| Welcome to the Dog Days
Tomatoes!
Cut tomatoes into halves or quarters and arrange in a large baking pan or sheet with sides. Blend together fresh basil leaves ( and any other fresh herbs that sound good to you), some garlic cloves, a bit of salt and pepper and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of olive oil. Drizzle the mixture over the tomatoes and bake at 275 for 3-4 hours. After the first hour, and a few more times, take the pan out of the oven and chop up the cooking tomatoes with the edge of a spatula. You’ll know they are done when most of the juice has evaporated, and they appear sort of carmelized. You can leave the tomatoes chunky or pulse them a couple of times in a food processor.
All you need to do is combine whatever quantities you want of these ingredients: The Girls of Summer Janine (standing) is back after a two- year hiatus. She’s a talented gardener, rug hooker and underwater photographer. We are all glad to have her crazy Kiwi humor back in the studio. Tammy, an 18-year veteran at Sydney Lynch Jewelry, still manages to keep a smile on her face! A multi-talented artist and mother of two, she is also working on her own line of jewelry. The jewelry has my name on it, but it’s a collective effort and I couldn’t do it without these guys.
Where’s Craig? Craig just left for 5 days of RAGBRAI, the [Des Moines] Register Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Thousands of cyclists will ride 60-85 miles a day in hundred-degree weather. Some people are just gluttons for punishment! Craig has also been working on a new series of photo bundles, an art form he had great success with in the 90′s, and is creating a new generation of, this time in color. About 3″ thick, these bound stacks of photos and other materials have the great feel of an object while still functioning as photos. And the mystery is that you don’t know what other photos are layered inside. Winter bundles (this shows the two sides). To see more of Craig’s art go to www.craigroper.com
Online Magazine
Just around the corner ….
I love, love, love coming to San Francisco and will be in booth 231.
Green labradorite cluster necklace with tourmaline, spessartite garnet, aventurine and Tahitian pearl. Inspired by the colors of tiles in the Alhambra, which we visited on our trip to Spain last fall.
Maybe next time? Some of my foraged shells are strewn on the design bench after making a shell necklace for a friend. I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but I like it.
Moment of Zen
Hoping your summer is splendid ! Sydney
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Since ancient Greek and Roman times, the sultry, hottest midsummer season has been known as the Dog Days. At that time, Sirius, the Dog Star, rose with the summer sun, and as the brightest star in the sky it was thought to contribute to the excessive July and August heat. We no longer make dog sacrifices as the Romans did to appease Sirius, but we still look for creative ways to beat the heat. Now in the third week of 100+ temperatures, I’ve been staying sane by getting out early every morning to bike while the air is still fresh. Here is a beautiful mackerel sky at 7:00 am. 
This roasted tomato sauce is great on pasta or home made pizza. I always freeze some to pull out in the dark depths of January, and remember the taste of summer.
Surviving on air conditioning and iced coffee, here is my amazing studio team: 
