Month: February 2018

Lessons Learned from Portland Herald Press Feature

 I just registered for the RiverArts® Studio Tour 2018 and had to update my artist statement, resume and website in the process. Notably absent was my summer 2017 solo Maine show, You CAN Have Your Cake and Eat It Too!, at the Michael Good Gallery in Rockport, ME. So I have some work to do.

How time flies! I need a better plan – my first lesson learned. The next time I come across an outdated art website, I’ll have more sympathy for the artist. 

My friend Lori, who was in charge of Maine public relations (PR), did a phenomenal job of getting press coverage for this show. Her outreach to the press resulted in my having two stimulating and fun phone interviews for newspaper articles. Both far exceeded my expectations!  The first awesome article, Shipko Shares Her “Sweet Revenge” was by Dagney C. Ernest, appeared in the Arts and Entertainment sections of The Courrier-Gazette and Camden Herald. The lively phone interview comes through in her writing, and she included our discussion on how my work has evolved because of technology.

The second interview was with Bob Keyes, arts writer from the Portland Press Herald, the closest large city to Rockport. Bob’s thought provoking phone interview somehow managed to cover almost my entire artistic life in 45 minutes. It turned into an extensive, insightful feature article with a shoutout on the front page! Here I am, the proud artist, right after buying the paper in Cape Neddick Light, ME.

Photo Collage by Bonnie at Cape Neddick, ME

Webmaster Laura is always reminding me to insert links. Laura – I’m listening! Being a conscientious student, I decided to put a link to this feature on my resume and website. This morning when I googled the article, I discovered the newspaper wanted $2.95 to download it.

One of the reasons I decided to write this particular blog today was to post the article so you can read it for free. Just click on the following link. 

PORTLAND HERALD PRESS PDF 7/4/2017 FEATURE ON BEVERLY SHIPKO 

 I was lucky enough to have a friend who was a Portland Press Herald subscriber and put a pdf together for me. Thank you Gary!

Being a former business school newspaper editor and high school yearbook editor, I was delighted to find my Strawberry Kiwi Blueberry painting in the masthead! Totally unexpected. A true honor. And I was pleasantly surprised (an understatement) that coverage dominated the front page of the Food and Dining section, with more on an inside page.

My strong presence in the Food & Dining section changed how I view my work, opening the door to new possibilities. As a former marketing person, I am embarrassed to admit that I had never approached food editors. Nor had I seriously considered the fact that Portland, ME is such a foodie town. Luckily Lori did! 

There were several lessons learned for fellow artists:

  1. The Story. Have one. Talking to Bob and Dagney helped me clarify my story in my head. Because of these two phone interviews, I researched my grandfather’s gourmet grocery store in Michigan, got more details, and realized how much more of an impact it had on my psyche as a young kid than I thought. The experiences helped me take a step back and reconsider my work in a broader context, first autobiographical and then art historical.
  2. Be Open. Don’t limit yourself. Be positive. Get rid of your preconceptions about your art. That’s what Lori did – she realized Portland was a foodie town and went for it. It paid off in with great exposure to a larger audience, in an unexpected section of the newspaper.
  3. Maintain your website. Just do it! Be more vigilant about this. From now on, I’m going to put regular check-ins on my calendar. Somehow this got away from me. And don’t forget to ask for digital copies of all PR! You never know when you want to post them in your blog…

I wasn’t the only person who learned something from this PR experience. Chef Bonnie (whose day job is teaching) realized that it was time for her to do something with her own dining experiences, whether in restaurants or in her own kitchen. She and I tentatively played with the idea of collaborating together in the future. Maybe one day Bonnie and I will be on the Today show as a mother-daughter duo…. Or maybe it will be a trio with Laura talking about promoting the book with a new algorithm she developed. We can dream, can’t we? As a first step, Bonnie decided to separate her personal Instagram posts from her foodie posts. And so @BonniesBitesOfLife on Instagram was born in Rockport, ME.

As I look back on last summer, I realize there were some big lessons learned, with implications for years to come. I shouldn’t be so surprised. After all, isn’t every new experience a potential learning experience?

Bonnie’s Super Food… for the Super Bowl

Chef Bonnie outdid herself for the family 2018 Super Bowl Party. Since the entire menu was paleo, I could eat everything. So could Laura (except she hates mushrooms…).

You can get the idea of how thoughtfully Bonnie planned the menu from her Super Bowl Whoopie Pies, which she served in the 4th quarter for her showstopper. I’m salivating as I think about them. What’s impressive is the Whoopie Pies taste so fantastic and are paleo. Thank goodness for leftovers!

