$2.95 • April 2016 • Volume 12, No. 4
of South-Central Indiana
Sanctuary of the Spirit
of South-Central Indiana
Restoring T.C. Steele’s historic gardens
Comfortably
Cuckoo The collectible-filled
home of Bloomington’s ‘Cuckoo Dan’
Also inside: • Grain bin studio • Building a tiny house • Little Indiana author • Professional organizer • 1976 Hoosier basketball
page 6
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2 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
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Comfortably Cuckoo
8 with the Toths
16 Building a Tiny House Color Consultant Laura
24 Brzegowy
1976 Hoosier Basketball
8
26 Perfection
T.C. Steele Garden
36 Restoration
42 Artist Gallery 44 Garden Tips 46 Little Indiana Book
16
56 Grain Bin Studio 62 Trip to Tom’s Wall 66 Color Corner Morel Mushroom
67 Gnocchi Recipe
ON OUR COVER: An artist paints in the gardens of the T.C. Steele State Historic Site, standing almost exactly where Selma Steele was portrayed in one of her husband’s paintings. Read about the restoration of the Steele gardens on page 36. Photo courtesy the Indiana State Museum.
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$2.95 • Februar y 2016 • Volume 12, No. 3
PUBLISHER E. Mayer Maloney, Jr. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Laurie Ragle
of South-Central Indiana
of South-Central Indiana
At Home with the Mayor
Welcome to Hamilton’s ‘working home’
Peace by Piece
6 Issues
(Annual Subscription)
visit us online at www.homesandlifestylesmagazine.com or mail subscription to: SUBSCRIPTIONS, Homes & Lifestyles 1900 South Walnut Street, P.O. Box 909 Bloomington, IN 47402 3 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Artist finds an oasis in mosaics
Also inside: • Green home in progress • Local chef’s new kitchen • ‘Pop-pop’ artist’s cabin • Woodworker’s magic • Family philanthropy
© 2016 Schurz Communications, Inc. HOMES & LIFESTYLES OF SOUTH-CENTRAL INDIANA is distributed bimonthly on a subscription basis. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY COPYRIGHT. Prices, specials and descriptions are accurate as of the time of publishing. This book or parts thereof may not be
MARKETING DIRECTOR Shaylan Owen
reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent
CONTENT/LAYOUT COORDINATOR Brooke McCluskey
advertisers. Schurz Communications, Inc. does not make any
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Jackie Sheckler Finch WRITERS Jackie Sheckler Finch, Joel Pierson, Michelle Ann Crowe, Pete DiPrimio, and Alexandra M. Lynch PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Howell, David Snodgress ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Dennis Laffoon
of the publisher. Advertising information has been provided by representations as to opinions and facts contained herein. All terms and conditions are subject to change. The cover, cover design, format, content and layout of this publication are trademarks of Schurz Communications, Inc.
ADVERTISING SALES:
Contact Laurie Ragle at (812) 331-4291 EDITORIAL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS:
Contact Jackie Sheckler Finch at JackieSFinch@gmail.com or Brooke McCluskey at (812) 331-4289
Homes & Lifestyles
Contributors Jackie Sheckler Finch became a Hoosier more than 25 years ago when she moved to Indiana from Massachusetts for a newspaper job. She covered city government and other areas for The Herald-Times until leaving to become a full-time freelance writer. Editor of Homes & Lifestyles since its inception in 2004, Jackie is also an award-winning travel writer and author of 20 travel books. She was named the Mark Twain Travel Writer of the Year a record six times. Jackie enjoys finding the fascinating people and places that wait over the hill and around the next bend. Growing up in Spencer taught Michelle Crowe to love John Mellencamp, the joys of driving country roads and the value of looking past any exterior to see what character lies underneath. She is married to her high school sweetheart and has three children. Michelle is also an independent marketing consultant who enjoys writing for Homes & Lifestyles because it gives her a reason to look inside interesting houses and the people who make them a home. Pete DiPrimio is a Bloomington transplant who was born near Pittsburgh. His favorite part about writing for Homes & Lifestyles is meeting the various homeowners and personalities. He’s an award-winning sports columnist who has written three books on IU sports, plus 21 children’s books on topics that include Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Ancient Rome, Ancient Sparta and more. In 2016 he was inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame, which he says reflects the fact that he covered his first sporting event shortly after Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden.
4 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Chris Howell has been a full time senior photojournalist for Hoosier Times publications since 1998. Born and raised in Bloomfield, Chris’ passion is documenting the everyday lives of people in local communities and wherever his travels take him. Away from work, Chris enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing softball and grilling in the summertime. When not designing the pages of Homes & Lifestyles, Dennis Laffoon is the creative services manager for Hoosier Times. He is also an ordained minister and pastor at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and winner of the City of Bloomington’s 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award. Dennis is married, with three children who bring him and his wife Rochelle much joy. Alexandra M. Lynch thoroughly enjoys writing for Homes & Lifestyles because she gets to meet wonderful people and see fascinating homes. Alexandra has been a writer most of her career, mostly newsletters and magazines. Now, in retirement, she finds the H&L gig suits her fine. In her leisure time, she likes to travel and take photos. Brooke McCluskey is the content and layout coordinator for Homes & Lifestyles. She assists the editor, develops layouts and guides the production process—and does the same for several other magazines published by Hoosier Times. In her free time, she is renovating a fixerupper home in rural Bloomington with her husband. They have two children, a dog, a cat, a snake and many woodland friends.
A lifelong Hoosier, Shaylan Owen grew up near rural Delphi. He has a background in fine arts, photography and graphic design and is the marketing director for Hoosier Times. Shaylan is a self-described food nerd who has created and photographed dozens of recipes for Homes & Lifestyles since April 2009. When not working, he enjoys cooking, reading, running, traveling and the outdoors. Joel Pierson has been a resident of Bloomington for more than a decade and is still finding things to love about the area. In addition to writing for H&L, he is a regular contributor to The Herald-Times. His interests include theater, writing, editing and audio production. He is the author of two books, both published locally. In his rare free moments, he enjoys relaxing with wife and fellow journalist Dana and their three lovely hounds. David Snodgress was born and raised in Bloomington. He has journalism and political science degrees from Indiana University and a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio University. He is the photography manager at The Herald-Times. He shares a log home with his wife and three children and can often be found camping and canoeing.
Homes & Lifestyles thanks the Indiana State Museum, the Indiana University Archives, the Indiana University Lilly Library, the Indiana University Press and the T.C. Steele State Historic Site for their contributions to this issue.
Homes & Lifestyles
From the Editor Comments What a great story and cover photograph about our new mayor John Hamilton and his family. You are really on the ball to have this story in your first issue after he was sworn in. It was enjoyable to see his home and learn more about his family. Keep up the good work! -Harold Richardson My husband I visited the new George Jones Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, after we read your story. We didn’t even know the museum was there. He was always one of our favorite country singers and his museum is wonderful, well worth a visit. -Sarah Carter I have been meaning to send you a thank you for the wonderful write-up of Pierick ... I think it’s the best article written about him and his work to date! You truly captured his voice and spirit in this piece. Thank you so much for the opportunity. We love it. -Suzy Smith Editor’s note: Suzy is Pierick’s wife. His dimensional sports art was featured in our February issue.
My home was designed around myself and my wife of many years, who has since passed. Sandy and the photographer captured the essence of the place. I was quite pleased. -Victor Harnack Editor’s note: Victor’s home—which is filled with wood, music and magic—was featured in the February issue.
Have something to say?
Maybe it’s a comment about a home or a recipe. Whatever you’d like to share, we want to hear, so drop us a line! Letters c/o Homes & Lifestyles P.O. Box 909 • Bloomington, IN 47402 Or e-mail JackieSFinch@gmail.com
5 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
P
ete DiPrimio and I came aboard H&L at the same time—the summer of 2004 when we sat around a lunch table planning a new magazine about to be created. I always knew that no matter the assignment, Pete would do an excellent job and he would turn it in before deadline. I also knew that Pete is a very busy fella and writes for other publications including The Fort Wayne News Sentinel, where he covers primarily Indiana University and Purdue athletics. In his spare time, he has written 21 children’s books on such popular subjects as sports figures Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Robert Griffin III, and Mohammad Ali, as well as historic books on ancient Sparta and the Sioux Indians. Having a writer with Pete’s sports expertise and writing talents has allowed H&L to offer top-notch sports stories as well as homes and lifestyles features. Some of Pete’s profiles that have enlivened H&L pages include: IU sports announcer Don Fischer, IU soccer coach Mike Frietag, IU football coach Terry Hoeppner, IU soccer coach Todd Yeagley, IU football coach Kevin Wilson, IU women’s basketball coach Teri Moren, Tom Crean as a new IU coach in 2008, Gridiron-star/preacher Anthony Thompson, Bobby “Slick” Leonard, Bob Knight, Calbert Cheaney, and George and Vi Taliaferro. What I’m leading up to is this—Pete has been selected for induction into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. Ceremonies will be held April 10. Congratulations, Pete. H&L is already celebrating what we have long known—Pete can make sports coverage fascinating even to someone like me, who had to be told by a 6-year-old that the young man I had been talking to was Hoosiers hoops star Jordan Hulls. If you are a new reader, one of Pete’s gems in this H&L issue is about the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1976 IU Hoosier “Dream Team.” When you read it, sit back and enjoy a sports story by one of Indiana’s best.
