What is Soap? Where is the Lye in Soap? The Mystery of Soap Making

We have contemplated spring through the gloomy and cold days of winter.  But through that time much has been happening!

"Back in the day" we would have already used half of our yearly supply of soap made last fall. Fall was the time to slaughter animals, and use the tallow and lard for soap making.  Water was steeped through ashes to produce the alkali or lye water of an undetermined strength, which produced soap of an undetermined hardness.



Maria Making Soap in Modern Times



Making Soap From Lye in Colonial Days

What is soap?  What are the ingredients? 

Where did the Lye Go?



The term saponification is the name given to the chemical reaction that occurs when a vegetable oil or animal fat is mixed with a strong alkali. The products of the reaction are two: soap and glycerin. Water does not enter into the chemical reaction. The water is only a vehicle for the alkali, which is otherwise a dry powder.
The name saponification literally means "soap making". The root word, "sapo",
is Latin for soap. The Italian word for soap is sapone. Soap making as an art
has its origins in ancient Babylon around 2500 - 2800 BC.
The oils used in modern handmade soap are carefully chosen. Coconut oil creates lots of glycerin, makes big bubbly lather, and is very stable. Olive oil has natural antioxidants and its soap makes a creamier lather. Many other oils can be used,
each one for a specific reason.
The alkali used in modern soap is either potassium hydroxide, which is used to make soft soap or liquid soap because of its greater solubility, or sodium hydroxide, which is used to make bar soap. The common term for the alkali became simply "lye".
Soap made in cottages and on farms in earlier American times became known as "lye soap". That term now denotes a harsh soap with excessive amount of caustic. Weighing and measuring techniques were crude, and knowledge of soap chemistry
was elementary or non-existent.
The true fact is that modern handcrafted soap, though necessarily made with lye to get
true soap, has no lye in the final product. It has all been reacted with the oils to
form soap and glycerin.
 A fact about the most common massed-produced soap found in the grocery store does
 have a small amount of excess alkali in it. Also, all of its naturally-occurring glycerin
is removed to be sold as a separate commodity. Why? Greater profit. An important difference between most commercial soap and our Coastal Cottage Soaps is
that the glycerin is left in and thus it retains its natural
moisturizing property.

from Real Handmade Soap

COASTAL COTTAGES SOAPS MADE THIS WINTER

The soap shop has produced limited quantities of soap after the made holiday rush.  We are now whipping up popular and new varieties.



Pink Swirl Artsy Glycerin Soap

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     Restocking newly made "Castile Soap" for an online customer. Only 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, no other vegetable or animal fats. First made in the Castile region of Spain in the 16th century and the 1st example of hard, white soap.
     Castile soap is moisturizing and gentle to the skin, containing no colors, dyes or detergents so it can be used on babies and people with sensitive skin. This batch is unscented, but smells like "Clean Linen." New large 5 oz size. I will be adding lavender, peppermint, and pomegranate to this product line called, Liberto's Castile Sopone.  Check out coastalcottagesoaps.com to purchase.

Liberto's Unscented Castile Sopone

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     As colorful as Easter Eggs! Here is my assortment of Coastal Cottage WOOL FELTED SOAPS, the latest craze by wool fiber artists and soap makers. Imagine soap wrapped with it's own wash cloth and lots of

 natural lather to cleanse your body.

     Colorful wool fibers are wrapped around each handmade bar of soap made by this soap maker

and then hand felted to the bar.

     As you use the sudsy soap the wool will shrink with the size of the bar. Sorry no selection of

fragrance, I send whatever is in stock.

2 Bar Set: $9.95 which includes all natural ingredients.

Go to coastalcottagesoaps.com to purchase!



Felted Wool Natural Soaps
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a rather new edition to the line up of soap.  Unscented Aloe Vera & Calendula, a great product for those with blemished and other problems.  The healing properties of Aloe and Calendula in a totally natural and unscented bar has been tested with positive results.  Just ask my grandsons!



Unscented Aloe Vera & Calendula Soap


Thanks for taking the soap making journey with me.  I continue to produce many varieties of natural and artsy designer soaps.  It is a satisfying and clean business. 
I am blessed to be on this journey.

My Best to all,

Maria Liberto Bessette



John Dickinson Remembrance & Maria Paints at the Plantation

~~~ Penman of the Revolution~~~

~~~Remembrance Day~~~

John Dickinson, named "The Penman of the Revolution", resided at Poplar Hall (the future John Dickinson Plantation) as a young man.  Located in Kent County Delaware, near Dover and facing Jones Neck, it is now registered as an Historic Site.  The John Dickinson Remembrance Day was celebrated last week whereby a wreath-laying at the grave of John Dickinson was sponsored by the Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation at the Wilmington Friends Meeting, Wilmington DE



This is a wonderful out-of-the-way venue for visitors as well as my group,
The Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic. 
We had great fun during many painting sessions inside and outside the Mansion.

