Ep2 - Popping Cherries w/Mike Wolff

Come and join me on a little cherry adventure! Throughout the ages cherries have been symbolic of life, love, rebirth, fertility, reproduction and sexuality. I was joined by visual artist, street photographer and dear friend Mike Wolff to discuss hi…

Come and join me on a little cherry adventure! Throughout the ages cherries have been symbolic of life, love, rebirth, fertility, reproduction and sexuality. I was joined by visual artist, street photographer and dear friend Mike Wolff to discuss his work, creative inspirations and to reminisce about the Black Forest, Black Forest Cake and more.

Thank you so much Mike for being a guest on the podcast! I've shared just a few of his wonderful photos below but please do see more on Mike Wolff's Instagram, Twitter and Facebook - check them out! I have also included images of a few things discussed on the show; paintings from Fede Galizia, Edouard Manet and Paul Cezanne; The BBCs The Story of Women and Art, cyanide in fruit seeds and wonderful mixed media work depicting cherry blossoms from three-year olds on one of my courses.
Photograph above © by Lucie Pfaendler

There's been a murder, a cherry murder © Photography by Emmerline Smy

There's been a murder, a cherry murder © Photography by Emmerline Smy

Post Apocalyptic excavations with Julian Jandorf © Photography by Mike Wolff

Post Apocalyptic excavations with Julian Jandorf © Photography by Mike Wolff

The walls have @eyez (www.eyez.me) © Photography by Mike Wolff

The walls have @eyez (www.eyez.me) © Photography by Mike Wolff

© Photography by Mike Wolff

© Photography by Mike Wolff

Interwebs killed the radio star. © Photography by Mike Wolff

Interwebs killed the radio star. © Photography by Mike Wolff

Fede Galizia - Cherries in a Silver Compote with Crabapples on a Stone Ledge and a Fritillary Butterfly, 1610.

Fede Galizia - Cherries in a Silver Compote with Crabapples on a Stone Ledge and a Fritillary Butterfly, 1610.

Paul Cezanne - Still Life with Cherries and Peaches, 1885-1887.

Paul Cezanne - Still Life with Cherries and Peaches, 1885-1887.

Edouard Manet - Boy with Cherries, 1859.

Edouard Manet - Boy with Cherries, 1859.

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blossom1.jpg

Above are the artworks of three-year olds of cherry blossoms resulting from an activity held in a stay and play activity at Morningside Children's Centre in Hackney, London to celebrate spring and Chinese New Year. We talked about the different parts of trees, flowers and seasons. Then we looked at historical examples of drawings of Chinese Blossoms as well as photographs of Chinese Blossoms. For materials we used paper, stickers, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, glue, markers and tissue. It was a brilliant activity which the children really enjoyed and became enthralled with and made a lovely display.

Finally, we discussed cyanide in fruit seeds so I have attached a link to a Guardian article with a great diagram from the book Why Does Asparagus Make Your Wee Smell? by Andy Brunning of the brilliant website, Compound Interest.

Coffee & black cherry/black pepper ice cream cake cocktails © Photography by Emmerline Smy

Coffee & black cherry/black pepper ice cream cake cocktails © Photography by Emmerline Smy

Coffee & black cherry/black pepper ice cream cake © Photography by Emmerline Smy

Coffee & black cherry/black pepper ice cream cake © Photography by Emmerline Smy

Meringue topped with black cherry & black pepper compote, almonds and cream © Photography by Emmerline Smy

Meringue topped with black cherry & black pepper compote, almonds and cream © Photography by Emmerline Smy

A few years back I decided to bundle all my interests together and rebrand from Smy Chutney to Smy Goodness so that all my preserves, crafts, products and workshops could live together in one place. My own podcast seemed a suitable place to uncover, understand and enjoy things related to food, art, history and design. Please do share your stories, knowledge, questions and suggestions. In the Smy Goodness.com podcast section you will find the podcasts and all the items that we are discussing and will have ongoing discussions about each week. You can also follow Smy Goodness on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I'd like to thank Matteo Borea for creating the music and Ashley Palmer for assisting with recording gear and queries. Thank you for listening.