The results are in for Fine Dining! Next up: Fashionably Local • Vote until April 30 One lucky voter will receive a $50 gift card! Go to homesandlifestylesmagazine.com and click “Vote today” 581 E. Hillside Dr. Suite 104 in Bloomington Feast is known for its seasonal menus and recipes that incorporate fresh, locally available ingredients. Our readers gave Feast top honors in the pasta category for dishes like the house cavatelli pasta— which includes braised pork shoulder from a local source—and triangoli pasta filled with roasted carrots, ricotta and goat cheese and topped with a sage parsley cashew pesto.
Best Dessert—Feast
581 E. Hillside Dr. Suite 104 in Bloomington Feast wins again in the dessert category, with readers specifying the restaurant’s tiramisu as their favorite. Feast’s bakery is well known for producing an impressive array of handmade cakes, pies and cookies—all with a focus on quality and local sources.
Best Romantic Setting— farmBloomington
108 East Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington Located in the heart of downtown Bloomington, farmBloomington won our readers’ hearts for the best romantic setting around. The restaurant is
artfully decorated in a local-meets-global style, and the downstairs Root Cellar Lounge blends Chef Daniel Orr’s handpicked Americana with artist Gretchen Sigmund’s wall mural. It’s an unforgettable place for a memorable date.
Best Seafood—farmBloomington
108 East Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington Our readers can’t get enough of the Cardamom and Honey Rubbed Salmon at farmBloomington, giving it top billing in the seafood category. The dish’s flavors include braised sun chokes, leeks, spinach, roasted garlic and sweet peppers.
Best Service (tie)— farmBloomington
100 East Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington In a tie for best service, neighbors farmBloomington and The Trojan Horse—located just steps from one another in downtown Bloomington—impressed our readers. Both restaurants are known for having servers who are well-versed in menu options and specials, and both are also known for serving up quality dishes you won’t find anywhere else. The
Thank You For Voting Us
Best Specialty Dish Featuring: Christie’s Hot Brown
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6 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Best Specialty Dish— Christie’s on the Square
103 S High Street in Salem One of Indiana’s best-kept secrets sits beneath a green-striped awning in downtown Salem. Christie’s on the Square combines small town prices with big time flavor, and Christie’s Hot Brown received the most votes for best specialty dish. Never had a hot brown? Head to Salem for turkey atop toasted bread, bacon, tomato and a bubbling broiled cheese sauce.
Best Steaks—Texas Roadhouse
108 East Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington
The Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse specializes in Greek food and American favorites, and farmBloomington blends global and local flavors.
110 Franklin Road in Bloomington, with nearby locations in Terre Haute, Columbus and Indianapolis Did you know Texas Roadhouse was born right here in Indiana? Kent Taylor opened the first restaurant in Clarksville in 1993. Kent’s goal was to open a friendly family restaurant that served truly world-class steaks, and Homes & Lifestyles voters think his mission was accomplished. Texas Roadhouse’s 20 Ounce Bone-In Ribeye won top honors.
Thank you for voting us
1
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Best Seafood Best Service Best Romantic Setting www.farm-bloomington.com 108 E. Kirkwood Ave. • 812-323-0002
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Best Pasta—Feast
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Thursday, May 26 • 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. • Bloomington Country Club Ladies, grab your gal pals and kick off your heels for an evening of fun at Bloomington’s ultimate Girls’ Night Out, presented by Homes & Lifestyles Magazine. Treat yourselves to delicious hors d’oeuvres, drinks, dancing, and exclusive access to local experts in fashion, cosmetics, health and beauty, pampering, and more on 7 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Thursday, May 26th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the scenic Bloomington Country Club. Ample free parking is available on site. Every guest will also receive an exclusive Girls’ Night Out gift bag, one complimentary glass of wine and a chance to win great prizes. Stop by the selfie station and tag a photo with #H&LGNO—your photo could
appear on the Homes & Lifestyles Facebook page, or even in the magazine. Only 300 tickets are available, so don’t wait—reserve yours at HomesAndLifestylesMagazine. com/GNO. Purchase your tickets early and save— • $29 each before April 30 • $35 after April 30 and at the door.
‘Cuckoo Dan’ Toth and his wife Debby live in a collectible-filled home that was built around their clock collection. Photos by David Snodgress.
8 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Comfortably Cuckoo Clocks, clown shoes and other collectibles find a cozy home with the Toths By Michelle Ann Crowe
I
f you suffer from coulrophobia, you probably won’t be visiting the second floor of the Toth home. The fourteen pairs of oversized, antique clown shoes marking each stair tread won’t welcome someone with a fear of clowns. Braver visitors, however, are rewarded with a catwalk view down into the cozy collectors’ den of Debby and Dan Toth. It’s difficult to decide what to focus on first. Unless, of course, it’s lunchtime. Then the sounds of dozens of clocks announcing the hour will be sure to get your attention. “Around noon, it would shake the rafters,” Debby remembers from years past, when Dan kept all of his collection wound and ready. The best way to get to know her husband is to consider his inspiration. He remembers one scene from a childhood movie and it all starts from there: “At one point, Geppetto turns on all his clocks and music boxes—he’s celebrating something—and that always stuck with me,” Dan says. Exuberance sums up the sentiment in the familiar Pinocchio scene, and it can also be used
9 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
to describe the atmosphere of abundance at the Toth home. This house was constructed for clocks. The Toths specialize in collecting antique Black Forest timepieces, both musical—trumpeter, organ and flute—and automated—think cuckoo clock. Many of these German clocks are so rare that even specialty shows and clubs won’t offer them a new lead. Standing nine-feet tall and weighing hundreds of pounds, some of the most impressive organ clocks require high ceilings and reinforced walls. “Dan won’t tell you himself, but he has one of the most extensive collections in the country,” Debby confides. Of course, she is modest about her own identity at as pocillovist—or collector of egg cups. At one time, she owned more than 5,000 of the egg-holding vessels and her dining area currently displays at least several hundred. The small ceramic collectibles can also be found perched in her custom window sills, with a view of a nature’s paradise first enjoyed by members of Bloomington’s First Christian Church.
An aerial look at the living room shows clocks, Victorian aquariums and much more—all with a woodland view.
Winding Up
The 30-acre classified forest was not actually for sale in 1992 when the couple began looking for a place to build their custom home. Nearly at the end of a onemile, one-lane road, the wooded preserve featured a shelter and amphitheater and little else. It was the perfect spot for a pair of self-proclaimed hippies who, as Debby says, “embrace what nature puts there.” A call from their realtor revealed interest from the church to sell, and suddenly the next year was dedicated to building and design. The Toths had a very special purpose for their new home. “We built this house to take care of my mom. Through our good care, we brought her into the best shape of her adult life,” Dan recalls. His mom spent ten years with the couple in a walk-out basement apartment that now provides rental income. It faces the same woods as the upper floors. In fact, the entire home was designed around the view.
10 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Dan points out the home’s mostly rearfacing windows. “We made the front plain and have most of our glass looking out over the back.” In addition to a wall of windows, the back of the home features three elevated decks, a screened dining porch and a lower covered patio area. It is all part of the work of a pioneer in green-building—Indiana architect and author Allan Bilka. “He listened to what we wanted. He didn’t tell us what we wanted,” Debby remembers of working with her long-time friend who gave them exactly the home they asked for. Armed with a binder of magazine ideas to bring to life—and Dan’s years in the carpentry trade—they were able to finish the home in just a year. With owners committed to caring for the earth, it was important that the home featured concepts such as passive solar, high levels of insulation and a double roof to keep energy costs down. “We want to save the earth,” says Debby.
“We were among the first people to do recycling at BloomingFoods, back when people used to make fun of you for recycling.”
Collector Connection
The couple met in 1978 through mutual best friends who recognized a connection in collections. Even as children both collected traditional items such as stamps and coins. Debby dabbled in a collection of holy cards from a neighborhood funeral home. As time has progressed, however, the collections became more refined. “It’s not on purpose, but we do collect things you don’t see very often,” Dan says. Seeing is believing in this house. Even a quick tour reveals Victorian aquariums, antique kitchen toys, colored 1950s aluminum, German automations, dangling marionettes that celebrate the Pinocchio connection, votive stands, French graveyard crosses, orreries—which are intricate mechanical planetariums—and so much more.
