Welcome to My Culinary Art Studio

If you are new to my blog, WELCOME! If you are a returning friend, WELCOME BACK! In the past few months or more I have been back and forth and in and out of working on this blog. At times it was just too busy. I had too much to do and too much to take care of. This is the main reason for my absences.

Then a few weeks ago, my one year anniversary in which I began blogging was to arrive. I wanted to do something special. Have a great meal or dish or post or giveaway. The day began to approach rapidly and I had no great ideas. No fabulously perfect dishes to share. I wasn't altogether that busy. I had many posts and photos in the vaults and in my head but I was out of steam. I was just not motivated. I did not feel happy. There are many things to worry about these days with the recession, loss of jobs, money problems, mortgage issues... Many of us are having a hard time. The weight of all these things was upon me and I just could not write, could not concentrate. But as will all things we pick ourselves up, dust off and begin again refreshed.

My goals are many. My hopes are high. My dreams are vast. With this blog, I truly want to make improvements. I want to work harder at providing new recipes. I want to post more often. I want to work harder at my writing skills and food photography. I want to visit other blogs more often. My hope is to provide an enjoyable site with useful tips, recipes, hints and information. One that is fun to read and view as well as something worth continually returning to. I want a more professional outlook yet will still write from my heart and personal feelings. My children will undoubtably pop into the mix from time to time. How can they not? They are the biggest part of my life.

For all of you that are regular visitors, you will note the new masthead. I had an idea for this header nearly a year ago but needed the time to set up the "artist's table". After a couple hundred shots and different configurations from simple to complex, I then went to the computer and played and created in order to come up with the new one above. Within this post you can see my two runner-ups. In the sidebar you can see some of my favorite close up shots from the day. The main idea was to play with the "art" concept along with the "aioli". I wanted it to look like an artist's work table. The work, the art will be the posts. The food. The writing. The creating of recipes and meals and parties. Cooking is an art. To really be good, one should be able to use creativity. Plating of food can be wonderfully gorgeous and have amazing design qualities. So within this site I hope to realize my art as a designer, a chef and a writer.

Thank you to everyone who comes to read and respond to Art and Aioli, a blog about art, food and the art of food. Cheers to you all and here's to new beginnings and hope for more flavorful days to come.