Kintsugi: Creating Art out of Loss

...r. This art-of-mending seems related, somehow, to the “oh no, it’s the end times!” stuff Erik and I were blogging about last week (here and here). Kintsugi is such a subtle, wise practice. It’s not about fixing something good as new, as if it had never broken, but acknowledging that breakage, and making something new and beautiful out of disaster, via the practice of mindfulness. Perhaps we can learn something from this. Please do check out the vi...

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On the Back Porch of America

...h false reality show drama and treated subjects with respect. Four more episodes will come out later this year. http://vimeo.com/91655829 Small Medium Large also did a piece on Root Simple pal Doug Tiano. Doug’s been making a whole army of soft sculpture copies of himself. Watch if you dare as Doug reveals his own underbelly shadow! Small Medium Large has a bunch of other great videos on their website. Who needs Netflix?...

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Dave Miller on Baking with 100% Whole Wheat

...hniques to my home kitchen and I hope to share what I discover. In the meantime, here’s what I learned: Miller summarized bread baking as a yin and yang balance between elasticity and extensibility. Our job as bakers, Miller suggests, is to understand what gives bread its form and to shape and bake dough at the best possible moment. Much of the weekend was spent analyzing what can go wrong and how to fix it–the causes of over-proofing, under-proof...

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Ten Uses for Palm Fronds

...I’m excited about this idea. Here’s how to do it. 9. Use as a symbol of victory. Palm fronds have symbolic meanings across numerous cultures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu4I8bDQsS0 10. Rob a liquor store. I’m not making this up. Via Bob in Oz. One runner-up idea: hugelkultur. I’m skeptical. What did I leave out? Basket weavers do you have any tips? Please tell me I don’t need to scale the tree to get a green palm frond....

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Saturday Linkages:

The Japanese art of Furoshiki–a way of making packages with a reusable cloth. Via No Tech Magazine. Zero waste shopping in Japan with Furoshiki: http://www.notechmagazine.com/2014/04/furoshiki-zero-waste-shopping-in-japan.html … A solar powered grain grinder: http://www.notechmagazine.com/2014/04/solar-powered-grain-mill.html … Bee Friendly Gardening In The Pacific Northwest http://www.nwedible.com/2014/04/bee-friendly-gardening.html … Nesting fo...

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