Dan and Debby have arranged their collectibles carefully into visual vignettes.
11 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Above, a midway-style game is perched on the wall. Below, clown shoes ascend a staircase near the couple’s beloved end-of-day glass lights and restored cigar store Indian.
12 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Above, marionettes hang from the rafters. Below, Debby sits in her kitchen, near her collection of hundreds of egg cups.
13 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
The Toths’ lake cottage is perched peacefully in the wilderness.
Bloomington Paint & Wa allpaper 1150 S. Walnut Stre eet Bloomington, IN 474 401 812-337-2468 Weekday ys 7:30-5:30 and Sa aturdays 8-4 14 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Inside the cottage, visitors are greeted with rustic charm.
The lighting in the house is 90 percent antique and many of the fixtures were recovered from religious buildings. Favorite collectibles for the couple are the “end-of-day-glass” globes lighting their ceilings— multicolored creations that may have been crafted by glassworkers using bits and pieces left over from the day’s other projects. In the Toths’ front entrance, one such light shines down on a restored cigar store Indian from a local ice cream shop and a functional 38-pipe monkey organ. Why welcome visitors this way? Because, Dan shrugs, “When you’re a collector and you see something you like, well …” A second welcome can be found in a rear drive marked “TUDALAKE WAY.” Travel over the hill and through the woods to find a small cottage cantilevered over a two-acre lake. The peaceful lake retreat is tucked so far in the woods that no other sign of human life is visible. “We just wanted something cool to recreate out of and we made this little paradise down here,” Dan explains in his casual style. Hours have been spent viewing the lake from a comfortable screened porch. The building offers a wood stove for warmth and electricity for lights, but does not have running water. This fact inspired Dan to create what may be one of the property’s most unique features—an outhouse designed to resemble a cuckoo clock. “That’s my cuckoo poo-poo,” quips the man known in his town as “Cuckoo Dan.” Locals can view and purchase a rotating selection of Toth collectibles inside the Westbury Antique Mall on Bloomington’s west side—just look for booth 123 or ask for Cuckoo Dan.
15 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Tiny Houses, Big Phenomenon By Alexandra M. Lynch
Dick Stumpner stands next to a tiny house in progress. It measures 8 by 22 feet. Courtesy photos.
16 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
T
iny houses are beginning to dot our landscape. These tiny houses—usually defined as having less than 500 square feet of space—are being built around the country and around the world. They’re also cropping up right here in southern Indiana. Does this strike you as odd in a housing market where 5,000- to 10,000-plus-square-foot homes are not uncommon? Currently, the average size of a newly-built American home is about 2,400 square feet—and rising each year. So why are tiny houses becoming so popular at the same time? We turn to Dick Stumpner and his partner Licia Weber of Bloomington, who designed and built their first tiny house and are about to embark on the second. These custom structures are not for Dick and Licia to reside in— rather, they are for others who also appreciate tiny living. Their first little home was commissioned by Licia’s sister. It measures 8 by 22 feet around and boasts 200 square feet of usable space. The house was designed by Licia and her siblings, constructed by Dick and his crew here in Bloomington, and then delivered to its New Jersey home by Dave Weber, Licia’s brother. Dave completed the porch and interior details, utility hookups and installation of the house in New Jersey. “The house was a family project that we had been talking about for some time. Dick was able to make it a reality,” says Licia. What’s the driving force behind this tiny trend? “For some, tiny houses are part of simplifying one’s life,” says Dick. “Others want additional space for guests, elder parents or returning kids.” Customization and cost are also factors for those who choose tiny houses. These homes range from very small—89 square feet—to the large side of small—about 600 square feet. They start from very simple and inexpensive and escalate to the elaborate and pricey, depending on the materials and amenities selected. Because the houses fit a lot into a small space, the cost per square foot for tiny houses can be a surprising $200 to 400, compared to the median cost of building a home at $128 per square foot. In her 2014 Forbes magazine article, “Twelve Tricked-Out Tiny Houses, and Why They Cost So Much,” Erin Carlyle wrote that the expense of tiny houses “… is due to packing a bunch of expensive, shrunk-down features—water heater, refrigerator, stove, toilet, air conditioner—in a teeny space.” A truly livable tiny house can cost between $40,000 and $50,000. Don’t gulp. These are homes—not sheds or playhouses.
Loren Stumpner unloads SIP panels—a type of thermal insulated panel that’s perfect for a tiny house roof.
Dick and Loren Stumpner do prep work on the trailer as one of Dick’s bison looks on from the pasture.
By day two of construction, the house is leveled and framing has begun. 17 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
As framing continues, the shape of the house emerges.
Loren continues framing and roof work.
By day three, the interior of the house is starting to feel like a room.
Installation of the interior ceiling requires working in some tight spots—like the rafters on the narrow end of the bedroom loft.
Perched in the loft, Winston Shindell and Loren Stumpner do interior framing and woodwork. 18 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
A tiny house doesn’t have to come without luxuries, as evidenced by the jetted bathtub with decorative tile surround.
Tiny house resources
Room for Imagination
The fact of the matter is that tiny houses are fun. Owners can use their imaginations in designing a tiny home to suit them. Some add gingerbread to give a cottage look. Some create a mid-century modern style and others create a structure that looks like a slant-walled corn crib of old. If you can imagine it, you can develop it into a tiny building. As a contractor, Dick Stumpner is building homes with his clients’ desired amenities. The New Jersey tiny house features a jetted tub for needed therapy and easy access for the family member who will be staying there. The 120-square-foot house in a rural location will primarily be used for weekend getaways and is completely off-grid, with no utility connections. The building process for the New Jersey house lasted about two months. The structure—like many tiny houses—was built on a flatbed trailer and remains on that trailer. Tiny houses usually have built-ins—shelves, couches, beds, nooks for storage—to save floor space. Every inch counts. The main bedroom is often in a loft, accessible by ladder or very steep stairs. Some tiny house owners live in them year-round. For others, it’s a part-time pleasure, a chance to minimize the stuff of one’s life, a time for perspective, an opportunity to get away. So what happens when a family of four spends time together in their 207-square-foot house in Oregon? Andrew Morrison, father and tiny house owner, is pleased with their experience. “Our level of communication and family relationships are so much closer and deeper that they have ever been. I can’t think of anything more important than that,” he says.
Think you might be interested in a tiny house? Here are some resources to spark your imagination.
• Good old Google offers lots of ideas. Go to Google.com, type “tiny houses” into the search bar, and click “images” to see examples from around the world. • The FYI Network has a show called Tiny House Nation, hosted by extreme skier Zac Griffin.
• Look up the American Tiny House Association and Small House Society.
• Follow tiny house bloggers, like tinyhouseblog. com, thetinylife.com and tinyhousetalk.com.
• The national Tiny House Conference takes
place in Asheville, North Carolina April 2-3, but if you miss it, look for other workshops at tumbleweedhouses.com. Many big-name builders now offer regional workshops.
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Is it legal? Before building a tiny house, find out if it’s legal. Check with your county’s zoning and building department first, and play it safe by following rules for heating, ventilation, electrical, plumbing and sanitation. Section IC 36-7-8-3 of the Indiana code prevents counties from applying building codes to “private homes that are built by individuals and used for their own occupancy.” Known as the Indiana Log Cabin Rule, this law means you are allowed to build and reside in a home on your property without interference by county building codes—however it does not apply to a home on wheels, like an RV or a tiny home on a trailer. Be advised that there have been several legal challenges regarding tiny houses in Indiana, so it’s best to work with your county officials to ensure you’re up-to-date and in the clear.
20 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Licia Weber, Dick Stumpner and David Weber pose for a photo before taking the tiny house to New Jersey.
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Back to Indiana and the tiny homes of Dick and Licia. “We put some pictures of building the first tiny house on Facebook to share with family and friends,” says Licia, “and we had quite a bit of response. We had several interested visitors to the job site, including one from Habitat for Humanity.” Are you already dreaming of a tiny house? There are many things to consider. How do you want to use it? Who will be using it? Will it be used year-round? What are your priorities for the use of the space? What materials will you use? Who will help you plan and build the home— and do they have experience building tiny houses? Have you done your homework? It’s worth noting that not all neighborhoods are zoned for tiny houses. Each county has zoning and building laws that you may want to consider before beginning construction. See the sidebar to this article for more information about local zoning laws and Indiana’s laws regarding do-it-yourself structures. You may also want to take the property’s physical features into account. Where exactly are Toward the end of the process, the house has woodwork, cabinets, appliances and a cozy vibe. A staircase is used to maximize storage.
