Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 86

Creamy Cauliflower and Parsnip Soup

This recipe for Creamy Cauliflower & Parsnip Soup currently lives here, on Cooking Channel’s website.

Apple Pie with Rosemary & Honey

Our apple pie with Rosemary & Honey is at the bottom of this photo

 

We don’t know where we first heard to add rosemary to apple pie. We’ve been doing it forever, and can’t imagine making one without it. It’s as basic as cinnamon to us now.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 stick(s) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pats
2 tablespoon(s) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pats
1/2 cup(s) light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon(s) salt
5 tablespoon(s) cold milk
4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced
4 medium Macintosh apples, peeled, cored, and thickly sliced
2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
1 teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cloves
2 teaspoon(s) finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoon(s) instant tapioca
1/2 cup(s) honey
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling lattice
Extra-sharp Cheddar (optional)

Directions

In a food processor, mix flour, 2 sticks butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and salt until butter flakes are about 1/2 inch. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough just begins to form a ball. Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten slightly, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
In medium bowl, combine apples with remaining brown sugar, spices, and tapioca. Add honey and stir until combined.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 ball of chilled dough to an 11-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges of dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang all around. Add apple filling to pie pan and dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter pats.
To make lattice piecrust: On a lightly floured surface, roll out second ball of dough to a 1/8-inch-thick 13- by 5-inch rectangle. Using a pizza wheel, fluted pastry cutter, or a paring knife, cut 10 half-inch-wide strips. Weave strips to form a lattice pattern.
Brush egg wash over lattice crust. Sprinkle lattice with coarse sugar. Bake pie on middle rack of oven. Place a cookie sheet on bottom rack to catch any juices that may bubble over. After 30 minutes, remove pie from oven and cover edge of crust with foil to prevent burning. Continue to bake until juices are bubbling, 50 minutes more. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool for 45 minutes. Serve warm with a slice of Cheddar, if desired.

Yields: One 9-inch pie (8 servings)

Sour Cream Sweet Potato Pie

Our Sour Cream Sweet Potato Pie is on the middle tier in this photo.

Sweet Potato Pie is a traditional Southern holiday dessert. We add sour cream to add a little complexity and cut the sweetness.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon(s) sugar
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 stick(s) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoon(s) cold unsalted butter
4 tablespoon(s) cold lard, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup(s) light-brown sugar
2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon(s) grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) milk
1/2 cup(s) sour cream
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
2 cup(s) (from about 1 1/2 pounds) pureed cooked sweet potatoes

Directions

In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add 1/2 stick butter and lard and pulse 10 times, or until large pea-size lumps form. With motor running, gradually add ice water just until dough holds together when pinched between two fingers. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges of dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang all around. Fold overhang over to form a high edge, then crimp dough.
To make decorative leaves: On a lightly floured surface, reroll leftover dough scraps to a 1/8-inch thickness. Using leaf cookie cutter, press out 10 to 12 leaves. Using a sharp knife, score leaves to create veins. Moisten unscored side of each leaf with water, then arrange around pie edge, pressing gently to affix. Refrigerate crust to keep chilled.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well combined. Whisk in milk, sour cream, eggs, extra yolk, and vanilla. Whisk in sweet potatoes. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt remaining butter. Cook until butter foams; then continue until foam subsides and butter turns a rich brown. Immediately pour butter into sweet-potato mixture and whisk until incorporated.
Place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into crust. Bake until pie sets but center is still slightly wobbly, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serves: 8

Pumpkin Goat Cheesecake

Our Pumpkin Goat Cheesecake is shown on the top pedestal.

Goat cheese and sour cream make this pumpkin cheesecake unlike any other you’ve ever tried. Smooth, creamy and tangy, with a pumpkin spice kick that makes it a great twist on a traditional holiday dessert.

