious and gone within a couple of days!

Since graham crackers or any real equivalent aren't available here, we used Speculoos cookies for the crust.  I highly recommend this.  You know, it's those cookies you get on the airplane?

I can only take credit for eating more than my fair share . . . Jim made the whole thing :)

Here's the recipe if you're interested in making the . . .

Perfect Cheesecake

2 lbs (900 grams) cream cheese, room temp.

1 1/3 cups (270 grams) sugar

pinch salt

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

2/3 cup (160 ml) sour cream

2/3 cup (160 ml) heavy whipping cream

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  

Prepare a Speculoos crumb crust made with butter and sugar like a regular graham cracker crust.  Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.

Pour mixture into springform pan wrapped in heavy foil.  Place the springform pan into a large roaster and carefully pour 2 qts. of boiling water into the roasting pan.

Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours.  Enjoy!

John Lewis

John Lewis is a department store chain with about 40 to 50 stores throughout Britain.  When I saw this new advertisement the store created for Christmas, I couldn't help but share it.

As a bonus, there is also a video about the making of the ad and it's worth watching too.

Be sure to have your volume on and click the four arrows at the bottom so it becomes full screen.

Zippering

You know how sometimes in the States when you're driving along the interstate and you see a sign that the left lane is going to end soon due to construction or whatever?  

You know how sometimes in the States when this happens everyone in the right lane becomes an ass and squeezes those people in the left lane out?  Even riding the bumper of the car in front of them and probably saying something inane like . . . "I ain't lettin' you in".

When I took my driving test way back in 1975, the hardest thing I had to do was pull up in front of the DMV without running up on the curb.  There was no parallel parking, driving in heavy traffic, zippering.

I never quite understood the logic behind those right-laners in the States wanting to keep me over in the lane that was obviously running out, but it all became clear to me after driving here in Belgium . . . because it's AGAINST THE LAW!  

In places like Belgium where there is A LOT of traffic, ALL the time, there's simply no room for psychotic drivers who don't understand how to drive.  Okay, maybe there are a few no matter where you live :-\

Anyway, the concept is called a ritsen, or a zipper in English, and it's part of learning how to drive here . . . AS IT SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE!

Here's  how it works - at least in places where people have learned how to drive.

JUIST = Correct                    VERKEERD = Wrong

That's right, don't even try to get over before your lane ends because it leaves a space where cars could continue to flow and traffic flow is VERY important here.

GOED = Good                  FOUT = Error

Stay in the lane that's ending until it ENDS and then those people who know how to drive let you in one at a time.  Zippering.

ZIPPER = SMOOTH and COURTEOUS

When I took Driver's Ed., also back in 1975, I was in 10th grade and it was taught by my Civics teacher (aka basketball coach).  That alone tells you how seriously learning to drive was taken.  Who better to teach driving a 4,000 pound potential weapon and of course, citizenship than a coach?

In contrast, there are 556 recognized driving schools in Belgium.  That may sound like a lot, but with over 10 million people, it comes out to about 1 driving school per 16,000 potential drivers.  

In order to pass the driving exam here, you will need to have attended one of these schools.  You must be 18 years old and the course takes 18 months and costs around 1300 euros ($1750).  If you fail the test, you will pay an additional 500 euros and get some additional training so you can try again.

They are serious about learning to drive here.  And whether you're in the right lane or the left lane . . . if you decide not to ritsen here, it's gonna cost you 55 euros ($75).

You don't have to speak Dutch to understand this video and you might learn something.  I did  :)

Kitchen will be extra

House for Sale:

This property is at Zavelstraat 85 in Zonhoven. 

It has a thatched roof which was completely renovated in 2007. 

There are 3 bedrooms, one with sink and toilet, bathroom, office, living room with dining, non-fitted kitchen, porch, garage, cellar, small attic, central heating on oil. 

There are shutters on the ground floor, upper only glass.

