• Blog,  Colleen's Work,  Essays

    10 things to do with those pesky green tomatoes

    It’s the end of the growing season, and perverse wench that she is, Mother Nature sent a cold blast last week which gave the garden a big bite of frost. And this week it’s a beautiful 70 degrees. I picked as many green tomatoes before the frost as I could. If tomatoes are hit by air colder than 40 degrees, they will have no flavor, and even our row covers did not save them this time. (By the way, never store your fresh tomatoes in the fridge.) This sad situation resulted in a post so popular, even the Executive Office of the President popped in for advice. No, really. Here’s…

  • Blog,  Colleen's Work,  Fantasy,  Illustration,  Literature,  Lord of the Rings

    Tolkien Art and Artists

    A short list of Tolkien inspired/related books, which I recommend in my Tolkien art lectures. Not all of these are directly related to The Lord of the Rings, but feature artists closely associated with the work. For example, Alan Lee, who is widely regarded as among the greatest of all Tolkien illustrators, has very few works in print. So, I’ve included some of his other books which I hope you will enjoy. I’ve been asked to repeat this lecture at future appearances, so I will let you know when and where. J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator by Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond J.R.R. Tolkien Mariner Books; 1st Houghton Mifflin Tolkien’s…