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22 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
you going to place your tiny house? An example in Maine was built on a floating wooden deck, offshore in a lake. The owner goes ashore to fetch water and supplies. Would this unusual type of tiny house suit you? Also, consider whether you want to build the structure yourself or hire someone to do it. There are now many companies that can build a tiny house for you, but would you feel that you’re missing the custom touches of building it on your own? Tumbleweed Tiny House Company—now a nationally-acclaimed builder of custom tiny houses—was among the first to encourage its customers to attend a workshop and build their own tiny RVs ranging from 110 to 180 square feet. The company offers a variety of floor plan ideas, building classes and photo galleries of owner-built homes. As for Dick and Licia, at the moment there is no third tiny house in the works—but that could change at any moment. Dick will be the contractor for the building of a new bungalow-style home on the last remaining lot in Bloomington’s Elm Heights neighborhood, so he’ll be busy for a while.
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Most of these binders keep customer records back to 1997. Two of them store copies of articles Laura has written for Homes & Lifestyles magazine.
Signs give a gentle warning about the cost of lost or damaged wallpaper books. “These books cost us money. Sometimes people take them out and think it’s no big deal if they don’t return them.”
Laura does research and typing from her computer in the showroom. “Either I’m writing about color or keeping track of the different colors people want to use.” If a customer looks at something but doesn’t make a purchase, Laura tracks it for up to six months in an inbox near her keyboard, so the customer won’t have to start from scratch.
A hand-written ledger records the current year’s wallpaper sales, including the name of the purchaser, pattern, and wallpaper book and run numbers. This allows for precise matching if it is necessary in the future.
This poster shows Benjamin Moore’s 2016 Color of the Year, Simply White, which— according to Benjamin Moore marketing materials—is a deceptively deep hue that encourages you to “Surrender to the complexity of white.”
24 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Wallpaper samples show the wide range of options available. The green swath is a paintable wallpaper, which was coated with Georgian Green to match elements of the other swatches.
Wallpaper sample books are arranged by style and organized with a color-coded system that helps Laura serve her clients quickly.
Four bright lights highlight metallic grass-cloth wallpaper. “People like to go over and touch it. It’s very tactile.”
Laura Brzegowy Color and design consultant, Bloomington Paint & Wallpaper Laura has been the color and design consultant at Bloomington Paint and Wallpaper for almost nine years. She conducts color consultations for businesses and individuals, either in the store or on-site. Her keen eye for both interior and exterior design has led to a highly satisfying career. “There’s no other store in town that has somebody trained to help people pick the perfect color.”
This wallpaper sample book, called Botanical Fantasy, is Laura’s favorite. Most patterns in this book have a botanical theme such as flowers or butterflies.
25 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
All Benjamin Moore paint stores use the same color scheme—York Harbor Yellow, Rust and—not pictured— Patriot Blue.
“The floor is the most important thing that you take into consideration before picking a paint color. It’s the first thing you consider.” Photo by David Snodgress.
Hoosier Perfection ’76 title team showed the honor and glory of basketball By Pete DiPrimio
26 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Members of the 1976 IU men’s basketball team assemble before a crowd of fans at halftime during the IU versus Wisconsin game Jan. 5, 2016. Photo by Chris Howell. 27 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Members of the undefeated 1976 Indiana Hoosiers were honored at halftime during the Indiana versus Wisconsin game Jan. 5, 2016. Photo by Chris Howell. 28 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
The 1976 seniors. Herald-Times archive photo.
J
im Crews is grayer now. They all are, these men who were forged in Bob Knight’s fearsome coaching fire. They are gathered to honor the season in which they rocked the college basketball world— shattering UCLA’s decade-plus dominance in the process—with championship perfection that has lasted 40 years, and might last 40 more. Crews has a story from Indiana’s 1976 glory run. You bet he does, and it has nothing to do with the drama of a 32-0 record and everything to do with the essence of great teams in general, this one in particular. Chemistry matters as much as talent. Crews, a reserve guard then, head coach in St. Louis now, leans into a microphone in Cook Hall and explains why. “This sums up my feelings about my teammates,” he says. “We were playing at Illinois. [IU All-American Scott May] was the best player in the country. We’re up by 25 points. My coach wasn’t that brave, but he finally put me in the game. Scott has not come out of the game. I made a good pass to Scott on a back cut. He makes the bucket and gets fouled. It’s not important. We’re up by 25. But Scott sprints to the top of the key and gives me a big bear hug. I was a guy off the bench, not a very good player, and he makes me feel like a million dollars. That’s what’s really cool about these guys and what Coach Knight put together.” January 5, 2016, at Assembly Hall was a time for goodwill and great memories, and nine Hoosier players answered the 40th anniversary call, although their old coach did not. Crews, May, Quinn Buckner, Tom Abernethy, Bobby Wilkerson, Scott Eells, Jim Roberson and Wayne Radford were there. Three couldn’t make it—Rich Valavicius, Bob Bender and Jimmy Wisman. Mark Haymore died in 2004, and his family attended in his honor. 29 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Bobby Wilkerson, at center, defends an Ohio State player in Assembly Hall March 6, 1976. Photo by Larry Crewell.
Kent Benson reaches for the ball during the undefeated season. Photo by Larry Crewell.
They gathered to reminisce and bask in the appreciation from a Hoosier Nation yearning for a return to championship glory. To commemorate their achievement, a statue of the five starters will be part of a renovated Assembly Hall, set completion in 2017. Radford was a young reserve on that team who found tough love from Wilkerson and Buckner as much as from his coach. “I learned a lot from them,” he says. “I thought they were my parents the way they’d punish me in practice. I would 30 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Bobby Wilkerson watches a tribute video of the 1976 team during the Jan. 5, 2016 event honoring the players. Photo by Chris Howell.
ask [former teammate Steve Green and Abernethy], ‘Is it always like this?’ Greeno would say, ‘Man, these guys love you.’ I’d say, ‘They have a tough way of showing it.’ But it made me better. It made me grow and learn and understand what Indiana basketball is all about. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.” Neither would Eels, also a reserve on that team, who quickly learned this Hoosier truth: “When I came in as a freshman, Quinn put his arm around me and said, ‘Freshmen
should keep their mouths shut.’” And so Eels did. “I came from a small town in Illinois. I had no idea what Indiana University meant to this state. It was humbling. It was an honor to be a part of this group.” The ’76 team did not overpower opponents as the ’75 squad had, winning twice in overtime and three times by three points or less, driven by a coach who refused to coddle. Wilkerson, a great defensive guard, often faced the brunt of that—until center Kent Benson arrived.
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31 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
“I was glad he got there because Coach Knight didn’t have to holler at me no more,” Wilkerson says. “He took it out on Kent the whole year. I blossomed after that. All was well.” Well … not quite. “We didn’t know what day we would be in the doghouse,” Wilkerson remembers, “but we knew it would be at least two of the five. It was like, ‘Whose day is it today?’ If I had mine yesterday it was like, Kent, you’re up.”
The Great Debate
The Hoosiers took on all comers that season. Their non-conference schedule featured four teams ranked in the top 17. Their final four NCAA tourney teams were all ranked in the top 10. “Isn’t that what you want?” May asks. “You want the opportunity to play every good team. You don’t want any cupcakes. You want to play the best teams—at your place, their place, on the playground. It was about having the chance to win every game, and taking everybody’s best shot.” The unbeaten title provided closure from the previous season, when IU went 31-1, losing to Kentucky in the Elite Eight. The team likely would have won the national championship if May hadn’t broken his arm late in the regular season. This has led to a longtime debate over which was the better team. May insists it’s the ’76 squad because it won it all. Buckner is just as insistent it’s the ’75 team. “Can I say this so we can clear the air about which team was better?” May asks. “If you win, you’re the best. If you don’t win, how can you say that?” Buckner disagrees. “We can have an argument about that.” History seems to favor May’s view. Three years ago the ’76 team was named the NCAA’s All-Time March Madness team.
Tom Abernathy scores against Ohio State in Assembly Hall March 6, 1976. Photo by Larry Crewell.
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Obsession and Jubilation
The Hoosiers were obsessed with winning every game while winning it all in ‘76. When they beat Michigan
for the third time in three months during an 86-68 national title game victory in Philadelphia, emotion was everywhere you looked. “To go through it and have the kind of success that we had, there was jubilation,” Buckner says. “There was relief. The biggest part of that was to see the smile on Coach Knight’s face. We didn’t see that very often. So you know it’s a memorable moment.” May remembers it as a feeling of redemption. “We had fallen short the year before. To go through the season that we had and almost getting beat a few times, to not quit, to not lose, to be down at half in the Michigan game and come in the second half and just beat the (stuffing) out of them … it was like mission accomplished. We had worked so hard and come a long way. It was just a great feeling.” Greatness always comes with a question—Will any team duplicate IU’s unbeaten season? Kentucky came close last season, winning its first 38 games before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four semifinals in Indianapolis. “I don’t know if it will ever be done again,” current IU coach Tom Crean says. “Whether it is or isn’t is irrelevant. For 40 years it hasn’t been. It’s stood the test of time. That’s pretty impressive.” That sentiment has resonated with Crean since he was a 10-year-old living in Michigan. He was allowed to stay up late to watch the title game. “I remember watching it at home on our green shag carpet. I was like, wow. I didn’t know anything about basketball then, but I was captured by the candy stripes. Kent Benson and Scott May became my favorites.” Bob Hammel, the award-winning former Herald-Times sports editor who covered the championship season—and much more—offers historical perspective. “That team has generated a lot of memories,” he says, “and that will never leave. The consistency they had from one game to the next. Nobody could beat them or match them. I don’t think anybody ever will.” Scott May goes in for a dunk during the 1976 season. Herald-Times archive photo. 33 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Coach Bobby Knight, left, and team members Scott May, center, and Quinn Buckner, are all smiles as they hold the trophy for winning the NCAA Basketball championship in Philadelphia in this photo from March 30, 1976. AP file photo.