A few weeks ago I got slightly lost due to road construction and came upon this house.  I thought it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.  I pulled into the driveway to take this photo.

Turned out it is for sale so out of curiosity, I looked it up.  It's in a suburb of Hasselt called Zonhoven (population 20,000).  It's about a 10 minute drive from where we live.

The ad didn't say how many square feet this cute house has, but from the photos, it appears to be fairly small.

You definitely have to have some vision when looking at houses for sale or rent here because, in general, 

- they are usually old

- almost always painted white throughout, and 

- rarely updated.

This one is no exception.  Take a look.

This appears to be Bedroom #1 although a bed is about all you could get in there.  Wood floors are pretty nice.

This is probably Bedroom #2.  It's hard to tell the exact size of this one.  It definitely has a sloping ceiling so you could only stand up on one side of the room.  Nice concrete floors?

I'm gonna assume this is the office?  Small, but it does have a great window.

This one is obvious.  Sadly the website did not include a photo of Bedroom #3 which apparently has the bonus sink and toilet . . . likely conveniently located right in the bedroom.

This, of course, is the living room and dining.  That's a lot of red tile, but it's not bad.  Gotta have some vision.  The room is a bit lateral, but could perhaps be cozy.  The drapes must be original (house built in 1957).

Please note the light fixture (or lack there of) over the dining area.  That is 100% standard here.  When you move, you take your ceiling fixtures with you - from every room.

And of course, the all important "non-fitted" kitchen which means the cabinets are not attached to the walls and as you can see there are zero appliances - also very standard for housing here.  You get a sink and that's it.  On the bright side, you don't have to replace old appliances because there aren't any.

So, how much do you think this adorable-on-the-outside/fixer-upper-on-the-inside villa would cost you?

That would be 395,000 euros.  Three hundred, ninety-five thousand euros.

How much is that in dollars? It's $531,986.  Yes, five hundred thirty-one thousand, nine hundred eighty-six dollar biggies.  Yes, for just over a half million, this can be yours - to begin fixing up.

I agree, that IS a lot preposterous.  Welcome to Europe :)

NOT OTC

Over-the-counter medicines are nearly non-existent in Belgium, perhaps in all of Europe.  If you have a headache, sore throat, runny nose, or diarrhea, you will only find help at the local pharmacy.  My "Things to Buy in the States" list always includes Tylenol, Advil, Nyquil, etc.  

I've gotten used to asking the pharmacist when I need something and since our closest pharmacy is next door and the pharmacist is our landlord, it's pretty easy.

However, it occurred to me the other day that perhaps some meds should be available over-the-counter here and in the States.  So why aren't they?

Did you ever think about why contraceptives require a doctor's visit?  Is there anything the doctor will tell you that can't be clearly indicated on the packaging?  Tylenol and Benadryl can be more dangerous and have greater side effects.  Even the morning-after pill is available to anyone of any age OTC!

I mean, after all, cigarettes and alcohol only require a trip to the grocery store as long as you're over 21.  No matter how old you are, you will not run to the grocery store for oral contraceptives.  Instead, you will make an appointment to see a doctor.

Strangely enough, it's the higher income countries like the U.S., Canada, and most of Europe where a prescription for contraceptives is required.  Much of the rest of the world, like China and India, has access to contraceptives over-the-counter.

I'm sure there's a good reason . . . I just haven't found one.

Trappist - Made in the USA

This is an article I read recently on an expat website.  It's about the first Trappist beer to be made in America.  There are only eight of these in the world right now and six of those come from Belgium. These beers are quite special in Europe and they taste pretty good too!

First American Trappist beer in preparation

by

Alan Hope

The timeless tradition of Trappist beer brewing could soon shift away from the European continent for the first time ever, with a new Trappist beer being prepared in Massachusetts. According to industry reports, the monks of the Saint Joseph abbey in Spencer, Mass., about 55 miles west of Boston, are working together with colleagues from Chimay in Belgium to prepare a new beer which could be the first non-European Trappist ever, and only the ninth in the world.

