otto jakob

beautiful, original, almost fierce otto jakob. interesting biography.

hubert le gall

consolle cheval by the entirely self-taught hubert le gall. and while you are there, check out the design profiles at the robb report. you could post forever off that page!

sybil andrews

sybil andrews 1898 - 1992
born in suffolk in england, andrews was trained in the modernist style at the grosvenor school of modern art in london. she became part of a group of artists who worked in the lino-cut print medium and who embraced a modern expressionist style. the lino cut print was a new medium having first been used in 1912. this group of print makers, led by claude flight, were considered to be avant garde and experienced some antagonism from the traditional art establishment. andrews favored subjects which were ordinary in and of themselves, portraying them in a dynamic expressionist style.



winch c.1930



indian dance c.1951



days end c.1961, my favorite

of her medium she says, “(it is) the greatest teacher of all...you are forced to simplify your idea to its fundamentals." - Sybil Andrews

ombre portee

interesting lighting by ombre portee. the mobile/wall light below is the best candidate for a little do it yourself i have seen in ages. i would not choose the cupid motif but i have to applaud their creativity. i REALLY love the concept.

highly irresistible

a pair of bronze andirons by marc bankowsky, 2006, france
from maison gerard art deco.

and because it's pretty, a pair of exceptional rectangular verre eglomise panels (glass painted from behind) from the ocean liner the s.s. normandy. france, circa 1934 by jean dupas, executed by jean-charles champigneulle.

easter

jacques adnet

handsome, handsome, sideboard of leather over steel and brass. jacques adnet c.1950. i can not afford it.

valerie boy

illuminated sculpture by valerie boy. you must visit the website to see the more interesting work. i like the sculptures luminueses and the light cushions in particular. very creative.

lucky

lucky by andree putman. love it, but wish the outsides were red and black too. for gaia and gino.

arik levy

a couple sets of these flower sticks by arik levy (above) would look great in my huge 15" waterford vase (below). i would fill them with heirloom roses. the vase is so huge and the style never speaks to me so it lives by itself in the far reaches of the lower cabinet. arik may have just the ticket to coax her out.


i also appreciate his crumpled up crystal candlesticks.

little surprises

just after dusk i am walking down the street in paris and i see this guy who has his cup out but is not bothering to mind the cup. i can just see feet and the cup and i decide i will go back and take a picture. the street is busy and it is dark so i set the camera so it will take pictures really fast in a row because, not knowing how to properly take a photo, that is the only way i figure i'll get a relatively clear shot. i do get a clear photo eventually, but look who shows up in the process. he even turned around to make sure i was getting it. in one frame out the next.

maarten van severen

lounger with attached desk by maarten van severen, known for his comfortable but austere seating.

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.