Makin' Sourdough Pretzels (or how to use your MFA)

Rachel’s Sourdough Pretzels

compiled from PJ Hamel: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/04/28/soft-scrumptious-and-sourdough-pretzels-from-your-discard-starter/ and Margot's blog http://soursaltybittersweet.com/content/roasted-garlic-mustard-sourdough-soft-pretzels

Mix wet ingredients:

3/4 cup lukewarm water


1 cup unfed sourdough starter, straight from the refrigerator (or use fed starter)


2 tablespoons brown sugar (or non-diastatic malt powder or reg sugar)


1 tablespoon butter (or veg oil)
 (could also use 1 head roasted garlic, mashed into paste with butter, or dijon/other mustards or other spices)

Mix dry ingredients:

3 cups bread flour (add 2 xtra Tbsp water for highest gluten flours) or all-purpose flour, or mix of both

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk


1 1/2 teaspoons salt


1 1/2- 2 teaspoons rapid rise instant yeast

Mix all together until you’ve made a cohesive dough.

Knead dough until it forms a smooth ball. For the chewiest pretzels, knead for 15 minutes (15-25 by hand) until you get a baker's windowpane.

Spray mixing bowl lightly with oil, place ball of dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, for about 3-5 hours (3 hrs min-24 hrs max). The longer you let it rise, the more sourdough flavor. If you need to wait more than 24 hrs, you can refrigerate it and bring back to room temp.

When ready to form pretzels, bring 5-10 cups of water to boil with 1/3-2/3 cup of baking soda.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Fold a few times to deflate, then shape into a rectangle.

Score once lengthwise, then 5 times crosswise, to make 12 pieces.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap, so it doesn’t dry out as you work.

Roll each piece of dough into 12-18″ rope. Keep the other pieces covered.

Twist the ends, and bring them down and under to make that classic pretzel shape. Or make logs or nubbins- whatever suits your fancy.

You can shape two at a time to boil and keep the rest of the dough pieces covered.

Preheat the oven to 450°

Two at a time, gently place the pretzels in the boiling baking soda bath. Boil for 1 minute, turning halfway through. Using a spatula or slotted spoon, remove to a colander to drain while the next batch boils, then transfer to a baking sheet coated in oil or lined with parchment paper and cover.

When all are shaped, whisk a raw egg with a tablespoon or two of buttermilk (or milk or water), and brush the tops of the pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 15 minutes (@ 450°), or until the crust is a deep, glossy brown.

Eat right away, or store in a paper bag. Plastic/airtight containers make 'em soggy.

Here is the result!

And as extra proof, dad said they taste just like the ones he bought in Reading, PA... in the days of yore...when Reading made yummy pretzels.

In Between Things

It's been a long time since I've written up here, but it seems necessary at this point in order to figure things out. Soon I'll put up images from a recent performance for the big review, but until then, the most recent drawings.

The telephone drawings weren't quite a hit. I'm trying to figure out how to improve after some debate over the quality of the rendering. I wanted them to look gestural and hurried, but apparently they just don't look very good. It was also stated that there was some magic in projecting the video over the drawings- as if they came to life right then. So in response, I projected a video over top of tracing vellum and drew a scene on each layer so that they collapse on top of one another in registration; I even used punch registration pins for printmakers to keep all of the papers lined up. Then, after rendering each layer to a certain extent, I separated each on dowels so that there is space between them. The only thing is that the projection looks really lovely on the first sheet, but the paper is only translucent, and captures the projection detail all on one layer. That means each successive layer only receives a glow and no video imagery. Does there need to be projection on every layer? Also, I enjoy each image by itself. Perhaps it doesn't all need to be on top of one another. Maybe they can each be separated. But what about the projection? Should it just be on one? Is it sufficient to have the other drawings just hanging around? But how- somewhere in space so that they can be walked around?

The other possibility is to have sections cut through each layer, so that the projection comes straight through, leaving shadows. And perhaps I could use a wood-burning tool to sort of singe through the paper rather than a plain stencil cut.

Lastly, I am still very much debating on the furniture for the typing installation. I had used stools and old chairs for a temporary setup before, but it wasn't quite right.

It was suggested to me that I build my own device- a sort of table/stand that the typist's legs fit right into. It would be simple and clean, not drawing much attention, and keeping everything in place and stable. I did sketches, though, and those models remind me of a podium or organ, even. It's not the look I'm going for. For some reason the "Retro-future Secretary (on Wheels)" version strikes me the most. It's very awkward, strange, mobile and pathetically optimistic about a form of communication that can't possibly work.

And I still like the telephone drawings. There is still hope for the broken phones. Even though they are not rendered so well, perhaps they just need to interact in a different space; they are fragmented bits in themselves, rather than just relating to one another.