According to the rules of the International Trappist Association, a beer bearing the appellation of Trappist must be brewed in a monastery under the supervision of the monks themselves. At present, only eight abbeys are recognised as genuine Trappists (see photo): Achel, Chimay, Rochefort, Orval, Westmalle and Westvleteren (without label) in Belgium, Koningshoeven in the Netherlands (which produces La Trappe beer) and Stift Engelszell in Austria (Gregorious). Although the beers differ widely in style, they are considered to be of exceptionally high quality.

The beer press in the US reports that the Saint Joseph brewery, about 4,500 square meters in size, is nearing completion after years of rumored development. One website, beerstreetjournal.com, reported the beer in question will be “a full-bodied, golden-hued Trappist ale with fruity accents, a dry finish and light hop bitterness” with an alcohol content of 6.5%, typical characteristics of the Trappist dubbel style and similar to Westmalle Dubbel and Chimay Red.

Good luck, St. Joseph!

Poppies

Many around the world are enjoying a day off work today.

It's a holiday here and nearly everywhere today.  Armistice Day.  Veteran's Day.  Jour de l'Armistice.  Wapenstilstand Dag.  Waffenstillstand Tag.

On the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour in the year 1918, WWI ended.

In case, like me, you don't know much about it, here's a very, very brief history of how it all happened . . .

World War I began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This seemingly small conflict between two countries spread rapidly: soon, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France were all drawn into the war, largely because they were involved in treaties that obligated them to defend certain other nations.

The first month of combat consisted of bold attacks and rapid troop movements on both fronts. In the west, Germany attacked first Belgium and then France. In the east, Russia attacked both Germany and Austria-Hungary. In the south, Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia. 

Late in 1914, the Ottoman Empire was brought into the fray as well, after Germany tricked Russia into thinking that Turkey had attacked it. As a result, much of 1915 was dominated by Allied actions against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean. 

The middle part of the war, 1916 and 1917, was dominated by continued trench warfare in both the east and the west. Soldiers fought from dug-in positions, striking at each other with machine guns, heavy artillery, and chemical weapons. Though soldiers died by the millions in brutal conditions, neither side had any substantive success or gained any advantage.

Despite the stalemate on both fronts in Europe, two important developments in the war occurred in 1917. In early April, the United States, angered by attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic, declared war on Germany. Then, in November, the Bolshevik Revolution prompted Russia to pull out of the war.

Although both sides launched renewed offensives in 1918 in an all-or-nothing effort to win the war, both efforts failed.

The war ended in the late fall of 1918, after the member countries of the Central Powers signed armistice agreements one by one. Germany was the last, signing its armistice on November 11, 1918. Germany, under the Treaty of Versailles, was severely punished with hefty economic reparations, territorial losses, and strict limits on its rights to develop militarily.

Many historians, in hindsight, believe that the Allies were excessive in their punishment of Germany and that the harsh Treaty of Versailles actually planted the seeds of World War II, rather than foster peace. The treaty’s declaration that Germany was entirely to blame for the war was a blatant untruth that humiliated the German people. Furthermore, the treaty imposed steep war reparations payments on Germany, meant to force the country to bear the financial burden of the war. Although Germany ended up paying only a small percentage of the reparations it was supposed to make, it was already stretched financially thin by the war, and the additional economic burden caused enormous resentment. Ultimately, extremist groups, such as the Nazi Party, were able to exploit this humiliation and resentment and take political control of the country in the decades following.  Source: SparkNotes
_________________________________________________________________________________

Nearly 10 million soldiers and 9 million civilians lost their lives during this war.

I read recently that about two million visitors are expected to visit the WWI sites throughout Belgium in the next four years in memory of the 100th anniversary of this war.  We have visited a few of them ourselves in the last four years.

