Another quartet of tiles show their colors

This set of four ceramic tiles were painted before the quartet shown in my previous blog, for those of you who are keeping track of those things...

The image above is how the bisque tiles looked before they were cooked in the kiln. As you can see, there is no indication of what the colors will look like or what shapes and textures the glazes will form. The fired tiles are below.

I can only look at color samples online which really means nothing other than giving me a basic idea of which glazes to put next to each other... or not. So when I am envisioning the end result I have only a very rudimentary idea in my head.

Again, it would be great if there was some way of showing the luminosity and textures of these glazes on this blog. I guess that will have to wait until I can make a holograph.

As I am becoming a little more familiar with how these glazes will behave that end result is somewhat easier to control.... up to a point. As you can imagine, I had plenty of disasters when I first started using these glazes.

I haven't quite decided how to frame these yet. My first set of four tiles I framed together and afterwards wished I had framed them separately (too late, they were cemented in place). I am going to play around with the framing of these.

I have to say I am pretty much pleased with this set of tiles. There is something about designing in fours that is very satisfying to me. I am tentatively calling these Squares within Squares 1-4. But maybe Universes within Universes is a more poetic title. You can decide.

(4.25" tiles in 6" frames)

(All designs and photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

A tile quartet I like more than I thought I would

I admit I had a little too much wine when I painted these tiles (or can there ever be too much wine?). I shoved them in the kiln at midnight knowing I had wasted bisque tiles, glaze, electricity AND my precious time by being so sloppy.

I had my Christmas lights blinking away, a log in the fireplace and Pink Floyd in the DVD player. With all that, could I really ask for satisfactory artwork too?

I wasn't that excited about taking the tiles out of the kiln. In fact it was about 6:00pm the next day that I even thought about opening the kiln. I took out the first tile. Hmmm, not too bad. The second one, oh, kinda nice. The third, this is promising. The fourth, I think I like this.

I put them all together as a quartet. Not too shabby. Yes, this maybe okay after all.

There is no way I can represent the real colors here or the shimmering effects. This image is a poor representative of the real thing. But you will have to make do with this. I'll let you know when I am showing it at a gallery so you can see it in person. The computer can't do it justice.

I am having fun painting with my Mayco Elements and Cystalite glazes.

They are totally unpredictable so you just have to use your imagination to "see" what the outcome will be when you take them out of the kiln. Of course, the more you paint with them the more you have a handle on them.

But they are pretty much like my cats. Just when you think you have figured them out they do something completely off the wall. I guess that's why I love 'em.

(Photos and designs copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Visit the Culver City Art Group on Facebook

The Culver City Art Group Facebook page is open to anybody interested in art. You do not have to be a CCAG member.

Click here to visit our Facebook page.

However, if you would like to become a member of the Culver City Art Group please go to our website at www.ccartgroup.org and click on the How to Join button.

We are an organization of local amateur and professional artists in the Culver City and Los Angeles area. We embrace all visual arts from traditional to computer-generated, two-dimensional and three-dimensional.

For our members we have activities and special events such as painting/sketching afternoons, museum and gallery visits, group exhibits and artist demos. Although you must be a member to participate in our activities, anyone interested is invited to join us at our general meetings.

Looking forward to seeing you on Facebook and/or at a CCAG meeting!

Out of the fire, into the frame

I fired this set of tiles Friday night. I was able to open the kiln around 1:00pm when the kiln temp was down to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit (about 93 Celsius). The tiles were still too hot to touch so I had to place them in the frame with oven mitts. I was attending the Culver City Art Group holiday potluck in the evening and needed the pieces for the mini show.

Whenever we have a meeting (as opposed to an activity such as a gallery visit) the members can bring some artwork for the other attendees to vote on. Then once a year we add up the points and declare a winner.

As well as cats and scenes from my travels, I enjoy painting mandalas and abstracts. I am classifying this set of tiles as abstract. I used four different glazes of two coats each (Mayco Crystalite and Elements).

As I have mentioned before, ceramic tile painting has its frustrations. For me, the biggest one is not being able to see the colors before they are fired or how the glazes will behave in the firing process. This is also the delightful part. There are always surprises, both good and bad.

