World Tree Chocolate

It’s amazing how life comes from seeds. The seeds that don’t bring us chocolate may grow to make a whole tree and many more seeds for even more chocolate. Cocoa husk ink evaporation painting with watercolour.

Painting by Julie Mehretu ‘Looking Back to a Bright New Future’ 2003 Music by R. Nathaniel Dett ‘Magnolia Suite: Part 1, No. 1 Magnolias Chocolate by Marou ‘Ba Ria Ginger & Lime’

For this pairing post I wanted to share with you a wee vacation to a forest. Painting by Christi Belcourt ‘What We Teach Our Children’ Music by Tree.fm... Chocolate by Hummingbird ‘Zorzal’ From Hummingbird’s website: SONGBIRD Zorzal - Bicknell’s Thrush A lovely, rare songbird native to Ontario, Québec & the Maritimes, the Zorzal is threatened with extinction. In the Zorzal’s winter home in northern Dominican Republic, conservationists & investors are determined to fight for the bird. They’ve created a 300 ha biodiversity sanctuary in the northern highlands to safeguard the bird’s habitat. As sustainably grown cacao (used to make this very bar) supports the sanctuary, we’ll hear the Zorzal’s song for a long time to come. We have these bars to offer in our collection as well. To learn more about the painting, visit http://torontobirthcentre.ca/christi-belcourt/

It would be fascinating to see colour like the mantis shrimp. There are creatures on this planet that have amazing abilities. I am working to see more clearly by listening to others and being open and curious. Sometimes things seem obvious but not so much to others who have a different perspective. It is always important to speak up and out and ask questions if you don’t understand.

The world of art and music are vast. In my exploration of pairing art/music/chocolate, I’ve concentrated on abstract painting and instrumental compositions. There is so much to experience but I tried to focus on how the combinations for the senses made me feel. It is all very subjective but fun to explore how different sensory experiences can influence each other. Painting by Flora Yukhnovich ‘Jouissance’ 2017 Oil on linen Music by Cris Derksen ‘Winter Bourne’... Chocolate by Primo Botánica ‘Gold of the Incas’ This delicious bar is available in a curated collection on my website or through a custom order via email or DM. As always, I encourage you to learn about and support artists who bring so much to our lives.

Thinking of the queen bumblebees cozy underground right now waiting for the weather to get warmer. Cocoa ink evaporation painting with watercolour.

Keep going. Let’s keep exploring, experimenting, wondering, learning, unlearning, failing, flying, helping, being kind and asking questions.

2020 brought a lot of learning and unlearning for me. Along with working to understand my place in a capitalist colonialist system, there was a lot of new information that presented itself. One example is while I was reading about colour to learn more about how to pair art/music/flavour, I discovered that the colours I have always been taught are the primary colours are incorrect. There are no true pure primary colours. The closest for subtractive colour mixing that we can f...ind are cyan, magenta and yellow. Not blue, red and yellow. I have been mixing paint since I was a child and gone through many many painting and colour classes and read many books. I feel like this should have been something that we were taught, but it wasn’t. We weren’t even clearly taught the relationship between additive (red, green, blue) and subtractive (cyan, magenta, yellow). There can be more than three primaries as well because the concept that three colours can make all the colours is totally false. On that note, I bring you three types of roasted potato paired with three craft chocolates. This is something I’m not sure why I haven’t tried yet and they are all warm and delicious. Wishing you all the time and kindness needed to continue to learn and grow.

The books have landed! We are excited they are here and that they look and feel great! The cover has a cocoa butter feel without the melting part! All of your orders will be ready and on their way to you ASAP! If you haven’t had a chance yet to order your copy, here is the link:... https://worldtreechocolate.ca/prod/cacao-to-chocolate-book/ They ship worldwide. We also have a wholesale option, so send me a message if you’re a shop who would like to offer a visual treat about how chocolate is made.

Chocolate makes birthdays better and I wish I could send chocolate cake to all of you! This cake painting will have to do but it comes with wishes that you have lots of treats to enjoy and loved ones to share time with even if it’s virtually. Be kind to yourself and others. I will be taking a bit of a break from social media to think, write and paint. Stay safe and take care of yourself and others.

This year we will be enjoying holidays from afar and having virtual visits. It is something I did during the years that I was living abroad and far from close family and friends. One of the ways to feel more connected is to enjoy treats together while chatting online or over the phone. I hope you can all connect with loved ones this year and enjoy treats in whatever form they come to you.