Ravioli Day!

Today was Ravioli Day, which my brother's family hosts every year before Thanksgiving. They invite over a bunch of friends and we make up to 50 dozen ravioli, from our Zanone great-grandparents' recipe.

I was super late today because I had an Urban Sketchers board meeting (via skype!) that ran a little long, and then I HAD to go to the Art Center to get yet another ink brush pen (more on that later).

They had it well under way when I got there, so I made a couple dozen ravioli, critiqued everyone else's ravioli-making, then headed outside with Shannon to have a glass of wine and a chat. Her husband Brian and our friend Stacey joined us (with more wine!) and we chatted some more (1st sketch - Brian's legs and Shannon's knee on the right).

We all went back inside to eat some delicious ravioli for dinner. After we emptied all of the plates and bowls, we sat and talked and I sketched as much as I could before Andria zipped by and cleaned everything up.

My niece Somerset asked me to sketch her, and who can say no to that face?! I honestly haven't been sketching faces for that long, and every time I start one I think (or even say out loud), Oh this is terrible and wrong! But then, look! It looks just like her. Yes, she is really this beautiful, and equally as smart and funny and all around cool. I had her sign it. She's 10.

That's Chip's camera. He signed it, too.

We always end up in the kitchen again at some point. That's a big ol' roaster that Richard uses to cook the gravy in. Those are lots of empty wine bottles. And that's Shannon again in the background!

It was a fun day, and I can't wait to eat more ravioli on Thanksgiving!