Although I like the idea of a quartet of tiles in one frame, once they came out of the oven I realized they would probably have been better in separate frames arranged next to each other, as each tile is like an individual painting. However, too late, as I did not have the required frames on hand.

Today I tried to pry the tiles out of the frame with a chisel and hammer but only succeeded in chipping the glaze and the frame. Fortunately, I was able to repair the damage. So I will have to leave these in the frame and paint a new set to be framed individually.

(Design and photo copyright roslyn m wilkins.)

Cats with coats of spring colors

With all the things I have going in my life I need to clone myself about a dozen times. For my blogs and websites I need at least two or three copies of myself. This isn't about delegating. This is about me needing to be in a dozen places at the same time. That is my excuse for not updating my blogs and websites on a regular basis. Okay, enough said!

In the recent Culver City Art Group Holiday Show I was tickled to win second place in the Members' Theme which this year was Colors of Spring. My piece, a tile tryptich, was a last-minute entry. I painted the tiles on Wednesday and Thursday, put the tiles in the kiln at midnight on Thursday and took them out at noon on Friday. They were still warm as I was gluing and grouting them into the frame. Whew, that was close! Had I not made the effort I would have missed out on a ribbon.

I really racked my brain thinking up an original idea for this theme. I certainly didn't want to end up with anything you would normally associate with the spring season but I did want to work with spring-like colors, because, after all, that was the title of the theme. I had already painted four cat tiles for the show in shades of black, white and grey so I decided on more cats. What could be more obvious?

I was pleased with the way the tiles came out and how they worked together as a tryptich. Of course artists are always their own worst critics. At least I am, always seeing the mistakes in 45-foot-high neon signs glaring out at me. A good thing nobody else is that nit-picky. I will be aware of that issue next time and not make the same mistake twice, or at least, not three times.

So I present to you my hand-painted ceramic tile tryptich, Cats with coats of spring colors. Reproductions of these three tiles are now available at www.RMWdesigns.com under the Cats! Cats! Cats! section.

Also, I have updated my ceramics website at www.RMWceramics.com although there still remain a lot of images to post.

(Photos and designs copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Culver City Art Group's 16th Annual Holiday Show rated a smashing success!

The Culver City Art Group held our 16th Annual Holiday Art Show at The CenterPointe Club, Playa Vista on Saturday, November 12th. It's hard to imagine the show getting any better than this. Our new venue allowed an inviting ambience that was lacking at our previous space. With luxurious carpeting, soft lighting and comfy armchairs the space was more like a living room than an exhibit hall.

Although I am always impressed with the variety and professionalism of the work created by members of the group, the artwork presented in this show certainly matched the quality of the surroundings. As one of our members noted, we moved our group up at least a level or two with this show.

Despite the rain we enjoyed a good turnout. If you missed the show, you missed a treat. 

I woke up the next morning already excited about the 2012 Holiday Art Show! And, personally, I hope CenterPointe will invite us back... 

Click here for some memories of a great day.   

(All photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Culver City Art Group 16th Annual Holiday Art Show, November 12

I am happy to invite you to the Culver City Art Group 16th Annual Holiday Art Show, November 12, 2011 from 1:00pm to 7:00pm.
We have a beautiful new venue at Centerpointe, Playa Vista, CA. Just west of Culver City and across the street from the Marina del Rey Home Depot.
I will be exhibiting my new hand-painted ceramic tiles in the following series including Cats! Cats! Cats!, Alphabet, Places, Abstract and Mandalas. I am very excited to be painting again and my hope is that I can keep it up from now on.
I would be thrilled if you could join me at the show. The Artists' Reception is from 3:30pm to 7:00pm. I will be scooting out just a little early to attend another event.
The other members of our group are much more talented than I am, so come and enjoy their work in oils, acrylics, pastels, pencil, digital and photography. We are a multi-talented group of artists!!
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Playa Vista CenterPointe Club
6200 Playa Vista Drive
Playa Vista, CA 90094
For more information or to download printable flyers, visit our website at http://www.ccartgroup.org/

Another trip to LACMA to see the Magna Carta

As I mentioned in my previous blog, when I visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last week I totally blanked out on one of my main objectives which was to see a version of the Magna Carta. This has been a pretty hectic week and although yesterday, May 5, was the last day it was on view, I really had a fight with myself to get out the door and on the bus. Of course, as I knew I would, once I arrived at the museum I was happy I had made the effort.

