Art everywhere

I love being in Paris where there is life, colour, art. Everywhere.

detail from " Une Chambre Vide Soir Suivant",
a past exhibit at Made in Town
in Paris, France

I spent about 3 weeks there this summer.

Hallway designed by Icelandic-Danish artist
Olafur Eliasson at Foundation Louis Vuitton

13th arrondissement, street painting

Paris

I arrived in Paris early today.... Paris, France not Paris, Ontario!

I left my knitting on the plane! Very sad. Limited edition yarn, sock already started. Needles and pattern in a hand-made linen pouch.

Gorgeous summer day here. Everyone was out in the cafés.

Did you notice the stone under the window sill is a measuring station! A metre marked every 10 cm. Not sure which century. 

Installation in Paris

This work by Lyndi Sales was seen in Paris at Le Bon Marché, a department store. My sister took the picture for me.

I love the hexagon shapes that peek out from behind circles. I like the artist's use of thread.

Audience (2010) by South African artist Lyndi Sales
3m x 2m
(photo credit J. Lavallee)

To read more about this work and see detailed images click here.

Like Walking into a Candy Store

Entrée des Fournisseurs, La Mercerie Parisienne
A lovely craft store situated in
a small courtyard
in the 3rd district of Paris.

I was there a few days ago.

Getting Lost in Paris

Drawing made with marker on a metal door, anonymous graffiti.

Art exhibit flyer

Altered Books

I had my last class on Abstract Art at the AGO last week.

My class mate's finished altered book

As a project, we altered books.

An example of an altered book
the teacher brought in from the
 Globe and Mail, 2010

Some finished their paper sculpture.

The same friend's altered book taken from a different angle.

I did not but it is coming along well. I plan to continue in January and will definitely post it.

Here is the inspiration for my book which I photographed in Paris yesterday. It is exactly what I want to achieve….although my work will surely evolve while I am cutting into the paper and may actually never look like this.

Shoe display at BHV department store in Paris

Here is another altered book which I found in a store window as part of their decoration.

Altered book in a window display in Paris, France.

More Art in Paris

I haven't been to the Louvres in 30 years. I get discouraged about the entrance line up. There was a one-hour wait to get in...but I went downstairs through the Carrousel Louvre, which is basically a mall under the museum and that line was only a ten minute wait!

Of course, I stopped to see the famous La Giaconda (Mona Lisa) hung there between the two pick-pocketer reminders....how elegant.

But what I liked the best during my walk-about was a contemporary work by Italian born Michelangelo Pistoletto (1933-).

Venus of Rags, 1967.

I call it "Venus and Her Stash".

The artist regularly explores the theme of temporality and here at the Louvre establishes dialogue between the museum's masterpieces and his contemporary work.

"In the 1960's, Pistoletto used scrap materials to question the problems linked to consumerism posed by the Italian Arte Povera movement." (quote from his biography)

Pistoletto used rags that were used to
wash the mirrors at the Louvre.

He had other works on display as part of the museum's contemporary exhibit, Year 1:Earthly Paradise.

Metal Patchwork

Closest

Closer

Close

Far from home.

I am in Paris for a few days.

Summer

We could feel the heat and humidity of summer in Toronto this week.

Silencis, detail, by Spanish artist, Olga Gonzales Angulo

With the heavy rains though not many were at the cafés.

Chairs and shadows at an outdoor bistro, Paris, France.

But it won't be long before we are out enjoying our short season.

Tuilerie Garden, Paris France.

I will have to try hand sewing again and leave the machine behind...or bring the machine outside?

Silencis, detail, by Spanish textile artist, Olga Gonzales Angulo.

Quick Response Codes

Artist, Diane Mohan's work.

Diane Mohan's textile piece made from 1 inch squares.
"If I Can't Afford a Smart Phone How Do You Expect Me to Read This"
48" x 48"
It was part of "Alleged" an exhibited in March 2013
at the Propellor Gallery for Visual Arts 

Advertisement in the Paris subway for a sushi place.

Made with pieces of sushi.

Knitted art by Greta Grip for the exhibit Hard Twist at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto.

"Watch Me"
One of 8 of a series.

If you use a QR code reader can you actually read the codes? I don't know because I don't have a smart phone.

Expression for All Senses

I saw this piece in Paris.

We Stopped Just Here at the Time, 2002, detail,
by Ernesto Neto (1964-)

It's installed in a perfect spot at the end of a hallway at the Centre Pompidou and can be seen from far away.

We Stopped Just Here at the Time, by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto.

The viewer participates in a sensorial experience.

It's a sculpture made of fabric and spices- cloves, cumin, pepper, curcuma. The smells arouse the senses. I feel the weight of it by looking at it. From reading about this artist, I see many of his works are interactive but I saw no one venture into this space.

View of the top of the soft sculpture

You can see an interview where he speaks about another piece he installed, The Edges of the World, at the Hayward Gallery in London, England, by clicking here.

Leaving Paris

Leaving this morning.

New hair cut, new colour of nail polish, new ideas and new recipes

I can't wait to be with my family after two months away.

Macarons

Back in March, I took a Macarons class at the Cook'n With Class school in Paris' 18th district. The school was recommended by David Lebovitz.

Ceiling in the class room at Cook'n With Class

We were 6 students and 4 were Canadian!

Macarons, piped and waiting

Even though I had made the french delicacies twice before, (see past post here) I learned so much from the professional pastry chef!

Caramel Beurre Salé filling

Italian Meringues, bird's peak ready

a gold dusting

I will definitely be making more when I get home.

Chef, Briony Laberthonnière, holds up a macaron
with blackberry jam filling...Look at those 'feet'!

Me learning to pipe properly

Always creating!

I am heading back to Paris from Vienna and will be taking a few more classes at this school.

Back in Paris

Walking under the subway tracks where the market is on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Art Everywhere

Imagine hundreds of art galleries in one spot.

Inside Grand Palais for the Art Paris Art Fair

 Imagine me walking around with my mouth open soaking in everything! 

I was at the Art Paris Art Fair for 4 hours yesterday and didn't even get to see everything! (I had to leave because the bakeries were closing and I needed a baguette for dinner!)

I stopped to talk to many art dealers that were exhibiting textile work. What insightful conversations! 

work by Elise Morin in the entrance of the Grand Palais

I learned so much about specific international textile artists and about consumer behaviour towards textile medium.

Morin's work made using wooden embroidery hoops,
plastic bags, plastic ties.

I got a chance to promote some of the Canadian textile artists who in my opinion do spectacular work.

Fossile 1990
4m x 8m

There are some that say it is better to be in your own corner to be able to design/ create how you want  and not be influenced by the same things that are influencing others in your field (article from B of F) and I agree but right now I am finding it exhilarating to be surrounded by art of all mediums in the great City of Light.

I will be posting more about textile artists I discovered at this event.