the Creative Thursday blog

speaking of paint trays

...and inspiration. This is an Iphone photo of my 'Paris' paint tray. I had to save it somehow, and the way this photo came out, it makes me think I'm looking at an abstract painting ~ one that I could not have planned. 

I once met an artist who had made an entire hardcover book filled with nothing but photographs of her paint trays throughout her time at art school. I thought it was beautiful. 

I am fascinated by this idea of the art we create when we are 'not trying' to create it. It's a lot like when we first start painting, for example, when no one is watching, or expecting our creation to turn out a certain way and neither are we. There is a complete freedom in that type of creating, that only happens once; when we begin and then as artists, I believe it is our job to learn how to tap into that sense of freedom again and again.

what's inspiring me now

I have to say that I love when blogs have 'regular' features, familiar posts that I come to know and look forward to every week or month.
Now, since I'm a spontaneous, creative kind of girl who shies away from too many (more) commitments, I will not make any big proclamations about having a regular feature (as some days just keeping a consistent blog while running a business is commitment enough) BUT... I thought I'd give it a whirl with a regular feature of sharing 'what's inspiring me now', since there's always something inspiring me. And maybe if it brings inspiration to me, you might enjoy it too!
Having the I-phone is a big motivation behind this idea, because I can literally shoot a photo with the phone and blog it here almost immediately, which is what I happen to be doing with this very post. So if you see any strange words (since I'm texting this) or crazy weird formatting, just blame the IPhone.
As you know, if you've been following me for a while, my IPhone, and all of my photo apps, has slowly but surely also become my camera of choice.
Ok, then. That was a whole lot of backstory to share what's inspiring me now ;)
Farmer's Market Zinnias in our favorite white pottery barn vase, sitting on the brick fireplace threshold next to our pumpkin. Something about all the colors and textures, I've been enjoying this arrangement all week. And shot through the CrossProcess App, it almost looks like a beautiful still-life painting.

I also wanted to stop in and wish you a happy weekend!

been visiting

 

with my family from Germany over the last few days. It has been ten years since they were here. I have had the chance to see them in Germany since then, but even that was 6 years ago. Way too long...and missing them already.

We spent time visiting Venice, Hollywood, and the Griffith Observatory. 

 

 

And, I will be going back to Griffith Park Observatory, on a day minus the crowds, because it is just beautiful up there. I would love to go at night and see the city lights, one of the most gorgeous ways to view L.A. {On a side note, have any of you ever flown into L.A. at night? When you are making the final approach into the airport, it looks like you are flying into a sea of gold.}

Sunday dinner in the garden, soccer playing, drawing, sculpting, lots of visiting and reminiscing, hide and seek, time spent among way too many crowds, watching Star Wars, playing the Star Wars Lightsaber game on the Iphone, staying up too late, waving goodbye until their car drove out of sight, craning our necks from the third floor at Hollywood and Highland to see if we could see the stars exit their Limos at my friend's Cats and Dogs premier,  and a highlight: we re-created the 'Kaffee und Kuchen' tradition, just like in Germany. Feeling re-connected to who you are and where you came from = priceless.

 

 

Visits like these, I'm reminded that my family is simply too far away.

from the back burner

 

To the front burner. 

Is it just me? or are most sayings and idioms  not only strange sounding but so strange looking when you actually type them out for use online?

When things get quiet over here at my blog, it's for one of a few reasons. One is that I've got a lot I'm reflecting upon, and I'm trying to sort through it to choose what I want to share with you here. Or two: I'm working on a lot of projects that I'm really excited about that I hope you will be equally as excited about {that I will begin to start revealing over the next few days and weeks} or three:  I'm just, get ready here comes another weird saying, plum tuckered out from all the traveling I've been doing.  Well in this case, I'd say all three of these are a fit.