Maria and several of the Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic

Below you will see a particular site and the same as painted by me:



"Herbs Hanging to Dry"
John Dickinson Plantation



Actual Photo of Herbs Drying
John Dickinson Plantation





"Keeping Room Hearth" - Painting by MlB

John Dickinson Plantation

 

Keeping Room Hearth -  Photo
John Dickinson Plantation

Wood Shed & Annex - photo
John Dickinson Plantation



"Wood Shed & Annex" painting by MLB
John Dickinson Plantation


 







John Dickinson Plantation Front - photo

"John Dickinson Plantation - Front"
painting by Maria Liberto Bessette

 

John Dickinson Exhibit, Dover Art League
February 2013
by Maria Liberto Bessette


I am thankful to all the staff of John Dickinson Plantation for their hospitality and friendship.

The plantation features Dickinson's original 1740 brick home, reconstructed farm buildings, and a log'd dwelling, surrounded by rich agricultural lands stretching down to the banks of the St. Jones River. The plantation is administered by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs.


visit John Dickinson Plantation website
Hours
Wednesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Admission  Free
340 Kitts Hummock Road
Dover, DE 19901
302-739-3277 phone

Directions & Parking
Located on the northbound side of Delaware Route 9, one-half mile northeast of the intersection of Route 9 and U.S. Route 113. Ample, free parking is available.

"Like" John Dickinson Plantation - Facebook

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Visit Dover Art League

 

21 W Loockerman St.

Downtown Dover, DE

 

W-Sat, 11 am - 4 pm

 

click her for Liberto's Art website

 

"Like" Liberto's Art - Facebook

 

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 Enough history for now, I must move on to my next post and update you on my recent soapmaking products

 

Maria





  



January Artist Jewells & Blessed St. Andre Bessette

Maria Creates ~~~

Maria at Killens Pond State Park in Delaware
 October 24, 2012 
 (to honor my mother and artist, Mildred Anderson Liberto)

The image above was taken during a weekly painting session with the Plein Air Painters of Mid-Atlantic.  Such great and sincere folks who have come out to participant.  It is so interesting to see these artists capture their own vision through paint on canvas or paper.   We are producing a great body of work that I hope we can share with others in an exhibition.  SUCH FUN ALSO. 

Check out:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/PleinAirPaintersMidAtlantic/.   Such great fun and such a great group! Visit with our members, see our sessions creating outdoors.  Open to all artists who appreciate painting outdoors who live in the Mid-Atlantic. 

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January Artist Jewells & St. Andre Bessette 

The Word is Out:  The Bessette's Will be Colonial Artisans Again 

Dover Days Festival, May 4, 2013 in Delaware

 

Ron Bessette
18th Century Merchant
Soaps & Other Necessaries

I LOVE THIS IMAGE!

 Ron Bessette, the great interpreter of the 18th and 19th century life is shown in the Dover Days Festival in Delaware each May. It is his favorite thing.

He is my partner, friend and husband, who has supported and endured much to assist and allow my creative side to flourish, ie: the soapmaking for our company, Coastal Cottage Soaps and the many canvases, oil paints, and framing my art for Liberto's Art, exhibits, receptions, events, farmers markets, art galleries, art related trips and more.

Maria will be demonstrating the art of producing Floorcloths (Oyle Cloths) or painted canvas rugs.

For more info on the Dover Days Festival go to

doverdaysfestival.com   We are definitely looking forward to Dover Days 2013!

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Angelucci's Gallery, Milford DE, now carries Coastal Cottage Soaps

                   

 

New varieties of natural, scented handcrafted soaps delivered to Angelucci's Gallery at the Riverwalk Center for the Arts, Milford DE, on Thursday. Angelucci's is a treasure trove of fine art and artisan items produced by professional arti...sts in and around Delaware! Stop by their gallery for the perfect gift or piece of art.
Also visit the Artist Studios and Mispillion Art League in the same building. --------ISN'T THE MILFORD COMMUNITY FORTUNATE?

These venues are also in Kent County DE! Check out their FB page: www.facebook.com/pages/Angelucci...Studio-Artist-Gallery/271620104769

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Italian & French "Road of the Cat" Floorcloths Completed

   

Road of the Cat, Italian: "Strada Del Gatto" Floorcloth
36" x 24"

Road of the Cat, French: "Rue Du Chat" Floorcloth
24" x 24"



These two canvas painted rugs were delivered to my friend, a lovely lady and lover of all artful creations and venues.

