Blogger Spotlight ~ Anna MacArthur

I like watching people grow.
Before you assume I'm a really slow creeper, let me explain.
There's a young woman I've known since she was a younger girl, and that whole time she's been developing her talent for art.
I've mentioned Under the Bear Hood before. The blogger over there is Anna MacArthur, artist and author. I've known her since I was 15. So that would be... (20ish subtract the 15...hmm) 9 years.

She displays her art online through devinantArt as Eightcrows and as TheBookof-thePeddler, and on her own blog.

The drawings and paintings that she's released usually feature characters from the books she is writing or important characters from another's story.
Her pictures range from cheerful to creepy

Nysric Diorama - Detail

"Tiny Terrors Reports 3"

 

"Viva El Papa"

"What an Empty House You Have"

 "The Hanging Tree"

 "Hollow Childhood"

And there's this: my favorite of her stylings

Bellacross Churchyard

"Watching the Rain"

I love the use of pen, lines, and proportion. I can't help but think this would a good way to illustrate an old world fairy tale where too many things go wrong.

In addition to all that, she regularly draws little comic strips about her own life. They are simple and boldly honest. I love that about them.

 

From her "Spinster" post.

So, please, go visit Anna MacArthur and have a gander. It'll be fun.

Cake among Friends

I'd like to take this chance to throw some confetti in the air and introduce my personal friend and a talented baker: The Charming Martha! We met a couple years back in my old stomping ground- a kitchen, of course. I was senior staff (by about six months) when she came in, bright eyed and full of dreams. I left to pursue adult life (whatever that means) while she stayed and further perfected our craft. Some of the things she whips up now blow me away.
We get together these days as our schedules allow and have baking challenges. Our most recent collaboration was a beautiful Princess Cake.

She'll give you the recipe over on her blog, A Girl of Twists and Turns.

I have so much fun working with this lady. We researched recipes for a month before finally cracking down to bake. The recipe we settled on was from Donal Skehan, despite the confusing UK ingredient names. A note for all our fellow ignorant Americans: What we call 'corn starch,' folks in the UK call 'cornflour.' We made a couple of minor adjustments to the recipe (forgive us, Donal) which you can read about over on Martha's post.

Like I said, I had fun with this recipe. We trotted out in the morning to hunt down marzipan; we sang old songs of the South while beating cream; we cooed at the adorableness that was our mini princess cakes; I stared in fascination as Martha made about a dozen little rose buds to top each cake.

Princess cake is oddly easy to make. It's a delicate sponge cake cut and layered with custard and raspberries or jam. The whole cake is then topped with a mounded heap of whipped cream and a thin sheet of marzipan. There are some tedious details, and you can expect your whole kitchen to be devoted to this one cake for several hours, but it's otherwise simple. So, head on over to A Girl of Twists and Turns and give my friend a visit. Tell her I sent you.