A banner honoring the 1976 NCAA team was unveiled at halftime during the basketball game at Assembly Hall Jan. 5, 2016. Photo by Chris Howell. 34 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Knight’s no-show spotlights those who did By Pete DiPrimio
Hovering over it all on that January anniversary night was Knight’s absence. It loomed as a shadow amid bright cream and crimson lights, an old coach allowing bitterness and rage to take away what could have been a triumphant return. The 75-year-old Hall of Famer is fifteen years removed from his firing but did not follow in the footsteps of other coaches who returned to their Hoosier roots—Lee Corso, Bill Mallory, Cam Cameron and Gerry DiNardo. Knight shot down his former players’ requests to join them and answered a hand-written invitation from athletic director Fred Glass with silence. During the event, Quinn Buckner made an attempt at diplomacy. “Coach Knight is not here, but that doesn’t matter. In spirit he is here.” This set off a 10-minute rant by Dan Dakich, former Hoosier player and assistant coach, on his Indianapolis radio show. “All I heard at Indiana as a player was that playing there was a lifetime proposition,” Dakich said. “Knight used to say that you weren’t playing for him, you were playing for the fans, and that is forever. He said that you’re never a former Hoosier. But that’s a complete and utter bowl of crap when it comes to Bob Knight. The man is so freaking bitter that he cannot come back and celebrate a team that made him famous and made him money? He’s an incredibly small human being. A complete egomaniac. That team deserved to have its coach there.” Scott May hadn’t wanted to come if Knight wasn’t going to be there, but was talked into it by sons Sean and Scott Jr. The elder May was glad he came. So were the thousands of fans who cheered him and all the former Hoosiers. The celebration was about a group of players who achieved perfection, camaraderie and so much more—it was about the fans, and a university, and a season that will resonate as long as people care about basketball in Indiana. In the end, it wasn’t about who wasn’t there, but who was.
35 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on the garden project. Homes & Lifestyles will return for a follow-up article and photos when the project is complete.
An artist paints in the gardens of the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. Photo courtesy the Indiana State Museum.
Sanctuary of the Spirit
T.C. Steele gardens are being restored to early 1900s glory By Jackie Sheckler Finch
T
o recreate Selma Steele’s glorious gardens, the T.C. Steele Historic Site in Brown County is turning back the hands of time. But the project to restore the early 1900s gardens hasn’t been easy. “Some of the plant varieties Selma Steele used are so rare that they have been difficult to find and some of the plant cultivars she used are now extinct,” says Anthony Joslin, building and grounds supervisor. “We are using plants that are known to be pre-1932 and that has meant a lot of research to find them,” he says. “I’ve been tracking and just located a 1908 peony Mademoiselle Jeanne Rivière, only a single solitary plant found to be commercially available in the entire U.S., by one grower in Oregon who has the one individual left.”
36 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
The new project also has to deal with a problem that Selma Steele didn’t have to worry about in her original gardens—ravenous deer. “At the turn of the century, deer were near extinction in Indiana,” Anthony says. “Since deer were re-introduced in Indiana [in the late 1930s], the population has grown so much that we see deer around here all the time.” To keep deer from munching on the new plants, a deer fence was installed. Other infrastructure improvements include adding an irritation system, creating more handicapped-accessible parking and making walking paths wheelchair accessible and easier to navigate.
“It has seemed to me that the greatest of all arts is the art of living.” - T.C. Steele
Steele’s “Mrs. Steele in the Garden” shows Mrs. Steele standing near an arbor that is pictured on the cover of this magazine. Photo courtesy Indiana University Archives.
Winds of Change
The project is funded by the Indiana State Museum, of which T.C. Steele State Historic Site is a part, along with private donations and ongoing fundraising. The garden restoration is part of the INvision Capital Campaign, raising funds to improve Indiana State Museum and all state historic sites. “It is going to be spectacular when it is done,” Anthony says. “It’s a three-year project but when you visit this summer you should see a big difference.” The T.C. Steele Historic Site was home to renowned painter Theodore Clement Steele and his wife Selma Neubacher Steele. After a hiking trip to the area in 1906, the couple bought a dilapidated 211-acre farm near Belmont in 1907 and began turning it into a painter’s paradise. The Steeles called their new home “The House of the Singing Winds” because of the song that could be heard from wind rushing through the screened porch surrounding the home. “What drew T.C. Steele to this property in the first place was the natural beauty, and he and his wife were determined to enhance that beauty,” says site
37 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
manager Andrea de Tarnowsky. “The gardens ended up being her creative outlet.” Although he wasn’t the initial artist to visit the area, T.C. Steele is considered the father of the Brown County Art Colony. “He wasn’t the first to travel here to do paintings but he was the first to establish a residence here,” Anthony says.
Art in Bloom
Rugged and remote, Brown County at the turn of the 19th century was sparsely settled and well off the beaten path, with spectacular vistas and rolling hills. “The farm had been abandoned and was in bad shape,” Anthony says. “T.C. was the painter but Selma was the gardening artist in the family. She decided she was going to take this barren spot of land and turn it into something beautiful as inspiration for her husband to paint.” That’s exactly what happened. Through trial and error and after great research, Selma created flourishing flower gardens.
Selma and Theodore Steele. Photo courtesy Indiana University’s Lilly Library.
Anthony Joslin, building and grounds supervisor, is leading the restoration of the T.C. Steele historic gardens.
38 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
“Selma was an avid reader and we have a scrapbook she kept with notes and pictures of flowers she planted,” Anthony says. “The scrapbook is very helpful to us in trying to redo what she did.” Selma’s first gardening forays were not always successful. The soil was poor and the property was overgrown with brambles when the Steeles bought it. Selma also had trouble communicating with local men she hired to help with her gardening projects. “The outdoor help had once again informed me that it was inconsistent with his idea of ‘man’s work’ to be digging flower beds,” she later wrote. “This gave me a bright idea. I explained my reason for growing flowers was the same as his for
growing corn and wheat. He sold his corn and wheat. My husband put my flowers into pictures and sold the pictures. This way we were both earning a living—only in a different way. He listened carefully and then said it explained much.” Slowly, Selma’s landscaping expertise and her gardens grew. “At first she started planting just a few flowers, a few seeds,” Anthony says. “Those basically washed away in the first storm. She wrote that she later found those growing down the road where storms had carried them.” But Selma persevered and created a haven that her husband delighted in painting. “The joy in my work reached it’s highest peak when I found I had made flower and garden arrangements interesting enough to be placed on the painter’s canvas,” Selma wrote. A member of the Hoosier Group, T.C. Steele became known for a regional Impressionist style that highlighted scenes from Brown County. “T.C. Steele is important because he had a strong national and international reputation, which helped put Indiana art on the map,” Andrea says.
In the Steeles’ day, deer were nearly extinct in Indiana. Today, deer fence is used to protect the garden.
One of Steele’s best-known works, “Selma in the Garden” shows his wife tending the gardens that are now being restored. Photo courtesy the Indiana State Museum. 39 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Traces of the Steeles remain, but the restoration will recreate the garden’s original features in as much detail as possible.
40 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana’s
In fact, T.C. Steele’s best-known painting honors his wife and her green thumb. “Selma in the Garden” depicts his wife kneeling in her garden, surrounded by colorful blooms. Beneath her straw hat, Selma’s red hair seems to glow in the painting as much as the bountiful blossoms she lovingly tends. After T.C.’s death in 1926, Selma remained in their Brown County home. A few months before her own death in 1945, Mrs. Steele transferred the property—land, buildings, furnishings, and artwork—to the people of Indiana with the wish that it become a “sanctuary of the spirit” for all who love natural beauty and beauty created by man. Above the central fireplace of the house, an engraving on the mantel reflects the couple’s love of nature—“Every morning, I take off my hat to the beauty of the world.” Sadly, after Selma’s death her gardens were neglected and some of the original design vanished completely. “Back in the 1980s, the formal garden was buried under four or five inches of dirt,” Anthony says. “People knew it was there because of oral history and because there was a sundial and some benches. It took a lot of work to uncover the old stones that made a grid of the bed.” Every spring, some of the flowers Selma planted poke their heads stubbornly out of the soil for a blooming legacy to the woman who loved them. A dazzling show of daffodils, foxglove, irises, and many peonies—one of Selma’s favorites—spreads over the hillsides. “Several things have survived from Mrs. Steele,” Anthony says. “We still have the wisteria arbor that T.C. Steele used in many paintings and we have a line of hydrangeas from her time.” It is exciting watching Selma’s gardens come back to life as a living partner to the house full of original furnishings and treasured T.C. Steele paintings. “This is a very special spot,” Anthony says. “It is really a crown jewel in the state of Indiana.”