Viewing this strange sight on the way home made me realize my interest in abandoned, obsolete things. There is something beautiful and terribly sad about these objects that continue to hang on, despite their 'uselessness'- just like these construction lights left strewn, fallen over and abandoned in the snow. I feel pity for them, and I want to keep them, help them somehow.

Perhaps I'm just a tad strange, but I want this feeling for my piece: a pathetic machine that has so much hope for an impossible task, and yet we have empathy for it. It is sad and pitiful; it is ramshackle, unwieldy, and limping along; it just barely pulls together what we have it set up to do. I think these strange broken stools and chairs on wheels will be the trick. Oh, just to find them.

Till then...

Studio Visits and Critiques

There has been a lot of feedback as of late, with a studio visit and a long critique involving grads, professors, and undergrads. I was asked a lot of questions in the individual visit, one of my favorites so far asking if I am offering a solution for this disconnected communication, or if I am simply pointing out an impossibility. That was a good one to ponder. I would say that certainly I do not have an answer. I am more representing the fact that there is no connection. There is no one on the other end. It is just an object that can only contain the ghost of what passed through. It somehow contains an energy of potential, yet remains still, with that energy sort of vibrating in a perpetually frozen state.

I also enjoy the notion of coming across objects and not quite knowing what their original use was. That is a main reason for exploring abandoned places. It is almost a post-apocalyptic scene of coming across artifacts from some long-gone civilization and wondering what they could have possibly been used for. That is all that is left. There only remain a few clues with answers few and far between. There is something I like about that object that holds so much mystery, and how its form could look like something completely different- something far from its original use.

Some other observations in the critique were that the telephone is the only image that is highly enlarged. The bull horn speaker could be actual size, or even smaller, so there is some confusion of scale as to whether I am really enlarging everything or not. Perhaps that is not it. Maybe I am just making things about the same size in relation to one another in order to make strange connections. Some were also confused about the glued tracing paper. I seemed to defend it and most agreed. There is something about the puckered, fragile, glued together surface that seems to barely hold together. The only thing I am not sure of is that they are glued in a grid. Perhaps I really need torn and irregular paper rather than more or less clean rectangles.

Some also liked how charcoal dust would accrue in the crevices of the glued pages. It was suggested that I draw them on-site so that the dust accumulates on the floor. I agree. That is something that I like happening in the studio that I could not transport along with the drawing. There was also a question about drawing directly onto a wall. I have considered it, but that fixes and stabilizes the image somehow. I prefer it with shadows and transparency, floating away from the wall and moving every time someone breathes or walks by. That makes the objects more ephemeral.

So those were many thoughts to ponder. I do think I am onto something with these pieces. I am still also working with two typewriters that try to communicate, or perhaps two phones. I also wonder if that should be a part of the large drawings as well- two rendered phones or speakers attempting to connect.

Another crit with the grads in a few hours. I will be interested to hear more on these thoughts.

An image of charcoal dust accumulation under the drawing

Something interesting happening with a film still projecting onto the drawing from sunlight- an unintentional effect

Open Studio

More feedback to ponder at an open studio evening, where all grads, faculty and locals are invited to see what us grads are up to in our studios. I took the opportunity to set up all three large drawings so far and suspend them, also connecting them. Each drawing contains disconnected wires and it seemed they could all be strung together, so I used old typewriter ribbon to attach each one. It seems to work in a strange and dusty, impossible way. I like the idea of old wires still trying to hold together that can't quite connect or communicate.

Here are images during the daytime of the setup:

It was difficult to tell what the lighting would do after dark, and we soon found out that the fluorescents (big surprise) were a bit lacking. So we played with spots (I was sure I was going to set the tracing paper on fire, but just kept an eye on things) and found dramatic lighting to be much more suitable. It worked best as lit from the front and sort of underneath.

There was some decent feedback, but mostly I think that people were fascinated by the projection of typing hands inside the velvet accordion box. Most just wanted to know how it was working, and several liked the strange effect of projecting onto red velvet. Some even thought it was a bit creepy. One person had an interesting thought that there is something slightly humorous, perhaps deadpan (like the animation) about the suspended phone, but that is not found at all in the typewriter projection. So once again, what is it that I am trying to get at? Is there humor involved? Is it completely serious? I for one keep thinking it seems a bit morbid, but perhaps that is just me.

Still lots to figure out. More notes after a studio visit.

