The Color of the Kitchen

The task was put to me as simply as this; upon request, dinner was to be rich, cheesy, and contain jalapenos.  I will admit, my cooking skills leave much to be desired.  I am not completely hopeless though, no where near it.  I know my way around the kitchen, I cook every night.  Living with a chef, however, lends the stakes to be very high.  There are not many dishes that come back to the kitchen with the seal of approval which is composed of an enthusiasic "it's ok, I'd eat it again."  That has been my highest praise in the way of food so far and I'm not sure how many stars that would warrant.

I love to cook.  I love being in the kitchen.  It's my favorite place in the house, in any house.  Whenever we move into a new place, the kitchen is put together first.  The kitchen is where family is taken care of.  We nourish our children, our partners; we celebrate milestones, holidays, birthdays.  We cook for pleasure, for comfort, sometimes in mourning.  Conversations around the family table are priceless.  The kitchen is the heart of the home.  It puts life into a family and I I feel alive when I am in the kitchen preparing and creating.

Last night I was in the kitchen, preparing dinner.  Baby Bee was at my feet, the sound of the children playing football in the yard took the place of my usual choice of reggae music.  Yellow rice the color of sunshine was boiling, I was slicing into the most vibrantly red peppers that were so deliciously sweet I couldn't stop eating them raw.  The house was soon filled by the delightful aroma of spices, fresh food, love.  All five senses were ignited and I was feeling the light of happiness.  I thought to myself, as I glanced around at the array of colors, inhaled the fresh scents, the sounds of the sauteing onions and the soft slicing of those peppers, if this isn't art I don't know what is.  Just as in our art in Bee's Curiosity Shoppe, this food was sparking my imagination as well as soothing my soul.  Art is everywhere.  Creativity is everywhere, begging to be provoked.  The world is full of wonder and even the simplest of tasks can be surrendered to and evolve into an adventure.

As my business evolves, it has always been in the back of my mind to invoke wonder and amazement and creativity through our artwork.  The hope is that when our art is hung in a living room, a hospital room, a kitchen, or wherever its journey takes it, it sparks the imagination that is so prevalent among children.  Just because you have to grow up, it doesn't mean you have to leave a colorful world of curiosity behind.  I am blessed to have my daughter to remind me everyday how amazing everything is around us and each day is what we make of it.  Cooking can be made to be a hurried chore, or it can be given the chance to blossom into an animated show of the senses.  Happiness is free for the taking.

Oh, and the dinner was not rich, not cheesy, and did not contain jalapenos.  BUT, afterwards I heard, "this is pretty good."  Wow!