The Magna Carta sat by itself in a darkened gallery. If you gave your imagination a chance you could almost visualize yourself back in the year 1217 when this manuscript was signed in the name of King Henry III (who was ten years old at the time). The original Magna Carta, which basically took away a king’s ability to arbitrarily declare “off with your head” (well, nothing is ever that simple), was signed in 1215. Although many changes have been made over the centuries, it has been the basis for law among English-speaking people ever since.

It was written in the Latin script of the Medieval Ages so, unless you are a scholar of such things, it is unfortunately not possible to read it. But just knowing what this 800-year-old piece of paper meant to the feudal barons of the time, and what it now means to us as common citizens, was quite overwhelming.

Coincidentally, or maybe not, a movie about this very subject just opened. Ironclad, starring James Purefoy as a Knight Templar and Paul Giamatti as King John is described by Netflix as an “action-packed period piece set at the height of the Middle Ages.” Needless to say, it is now on my saved list.

Mourner with Head Uncovered, Wiping His Tears on His Cloak with His Right Hand, no. 55
Jean de la Herta & Antoine Le Moiturier, 1443–1456/57, Alabaster, 16 1/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 15/16 in.
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon
Image: Photo @ FRAME (French Regional and American Museum Exchange) by Jared Bendis and François Jay

In the gallery next door is an exhibit so brand spanking new it is not even officially open yet. (May 8–July 31, 2011.) The Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy consists of about 37 alabaster figures in the form of monks and clerics which normally surround the tomb of John the Fearless, the second duke of Burgundy. As the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, where they are housed, is being renovated, this was an opportunity to loan out the exquisite sculptures. In an adjoining room is a short video demonstrating how the pieces were sculpted with various tools and smoothed with sandpaper.


Copyright: LACMA.
Persepolis Relief: A Gift Bearer, Southern Iran, Persepolis Achaemenid period, circa 5th century B.C.

 To finish my visit I stopped off at the Hammer Building and wandered through the Art of the Ancient Near East galleries. I noticed a stunning fragment of a wall relief from Southern Iran, Persepolis Relief: A Gift Bearer. There is a computer-generated simulation of what the palace may have looked like where this piece came from.

Copyright LACMA. Coffin Base side 1, Egypt, likely Thebes, mid-21st Dynasty (about 1000 - 968 BCE)

I also managed to drop in on the last half of a docent tour as she was expounding on the significance of the different gods depicted on an Egyptian sarcophagus. As Egyptian archaeology is second only to my love of Roman archaeology, I was happy to hear her explanation.

Another afternoon well-spent at LACMA.

(Just a note: not that I would expect in a million years anyone from LACMA would be reading my lowly blog, but I have made five or more requests regarding my account for downloading photos from the image library which is suddenly not working.... in the meantime I am doing the best I can to credit the above photos appropriately.)

A day on Wilshire Boulevard: The Ackermans, Anarchy and Fry Bread

Photo copyright Craft and Folk Art Museum 

For months now an article in the Los Angeles Times about an exhibit at the Craft and Folk Art Museum has been popping up in my email. And for months I have been promising myself I would schedule the time to see it. So a mere week before the ending date I took the bus up to Wilshire Boulevard to view A Marriage of Craft and Design: The Work of Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman. It’s been too long since I have visited this museum. I often see announcements for interesting exhibits but I let so much time go by I usually miss the dates. So I could not let that happen this time.

CAFAM is a small art museum on three floors with galleries on the second and third floors. On the second floor is a whimsical exhibit entitled Crossing the Line: A Space by Tanya Aguiñiga composed of criss-crossed yarn with floating woven pieces. Strands of multi-colored yarn stretch from floor to ceiling giving the impression of walking through a fiber forest.

The main exhibit is on the third floor. Married in 1948, Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman have been collaborative artistic partners ever since. Starting out with no money they built a life and a business totally dedicated to art and design, proving my theory that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.


