On Egg Yolks and Getting Older

I started back to school yesterday and turned 44. Talk about a double whammy! I am coping with a case of mild ennui associated with getting older. I guess I feel like I should not only know what I want to be when I grow up but also to have made great strides in my chosen field. At these times it is heartening to think about other late bloomers. Grandma Moses didn't start painting until she was in her seventies and author Julia Glass had her first novel published at 46. Even Colonel Sanders didn't get started until his sixties. There, I feel much better now!

I'm taking an art history class at Glassell this semester along with painting and 3D design classes. While the course focuses on the beginnings of impressionism in France, I learned a fun fact about one of my favorite Italian renaissance paintings, The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. I always assumed that this was an oil painting when in reality Botticelli used egg tempera. Egg tempera is made by combining egg yolk with ground pigment. This ancient medium is still being used by artists today. So, there, a great alternative use for those egg yolks you've been avoiding.