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James B. Campbell Painter/sculptor “Out of Chaos” 15.25” x 17” Acrylic on panel Bloomington, Ind. 812-333-4577 campbellarts.net
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Martina Celerin creates wall sculptures that fuse weaving and felting techniques using reclaimed and recycled materials to tell the story of her life. “Beauty and the Beast costumes will be on display at Blueline Gallery in Bloomington until April 30.”
Many types of stained glass, smalti and vitreous glass were used to create this work. Currently accepting commissions for home or office.
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Marilyn Greenwood Peridot and sapphire ring set in 18k and 14k gold Hand-fabricated, one-of-a-kind pieces using unusual gemstones and fossils set in gold and silver. P.O. box 163 Clear Creek, Ind. 812-824-6184 marilyngreenwood.com Represented at By Hand Gallery in Bloomington, Ind. and at Spears Gallery in Nashville, Ind.
42 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Tom Rhea Paintings in gouache “Beck Chapel” 10 3/4” x 8” Intimate portraits of family, home vacations or special events. Memorialize a moment or a treasured photograph with a reasonably priced commission for a painting, drawing or print. 1019 East Wylie Streeet Bloomington, Ind. 47401 812-336-8335 tomrhea31@comcast.net tomrhea.com
Sara Steffey McQueen “Spring Dogwood” Original watercolor. Limited edition cards and prints available. Now showing at By Hand Gallery in Bloomington, Ind. 812-320-0695 sarasteffeymcqueen.com
Jim Grabski Watercolor impressions “American Pharaoh’s Derby” 18 “ x 26” Original paintings will be on exhibit at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center in Bloomington May 27 to June 18. Opening reception is Friday, June 3, 5 to 8 p.m. 812-339-4200 Venue.Colman@gmail.com 812-345-4717 biotec51348@mypacks.net
Dee Morris D’Logical Quilts 100% cotton, 90” x 90” Long arm meandering quilting service also available. 812-361-6513 Ddmorris2@gmail.com
43 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
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44 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Get Ready for Green! Five spring gardening tips from local experts By Holly Thrasher
A
pril is a testy time for Indiana weather, and that can stir up confusion about when—and how—to tackle certain tasks in your garden. Fortunately, we’ve harvested the knowledge of two local experts. Ramona Wright of Good Earth, LLC and Jeanna Sexton of Bloomington Valley Nursery share tips to help you reap the benefits of growing anything from vegetables to violets.
1
To Mulch or Not to Mulch?
Ramona says yes—not only does mulch bring nutrients to the soil and encourage worms to fertilize, its beauty can really boost your home’s curb appeal. Jeanna promotes the power of mulch to keep weeds down, but cautions that trees and shrubs should not have mulch piled around their trunks. She suggests creating a saucer shape of mulch at the base. Ramona and Jeanna both recommend laying the mulch about three inches thick for maximum benefit. Early spring is best.
2
Gain Ground
Compost enriches soil and encourages growth—but there can be too much of this good thing. Ramona says she blends compost with topsoil to avoid overloading plants with nutrients. Jeanna recommends reading all fertilizer labels thoroughly, and says to avoid overworking the soil. Overworking—meaning tilling too many times by hand or machine—creates a crust, removes air pockets and makes soil too compact for good growth.
3
Location, Location, Location
Where should you place your plants? Jeanna says to first decide how you want to use them. If you want to create a shady reading spot, make sure there is plenty of room for your new tree to spread out as it grows. If you want to frequently
45 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
harvest edible crops, consider where you could build raised beds. And whenever possible, group plants by the care they need. This makes it easier on the gardener, as well as the garden. After picking your spot, says Ramona, the first step is to weed it. Next, introduce compost to the existing soil, or if you’re using a raised bed, fill it with a compost and soil mixture. If your garden is in direct sunlight, don’t skimp on the mulch—heat can dry it out. Finally, if water runoff tends to make the soil too damp, Ramona recommends adding river rock or additional compost to the soil, or even building a water garden to recycle the water as needed.
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Must-Haves
5
Keep Learning
Overwhelmed when you consider what tools to use? Keep it simple. Jeanna says a good pair of garden gloves is essential. She also recommends weed forks and dandelion removers, as well as sharp hand pruners and pruning saws. Ramona swears by a hand-held spade, promising that it is the best tool to dig holes for new plants. Most importantly, Jeanna says, you should feel comfortable with the tools you choose: “You don’t want to be fighting against your tools and the weeds too!”
Ramona and Jeanna have been gardening for years, but that doesn’t mean they know everything about it. “Each person’s use of space is different,” says Jeanna. “It is constant trial and error, and what works for one may not work for someone else, so don’t be discouraged.” Ramona says southern Indiana sometimes sees a wet spring followed by a very dry summer, and that can be tricky. To protect plants against these extremes, she says, stick with the proper soil and a thick layer of mulch. Jeanna adds, “I guarantee that no matter how long anyone has been gardening, they are still learning. That is one of the reasons it is so satisfying—the possibilities are endless!”
46 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
A Love for Little New book describes joys of small town Indiana By Jackie Sheckler Finch
Jessica Nunemaker. Photos courtesy Indiana University Press.
V
isiting Brown County last year with her young son, Jessica Nunemaker was heading home when she ran into car trouble. Miles from her Rensselaer residence, Jessica figured she was in for a long cold wait. “My husband was at work,” she says. “They wouldn’t let him leave early, and he had a three-hour drive just to get to us.” Thinking she and her son would have to stay in their heatless car until help arrived, Jessica was in for a pleasant surprise. “Amazingly enough, I happened to have trouble right near Sheep Street Fibers in
47 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Martinsville,” she says. “They remembered me from a visit I made there years before—and let us stay in their shop after they went home for the night. Their one-eyed cat kept us company. Only in a small town, right? It sure beat hanging out in a cold car.” That warm example of Hoosier hospitality—along with many others—is why Jessica fell in love with Indiana’s small towns. She had no idea, however, that sharing her little town affinity with others would turn into a full-time career as a writer, blogger, TV host and book author.
After six years of traveling the state in search of amazing local experiences, Jessica is now sharing some of her treasures in a new book that explores where to eat, stay, play and shop in more than 90 small Indiana towns. Published by Indiana University Press, “Little Indiana: Small Town Destinations” will be released April 30. Choosing to spotlight only towns with no more than 15,000 inhabitants, Jessica has organized her book by region. In the Homes & Lifestyles distribution area, some of the towns Jessica has included are Bean Blossom, Morgantown, Martinsville, French Lick, Nashville, and Paoli. “I am expecting plenty of comments from people wondering why I didn’t include their town, but I’m only one person and there’s something like 3,000 small towns that fit my population cap,” she said. “I think I’m going to need to write a second book.”
Small Town Girl
Born in the Chicago suburbs, Jessica moved with her family to DeMotte, Indiana, shortly before Jessica started kindergarten. DeMotte at population 3,943 is now one of the small towns in Jessica’s book. “I always wanted to be a writer, except for that brief period when I watched one-too-many Unsolved Mysteries episodes and wanted to be a police detective. My mom told me it was ‘too dangerous’ and to stick with writing.”
48 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
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Although they didn’t do any big traveling when she was a youngster, Jessica loved climbing in the car with her father when he ran errands. “He would always point out this mom and pop place or that local place, talking about how those people are ‘the salt of the earth’ or that that restaurant made the best whatever,” Jessica remembers. “I think you can only hear something so many times before it becomes a part of you. For me, that was supporting local businesses. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs, from my great-grandma that everyone called ‘Ma’ who owned a Depression-era café to my parents’ video shop, Movie Madness in DeMotte, to plenty of other small businesses of all kinds. I think it must be in my blood.” When she grew up, Jessica took a detour away from small towns by marrying a Navy man. She and her husband Jeremiah lived in big cities on the nation’s coasts. But when his military term was up, they quickly headed back to Indiana’s small towns. “We didn’t even know our neighbors in those big cities,” she says. Soon after, the seed was planted for Jessica’s venture into sharing the pleasures of small towns. As she recalls, the couple was spending their first December in their northwest Indiana home and were about ready to sit down to dinner when sirens began blaring. Jeremiah hurried out to see what all the hullabaloo was about.