Ingredients:

2 cup(s) (about 9 ounces) finely crumbled shortbread cookies
1 stick(s) unsalted butter, melted and cooled; plus more for buttering pan
1 pound(s) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 can(s) (15-ounce) pumpkin puree
2 3/4 cup(s) sour cream
8 ounce(s) soft goat cheese
2 large egg
1 cup(s) sugar
2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon(s) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cloves
2 tablespoon(s) (about 1 lime) lime juice
1/4 cup(s) honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In small bowl, mix crumbs and butter. Wrap aluminum foil around outside of a 9-inch springform pan. Press crumbs into bottom of pan and bake for 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, increase oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth, about 5 minutes. Beat in pumpkin, 3/4 cup sour cream, goat cheese, eggs, sugar, and flour and combine until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, spices, and lime juice. Beat until mixed, about 3 minutes.
Butter sides of springform pan. Pour cream cheese–pumpkin mixture over crust. Bake for 1 hour; then turn heat off and allow cake to sit in oven for an additional 20 minutes. If not set, leave in oven for another 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely; then transfer to refrigerator until completely chilled, about 3 hours.
Remove aluminum foil. Using a knife, cut around sides to loosen cheesecake. Open latch to release pan sides. To serve: In a small bowl, mix remaining sour cream with honey and spoon on top of cheesecake.

Yields: One 9-inch cake (16 servings)

The Loomis Gang

 

Organized Crime in 19th-Century Central New York

The center of Sangerfield lies at the crossroads of Route 20 and Route 12, about 42 miles west of Sharon Springs. The region was once a marshy area, part of what the Oneida Indians called Skawanis, the Great Swamp. It became known to non-Indians as Nine Mile Swamp. One family who lived on a hill in the swamp, some four miles to the southwest of the crossroads, knew the countryside’s firm ground and its dangerous places and used this knowledge to their advantage in hiding stolen goods. Known as the Loomis Gang, this crime syndicate – the largest in the nation in the mid-19th century – helped themselves to other people’s property in central New York.

George Washington Loomis, raised in Connecticut and having lived in Vermont before being chased by a posse across the border into New York for stealing horses, joined his sister Clarissa in Sangerfield in 1802. It was a time of population and economic growth on the western frontier. The Oneida Indians had been swindled out of most of their landholdings, allowing new development, and the Cherry Valley Turnpike was being expanded westward (see our earlier blog). The Loomis family had been a reputable aristocratic family in New England for generations, but George and his wife Rhoda Marie Mallet Loomis had a criminal bent and raised their ten children on their farmstead accordingly. Rhoda, whose father, an officer in the French Revolutionary prosecuted for embezzlement, reportedly informed her children, “You may steal, but if you are caught, you shall be whipped.”

George Washington Loomis, Jr., known as Wash, the second of six sons, became the ring leader under his parents’ tutelage. By all accounts he was sophisticated and well-dressed and had a way with words and a magnetic personality. To sharpen his criminal wits, Rhoda even arranged that Wash study in a law office. The third son, Grove, demonstrated great aptitude for his father’s specialty, stealing horses. The family recruited others besides their ten children to join in their criminal activities. Another one of Rhoda’s reported admonitions to her children and their trusted friends on leaving her home was, “Now don’t come back without stealing something, if it’s nothing but a jackknife.”

The Loomis Gang specialized in horse thievery and livestock rustling, but burgled homes as well and were even known to rob clotheslines. George, Sr., and his brothers Walter and Willard also became experts at counterfeiting money. For protection the Loomis Gang treated neighbors well and paid off local authorities. Those who opposed them were likely to lose their barns in fires. But gang members consistently had alibis. They also had funds to hire top lawyers to defend gang members or associates. With the growth of their criminal empire, their influence reportedly extended to state officials in Albany.

In 1848, with growing anger over the Loomis Gang’s continuing criminal reign, an armed party of locals raided the Loomis farm and found numerous stolen goods that had not yet been resold or moved to caches in the swamp. Through legal maneuvering gang members managed to avoid conviction. But, given the pressure and pending charges, Wash decided to leave town in early 1849, and charges against him were dropped in both Oneida and Madison Counties. It was the time of the California Gold Rush, and he headed westward to seek another kind of fortune. The family’s criminal activities slowed down for a time. Wash, with little success as a gold prospector, returned to central New York in late 1850 and picked up where he had left off. His father George, Sr., died the next year, but the family and far-flung associates continued to thrive. By 1860, the Loomis Gang reportedly had a network of criminal associates extending from the Canadian border to northern Pennsylvania, and from the Finger Lakes to southern Vermont.