Speaker Horn

Thus far, this is the third drawing in the tracing paper charcoal series. It's an image of a speaker horn, actually inspired by the mechanism transmitting the disembodied voice in Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse. As I drew the image, I realized more and more that it seems to be about a connection with the afterlife, as well as staring into a deep, dark void (death) while also confronting the self. Some see an eye in the middle. It also looks like a lens. Once again, the cold, mechanical eye, or the mechanical recording of voice.

It didn't seem appropriate to finish the bottom or leave it completely blank. So there is a ghost of a support base and wires.

I had an interesting suggestion to make the drawing with material that I burn myself, rather than store-bought charcoal. It had sort of crossed my mind before. It is difficult to decide what should be burned though. It reminds me of Hollis Frampton's Nostalgia- burning photographs on a hotplate as we hear him recalling memories of the scene. A fleeting moment is captured and destroyed as it recognizes its own ephemerality and brief span of time.

So more to think about. In the meantime, I started hanging the drawings from the ceiling so the transparency is more evident, and also connecting all the charcoal "wires" from one drawing to the next with old typewriter ribbon. We will see how this bodes in the big open house tomorrow night!

Telephone

I have continued the large-scale drawings on glued tracing paper series, and am quite happy with this one- a hovering telephone receiver. It's similar to an earlier drawing, almost a year ago, but it seems to have so much more presence when it is several times larger than life size.

After drawing this, I had a sudden memory of childhood fears and imaginations of anxiety- about strange creatures and mechanical devices that would creep out of dark places: door knobs, buttons and switches that had eyes, etc. It's amazing what strange human qualities these forms have, and how that relates to a sense of the uncanny, automata, and the disembodied voice.

One other change I made is the use of Elmer's glue instead of rice paste. It caused more puckering, and I hope it will start to age and yellow. I'm also pondering a way to walk through them, perhaps involving projection of drawings and animation.

What's next? Perhaps a phonograph horn or speaker, or close up of a phone receiver mouth piece. Disconnected wires seem to be integral as well. Hmmm.

Tracing Paper Drawing

Now to post the image of the large drawing. It was suggested by a committee member that I change the scale of the charcoal pieces. Several have taken issue with them, in that they are 18 x 24, or even that they are such a regular, rectangular format that simply suggests photography. They wish to see something that breaks out of the bounds a little bit.

It was also suggested that I alternately project the drawings onto a wall, so that their ephemerality is even more exaggerated than just the fact that they are charcoal "stills".

While still pondering those possibilities, I plan on making several large drawings on tracing paper. This way, the support is very thin and fragile and coated with charcoal dust that threatens to simply brush off. In order to get such a large surface, I tore out sheets from a pad and simply rice-pasted them together. There are obvious seams that pucker and affect the texture of the drawing. I kind of like this attention that is drawn to the support material itself.

The texture behind is of the wallpapered board in my studio used as a prop in the earlier installation piece. It's about 6 ft tall.

I kind of like isolating this image. Perhaps I'll draw it again, and there will be several speakers lined up in succession on a wall. I also plan on a large telephone, electrical wires, and possibly a gramophone horn. More on the meanings of this imagery later... But in the meantime, darn you Kentridge : ) I'm sure I'll get harassed about charcoal speakers for sure. At least I don't have them marching yet.

Opening

I am pleased to report surviving two nights of openings! We had a wonderful crowd, good food and music, but most of all, it was a good experience to get so much work out of the studio and into a new space. I was amazed at how all of our (my two studiomates Brooke and Susana and I) work looks interspersed together. There are so many similarities and nuances I never would have noticed with everything segregated and piled in the studio.

I do also admit to feeling a bit strange about so much work being absent as I'm back in the studio now. It sort of feels like I've lost some dear pets or children and I'm sitting and wondering what to do without them.

So, it is all the more incentive to get new work done, which I am beginning- a large charcoal drawing on glued sections of tracing paper- taking some favorite motifs from the earlier drawings. More on that next time.

The show was interesting to see so many of the drawings installed on a wall from floor to ceiling. I at first almost backed down, still unsure of that idea from an earlier critique. The gallery owner was very interested in that installation, though, and insisted I stick with it. So I climbed the ladder after arranging things in what made the most sense on the floor, and put up a large collage. It was interesting to see this with a print done over the summer that sort of embodies all of those feelings, as well as the projection running my animation of the drawings right next to it. I think that was certainly a favorite part- seeing the animation replay and reinforce all of the work hanging on the wall. The same happened for Brooke with both her dollhouse and painting/collage pieces.

So hopefully there is a way to do that- to put it all together, possibly on separate walls, without it looking all cluttered and not like a "rummage sale." I would like the work to reinforce itself, not negate.

Till then, here are some images...