And we've seen a lot of poppies since then too.

The poppy became a symbol of remembrance after battles in Flanders when the ground would be disturbed. Flanders is the part of Belgium we live in and today it's the northern half, but Flanders Fields in WWI were mostly in the west on the coast of the North Sea.

Poppies come up anywhere the ground has been disturbed, hence the reason they are associated with traditional battle.  The ones we see today are usually due to construction or farming.

I remember as a kid, people would hand out fake poppies on Veteran's Day.  Of course, I had no idea why and I'll bet a lot of you didn't either.

One important WWI memorial that we had the chance to visit a couple of years ago is the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.  It's a memorial to the missing . . .

all 54,896 of them.

It's called the Menin Gate because it leads to the small town of Menen (Dutch spelling).

Nearly every night since 1928, the Last Post is sounded at the Menin Gate for anyone who wants to listen.

Save the park

We are lucky enough to have a huge city park nearly in our backyard.  

It's a few blocks from our door and we enjoy it as much as the other residents here.

We've even gotten to take advantage of this nice playground a couple of times :)

Can you believe this was 2 and 1/2 years ago?

So ..... for several months, there has been some controversy over plans to make a new parking garage and a new road through our city park.

The problem seems to be parking - or lack of it.  While the city isn't the ideal location for a hospital . . .

you can see from this aerial view - that's the hospital in the outline and the park to the right of it.

And one of those houses in the bottom left corner is ours!

The proposed parking garage would hold 2000 cars!  That's a lot of traffic going to and from in an already congested area.

Residents' Parking

Save City Park

YES

Symbol for "Parking Garage" + Symbol for "Highway"

NO

Pretty soon after the announcement of the proposed changes to the park, people who live around the park got organized . . . in protest - and these signs began appearing on nearly every house near the park.

These houses face the park so I guess they have more at stake . . . like a really busy road in front of their house? We live right around the corner and we already know what that's like :)

The city administration has taken these protests under advisement.  For the long term residents and for us while we are here, I hope they figure out another way to make it all work.

We'll see.

Red Stadspark.

Eye of the Beholder

Some time ago I was introduced to this website for an art gallery in Antwerp (Belgium).  I shall name no names to protect the innocent.  The gallery has moved from Antwerp to Brussels, but it still has some pretty interesting/often disturbing works of art on display.

Since finding this gem on the web, I click on their website from time to time to see what's new so I can continue to be amused and astounded at what is considered art.

Now, I know from a reliable source that some and perhaps most of this art sells in the tens of thousands. I kid you not.

B. Wurtz

Untitled, 2001


wood, wire, mesh netting 

109.2 x 50.8 x 25.4 cm

Mesh netting.  In other words, those bags your oranges and onions come in.  And I've been throwing those away for years.  Probably still will.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Christopher Knowles

47 Floors CK 1 28, 1975 

typing on paper

Typing on a typewriter on paper.  In case the words are too small, it is a list reading "1st floor, 2nd floor and so on . . . " I have to admit I haven't seen anything like this in . . . well, probably since 1975.  I may have even typed this.  Nostalgia at its finest.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Margaret Salmon

Still from Pyramid, 2013

5-channel video installation

colour and b&w 16mm film on digital, silent

Yes Margaret, I find this disturbing, but I'm not sure why.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Martin Soto Climent

Yet to be titled, 2013

tights, fabric, feather

"Yet to be titled".  I can think of a few things to call it.  Fortunately there is a description so I know it's a fancy feather duster caddy made from a pair of charcoal pantyhose stuffed with a small duvet.  

_________________________________________________________________________________

Michel Auder

Found Object, 2012

c-print

47 x 35,4 cm

Although I prefer cooking on a gas stove, I've always loved a good photo of an electric stove top.  I guess the cork and egg just happened to be there.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Virginia Overton

Untitled (mud), 2012

lumber and construction mud

dimensions variable

Again, "untitled" and that's perfectly understandable since there really are no words to truly do this one justice.  I like the way they use "construction mud" as a fancy way to say sakrete and it IS impressive that most of it stayed on the "lumber" - just a few drips on the floor.  I would probably title that part "Sakrete Spillage".

