While we’re not physically connecting with many artists in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senior Curator Christine Brindza is catching up with some TMA collection artists for virtual conversations about their past work, current practice and works in progress. These chats are part of Cookies with a Curator – a series of conversations about art (and cookies).
This conversation with Marlowe Katoney was recorded in September 2020.
About the Artist
Arizona artist Marlowe Katoney (Diné) trained as a painter while studying at the University of Arizona. In 2010 his maternal grandmother taught him to weave, and his career took off as people discovered his work at rug auctions and collectors began commissioning pieces. His weaving incorporates traditional Navajo designs into contemporary pictorial rugs like the one in TMA’s permanent collection.
IMAGE: Marlowe Katoney at the October 2019 opening of The Western Sublime: Majestic Landscapes of the American West with Garden Ornaments (2019), a recent gift to the TMA collection. Photo by Ray Cleveland.
Marlowe Katoney, Garden Ornaments, 2019, wool. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift of James and Louise Glasser. 2019.11
The Cookie: Christine’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Senior Curator Christine Brindza makes her pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from this recipe adapted from cooks.com. “I usually make half this recipe because this makes A LOT of cookies.”
Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. milk or water
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix baking soda in milk or water and set aside for later. Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Then add the baking soda mixture. (This will make the cookies rise while baking.) Add the chocolate chips and carefully incorporate. Spoon portions onto cookie sheets. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
Recipe with substitution of sweet potato:
Use all the same ingredients above, except
- 1 cup canned sweet potatoes well mashed or pureed
- 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup
- add 1-2 tbsp water (batter can be thicker than with pumpkin)