During the Civil War, the Loomis Gang had a new outlet for stolen horses – the Union Army. On October 10, 1864, the Morrisville Courthouse containing indictments against the Loomis Gang, burned to the ground. Wash, who reportedly started the fire, showed up to offer his help in putting it out. On Halloween night, 1865, the Sangerfield Vigilantes Committee,  including soldiers fresh from the war organized under the leadership of local constable in secret meetings at Waterville, raided the Loomis farm. In the fight that ensued, Wash was killed, his skull fractured. Another mob attacked the farm the next year, burning the house. After losing the farm to tax arrears soon afterward, Rhoda moved with two of her children – Denio and Cornelia – to Hastings, New York, some 70 miles away north of Syracuse.

Although some descendants of the criminal wing of the extended Loomis family proudly claim descent, others have tried to hide it. Among the Loomis descendants was the poet Ezra Pound (Ezra Weston Loomis Pound). Although raised in Philadelphia, where he attended the University of Pennsylvania, he transferred to Hamilton College (alma mater of blogger Carl) in Clinton, about 16 miles to the north of the former Loomis farm, studying there in 1903-05.

Stories and legends about the infamous Loomis Gang persist in central New York. Some of them have Wash Loomis’ ghost and those of other gang members haunting the Nine Mile Swamp countryside – much of it now drained and converted to farmlands. A road in the region, Loomis Road, bears the family name.

 

The History Boys are

Chris Campbell has made his permanent home in Cherry Valley, NY. The Campbell family dates back to 1739 in this town, situated about eight miles from Sharon Springs. Some family members were captured by Tories and Iroquois allies in the Cherry Valley Massacre of 1778 during the American Revolution and taken to Canada, released two years later in Albany as part of a prisoner exchange. Chris is a rare book and map collector and has had a lifelong interest in history, especially relating to upstate New York and colonial land patents. He was the founder and first chairman of the Cherry Valley Planning Board and has worked as a surveyor and realtor as well as a researcher for the Otsego County map department. His hobbies include Ham radio.

 

Carl Waldman, also living in Cherry Valley, is a former archivist for the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. He is he author of a number of reference books published by Facts On File, including Atlas of the North American Indian and Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, both originally published in the 1980s and both in their third editions. He is the co-author of Encyclopedia of Exploration (2005) and Encyclopedia of European Peoples (2006). Carl has also done screenwriting about Native Americans, including an episode of Miami Vice entitled “Indian Wars” and the Legend of Two-Path, a drama about the Native American side of Raleigh’s Lost Colony, shown at Festival Park on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. His hobbies include music and he works with young people in the Performance and Production Workshops at the Cherry Valley Old School.

 

November Walk

When we first moved to the farm, after buying it as a weekend “getaway,” we promised each other that we’d walk around the perimeter of the property at once each weekend.

And then life happened. You know the story. The farm was no longer a retreat. In fact, it quickly became a full throttle advance.

But every once in a while we remind ourselves that we haven’t fully appreciated what we fell so deeply in love with five years ago. And we go take that walk.

Below are some pictures we took on our walk this past weekend. We had some questions about some things we saw…if you have answers (or just theories,) please put them in the comments below:

Gambling Man

He said, “If you’re gonna play the game, boy

You gotta learn to play it right

For some people, everything they needed to know, they learned in kindergarten.

For me it came a little later—as a 6 year old in the autumn of 1978.

While eating an afterschool snack at grandma’s house and watching re-runs of the Carol Burnett Show, a commercial came on.  A man who looked a lot like Santa Claus was singing and there was a 1-800 number.

I was immediately transfixed.  And my knowing grandmother must have made an immediate mental note.