She loved "Rue Du Chat"(fr) and wanted a larger rug with 'Strada Del Gatto" (it).

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 A Real Saint in the Family ~~~ And yes, we are related!

January 6, Feast Day of St. Bro Andre Bessette

My husband, Ron Bessette, is the great nephew of Alfred Bessette, born in 1845 near Montreal, Canada to a poor, working-class family. He experienced great tragedy in his life. He entered the Brothers of the Holy Cross in 1870.  http://www.holycrossbrothers.org/andrebessette.php  His first assignment, which was to last him 40 years, the doorman of the community’s school in Montreal, Notre Dame College. As people came to the school, burdened by their own struggles and suffering, Bro. André directed them to pray to St. Joseph. Through Bro. André’s healing touch, thousands of people were cured and he became known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal.” One of his greatest contributions during his lifetime was building St. Joseph’s Oratory, the largest shrine in the world dedicated to St. Joseph. Over a million people came to pay him their final respects. He was  always recognized has living  a saintly and humble life.

le Frere Andre Bessette, God's Gatekeeper

Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1982 and Pope Benedict XVI canonized him on October 17, 2010. To this day, thousands come in pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Oratory, where his tomb lies, to receive spiritual and physical healing. The memorial of St. André is celebrated on January 6 each year, everywhere.

St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal, Canada

What a wonderful heritage he represents to the Bessette family and all of Quebec Province, Canada.  Eittien Catta researched the family back to 1665 AD and produced the 1446 p. book, "le Frere Andre 1945-1937 et l'oratoire saint-joseph du mont-royal" written in french and published in 1965.  Bessette Family geneology in a book!

How Blessed!

This story has made me ever so humble, so I must close.  Another blog entry is coming soon.

Blessings to you and yours,
Maria Liberto Bessette ~~





Planning A Thoughtful, Healthful and Artful New Year

Oh my it is 2013!
I am not resolving to strictly change, but giving more thought to sharing my blog and my "thoughtful, healthful and artful life" on a more regular basis, as well as being more thoughtful, healthful and artful myself.

Maria painting "en Plein Air", Killens Pond State Park, Delaware
November 2012



In fact here are some tips I want to share.  Setting goals and aspiring for self-improvement can be set anytime during the year.  Although the measurement of achieving a goal over time needs a starting point such as the first month of the new year. (So I do not want to call our goals and expectation for 2013 - New Years Resolutions.)
 
Make a strong commitment, but aim for a realistic result.  Believe in yourself.  Know in advance that you can really accomplish what you want to achieve.  Share your goals with a friend you can trust.  They can help you be accountable. Being aware that someone else knows and may ask about your commitment may also keep you focused. Have a vision of how you will see yourself after achieving the resolve set at the start. Focus on that sight.

Make realistic expectations.  Don't set the result too high, which creates failure in advance of success.  Do give yourself an achievable challenge. 

Write down your goals.  That always makes them real.  They are a concrete reminder of what you want to create. Keep a brief list in areas where you spend time.  These notes keep you aware of your goals during busy times of life.

Plan out your goals.  Plan how to achieve the end result.  How will you get there.  Have a plan.  Make a rough outline by the week and month to help with you achieve the goal. (Example:  I have outlined topics to share with you by the month.  Now I can research each topic and create a post when complete.)

Be flexible in achieving your goal.  Being too rigid can be confining.  You may need time off from the challenge.  From time to time your goal may not fit into your free time, vacation, home life, or a crises.  Allow time for some distraction or excuses.  And don't punish yourself.  Each day is a new day to allow for life's challenges and success.

Conclusion:  Be the best person you can be.  Think positive, be positive. Take time to take care of your own self, so you can also take care of others.  Be the example, not the follower.

To summarize my own goals:  To create a balance in my life of health, thoughtfulness, purpose, thankfulness and creativity.

Stay tuned for for more about my goals and new topics I will share along with "Maria's Artful Life":  Recipes & Food, Gardening, Natural Home Living, Organizing, DYI, Health, Shopping (favorite products), Sewing & Fiber Arts, Creativity & Art, Plein Air Painters, Design, Simple Living and Saving Money.



January 2, 2013 Sunset

Go forward, one step at a time and "Peace Be With You",

Maria Liberto Bessette



True to Nature: Poets & Artists En Plein Aire

Day 226, 2012 AD

"Nature I love, and next to nature is art"

                                                                Maria Liberto Bessette

Simply stated en plein air is the art of painting directly from nature. The artist responds with quick and spontaneous brush strokes to capture the true effects of color and light
Painting outdoors started in the late 1700's. Landscape painters in France began taking their oil paints to the field in pig bladders. And by the 1840s, collapsible tin tubes were being introduced.

