Dear world,
About a year ago, I noticed a package in my mailbox. Inside was 100 Demons, by Lynda Barry, and a note from Joanne.
That was the first day of what would be an eternal love and devotion to Lynda Barry. She's a comic artist and writer who can tell a story and hit the essence of it with a combination of her storytelling and expressive artwork.
What I love most about Lynda is that she finds ways that we all can engage with art. It can be as simple as spending an hour coloring a page, pressing hard on the crayon until the page is thick with wax and pigment. It can be as revealing as drawing your inner creep, the voice that comes up when you do something new or something creative that tells you you're not good enough. I've found that doing the activities she suggests and following her advice opens doors to staggering creative force.
I can't tell you about her impact on my work as well as I can show you. Almost every project I take on that I am brave enough to show other people is inspired by her in some way.
I can't tell you about her impact on my work as well as I can show you. Almost every project I take on that I am brave enough to show other people is inspired by her in some way.
In 100 Demons, Lynda tells colorful stories of her demons. I love how the narration and drawings mingle to form impactful imagery of her life. I've read and re-read this book.
Inspired by her call to action, I have drawn pages and pages of demons. Whenever I feel stuck, awkward, unlovable, terrible, broken, I draw demons. There are so many.
One day, this little creature came from my pen. I fell in love with her. Meet Shellymonster.
I think the best part of this demon is that at her essence, she is lovable.
Lynda inspires me to not let my creative force go unrealized and to do all the ideas I think of, even if I think they suck. I'm learning how to show them off, even if it means not everyone will get it. Some people do.
Silog Sandwich, a la Lynda Barry
Lynda is half filipino, so I wanted to make a half-filipino dish. I wanted to make something visually stunning, rich, hearty, complex and colorful. I thought a lot about which filipino dish would match with Lynda. Pancit? Spaghetti? Adobo? I settled on silog.
Silog: Tocino log. Tocino and rice. Tocino is pork belly that's marinated in red, salty, sweet sauce. It's delicious over garlicky fried rice with an egg on top. It's eaten with a side of vinegar to cut the sweet, salty richness of the tocino.
Lynda has an earthiness about her that reminds me of a garden full of crisp, fresh vegetables.
Tocino is red, like Lynda's hair.
Nothing is more American than white, sandwich bread. I didn't want to use white sandwich bread, per se, because it's such a heavy, hearty sandwich. I found a brown oat molasses roll that I thought looked delicious. Unfortunately, it was too sweet. If you make this, use something like white bread, dutch crunch, or sourdough. This sandwich needs bread that is a solid canvas.
Ingredients:
Thick sandwich roll
Tocino (Frozen section of your local asian/pacific market. Follow the instructions on the package.)
Garlic, grated.
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Hard-boiled quail eggs (I soaked mine in soy sauce and snacked on the extras while I made the sandwiches)
Cane vinegar. (White vinegar/sandwich vinegar are okay.)
Lots of vegetables in every color. I used pickled shallots, heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, red-headed lettuce, and sprouts.
Start with bread. Cut it in half.
Grate the garlic and mix it with mayo. Slather one side of the bread with it. Slather the other side with mustard. Pile vegetables on both sides, tocino and eggs. Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of vinegar onto the greens. This will cut the richness and sweetness and saltiness of the tocino and helps it blend with the earthy vegetables.