That Christmas, Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler, became the first music album I ever owned.

When my sister and our childhood friend Kenneth would stand on the living room hearth and put on lip-synced concerts, we probably had no idea that we were imprinting words of wisdom for life on our impressionable, malleable little minds.

It’s true.  Not everyone is dealt the same hand of cards, but EVERY hand has the potential to be both a winner or a loser.

In life,  you have to read your skills and talents just like you would a hand of cards and learn to adapt to each game so that your strengths are your strength.

With a little bit of strategy, a little bit of thought, a little bit of optimism, and a little bit of luck…

 

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em

Know when to fold ‘em

Know when to walk away

 

Know when to run

 

 

 

 

Victorian Celebration 2012

Two years ago, we started the Victorian Celebration as a way to remind people that you didn’t have to go to a mall to do your Christmas shopping.  There are lots of fabulous gifts in the small towns you drive through getting there.

Yes, we do things differently in Sharon Springs.

We encourage everyone who visits the village that day to dress as if they were in the Victorian era.  Even a simple ruffled shirt and a bow tie can put you right into the spirit of things.

With all of the costumed people strolling Main Street exchanging pleasantries, it truly looks like a picture post-card from Sharon Springs’ turn-of-the-century heyday.

So drag out your top hats, your bow ties, your lace (and corsets if you dare) and join us on Dec 1 for a day of small town, friendly fun.  (We’ve already got our costumes picked out!)

We guarantee you’ll leave with more friends than you came with.

For those of you with “nothing to wear”,  at the Holiday Farmer’s Market in the old Roseboro Hotel we’ll be selling costume Victorian hats for men and women for a suggested donation of $10.  Proceeds will be distributed to families in need this holiday season.

Click here to see some photos from last year’s festival.

 

Sharon Springs Victorian Holiday Celebration on Main Street

December 1, 2012

 

8:00-12:00

For those early risers, there’s Breakfast at the Firehouse  (including real firemen!) $8.00 per person

9:30

Join us at the town post office at the top of Main Street.  Meet our new Post Master and get something stamped with the commemorative cancellation stamp created just for the day.  Note:  any item you bring can receive the special cancellation stamp (pictured below) but the item must have a First-Class stamp affixed

While there, stop in at the NBT Bank next door and check out their display of items that Victorian-era residents of Sharon Springs would have taken out a loan to buy.  You can also purchase your Hats Off to Hunger Victorian hat to wear throughout the day ($10)

10:00-10:30

Join our area servicemen for a dedication, reveille, and placing of a Christmas wreath at the Veteran’s Memorial in front of the Sharon Springs Central School

10:00-2:00

Author Cindy West will be at The American Hotel signing copies of her children’s book, Lily in the Box.  All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Schoharie County Animal Shelter

10:00-5:00 

Holiday-themed Farmer’s Market in the grand dining room of the Roseboro Hotel.  Check out how some of our finest local craftsmen interpret Christmas

Kids and adults can tell our Victorian Santa exactly what they want for Christmas and get their holiday portrait taken by The Classic Image.  You can get the photo immediately for $10 and proceeds go to benefit the Schoharie County Community Action Program providing holiday support to families still bouncing back from the devastation of Hurricane Irene.  11:00-3:00
O’ Christmas Tree, O’ Christmas Tree.  Hessian Hill Farm brings their Christmas Tree Farm to you!  Freshly-cut trees of all sizes (all you have to do is drag it home!).  You better believe there will be chestnuts roasting on an open fire

10:30-11:00

Get yourself into the holiday “spirits”.  Join us at The American Hotel for a Bloody Mary toast to Queen Victoria and raise your glass to the third year of our celebration

11:00-11:15

’twas the night before Christmas dance performance on the porch of the Roseboro featuring children from Sharon Springs and surrounding communities and Studio North Dance Studio

11:00am-12:00pm

Join our Town Historian in the grand salon of the Stone Mansion, the largest and most historic house in the village) for a traditional Victorian tea and a slide show presentation about Sharon Springs during the Victorian era.  Space is limited.  Tickets ($25)  are available by clicking here.  Proceeds go to continuing restoration of Chalybeate Park on Main Street.

