Skip to main content

The Cookie That Speaks for Itself




The local story that caught my eye:

A tray of these delicious little men were gifted to us by artist Bobby Donovan, creator of the "Can You Hear Me Now" sculpture on display at Savage Mill, and his equally talented wife Cyndi! - - Savage Mill

Photo from Savage Mill social media 


In the foreground, one homemade cookie. In the background, Donovan’s sculpture. There’s just something quirky and unexpected about this photo.

It’s a real homemade cookie. 

This time of year we are tantalized at every turn with photos of professionally made holiday treats. Adverts from local bakeries, grocery stores, online retailers - - you name it. Magazines beckoning to us as we stand in the checkout line at the grocery. They show us perfect cookies that suggest that our home baking will look just like their artisanally produced, carefully curated photo shoot.

If we buy into the fantasy it’s rather like believing that we will look just like the model if we buy the dress.

This is not to shame any of our local businesses who bake and sell gorgeous seasonal delights. They give us more choices, especially when we have less time than ever. 

But I loved - - truly loved - - this homely and winsome cookie, held up for admiration like one’s favorite child. 

Even better is the juxtaposition with the work of a professional artist. I guess when you have the bravery to create your own art and put it out there for everyone to see, it stands to reason that you can make your own cookies and love them just as much. 

Okay, that’s a stretch. Mr. Donavan made the sculpture. We don’t know if he or Mrs. Donovan made the cookies. And it might have been a collaboration. I’m just saying that, in this day and age, a real homemade Christmas cookie is every bit as much a work of art as a piece featured by the Howard County Arts Council.

Donovan explains that his sculpture, Can You Hear Me Now “…addresses our universal need for communication and how difficult it can be sometimes to speak clearly and to listen deeply.” You can read more about it at the Savage Mill website.


Photo credit Howard County Arts Council

Questions for discussion:

  • Have you been to Savage Mill recently?
  • Have you seen this sculpture? What did you think?
  • Do you make your own holiday cookies?
  • Do you buy holiday cookies locally? If so, where?
  • What’s your favorite holiday cookie memory?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more