:) Making Grape Juice

What do you do with all those ripe grapes?


The grapes grown in Northwest Arkansas aren't the same as those you get in the grocery store.  They are full of flavor, but they're also full of seeds and have a tough skin.  I can only eat a few of them.  

They're delicious...just not worth the work - squish the inside out of the skin, suck the skin, toss it, work to separate out the many little seeds, spit them out, finally chew up the good insides. 
Thanks to my sister-in-law, we learned how to make juice!   It's supposed to take a couple of weeks, but we had a sample.  It was delicious!

• Pick a big bucket of grapes.
• Wash, rinse, wash, rinse, wash, rinse, dry.
• Remove grapes from stems.
• Wash jars and rings in dishwasher.
• Bring canning bath to boil.
• Boil another pot of water. Boil sealing lids.

• Put 2 cups of grapes into hot jars.
• Add 1/2 cup sugar.
• Fill jars with boiling water.
• Top with hot lid and ring.
• Turn over once to mix sugar.

• Boil in canning bath for 10 minutes.
• Remove from water.
• Listen for the little "Pop!" so you'll know they're sealed.
• After two weeks, pour through a strainer and enjoy!

What a lot of fun (ok and a lot of hard, hot work) this was!  I can hardly wait to try it! 

Hmmmm.... I wonder if I should avoid driving after my first drink of this stuff... just in case it doesn't turn out to be just plain old grape juice!  :)

Copper Teapot

What's the recipe for copper?

a stripe of white

a stripe of cad yellow

a stripe of ocher

a stripe of cad red

a stripe of umber

Then smooth all those edges with a soft brush.

It's kind of a mini-miracle to watch those stripes become metallic reflections.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

Those are a few of my favorite things.

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Apples & Grapes

How many paintings must I do before I call myself a real artist?

This was my 100th painting... Wow!  100 paintings with my little HEaton in the bottom corner.  I wanted my 100th painting to be something special.  I think I was disappointed that it was just a plain old still life. But, I look at this one, and how can I be disappointed with it?  I love nearly everything about it.  I love the blotchy brush strokes on the table and the fuzzy edge between the table and the wall.  I love the shadows cast by the fruit.  I love the shape of the grapes, the orange highlights on top of the apple, and the detail of the stem.  And, even though blue is my least favorite color, I love the texture of the background.  

Maybe my 100th painting was special after all.

So, when will I feel like I can call myself an artist?  I'm going to work on painting #166 this weekend.  Maybe at #200... but probably not.

Helen, the one who's satisfied for now calling herself a painter and a student of the art of painting.

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