_________________________________________________________________________________

Darren Bader 

(3) buttered rolls

dimensions variable

Dimensions variable.  Darren, if you were going for (3) buttered rolls, you have nailed it.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Uri Aran

Untitled, 2010
book, glass, pencil eraser, and cookies
3 x 7 x 5 inches

Ah, I see a theme developing.  Three rolls, now three cookies from totally different artists.  "Untitled" yet again. Book, glass, pencil eraser, and cookies.  Pencil eraser?

_________________________________________________________________________________

Of course.  You gotta look at all sides of this thing.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Matthew Smith

Semi-Comfortable, 2008

6 wooden tables with cotton cloths

dimensions variable

Six wooden tables.  Not five.  Not seven.  You have to admit pushing six (not five and not seven) tables together in such a way is brilliant.  I think "Uncomfortable" might be a better title for this one.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sean Lynch

Reconstruction of Irish Energies

peat briquettes, butter, display case

edition of 6

Reconstruction of Irish Energies. Can someone please explain this to me? Ok, in Ireland, it is apparently common to use peat as solid fuel and it's virtually smokeless.  I will say that when it comes to briquettes, that charcoal IS exemplary.  And filled with butter? Yummy.  That butter's probably gonna smoke though.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Becky Beasley

The Archaeologist & The Road Engineer (Part 1), 2006

Black American Walnut Veneer on wood, wood glue

36 x 6 x 6 cm each

edition of 3

I'm sure I just don't have a true appreciation for how accurately Becky has used wood glue to attach that Black American Walnut veneer onto "wood" wedges.  I do know they would make commendable door stops.

_________________________________________________________________________________

David Hominal

Element III, 2009

acrylic on cardboard

35 x 48 x 35 cm

I'm pretty sure that's a cardboard box.  What I'm not sure of is where the acrylic comes in.  No doubt David worked hours and hours getting this right.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Owen Land

On the Marriage Broker Joke as Cited by Sigmund Freud in Wit and its Relation to 

the Unconscious or Can the Avant-Garde Artist Be Wholed?, 1977–79

16mm, 18', color, sound, Edition of 5

Just couldn't decide on a title for this disturbing one, Owen?  On the Marriage Broker Joke as Cited by Sigmund Freud in Wit and its Relation to the Unconscious OR Can the Avant-Garde Artist Be Wholed?  

What?

Googled it and turns out it's an 18 min. short movie directed by Mr. Owen Land himself.

Two pandas, who exist only by textual error, run a shell game for the viewer in an environment with false perspectives. They posit the existence of various films and characters, one of which is interpreted by an academic as containing religious symbolism. Finally, Sigmund Freud's own explanation is given by a sleeper awakened by an alarm clock.' (P. Adams Sitney)

I decided this short film was probably too disturbing to watch and no doubt way over my head.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Will Benedict

Sarko Bonnes Vacances, 2010
schaumpappe, aluminium, glas, gouache auf leinwand
108 x 155 cm

I can't say I found anything I'd pay good money for, but in all fairness, every piece of art at this gallery and probably thousands of other galleries aren't all strange (in my opinion).  Like the one above.  Schaumpappe is German for foam board and gouache is German for a particular kind of paint.  I'm not saying I'd hang this on my wall, but it DID require paint and a paintbrush . . . so there's that.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Kirsten Pieroth

Pay Day, 2012

candy bars, rubber band

This one has to be my favorite.  Pay Day candy bars with a rubber band wrapped around them.  If this isn't art, then I'm no art critic.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Perhaps this has inspired you to go and create something disturbing or just plain weird.