Super Bowl Whoopie Pies

Super Bowl Whoopie Pies

Bonnie lived up to her Instagram handle @bonniesbitesoflife by proudly delivering flavorful bites in such complementary menu combinations that we couldn’t stop eating! Our family’s Thanksgiving motto, “Let’s Get Stuffed”, certainly applied to this year’s Super Bowl.

Part of the fascination of the day is watching Bonnie’s orchestration of the game day meal so she serves new recipes for each quarter. She has a plan in her mind and just systematically works to execute it. And that was after baking brownies for her school’s Super Bowl Pizza Party the following day! 

When I came downstairs Sunday morning, I found Bonnie standing on her favorite step stool working on the Whoopie Pies, which had to set before doing the piping later on. Bonnie also sliced the zucchini to get it into the oven for her Zucchini Pesto Roll Ups. She looked relaxed and happy, like she was having a great time!

Starting with the Whoopie Pies

Zucchini for the Zucchini Pesto Rolls Ups

Once Laura arrived, the food started appearing during the Pre-Game Show.

Bonnie’s opening bites included 4 different chips, 3 dips (salsa being the only store bought item), and Zucchini Pesto Rollups. One at a time, each item magically appeared on the table.

Trader Joe’s 3 Seed Beet Chips and Sweet Potato Chips

Our two favorite Multigrain Chips by Food That Tastes Good

Healthy Mexican Layer Dip (Vegan) with Beans, Yukon Gold Potatoes, and Guacamole

You can see the layers of her Healthy Mexican Layer Dip. The beans are at the bottom.

3 Dips and 4 Chip Varieties

The color combinations were striking, and I had fun arranging my first of many plates.

My Dip and Chip Sampling

At this point, I didn’t have the heart to take a Zucchini Pesto Roll Up, one my my favorites, and ruin Bonnie’s artistic design. I made sure to get this photo first. (FYI. My contributions were the pesto for the Roll Ups, and the template Bonnie used to pipe the Whoopie Pies.)

Zucchini Pesto Roll Ups

More delicious bite size morsels came along in the 2nd Quarter.

 

Butternut Squash Fries

Baby Pizza Bites

Sweet Potato with Guacamole and Pomegranates

Bonnie kept telling us to pace ourselves. Did we listen? No. We were busy stuffing our faces way too early. This became clear as we watched Bonnie prepare her protein bites for the 3rd Quarter. We realized we were filling ourselves up, and slowed our eating pace down since the best was yet to come.

Making Meatballs

For Spaghetti and Meatball Bites

Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs

2 Kinds of Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs for the Spaghetti Squash Bird’s Nests

In the 3rd Quarter, Bonnie finally sat down with her own plate to dig in. It didn’t take too long before a smiling Bonnie became a member of the clean plate club, and posted her bites of life on Instagram.

The Chef’s Tasting Plate

Bonnie earned a well-deserved break. She was a dynamo all day, moving around the kitchen all day. She developed a rhythm as she moved – leaving numerous pots, pans and ingredients in her path. That’s where Jay and I came in. Cleaning up was a small price to pay for such a unique eating experience.

But wait – there was more to come. The surprise of the evening was the Skillet “Corn” Bread – that didn’t use any corn. I saw Bonnie mixing up the batter, but I couldn’t figure out what it was since she poured it into a skillet.

Skillet “Corn” Bread (made with almonds)

The skillet went into the oven – something I was concerned about since I had never done that before. I was afraid the whole thing would explode and blow up our double oven! However, Bonnie assured me that our All-Clad skillet was built for this. To my relief, Chef Bonnie was right.

Skillet “Corn” Bread

To my amazement, this Skillet (Non-Corn) “Corn” Bread actually tasted like corn bread, texture and all. And of course, let’s not forget the showstopper, The Super Bowl Whoopie Pies. Their delicious taste and textures brought back memories of times gone by. Bonnie and Laura both insisted they tasted like Hostess Devil Dogs – despite the fact that the Whoppie Pies were made from healthy ingredients. Quite an accomplishment, Bonnie! 

Super Bowl Whoopie Pies

At this point, I was having so much fun eating that the game (as exciting as it was!), the commercials, and even Justin Timberlake took second place to Bonnie’s super food – at least in my eyes.

This is the first time I’ve posted about Bonnie’s Super Bowl extravaganza, clearly an oversight on my part. I’ve talked about Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving (2017, 2015, and 2014) but never the Super Bowl. I won’t make that mistake next year.

Now it’s time to go downstairs and have “leftovers”, but that term doesn’t do justice to the all super food I’m about to eat.

Don’t be jealous….Maybe next year you’ll score an invitation!