notre dame

notre dame was extremely difficult to photograph without a tripod because it is so dark inside. it is hard to get your head around the fact they started building it, or any of the other enormous intricate buildings, in 1163. all of the heavy stone and the tiny detail, i just cant imagine it with today's technology, much less such a log time ago. it took 200 years and armies of gothic architects and medieval craftsmen. henry vi and napoleon bonaparte were coronated here. during the revolution, it was desecrated and re-christened the temple of reason. just like sainte chapell, architect viollet-le-duc brought it back to life in the 19th century.








notre dame in the pouring rain

patrick dougherty

"My affinity for trees as a material seems to come from a childhood spent wandering the forest around Southern Pines, North Carolina – a place with thick underbrush and many intersecting lines evident in the bare winter branches of trees. When I turned to sculpture as an adult, I was drawn to sticks as a plentiful and renewable resource. I realized that saplings have an inherent method of joining – that is, sticks entangle easily. This snagging property is the key to working material into a variety of large forms.” Patrick Dougherty

i like it.

sainte chapelle

i do believe sainte chapelle was my favorite sight in paris. i was completely unprepared for it and was taking my photographs in the servants chapel when my husband suggested there was an upstairs. we walked up the narrow stone spiral stairs in the corner, which are completely closed in all around and maybe a storey and a half high, and when my husband hit the top step and moved to the side i immediately burst into tears. i think it was the combination of the magnificent beauty and the absolute shock of it, it was completely overwhelming. there was a lot of scaffolding in place for repairs inside and out, but i managed to get a few photographs around it.







in the middle ages, sainte chapelle was called a gateway to heaven. the 50 foot tall stained glass windows start on one side of the chapel representing 1,000 or so biblical scriptures starting with genesis and traveling around the room through the crucifixion and the apocolypse. louis ix completed the chapel in 1248 to hold what he believed to be the crown of thorns and fragments of the cross, which he purchased from the emperor of constantinople for 3 times more than the cost of constructing the chapel. during the revolution the chapel was badly damaged and became a warehouse for storing flour. it was renovated 100 years later by architect viollet-le-duc.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

waiting in queue for the tour eiffel at dusk

we had a lovely time in paris last week despite the rain and cold. the sun was kind enough to shine for a few hours on 3 separate afternoons which would send us on a mad dash for photographs. the architecture was so incredible and we enjoyed the history behind it. we met some lovely and generous people who made our trip even more memorable. i will post the highlights of my trip and i hope you will enjoy them. i tried to share things throughout the week but the internet connections were so frustrating and spotty, i gave up trying. other than that, and a couple of questionable meat dishes, the trip was grand!


walking in the rain for dinner at new jawad (fabulous!) along the seine

à travers l'océan

i'm off to paris! so sorry i have not been able to respond to comments lately. i have had heaps of work and have been lucky to even get a post up. thank you all for continuing to visit! this week i plan to post fabulous french things. the weather calls for rain almost every day but surely we will catch a break here and there. special thanks to those who left tips on their favorite places. au revoir!

remedios varo, exploration of the sources of the orinoco river, 1959. oil on canvas.

paris apartment

forget the apartment. check out these windows. magic magic magic. building designed by parisian architect antoine caligny and sculptor leopold bonet, who created stones for the facade c. 1883. photographs by renzo chiesa for british homes and gardens.

claude and francois-xavier lalanne

a couple of days ago i put together a post on color, and in it, i included a bronze rabbit that sparked some interest. the husband and wife artists, claude and francois-xavier lalanne, dream up the most curious things. what a great way to spend a life together.
francois-xavier: i would like to make a desk in the shape of a rhinoceros.
claude: moi aussi!

how fantastic, just like charles and ray, two peas in an incredibly inspired pod. their book, available from amazon, is surely worth a look, hopefully showing some of their smaller bronze works that i adore.

i choose this one

best tea cosy in my book. i do have a bit of a bow aversion so i would replace my bow with cord and tassel. brown betty tea pot and merino wool tea cosy by couverture. musical chairs teacup by barbara barry at john lewis.

john saladino * emily todhunter

lovely lovely john saladino. his portfolio is beautiful of course.
another beautiful room in this colourway by emily todhunter. the photo does not do her justice. her website is all flash so you will have to visit yourself to see her portfolio. also, check out the lighting in the todhunter collection, the first lamp is to die for. photo = andreas von einsiedel for brittish homes and gardens.

andrew martin

pluto

tapam

soho

want it. i almost need the soho table. all from andrew martin.

color

the little man is actually a patent model for a flying machine c. 1800's. brilliant.

bill traylor

bill traylor is my favorite folk/outsider artist. born into slavery and unable to read or write, he started making art at the age of 83. he slept on the floor in the back of a funeral parlor and spent his days on the street in downtown montgomery, alabama. once he started making his art, he did so full time, all day every day. it just came pouring out.

props ** mike and maaike **

i had to. i can't help it. mike and maaike.