12:00-12:15

ENCORE PERFORMANCE  of ’twas the night before Christmas dance performance on the porch of the Roseboro featuring children from Sharon Springs and surrounding communities and Studio North Dance Studio

12:30-12:45

A new holiday classic!  The humorous operetta, The Mistletoe Mustache,  which debuted during our first Victorian Celebration, continues to entertain.  Performed on the porch of The Roseboro, just outside the Holiday Farmer’s Market

1:00-2:00pm

The Schoharie County American Legion hosts an Oratorical Contest for kids in grades 9-12 at the Sharon Springs Central School auditorium

1:30-1:45

ENCORE PERFORMANCE  of a new holiday classic!  The humorous operetta, The Mistletoe Mustache,  which debuted during our first Victorian Celebration continues to entertain.  Performed on the porch of The Roseboro, just outside the Holiday Farmer’s Market

2:00-3:00 

Join local author Jack Singer (“Justice at 40 Below”)  as he tells tales of his adventures as a dog musher in Alaska with a slide show presentation.  At Studio North on South Main Street.  FREE

2:00-3:30

Join around the wood fire at The American Hotel as Austin Jetton and Garth Roberts sing Christmas Carols and Doug Plummer gives a recital of an “enhanced” version of The Sharon Springs Christmas Chicken Story

3:00-4:00

Join our Town Historian in the grand salon of the Stone Mansion, the largest and most historic house in the village) for a traditional Victorian tea and a slide show presentation about Sharon Springs during the Victorian era.  Space is limited.  Tickets ($25)  are available by clicking here.  Proceeds go to continuing restoration of Chalybeate Park on Main Street.

3:30-4:30

Studio North will teach all-comers how to participate in Victorian-era group dances!!   If you are wearing Victorian finery, put it to good use!! FREE

4:00-5:00

Classical guitarist Harry George Pelligrin performs in the parlor of the New York House.  Tickets for this wine and cheese event are available at the door for $10.  Proceeds go toward the Sharon Springs Citizens’ Council of the Arts

4:30

Have you been practicing your Model Walk all year?  Now’s the time to strut your stuff—Victorian Style.  It’s the Best Victorian Costume Parade and Contest on the porch-cum-runway of 204 Main Street Bar & Bistro.  One prize will be awarded to the best lady and best gent costume.

6:00-7:00

The Sharon Springs Rotary club invites you to their lighting of The Town Christmas Tree.  Communal caroling, FREE hot chocolate and warm apple cider

7:00-8:00

Sharon Springs Arts Council invites you to get up close and personal with world-class classical guitarist, Harry George Pellegrin at the beautiful Victorian-era New York House on Center Street. Wine and Cheese.  Suggested donation of $10 to support the Arts Council (repeat performance)

 

ONGOING ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AT ALL MAIN STREET BUSINESSES:

Help us celebrate the newest business on Main Street as Chris Stout and Roger Hazzard open their American-made furniture and design store, Love Decades
McGillycuddy’s Naturals will hand out free sachets
Sharon Springs Soap Company will be serving free hot cider
The Black Cat Cafe will be serving Victorian Christmas cookies
The Cobbler & Co gift shop will host tinsmith Chris Ottman who will demonstrate how he makes tin icicles and other holiday ornaments
Garden Creations Boutique at 197 Main Street will hold a drawing for a handmade evergreen holiday wreath
Elderberry Farms will be at The Village Hall Gallery selling their unique products
Spring House Spa is offering complimentary eggnog and a raffle for a 30 minute head, neck, and shoulder massage

 

Check back to this page frequently for updates and additions to the festivities.  You can print this page and bring it along with you!

 

Orange Cranberry Chess Pie

Chess pie is commonly considered a southern dessert, but the name has dubious origins. Some say it’s a variation of cheese (“chess”) curd pie – even though it doesn’t have any cheese curds. Others sources claim the name comes from the fact that it can be stored in a chest, rather than a refrigerator. (Which we don’t recommend.) In fact, chess pie is really just a regional form of a custard pie, with the main difference of an added few tablespoons of flour or cornmeal to the filling.