It was about this time that Claude Monet (1840-1926), Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), and Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) started the Impressionists group.
By 1869 Monet and Renoir were using portable easels and traveling paintboxes. They painted rapid studies in free sketchy brushwork, attempting to capture fleeting moments.  The basis for outdoor painting techniques were firmly established although methods and palettes would change. 

Many might think Impressionism is the style of choice by current plein air artists.  Each artist develops his own unique way of seeing,  their own style and choice of mediums. But all have one common theme: truth to nature.

It is therefore only fitting that the love of nature and creativity is also the subject to the gifted writers and poets. 

Below is a sequence of penned works and plein air painters

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." -   John Lubbock



AN ARTIST IS JUST LIKE A LAKE

An artist is just like a lake:A mirror that's alive;
With trees that shimmer, laugh, and shake,
And high clouds hung like towers.

Why do we watch a mountain quake
As feelings dip and dive?
The worlds inside and out will make
A moment that is ours.

Nicholas Gordon

Maria painting at Wyoming Park,Wyoming DE 2012

 "What makes for great art
is the courage to speak and write and paint
what you know and care about."

Audrey Flack

We are alive our very breath singing.
We live beyond certainty, constantly stretching.

We are the lucky who live beyond,
in a swirl of questioning,
broadening. Reach...
We stretch in our borderless
matrix of gestures,
our instruments urge us,
our melodies carry us...
towards where you sit,
in that daring front row.
You await our flowering intonations,
the hint of the glorious flourishing new.

Maria painting at Willow Rock Gardens, Clayton DE, 2012

Paintbrush, melodies, give us their clues,
In hours of practise, its you were befriending.
Authentic, blended and lifted, we woo
the small beauty of a perfect ending.

Maria Painting at Mirror Lake, Dover DE, 2011



With golden fingers our harmonies fuse,
the secrets of the gardens weve tended
the streggle for the pure, authentic,
were dancing on strings,
towards a God amused,
a cosmos applauding.
What weve tried to accomplish,
at such great odds,
is beauty, melding audience with artist.
Humanity flourishing true.

We are the workers who bring you the true
and the new and the old again, remade for you,
we are alive, our breath has a view,
Weve striven and surfaced, and now were all new.



Maria Painting at Lavender Fields, Milton DE, 2012



"Nature I love, and next to nature is art"

                                                                Maria Liberto Bessette




The Comback of Natural Shampoo Bars

My Sudsy Natural Shampoo Bars

Day 225, 2012 AD in the Artful Life of Maria takes you on the clean journey of creatomg shampoo bars.  And why not, if you are a soapmaker, you already have the ingredients, so you would definitely want to make shampoo bars. 

When all soap was made by hand using a long difficult method of leaching ashes to make lye water, rendering animal fats and mixing all that together. After hours of stiring over an open fire the end result was anywhere from a soft soap to a hard mass.  This soap was used for everything that needed to be cleaned, laundry, dishes, floors, animals and human bodies and scalps.   Even after soapmaking became more sophisticated  - soap bars where used for bathing and shampooing of hair. 

18th Century Soap Making

Shampoo bars have made a comeback with today's focus on natural bath and beauty products, as well as assurance of less problematic air travel.   But them in your travel cosmetic bag and go.



Making your own solid shampoo is a great way to provide a healthy alternative for your hair. Shampoo bars, lacking moisture content, don't require the same preservatives and chemicals that commercial shampoos need to keep out bacteria. Thus shampoo bars are healthier for your hair and will last longer.







Lavender Shampoo Bars & Coconut Lime Verbana Shampoo Bars
by Coastal Cottage Soaps



The Coastal Cottage Soap - Shampoo Bars  provides customers with  a great scented product that will nourish your hair for its best possible look and condition.



One customer purchases these bars for her outdoor shower near her pool.  They are easier for kids to use and there is less product waste.

Now after curing for about 1 week or more they can be packaged for customers. 

CCS Men's Shampoo Bars



Look for Coastal Cottage Soaps travel pack of 3 travel size items: shampoo bar, 1/2 size bath bars and jar of aloe vera body cream on the market soon!