Photo copyright Craft and Folk Art Museum

Little known to the general public, but well-respected in the design community, they have lived and worked in Culver City for over 50 years. I have to admit, the fact that they are Culver City artists is what first attracted me to them. Then when I discovered that they worked in ceramics, mosaics and tile (among other materials) I was smitten. The work displayed in the exhibit includes whimsical woven wall hangings, carved wood panels used for synagogue doors, modernist bowls and vases, hardware for furniture, mosaic table tops, and other items displaying their wide range.
There is a touching video filmed at the museum where the husband and wife heap praises on each other, ending with the song, “Mutual Admiration Society.”

The Los Angeles Times provides a photo gallery of the Ackerman's home with eclectic designs and décor.

The first floor of CAFAM is dedicated to the museum shop, always my favorite place in any museum. I was attracted to this scarf made in India, so for $12 how could I pass it up?

Around noon my tummy was telling me it was lunchtime. On the way from the bus stop on Fairfax I had passed no less than fifteen food trucks. Auntie’s Fry Bread looked interesting so I ordered The Veggie, a medley of squash, corn and potatoes slow cooked in savory cream chowder and topped with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and onions. Of course I realized it was naughty but as I had done 20 minutes of Richard Simmons before I left the house and had walked quite a bit I decided it was okay.

I walked across the street to the La Brea Tar Pits and found a shady spot under a tree. You have to be careful where you sit as the ground can erupt with tar seeping up through the grass. I had a good view of the Page Museum where about 15 children were enjoying themselves rolling down the berm and running up again. That brought back some good childhood memories. I slurped my diet Sarsaparilla and dug into the beans and corn (very delicious). I was grateful for a perfect day.

But not over yet!

As I strolled over to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art I was entertained by a dance troupe. I think the idea was that they had to move while keeping their poles connected, no easy feat.

Although the Resnick Pavilion has been open since October, 2010, I had not yet been inside. This 45,000-square-foot space, designed by Enzo Piano, is constructed with natural light entering through vertical planes of glass inserted into the zig-zagging roofline, which is ingenious as the daylight does not fall directly on the art beneath.

Currently there is a restrospective of the works of David Smith (1906-65), Cubes and Anarchy. Although he is billed as the most important sculptor of the 20th Century, I had never heard of him (which doesn’t mean much). First of all, I am not a great fan of three-dimensional art commonly known as sculpture. This is a personal bias I freely admit to which stretches from ancient to contemporary with a few exceptions along the way. It’s merely the way my brain is wired and I feel no desire to re-wire it.

I was, however, impressed by Brenda Levin’s installation. She used translucent scrims made of coarsely woven fabric, allowing the viewer to see the sculptures in layers, one behind the other throughout the gallery.

I tagged along for the docent tour which, as usual, turned out to be very informative and I came away with a greater appreciation of the artwork. David Smith was killed in a car crash at the height of his career at the age of 59.

One of the main reasons I wanted to visit LACMA was to see a version of the Magna Carta. I can’t believe I left without seeing it, and now I have make a trip back to the museum before May 5th!

(All photos copyright roslyn m wilkins unless otherwise noted)

My two-day vacation at the Getty Villa

I’ve been to the Getty Villa a gazillion times but I’ve always been there for a specific exhibit or a lecture or a class. I’ve never taken any of the regular tours before so I decided to remedy that. My excuse came when I discovered that Lillian Sizemore, a mosaic artist and teacher, was scheduled to give a talk and a demonstration at the Villa. So I decided to make a reservation two days in a row and do and see all the things I have never done and seen before plus view a couple of current exhibits.

On Thursday at 11:30am I started out with Point of View: Lillian Sizemore on Mosaics. As everybody knows, I have a love affair with ancient Greek and Roman mosaics. Although I certainly appreciate mosaics as an art form, my personal “point of view” comes from a historical, sociological and architectural (not to mention archaeological) perspective. I enjoy looking at an ancient mosaic and imagining how and where it would have been used, and by whom. So, although I have seen the few mosaics in the Getty collection a multitude of times, it was a treat for me to gain an artful insight into this delightful medium.

First up was the Mosaic Floor with Medusa (about 115 - 150 A.D.). Lillian pointed out the concentric circles, creating alternating black and white spirals. She mentioned that the perception might be that the ancient artists weren’t that clever but her view is that they were very intelligent, knowing exactly what they were doing. I agree. They may not have had the benefit of computers or technology, but given the tools they had to work with, their work is amazing. Personally, I have always been fascinated with geometric designs created with such implements as a compass and triangle.