Our Beekman 1802 chess pie is flavored with orange zest and cranberries, and uses browned butter in the custard for a toastier flavor. When baked in our walnut crust, this pie might just rival apple pie for autumn perfection.

Orange Cranberry Chess Pie with Walnut Crust.

Ingredients for Crust

1.25  cup flour (plus additional 1/4 cup for rolling.)

1 stick butter

1/2 cup walnut halves

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 – 4 Tablespoons ice cold milk

Ingredients for Filling

1 Stick Butter

2 Tablespoons rosemary honey (or regular honey and 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary)

1 cup sugar

4 eggs (3 Whole Eggs, 1 Egg Yolk)

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 Tablespoon flour

2 Tablespoons corn meal

zest from 2 oranges

1 cup whole cranberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350F

Prepare Crust: In food processor, pulse walnut halves until finely ground. Add 1 1/4 cup flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Slowly add milk, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to form ball. Using hands, flatten dough ball into thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one half hour.

Prepare Filling: Brown the butter. Heat butter in saucepan until bubbles form and subside. When brown flakes have formed in the butter, immediately remove from heat. Do not not scorch the butter. Stir in rosemary honey (or dried rosemary and honey) to butter while it is hot. Let cool.

Once butter/honey is cool, pour into bowl of stand mixer. Add sugar, and beat until combined. Add 3 whole eggs plus one additional egg yolk, beating between each addition. Add buttermilk and nutmeg. Once combined, add flour and cornmeal. Finally, stir in orange zest.

Roll Crust: Remove crust from refrigerator, place on well-floured counter. Roll with floured rolling pin until circle is approx 10″-11″ in diameter. Place crust in 9″ pie dish. Crimp edges.

Pour filling mixture into pie crust. Add cranberries evenly across top of mixture. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour or until center barely “jiggles” and knife inserted into center is clean when removed. Check pie after 30 minutes. If crust is beginning to burn, cover crust with ring of aluminum foil for remainder of cooking time.

Cool to room temperature and serve.

5 Beautiful Things

 

The Political Art of Shepard Fairey

With so much attention being paid to the U.S. election this week – both within U.S. borders and beyond – I wanted to shed a little light on one artist behind one of the most iconic political posters of our time: the Obama Hope poster. Many of you will be familiar with it. During the U.S. presidential election of 2008, It became the symbol of support for Barack Obama around the globe. Plastered on the sides of buildings by Obama supporters from all walks of life, sent out in flyers and printed on full-page ads in newspapers, the poster became a symbol for the change so many Americans were hungry for.

It was designed by Shepard Fairey, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design who has been creating groundbreaking street art, posters and stickers since the early 1990s. The Obama Hope poster was my first exposure to this graphic designer and I quickly became smitten by his creations. I admire their restricted but bold colour palettes, the simplicity and power of their messages and the intricacy of their detail.

Fairey has been called a modern-day Andy Warhol, siphoning media messages and current events into his work and then distilling the idea into one powerful image. Over the years he has been commissioned to design magazine covers, album covers and book covers. His art is featured in the Smithsonian, The Los Angeles Museum of Art, the MOMA in New York, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Victoria & Albert Museum of Art and Design in London. At just 41 years-old, he is among America’s most recognized and celebrated graphic designers.

I highly recommend his book Obey: Supply & Demand, The Art of Shepard Fairey. You can also visit his webiste, Obey, to purchase any number of his limited edition posters, stickers, postcards and t-shirts.

All artwork by Shepard Fairey

 

Andrew Ritchie is the creator of Martha Moments, a blog devoted to Martha-Stewart related content and her community of supporters. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada, and has been a longtime friend of Brent & Josh, Beekman 1802 and Sharon Springs. Each week he’ll scour the world (wide web) to find the 5 most beautiful things to inspire you. Follow Andrew on Pinterest.