Grad Crit

This past week involved another crit. I did as suggested and pulled the different installation pieces apart. The first piece shown was the mini projection, but this time I simply projected the hands typing onto paper coming out of the typewriter. I was attempting to see a sort of "ghost in the machine" and to make something ethereal, representing actions that passed before. The camera is hidden underneath a piece of paper in front of the projector that shines into a small shard of mirror.

One person said, however, that I was trying too hard and suggested that I take the paper away. If it's really supposed to be ethereal, then it should barely be seen. I turned out the lights and played with the projection directly on the red velvet interior of the box:

This slight modification seems to be something... Perhaps it truly does need to be more ethereal. The "nostalgia" accusation would come a little less quickly, and the association is more of an acknowledgment of time passing, tradition and technology fading, rather than just preservation.

I've been thinking about this in relation to the drawings as well. Perhaps it does need to be a large-scale drawing, but on something translucent- almost transparent, and one can see a crumbling wall or surface behind. I could piece together tracing paper and enlarge images in charcoal.

Several artists project images of what passed before on abandoned buildings as well. Hopeful visiting artist Shimon Attie is a wonderful example:

http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/attie_shimon.php

More conversations so come, and in the meantime, off to a show opening. Will have pictures soon...

4th Quarter Review

I've been busy and MIA with the 4th quarter review. It's optional, of course, and initially thought of as a bad thing, requested by the committee if someone's progress didn't seem adequate. I, however, highly recommend it just to get some great feedback. There's something different about a group dynamic bouncing ideas off one another at once- sometimes contradictory. This helps one realize it really is just opinion, and it's a quick way to debate/negate those contradictory viewpoints or see that both views are possible and valid.

Anyway, this was the original set up, as I had sort of 'exploded' my studio downstairs. I knew I threw in the whole kitchen sink, but just wanted to see what was working or not. Sadly I think a lot of things just canceled each other out:

Yikes! So here are notes from the review:

• One member focused more on the charcoal drawings and thought something in the earlier video shown was very deadpan- about reaching for phones, trying to plug in and listen, etc.
• Something about there being any people in the drawings kind of ruins it. The viewer can't just explore the space. It puts up a wall.
• The drawings all have a strange, and unique perspective. If they were a larger scale, they could really draw the viewer in. This scale just says film/photograph. Slowing down time would be another factor of a larger scale. Just start working on a large roll of paper.
• The sky with phone and wires and speaker on a pole are open images. Others are closed down.
• Everything is evenly presented like a rummage sale. You're asking a lot if the viewer.
• Things need to be pulled out and away from the wall. Nothing is inviting. The viewer is closed out. Typewriters should be up on desks, and phone should be by itself.
• The drawings themselves could be projected on the wall. That would go with the ethereal nature of your work.
• One simple image can do all the work. Just focus on what you want to get across.
• Sadie Benning animated drawings (when her video wasn't yet processed at the Wex) by just walking around and 'panning' and 'zooming in' by literally walking the drawings around in front of the camera with an audience while telling a story.
• The video projected onto the printmaking plate- is it important that there's an image on the plate? It doesn't really look worked. Maybe ink up the plate partway to show that.
• All the passages are a quick and even tempo in your video. Still looks like a 'how-to' film. You need to really slow some of them down, make them more pensive.
• Putting any object in a gallery makes it precious. You're still being nostalgic. Why do you use these objects? I like them because I can see how they function. They're more tactile/materially present and I can understand them. That's not true- I don't know how that phone or electricity works any more than my cell phone. It is still about magic and electricity- telegraphs, spirit photography and communicating with the dead. A way to reach the other side. So what does that mean to use them now? Trying to connect with an earlier history, the past, but it's futile.
• Maybe the stories on the phone are enough. Maybe that's it right there. I'm trying to figure out what is the process and the byproducts in the background of the work, and what I want to have as the finished product. Is it the drawings? The actions? The retelling of the stories? Which part stands in for all of it?
• You realize you're under the cloud of Kentridge. That's a pretty huge cloud. I know.

So that's where I'm left. I played in the gallery most of the day today, taking the show apart piece by piece to let each object stand on its own.

First I took down the curtains:

Next, the drawings came down:

There's something I still like about having just one drawing up there, how it interacts with the small moving image. I also paused the video in order to take clearer photographs. In doing this, I realized that I like a simply projected still image. Perhaps that is an answer. Or at least maybe something so slow that the movement is barely perceptible.

I also isolated the phone playing stories by itself:

Then, the typewriters on pedestals with the paper of repeating images draped between:

I lastly placed the drawing behind, just in moving things around, and was curious about that interaction as well:

Afterwards I played a little with 'lo-tech' animation and more on that next time. In the meantime, still a lot to process, but glad to have some time to play and document. Focus focus- what's the most simple means to get what across??

Till then...