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Ladies n Gents,

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Spaaaanks!

Linux

First commissioned piece since moving here. This is my first oil painting in YEARS! Erdem and I are currently in izmir with his aunt and uncle. This is a painting for them, commissioned by Erdem's parents. There are thousands of street cats in Turkey. I like to say there are wild cats because it sounds more fun. Anyway, there are loads of cute ones and plenty that are too scared of people to even be pet. Linux was the runt of a litter and was brought into the house because she was picked on by her siblings and was never able to get to the food bowls outside. Erdem's aunt felt she needed to protect her and that's just what she did.  Linux now lays around all day in a white arm chair. She is still scared of people at times and she has the funniest little face.

Another Beer, Please!

I've started to draw some people from the pazar and such. They are just that; drawings. My next step is to do quick sketches. It's been a while since I've focused on sketching, so I feel I've lost a little of my knack (if I ever had one).

There's been lots of Turkish studying, more eating (as you could have guessed), thinking about adventures outside the walls of the house ('business' first, adventure second), and the last bit of unpacking.  Oh! I also started an oil painting today. Might be my first in 5-6 years!

It appears there is a location just down the street, along the bay, that seems to constantly host late-week/weekend events. There was a stage set up last night, large blocks of freshly carved marble, and what Erdem labeled as "Turkish food trucks." The "food trucks" were not all quite set up when we saw them. They were basically white vans with makeshift propane stove tops extending out the back of the trunk.  Do van's have trunks? I don't know much about van terminology. They were just dirty white vans. Some of them even had ișkembe çorbası rotisserie (turkish tripe) built into back of the vehicles. At the time we saw all these neat things were running so we had no camera. I'm sure we will be seeing something like that again. Maybe even next week if we're lucky! 

Sewing Okra

Today I intended to bring my camera to the pazar. I wanted pictures of the people (and the gypsies). It's fun to see the "grocery cart" (aka. rolling basket that chinese women mow your feet over with in San Francisco's Chinatown) enter the pazar empty and come out swelling with fruits and vegetables. Some of the veggie tables are run by 10 year olds who scream out their wares in high pitched girly voices. They will yell in your ear if they have to, but it's fun to laugh at them since they don't understand english and the entire experience is fun. I appreciate their aggressiveness. It makes the pazar a unique place. You can find so many things at the market; fish, seasonal fruits n veggies, nuts, seeds, olives, cheeses, eggs, pickled goods, pastry doughs, fresh breads, tomato pastes, clothing, kitchen equipment, and much, much more. Of course those are things that can typically be found at the markets in California, but in Turkey, it is completely different. How could it be the same?

What the pazar really stimulates is the Turkish version of a sewing circle. That only happens upon the return home, though. Sometimes I want to dive in and other times the frustration of language barrier simply makes me want to hide.  Sometimes it's just as interesting enjoying it all from the sidelines.