51 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
52 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
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LittleIndiana.com, that went live in 2009. Since then, she has become host of a Little Indiana segment on the statewide PBS show The Weekly Special. She also speaks to groups large and small, writes bi-weekly articles for her local newspaper and continues searching for her next great spot to stay, play, eat or shop. And now there are two more traveling buddies—10-year-old Joey and six-year-old Jack. The whole family embarks on some small town adventures. Jessica does some by herself. Sometimes a definite destination is in mind when the car pulls out of the Nunemaker driveway. Other times it is left up to chance to find whatever treasure waits over the next hill and around the next bend. Although she is an avid traveler, writer, and photographer, Jessica admits that her sense of direction can sometimes lead her astray. “My husband Jeremy likes to joke that this would be Little Canada if we had to rely on my navigational skills.” As Indiana prepares to celebrate its 200th birthday, Jessica encourages folks to get out and see the incredible things that Indiana offers. “My husband tells me that I fall in love with every town I visit,” Jessica concludes. “I suppose that’s true. There’s just so much to love.”
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A mere block and a half from their home, an annual Christmas parade was taking place. Bundling up, they rushed to enjoy the holiday ritual. “We had no idea,” Jessica says. “That got me thinking. If we didn’t know about the parade, and we lived right in town, then how many other people didn’t know?” Searching for those gems throughout the state, Jessica says she “began to see a recurring theme—every small town had something.” “People have taken me into their homes, shown me parts of their businesses not open to the public to share neat tidbits of history or to better describe future plans for expansion, and even taken me on impromptu guided walking tours to tell me about the town they live in, because they are so proud they want to share it,” she says. “I love that. I think that there is such a feeling of connectedness in a small town that it’s natural to reach out. There have been many welcoming gestures from small business owners, from unexpected snacks for our boys to take along in the car to people who have had me follow them in their cars to lead me to wherever I am trying to go.” Fine-tuning her idea to share Hoosier hometowns, Jessica created a website,
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54 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
55 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series about the grain bin project. Photos by David Snodgress. 56 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Going with the Grain Old grain bin to get new life as an art studio By Jackie Sheckler Finch
A
s an artist, Monique Cagle has learned to work wherever she can find spare space in her Brown County home. Bits and pieces of artwork and supplies are scattered in her bedroom, kitchen and living room. “I’ve got work stuff spread out all over the house,” she says. “I really need a proper place to work.” Looking out her bedroom window, Monique had a blast of inspiration. Why not turn the old metal grain bin in her back yard into a creative space? “I’ve seen grain bins online that had been converted into something else like B&Bs,” Monique says. “I thought, why not turn mine into an art studio?” Working with a limited budget, Monique considered ways the project could go from a dream to a reality. The answer, she thought, also might be right under her nose. Why not ask Brown County High School students studying building trades? “I talked to Chris Todd, the building trades teacher at Brown County High School, and he said he’d take a look at the grain bin and let me know what he thought,” Monique says.
57 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
“He came out, looked, and said they could do it. He said it is in remarkable shape for its age. It would keep down the costs significantly for the students to do it and it would be a great learning experience for them.” For a ballpark figure of about $15,000, the students will frame the bin and add drywall, insulation, electricity, windows, two doors and a floor. The bin offers about 600 square feet of space with walls that are 12 feet tall and 28 feet across. It will be handicappedaccessible. “That’s $15,000 for the basics,” Monique says. “And they can use some reclaimed and recycling materials which will help cut the costs and help the environment. It will be an interesting project for the students because they’ve never done anything like this before. They will be building from the inside out and since the grain bin is round, they will literally have to think outside the box.” Monique envisions the grain bin art studio as a place where other artists can gather and teach classes in workshops. She also sees it as a way for visitors to connect with her art and see where she is coming from through what she creates.
“I live on a beautiful small farm out in the county where I’ve got gardens and chickens, goats, dogs and cats,” Monique said. “Those are the views that have inspired many of my paintings.”
Fast Track
The project will get under way this spring and be completed by the time school is out. So confident is Monique with the way the project is moving along, that she has signed up for the annual Back Roads Studio Tour in Brown County in October. “This time I will not only be a guest artist but I also will be an artist with a studio,” she says. “I have a couple of guest artists lined up who will be here in the grain bin with me for the Back Roads Studio Tour.” To help fund the grain bin renovation project, Monique turned to GoFundMe.com, which had already raised $12,480 when this article was written. Different levels of donors get various “thank-you” items from Monique, such as a crocheted felted hedgehog for a $24 donation and a 7-by-5-inch print of Monique’s drawing of the grain silo studio—as she envisions it—to $25 donors, plus having donors’ names written on the studio wall. 58 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
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60 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
lot of money. Didn’t have a TV. Didn’t have computers back then either. So when we got bored, it was up to us to find something to entertain ourselves.” After graduating from Indiana University, Monique worked in retail until her mother died in 2000. Then Monique felt drawn to return to art. “My mother always wanted me to be an artist. As a child, I fell in love with book illustration and with writing but I went off in other directions. After my mother died, I started getting back into my art because I knew that was what she wanted.”
Art Therapy
Returning even closer to her family roots about 15 years ago, Monique and her husband Eric Shawver—a graphic artist at Cook, Inc.—bought an old farm near Yellowwood State Forest. “It’s just a hop, a skip, and a jump from where I grew up,” Monique says. Built in the 1890s, the farm has nine acres. Adding to the family menagerie are Winnie the goose, Rudi the shepherd mix dog, Molly the lab mix dog—all rescues from the animal shelter—plus some ducks, chickens and barn
cats that seem to find their way to Monique and Eric’s home. A major boost in knowing that her decision to return to art was the correct one came when Monique entered one of her paintings in the prestigious Hoosier Salon. “I won an award and took that as a sign that I should concentrate on art,” she says. “I think that returning to art was therapy for me, my way of dealing with the grief of losing my mother.” Along with painting, Monique creates jewelry, fiber arts, photography, painted glassware, bookmarks and other items. A devoted animal lover, she also accepts commissions for animal portraits with a portion of those sales donated to the Brown County Humane Society. As a salute to her feline friends, Monique named her business Sleepy Cat Studio. “When the grain bin is done, I will be so glad to have a real studio,” she says. “It is just beautiful out here in the country and it will be wonderful to walk out the door of my house every day and go to work … I think the grain bin studio is going to be a great addition to the Brown County arts community.”
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Beyond the construction cost, funds will go toward furnishing the studio with cabinets, work tables, chairs, better lighting, countertops and basic art materials for students. Indoor plumbing for the studio is too expensive and not possible at this time, but could be a possibility in the future. “I have been very surprised and humbled by the support I’ve gotten,” Monique says. “I’ve been getting donations from other artists, from friends and from complete strangers. It makes me so happy that they believe in my project and my art.” Although she took a few detours along the way, Monique has always been interested in art. Born in Bloomington, Monique and her family moved to Yellowwood Road in Brown County when she was three months old. Her father, Bill Cagle, worked at Lilly Library where he later became the director. Her mother, Dorothy Stewart, was an artist, president of the Bloomington Area Arts Council and president of the Brown County League of Women Voters. “My mom always encouraged us to enjoy art,” Monique says. “There was always stuff laying around for art projects. We lived out in the country and didn’t have a whole
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Homes & Lifestyles
Take a Trip
Tom explains how he constructed the mile long wall to honor his ancestors. Photos by Jackie Sheckler Finch
62 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Tom’s Wall Country’s Largest Un-mortared Wall
Memorializes ‘Woman with Dancing Eyes’ By Jackie Sheckler Finch
A
s a youngster, Tom Hendrix would listen to his grandmother talk about her grandmother, a Native American who was forced as a teen to walk from her Alabama home to an Oklahoma Indian reservation. Tagged around the neck like an animal, the young girl had her name taken away and was identified as No. 59. Thousands of men, women and children died on that 1,000mile Trail of Tears in the 1830s. Tom’s great-great-grandmother survived. But that is only part of her miraculous tale. As a grown man, Tom decided he wanted to do something to honor his ancestor, whose real name was Te-lah-nay, meaning “Woman with Dancing Eyes” in the Yuchi language. Around 1985, Tom says, he began having a recurring dream about an Indian woman who repeatedly touched her hand to her mouth. Tom’s wife, Doreen, suggested that it was Te-lahnay, asking him to tell her story. That year at a Native American gathering in Lebanon, Tenn., Tom met an old Yuchi woman. When Tom told the woman about his great-greatgrandmother and expressed his desire to commemorate her, the Yuchi woman responded, “We shall all pass this earth, Tom, but only the stones will remain.” That’s when Tom knew what he had to do. In 1988, Tom began constructing a commemorative stone wall on the property of his home outside Florence, Ala. Although Tom had worked with his hands at the Ford Motor Company as a die caster for decades, he had never built a stone wall. He didn’t draw up any blueprints. He didn’t have any final plan in mind. He just started collecting rocks discarded along roadsides by farmers and pulling rocks from creek beds. Then he piled the rocks and improvised as he went along. “I would put a stone somewhere and if it didn’t stay, I’d know that it didn’t belong there and I’d move on,” Tom says. “If it stayed, it was meant to be there.” Today, Tom estimates that the wall he built consists of nine million pounds of stone. “This wall has worn out three trucks, 22 wheelbarrows, 2700 pairs of gloves, three dogs and one old man,” the 87-year-old Tom says. Built without mortar or cement, the 3-to-5-foot-high wall is the largest un-mortared rock wall in the United States and the largest monument to an American woman. “I lifted each of those rocks at least three times,” Tom says, gesturing to the mile-long curving walls. “I picked each rock up to put in the truck. I picked it up to take it out of the truck. And I picked it up to put it on the wall.”
