Yes, we were greeted once our journey was done with a bag of Turkish junk food.  It was a fun and familiar way to experience a new culture.  And Ala Turca chips are pretty good.  I can’t decipher all the flavorings listed on the bag (it seems more important to use the Turkish/English dictionary to find out when the last bus is running, right) but it isn’t nacho flavor.  I just hope it isn’t flavored with real Turks.  One restaurant, touting more western foods, uses the chips as the base of their nachos.  They work well in the way substitutions work in cooking.  They get you close to the real thing but you can still tell something is not right.

This year is all about experimentation with my art and this drawing is something new.  I thought I’d just stick with pen in ink all year but the Trading Card just was garbled and cluttered in black and white.  To salvage it I scanned it in and then colored it using Photoshop Elements.  It improved the drawing but the original trading card is not what you see here.  I may continue to use color in places I see appropriate.

If you’ve read are linked family blog you may remember the pigeon houses carved out of the cliffs around our village.  Many of them are decorated with wonderful geometric paintings and all have great character.  I starting to imagine a project documenting the pigeon homes of this valley.  Look for the first ideas in the next trading card post.