Next we looked at a fountain, a copy of that in the garden of the House of the Great Fountain at Pompeii. This is my second favorite mosaic piece at the Getty Villa (oh, but it’s so hard to choose!).

My favorite mosaic in the Villa collection is Floor Mosaic with a Lion Attacking an Onager (Roman about 150). I once gave a half-hour presentation on this one mosaic. I made a full-scale print and laid it on the floor under the mosaic (which is installed horizontally on the wall) so my audience could look at it from its intended viewing point. Because of the lack of space, and museum convention, we have the unhappy situation of looking at floor mosaics from the wrong perspective as if they are wall paintings. Even when they are presented horizontally they are usually shown on a raised bed so most people never have the joy of viewing a floor mosaic from the correct position. Hence my interest in preserving mosaics in situ wherever and whenever possible (but that is a whole other blog—or book.)

When I talk about mosaics I am always amazed at the interest from my audience, be it friends or classmates or artists, maybe because mosaics have always been brushed aside as not being very important—at least the ancient kind—and therefore there is not much ongoing conversation about them compared to painting or sculpture. Or maybe people are merely being polite!

Separating the figurative image from the background in some mosaics is a single or double row of tesserae set in a curving line in the field color. I always thought of this as the lazy mosaicist’s way of defining the outline of the figure (animal, plant, human) instead of attempting to cut all the pieces so that they butt up to the colored pieces evenly, but I never realized this was actually a technique used as a rule. Aesthetically I still don’t like it, although now I know it was a purposeful technique I have more respect for it.

We moved on to Mosaic Floor with a Boxing Scene (about A.D. 175). When I tour the Getty with friends I am often asked why this is not my favorite mosaic in the collection as it is in as perfect condition as any in the museum. It is truly wonderful and I love the fact that the corners of the frame were not planned well, which says to me that the center emblamata piece was designed at the workshop and delivered to the site where the perimeter geometric mosaics were installed in place. I was happy that Lillian pointed out the corner misalignments as I think most people do not notice this. So why isn’t it my favorite? It does have an interesting story, but just not my cup of tea.

My next event was the Architecture Tour. Although I know the Getty Villa pretty well I enjoyed the perspective of the guide. He actually apologized for his interest in the mathematical proportions but I found that the most interesting part of the tour. And, in case you are wondering how the Romans figured anything out in the system of V, VII and X, they did not use that for their calculations. They had an abacus to do their calculations. One of the Chinese tourists in our group stated that, of course, the abacus had come from China. Our tour guide was not so sure, pointing out that because of trade between the two civilizations at the time, nobody knows who thought of it first.

I then joined the Culinary Garden Tour. I own a couple of cookbooks with recipes of food prepared during the Roman Empire (yes, I am sure I lived during that period as I feel so at home with everything that occurred during that time). The docent described the plants, herbs and fruits growing in the Getty gardens that were used for culinary purposes.

My last tour of the day was Life in a Roman Villa but it was not what I expected and in any case, by then I was tired and my ADHD was kicking in big time, so it was time to leave for the day.

Once again I was in awe of the majestic views of the Pacific Ocean as I drove along Pacific Coast Highway towards Santa Monica and the entrance to the freeway.

Day two of my vacation at the Getty Villa I attended Lillian Sizemore’s Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Mosaics. Lillian is an amazing artist in this very difficult medium. I have tried to put together a few small mosaics myself and it is no easy task, which is why I have such great respect for the ancient mosaicists. Lillian showed us how to cut the stones into pieces of tesserae with the hammer and hardie. As I have managed to cut myself with knives and scissors over the years I am not sure this would be a suitable profession for me!

She had several examples of different kinds of mosaics on display. I was most intrigued by the sample of opus sectile (translated as cut work) which had the effect of looking paper thin.

I wanted to stay longer but I was off to explore the outdoors with the Garden Tour. The Villa has four gardens. One of the most ubiquitous plants in the gardens is the acanthus which inspired the Roman (originally Greek) Corinthian columns. In the herb garden there is a lovely example of an Italian Stone Pine tree.

As I have been to the Getty Villa so many times, on this trip I decided to take some photos of the flooring and walls, so along with a few shots of Lillian’s tour and some photos of the gardens, that is what you will see in the slide show.

