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Have you been to Seattle and experienced Pike Place Market? In our trips to Seattle, we hadn’t known anything about this marvelous market. Our son and his wife mentioned how much they had loved it when they talked about their trip to Seattle. They told us that we shouldn’t miss it the next time we made Seattle our destination.  At our next visit, we couldn’t wait to see what we had missed.

As a colorist, I felt overwhelmed. Flowers of every color and description, displayed in huge bouquets, took my breath away. All around me were every kind of colorful seafood, produce and products from various merchants. Where to start… since I love to cook gourmet cuisine, and I love seafood, I was instantly fascinated by the rich assortment of beasties from the sea. I was born in Boston, but have lived in the Midwest since I was six years old. For the last twenty plus years we have lived in a small town, so finding fresh seafood can be a challenge. It was overwhelming to see the ocean’s bounty laid before me on icy beds in their display cases.

Salmon as an entrée has been a favorite of mine for years. When I was a child, my mom made salmon soup from canned salmon. It was wonderful yet little did I know what I had in store for me when I would be able to buy recently caught salmon, fresh from the sea and taste its delicate flavor. Luckily, I have husband who likes salmon as much as I do so I create with it quite often.

 Formulating new recipes has been a hobby of mine for almost as long as I can remember. I have always thought that I was more creative in the kitchen than I am in the studio. Years ago, after having carpal tunnel surgery on my painting hand, I decided to try something totally new to get my mind off of my predicament. I had never painted any still life pieces before that time. I decided that creating still life arrangements from the foods that we favor was my new starting point. I am hooked on creating visual food festivals, both in the kitchen and on canvas.

When I saw a fillet of freshly caught salmon, nestled on a bed of its ocean compatriots, I thought that the composition was exquisite. The shiny flanks of these remarkable migratory fish contrast with and conceal the rich, red meat inside. Anadromous fish, such as these, defy belief. The transformation in their bodies that allow them to hatch in fresh water, migrate to the salty ocean and return to fresh water to breed is rarely found. Their sensitive olfactory systems guide them back to the area of their hatching.  What a remarkable and unique fish! From the class of Osteichthyes, meaning that they have skeletons made of bone, these ray-finned fish cooperate by having muscle thick enough to make wonderful boneless fillets for use in my various original recipes.

Looking around at the panoramas to behold at the market, I thought to myself that ordinary objects, viewed through the artist’s eye could become quite picturesque. I want to share that splendor with others, so that they, too, can see the beauty in the ordinary.