A Blessed Time

Love and light

to you and yours

this Holiday season

and all through the upcoming new year.

As the days get longer,

and the weather cools, freezes, warms or dampens,

notice Spring beckoning

from the heart inside.

Whether resting or engaging,

may your time alone or with loved ones

be rich with intimacy,

connection and joy.

Katherine

A new stocking for Finn
stitched together Christmas Eve morning.

inside -- at the Palais de Tokyo

inside

What happens

when we go inside?

An infinite universe exists there.

How do we interpret that?

The artists who participated in 'inside'
at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris
were brilliant, thought-provoking,
mediocre, shocking, disgusting
and of course, more.

My niece Madeline and I experienced
this powerful exhibition on our last day in Paris.

My favorite piece was Tape Paris
by Numen/For Use.

Numen/For Use is a collective headed by
Sven Jonke, Christoph Katzler and Nikola Radeljković,
working in the fields of conceptual art, scenography, industrial and spatial design.

According to their website:
"It took twelve people ten days to wrap-up the concrete pillars
in the great entrance hall of Palais de Tokyo
into a maze of accessible translucent passageways,
which coil 50 meters (about 164 feet) through the gallery space
and reach the total height of 6 meters (about 20 feet)."

And it's all done with transparent tape.
Wider than you might wrap a gift with
But tape nonetheless.

Not only did it fill the cavernous entry
with a fluid and beautiful form
but you could enter the form
navigating your way from one end
to the other.

Much more work thank I'd expected,
being inside
was slippery, spooky, organic,
moving, evasive, womb-like,
variable and mysterious.

It was also great fun!
Out of control
and completely content.

 

Inside.

 

Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira's

 Baitogogo

extends to link nature and architecture.

 What to do?

Diagonal Section by Marcius Galan

plays with perceptions 

and rules.

Drawn in pencil in one continuous gesture,

Marc Couturier's monumental mural

Troisième jour [third day]

refers to the Book of Genesis.

Studio Apparatus for Palais de Tokyo ou The Exorcism
by Mike Nelson felt like a bunker or prison.

Street artist Dran's distinctive style covers walls and stairs
with contemporary imagery.

Dran knows what the mind can be like...

Stéphane Thidet, Le Refuge.
Looks like a cabin in the woods.
Do I hear rain?

Not inviting to be inside here.

Performance artist Sven Sachsalber
Looking For a Needle in the Haystack.
Don't know if he finds it.

Happy to see the installation for rest, respite, play
and just plain joy
by the marvelous Sheila Hicks.

With great gratitude for an amazing 2014!

Playtime Paris

This Flea Market poster

perfectly expresses the joy

of play time in Paris.

Another amazing accomplished group of women
having fun together.
Wallowing in the wonder that Paris provides.

Sully's garden splashes autumn's bursts of color.

Cloistered arches lure the eye to a restful infinity.
(and some window shopping).

Always the Seine reminds me to stay in the flow.

Marcy's at the market.

Marcie, Carol and Madeline enjoying cafe life
(after a day of fabric shopping).

Sonia Delaunay's work emits pure joy.

Such strong use of plane and color.

A genius across many genres.
Seeing her exhibit at the
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
even twice wasn't enough!

I guess this napping guard has seen enough...

I can never get enough of the Eiffel Tower.

I love spotting various views and glimpses
day into night as I move about the city.

It was wonderful to have Marissa and Madeline,
two of our nieces, join Marcy and I.

We four Tilton's had fun!

I think Sue had fun too!

I hope you are enjoying life whatever you're doing.

The Sweet Life in Paris

Such a gift just to be in Paris.

Then there's all the fun

and exploring

and playing

to do.

Filling profiteroles with deliciousness at La Maison du Chou.

Sweets abound in Paris
and these little three bite treats
melted in my mouth.

L'effet-bulles in Passage Choiseul.

L'effet-bulles is the nicest 'concept' store 

I've encountered in my travels.

Original and packed with treasures old and new

its tiny footprint holds a delight of goods.

Great pants from a shop down the street. (I want them...)

Matching shirt?

Some of what I'm noticing 

is that my favorite things

are quite pricey wabi-sabi items

that could be replicated with a bit of

dumpster diving and some handwork.

Well, maybe that's it...

 There's a bit of bravado

along with the soul.

Refreshing.

Welcome to Giverny.

KC and Suzanne.

With Sally, Kathleen, Kathy and Vicky.

Les Nymphes.

Still magnificent.

Visiting Giverny is so good for the soul.

Even in the last days before closing

the overgrown and often faded blossoms

share their glory and their decline in equal measure.

Clouds in water.

I am always renewed by sitting under the willows 

watching clouds roll by across the still pond.

Another group of marvelous accomplished women

to play with in Paris.

Sweet.

October in Paris Musings

Extraordinary weather.

A blue-sky-75-degree weekend.

Paris,
raison d’être.

The Pyramid at Musée du Louvre.

Le Café Marly at the Louvre.

Nothing better than
fabulous surroundings and
the company of great good friends.

Paris is for noticing.

Noticing,
absorbing,
observing.

Allowing.

Transformation

rearranges

and the new space

lets more light in.

Whitewashed window.

Beautiful images
and textures
appearing everywhere.

Expect the unexpected.

Classic form
cunning execution
(but not enough to actually consider wearing a suit).

Stella does zippers.

Is more really more?

Dries nails bold.

Large and more.

Rebel without a cause.

Paris just
be cause.

Amsterdam Design

Traveling is such a gift.

Allowing me to come face to face with all my foibles,

likes, dislikes and comfort levels.

Being lost.

Not knowing where to go.

Wandering and then

discovery.

Meeting lovely people,

cranky people,

different people.

Noticing when I'm the cranky people.

My first visit to Amsterdam,

(the Venice of the North it is,

though I've not been to Venice),

where the canals dazzle and calm,

and heaps of bicycles create static pattern

or energetic flow.

One really does have to watch out for those cyclists

and finding a break to move through them

isn't always easy.

Exploring with long time friends,

celebrating (tardily) the 19th anniversary 

of a milestone birthday.

No idea how to top this next year!

Extremely hip concept store Sukha

was filled with so many immense

cozy knitted, crocheted and padded nests 

I wanted to snuggle in and stay all day.

Rowers on the canal reminded me of

my dear granddaughter Bridget

who rows on the Mississippi.

Beautiful artist's paintbox in the Rijksmuseum.

Wouldn't be complete without the pipe. 

Ancient mariner's hat is still stylin'.

So many beautiful and not before seen works

by Van Gogh in his museum.

 

 

His words touched my heart.

I want this chair!

Bundled clothing, yours or theirs,

creates this marvelous piece at Hotel Droog.

Beautifully delicious amuse bouche

at Spelt.

Nothing speaks like Amsterdam design!