I had intended to return to Lillian’s workshop in the afternoon and take some more photos of her working on a mosaic but I made the mistake of answering my phone and duty called. Every time I visit the Villa I think I don’t need to go back for a while as I have seen everything. But there is something magical about that museum that keeps calling me back and I know I will be returning soon.

Click here for photo gallery.

(All photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

The art of Lucknow and a tuna melt

I don't even remember when was the last time I visited LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). It may have been as long as a year ago, but certainly too long to be away from one of my favorite places in LA.

There is something very satisfying about standing in front of a piece of art (whether it is a painting, a sculpture, a textile or...). Of course, there is a considerable amount of "art" I don't want to be standing in front of... but usually in any exhibit or gallery I can find one piece that resonates with me and makes the whole experience worthwhile.

On this very rainy past Sunday, my good friend BG and I decided to spend the afternoon at LACMA. Neither of us had checked the website so we really didn't know what exhibits were available. That can be fun, just wandering around seeing what there is to see.

Rain in LA is like a blizzard in other parts of the country: nobody wants to venture outside. So the museum was lightly attended, which was fine with me!

The first exhibit we noticed was India's Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow, so we decided to give it a shot, not knowing what to expect.

From the LACMA website: "Lucknow was an extraordinarily elegant and sophisticated Indo-Islamic kingdom that flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This is the first exhibition devoted to the opulent art and culture of the city, which boasted the wealthiest court and most ostentatious cityscape in northern India."

Need I say more? Well, this is my blog, so I will anyway!

First of all, I was amazed at the size (approximately 200 pieces) and depth (paintings, costumes, jewelry, weapons, decorative arts, glassware, and more) of the exhibit. Very impressive. Walking from gallery to gallery it just kept on going.

Although I enjoyed all facets, I was most taken by the intricate paintings executed in water color and gold leaf... exquisite renditions of the architecture, people and life in general of that era. We commented that the work must have been done under very powerful magnifying glasses by artists with extraordinary eyesight and tiny hands. You have to see it in person to appreciate the delicacy.

Equally impressive were the portraits by Tilly Kettle, especially in his rendition of the rich fabrics worn by his subjects. (I looked him up on Wikipedia as I had never heard of this artist who died in his early 50s. Out of money, he returned to India in the hope of replenishing his bank account but traveling overland through Asia he was never heard from again.)  

One nice touch in the exhibit was a room devoted entirely to a panoramic photograph of Lucknow mounted on the wall as a mural. Walking into the room was like walking into the city, surrounded on all sides by the view.

If you think you know everything there is to know about Indian art, or you think you don't care, either way I highly recommend seeing this wonderful exhibit. If nothing else, it is an interesting insight into an episode of India's history.

Having been blown away by the art of Lucknow we traversed the plaza to the new Korean galleries. The space is very nice but after the previous experience the art on display was rather bland. We checked out a few other favorites in the main building but at that point our brains had sucked up about as much art and information as we could manage... so as our hearts and minds were full it was time to feed our stomachs.

Marie Callender's Bakery and Cafe is just a few footsteps down Wilshire Boulevard so it is always a convenient restaurant for a post-museum discussion and meal. BG and I, along with other friends, have spent many an interesting couple of hours there in the afterglow of LACMA. We always order a salad, and usually the same favorite that we each have. We laugh about this as every time we peruse the menu as if we are going to try a new item, but it rarely happens.

I was cold down to my bone marrow all day and walking in the torrential rain to the restaurant did not help matters. The thought of my usual salad did not appeal to me. But the tuna melt sure did. We both ordered it, BG with french fries and for me the cole slaw (I had to get my green veggies in somewhere).

As a connoisseur of tuna melts I have to tell you this was one of the best I have ever eaten. Perhaps THE best. I don't normally eat four-legged animals but I decided to make an exception this time as the sandwich came with two strips of deliciously crispy bacon (yes, I could have ordered it without but I didn't want to). That first bite was heaven. The cole slaw was yummy too with peanuts and raisins sprinkled in with the colorful cabbage slices. I may have found my new Marie Callender's "usual." (I don't believe this Marie Callender's is associated with the chain around town so don't try to order this at the one on your corner.)

A very pleasant rainy Sunday afternoon that covered all the senses.