63 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
A prayer circle invites visitors to sit.
A visitor added this unusual crystal to the wall.
Rocks that look like faces called Tom to stack them together.
64 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
Visitor Jeff Johnson examines a passage in Tom’s book.
Dangerous Trip
For his ancestor, Tom says, living on the Indian reservation meant sure death. “When she got to Oklahoma, she said she searched for a river that sang to her. We call this the Tennessee River, but all tribes called it the Singing River. They believed a young woman lived in this river, sang to them and protected them.” When the displaced teen could find no singing river in Oklahoma, she determined to return home. “If she stayed in that dark place, she knew she would die.” So his great-great-grandmother ran away from the reservation and started the long trek home. It took her five years. From 1839 to 1844, the young woman struggled through the wilderness. “If she got caught, she would have been hung.” His great-great-grandmother made it home. She married a man named Jonathan Levi Hipp, had three children and died at a young age. “Grandmother said she walked herself to death,” Tom says. The two walls symbolize his great-great-grandmother’s trip to Oklahoma and her journey back. A section of the wall is dedicated to all those on the Trail of Tears. It is 4 feet tall and starts out at about 25 feet wide. But as you walk, the wall gets thinner and thinner until it is about 4 feet across at the end. “They’re dying, all the way to Oklahoma,” Tom says. Nestled by the wall is a prayer circle where Tom prays most every morning. It features four tiers that represent birth, life, death and rebirth. Through word of mouth, people from all over began coming to see the wall that Tom was building. They walked through the circles, they sat in silence, some knelt in prayer. “This is a special place,” says Tom, who tries to be at the wall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week to greet visitors. “It’s a holy place.”
Stones and Stories
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Jeff Johnson, visiting the site with a motorcycle group. “A friend told me about it and it is everything he said it was. You have to see it to believe it.” Over the years, people began bringing and sending rocks to add to the wall. “I have the heaviest mail in all of Lauderdale County,” Tom jokes. “I have stones from all 50 states and rocks and fossils from 127 nations, territories and islands. Many of them have special stories to tell.”
65 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
The dangerous journeys of his ancestors are described in Tom’s book and video.
Tom shows one of the fossils a visitor added to his wall.
There’s the heart-shaped rock left by a 94-year-old widow. “During the Great Depression, a man didn’t have money to buy a ring for the woman he wanted to marry so he found a heart-shaped rock,” Tom says. “He told her, ‘I can’t afford a ring but I can give you my heart.’” In 2000, Tom published a book about his ancestor’s journey, “If the Legends Fade.” “If the legends fade,” he says, “who will teach the children?” Knowing that his time on earth is coming to an end, Tom says he recently got a letter in the mail. “This is what it said: ‘We are eagerly anticipating your arrival up here. You will immediately be set to work building us a stone wall.’” Pausing for a moment, Tom smiles and concludes, “The letter was signed by St. Peter.” For more information about Tom’s Wall, call Florence/Lauderdale Tourism at (888) 356-8687 or see visitflorenceal.com.
Homes & Lifestyles
Color Corner
The historic Chief Richardville House, built in 1827, is an example of a Federal-style home. Photo courtesy Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society.
The Anatomy of a Historic and Timeless Color Palette By Laura Brzegowy, Bloomington Paint & Wallpaper
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recently had the opportunity to select paint colors for the renovation— and future sale—of a local home. Unbeknownst to me, this particular in-home color consultation would prove to be the perfect challenge—not too large, but certainly beyond my typical comfort zone. Who knew that upon crossing this home’s threshold one would be catapulted back in time? That certainly was the case, as this gem was built nearly 200 years ago. Most color consultations are very straightforward. Each fixed element is studied, followed by the surrounding room’s colors, textiles, artwork and the homeowner’s preferences. These puzzle pieces come together to form the perfect paint color for the space. Selecting a historically correct palette begins in the same way, but delves deep into the history, architecture and available pigments of the time. Thus, the steps to creating a historical color palette that appears truly timeless are: • Analyze the fixed elements. • Study the period of the home’s architecture.
66 • Homes & Lifestyles of South-Central Indiana • April 2016
• Research the popular colors of the time. • Translate those colors into an appealing palette for 2016. Important fixed elements of this home included some of the original hardwood flooring, several exposed brick walls and practical built-ins, each in need of tender loving care. Selecting colors that would enhance—and not distract from—these elements was key. For this reason, colors with low contrast to one another were the backbone of the palette. Low contrasting paint colors call less attention to themselves, allowing brick and natural hardwoods to shine. Next, the home’s architecture was studied and researched. The home in question was built in 1835 and of the Federal style. Homes of this design were very popular in the eastern seaboard states, but less so in the more sparsely populated western edges of U.S. expansion at the time. This home was built 15 years beyond the Federal architectural period’s prime, causing me to reason that little has changed in the last 200 years. Trends tend to begin on the coasts and
spread to Indiana years later. Further research concluded that sage greens, muted blues and soft pumpkin colors were quite popular during this architectural time period, so I set about creating a palette based on these. But how does one utilize a historical color palette while also appealing to current homeowners? When it doubt, add white or gray—not white or gray paint colors, but colors with those underpinnings. Gray mutes colors making them less vivid, while white lightens them. In muting and lightening the colors of the era, a soft and very current color palette was created. The homeowner was not a fan of soft pumpkin, so the home will be painted in muted shades of sage green and blue. Although selecting this home’s colors was a challenge, in the end it was a great success. The owner was very pleased with his new palette and I’m quite sure the new owner will be as well. All it took was research, a study of the home’s fixed elements and a little forethought.
Homes & Lifestyles
Recipe
Mushroom Hunter’s Gnocchi Recipe and photo by Shaylan Owen
This ricotta gnocchi features a morel mushroom-thyme cream sauce and roasted artichokes. It makes good use of southern Indiana’s elusive morel mushrooms, which can be found—or purchased—oh-sobriefly in spring. Not a morel fan? Use any mushrooms—even dried mushrooms, by following the note at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients: For gnocchi: 15 ounces ricotta cheese 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated 2 eggs 1 egg yolk Zest of 1 lemon 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra 1/3 cup cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg For mushroom cream sauce: 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup morel mushrooms, chopped 1/4 cup vegetable stock 5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 shallot, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 1/2 tablespoons flour 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For roasted artichokes: 12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions: Sift together the flours, baking powder, salt, black pepper and nutmeg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, eggs, lemon zest, and parmesan. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold until just combined. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and divide into four equal portions. Gently roll each into a three-quarter-inch rope and cut one-inch long gnocchi. Transfer cut gnocchi to a baking sheet dusted with flour and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before cooking. As the gnocchi chill, set a large pot of salted water to boil and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss artichokes with olive oil and salt on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway through, checking frequently, until golden brown. Remove from oven, toss with lemon juice, cover and set aside. For the sauce, melt 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots and salt and sweat until translucent, then add garlic and cook for one minute. Add mushrooms and cook until heated through, then sprinkle flour over, combine thoroughly and continue cooking for about three minutes. Add vegetable stock and whisk together, then add cream, thyme, and black pepper. Reduce heat to low and continue whisking slowly for five to seven minutes. Test for seasoning, cover and remove from heat. When the sauce is almost done, melt the remaining three tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi to the boiling water and boil for two to three minutes—until puffy and floating. Allow butter to brown lightly, then transfer drained gnocchi to skillet with a slotted spoon. Lightly brown gnocchi for one to two minutes per side, flipping once. Plate the seared gnocchi with the mushroom cream sauce and top with roasted artichokes and pinches of parmesan, thyme, and black pepper. Makes four servings. Note: Dried morels may be substituted when fresh morels are not in season. Rinse very well to remove grit, then microwave for two minutes in one cup vegetable stock and cool. Strain the resulting stock with a coffee filter and use it in the sauce instead of vegetable stock.
Photos by Jeff Busby.
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