MY BEST TO ALL MY READERS

A Quest for Plein Air Painting Inspirtional Locations

Day 224, 2012 AD

Visiting a Working Vineyard for Inspiration

Maria Painting at Wyoming Park, Wyoming DE

Their is an ongoing quest to find inspirational locations for our group of Plein Air Painters.  Somehow this falls to me, but not by accident.  A group of my artist friends have been painting outdoors for well over a year. We love the safety, the camaraderie of being together, being outdoors and being creative. 

Everyone knows about FaceBook, networking and social media marketing.  It is a wonderful way to announce, invite and publicize any event.  I organized a FB group page: 

Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic, opening up the group to any interested artist.  I am happy to report that our little group of 5 has increased to 25 in one year.  There are always suggestions about locations, but someone needs to check with the site owner, museum, historic site or property owner.  Oh sometime directions, carpooling and other matters need attention. 

Visiting the Vineyard

Back to looking for inspirational locations.  Many sites have houses, barns, sheds, fences, gates, historic architecture.  Other locations offer beaches, dunes, ponds, rivers, lakes, creeks, foliage, hedgerows, trees, forests.  Agritourism sites offer, gardens, flowers, livestock, orchards, farms, pastures and more.   Our very small state of Delaware does offer an array of locations in all 3 counties from the rolling hills of wealth estates in the north through farmland and historical sites to the ocean beaches in the south.

LaManchia Goats at the Vineyard Farm

Another benefit of advance planning promotes the culture of creativity and partnership with the specific painting location.  In many cases artists are anxious to expand their knowledge of beautiful artistic locations and promote awareness of historic and agritourism sites within our region.

The quest continues for inspirational locations where artists can gather informally to share their love of outdoors.



A gathering of Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic
 (a few painters could not make this session)


Best to all of you and please think about being creative and then be creative.





Recreating Farmer's Markets "Farm to Market & Farm to Table."

(223rd day of year 2012)

Some History of Delaware Farm Markets

I am old enough to remember the produce, cheeses, breads, eggs and meats being sold from vendors who lined the streets of cities and towns selling from crates of goods from their  trucks and cards.  The photo below is of an even earlier era. 

Farm Vendors with Wagons on King Street, Wilmington DE, cir 1910 

Farmers and Hucksters began selling their goods and produce on King Street in Wilmington in the 19th century.  It tells the visual story of what the market looked like 100 years ago.



Farmer Vendors, Downtown Wilmington DE  Approx Date 1920-1930


The tradition of farmers getting together and selling their products directly to customers has been around a long time. In fact, for most of human history, such open-air markets were the only way most people could access a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. It wasn’t until after World War II, when big growers and big supermarkets came onto the scene, that farmer’s markets took a back seat in the mind of the consumer. While supermarkets filled with a wide variety of produce still sell the majority of fresh foods in the United States, the farmer’s market is making a comeback. More and more, buyers are recognizing the many benefits of buying produce directly from the farmer.

"I love the sense of community at the Riverwalk Farmers Market in Milford Delaware, where I have been a vendor for 5 years."

Today's Farmers Markets

It is still the same scene from a bygone era when consumers regularly purchased fresh foods from local farmers at open-air markets. It is becoming a common trend that is taking place throughout the country right now, almost every day—at farmer’s markets everywhere. Farmer’s markets have long been a part of human culture, and began thousands of years ago when the first farmers had produce to sell and the first consumers had a need to buy it.

 While farmer’s markets are a great way to boost a grower’s income, they also provide a chance for both farmers and buyers to interact. Vendors particularly enjoy the social aspect of farmer’s markets and look forward to the chance to meet customers and discuss their product.  Customers can relate to the farmer, their farm and their products. 

Marketing the "farm to table" concept and knowing you are helping a small business owner in your community, will also benefit your community economically.  Many other great products are created and sold at market, such as cheeses, jellies, jams, pickled items, delicious breads, pastries & baked goods.  Seafood, meats, prepared foods, dried and fresh herbs, live floral arrangements, soaps, lotions, and handmade crafts are among other commonly offered items.  



Our products made at home under the name of COASTAL COTTAGE SOAPS is a 5 year old cottage industry. We are long standing vendors at a rather local Farmers Market, co-sponsored by Downtown Milford and the DE Dept of Agriculture.  This market is the main venue for selling our products.  Using home grown herbs and botanicals and locally grown ingredients when possible I produce a variety of natural soaps for all genders including laundry and doggie soaps.  Many customers come back time after time, year after year which establishes a better relationship than  a "brick & mortar." 

coastalcottagesoaps.com

Delaware's Farmers Markets continue to become popular, prosper, grow and increase in number.  The small state of Delaware with 11 regulated farmers markets grossed over 1.8 million dollars in 2011.  Do you know where your food comes from?

Meet you at the market!