Dear readers, this is my farewell column as the American-Statesman food writer.
On June 1, I ll hang up my apron, stack up the cookbooks and pass on the test kitchen gear to the next person to take on this life-changing position at Austin’s daily newspaper.
When I say, “Dear readers,” I mean it. From my first column in 2008 to today, the fine people who read this column in print with their coffee and via Facebook in the school pickup line have held an incredibly special place in my heart.
I have kept your business cards, your emails and screenshots of your direct messages on social media in my digital and physical archive. I still have a physical copy of (almost) every food section I’ve published. Because of your kindness and willingness to connect, my kids will have memories of being stopped in the grocery store by someone who tells me they love trying new recipes and reading stories in the food section.
In April, with the clubs shut down and musicians feeling adrift, expressive pop artist
Mobley embarked on an ambitious project. He randomly paired 15 musicians and 15 filmmakers to create a visual album with a process structured around the surrealist drawing game exquisite corpse.
In the game, a scene is formed as each player draws a part then folds the paper to obscure their contribution before handing off to the next player. For the visual album, each artist was provided an end clip of the preceding song. They were each given two days to complete their work and the project’s title: “Home Unfamiliar” was their only prompt. Top Austin talents like Shakey Graves, Wild Child’s Kelsey Wilson, Sweet Spirit’s Sabrina Ellis and Spoon’s Jim Eno contributed.