As we left for Paris, a lot of decision making that needed to happen was, appropriately so, pushed to the back burner. One of the best parts of traveling =  an opportunity to put certain decisions on hold. However when you're gone for a while, everything moves to the front burner all at once. So now, I'm gonna say it, oh yes I am  "It's time to get cooking" Figuratively and literally, as it's also time for me to make dinner.

bunny lamps and other such inspiring things like fabric

 

I'm not going to lie to you, it's taking some adjusting to get back into life in Los Angeles.

Feeling mostly, not like myself ~ I've needed to be quiet online and I've needed to turn to what grounds me most, creating {which also means I've got some new fun things in the works for you!} And, let's just say the inspiration from this trip has got to have some place to go or it is going to start piling up in my brain. I have so many ideas right now. Honestly it almost hurts. Ideas are bursting at the seams.

So while I do some more creating over here,  I'm going to share some more of my Paris inspiration with you. 

The bunny lamp, completely inspired by my new friend Veronique who has one of these plugged in at her studio. And to think I might have gone all the way to Paris and not seen this bunny lamp?  To say I love him is an understatement. You may have seen me tweet about it, and you probably saw the painting inspired by it {which is also a new print over at the shop, by the way}. My big plan was to take a photo of him in his new home in my studio, to share with you on the blog, but I haven't found the right spot for him yet ~ so this photo was taken on the day I bought him in Paris. I will tell you that as soon as we came home, he was the first thing I unpacked, and I plugged him in right away. 

Bunny lamp is a little piece of Paris that I'm now so happy to have as a reminder of this time. I knew when I bought him he might be. But now he just feels like a little piece of the magic that I managed to smuggle home in my luggage. 

Also in my luggage, these gorgeous fabrics {big, big plans for these!} bought in Montmartre on a Friday creative artist date also with Veronique, who was so gracious in showing me around Montmartre {and patient} while I looked through endless fabric swatches and buttons. Well, don't feel too bad for her, because shopping for fabrics is also one of her loves. That was such a great day. Thank you again Veronique.

 

Just posting these photos brings me right back. *sigh* 

pinks and reds and whites

Can't leave you with just a dancing baby today?

A little Monday color inspiration pour vous? I picked these sweet peas up at the farmer's market yesterday, and I can't get enough of the colors. I'm really feeling the red, light pink and deep pink. So, so pretty.

a bientot Paris

 

It's 5 am here in L.A., {experiencing one, or is it the only perk of jet-lag?} The ability to wake up early with the joy and exuberance of a morning person, which normally I am not ~ a morning person that is ~ joy and exuberant I like to think I express those qualities from time to time.

I had hoped to write this post from Paris before I left, but I was too busy moping and whining about having to leave Europe. 

Happy to report that the sadness has officially lifted, and now I'm just excited to be back. I can't wait to implement all the ideas and inspiration from this experience. This was an amazing trip for us.

So I won't say goodbye to Paris. I'll just say "see you later" "a bientot" Paris because part of the excitement that is spilling over, is thinking about all of the ways we plan to return...

For you for now, a final grouping of favorite photos from Paris along with a completely random list of what I will call Paris "findings"

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
The "while you wait" seats at a Metro station are not made for lovers, or friends for that matter. They are spaced super far apart. {This may be one place you won't feel crowded in the city}

Paris however, is made for lovers. It is a city in full support of public displays of affection

And, those same brightly colored seats at each Metro station are super cool

Oh, but don't be lovers holding hands while walking on the street. People have no issue with walking right through your hand holding to get to where they need to go in a super big rush

It is not cool to look too overjoyed in Paris, especially when riding the Metro

Paris, or Europe, or economy airplane seats for that matter were not built for a man who is 6'5"

You do not want to walk too slow on the streets of downtown Paris, just sayin'

The reason Parisians can eat so much cheese and wonderful, rich food is because they walk A LOT and FAST

Metro tickets can be demagnetized when in too close proximity to your cell phone

The beauty and attention to detail that exists in this city will blow your mind ~ which has never been more evident than upon our return to what seems like a now very unattractive city called Los Angeles. Minus the weather, the palm trees, the ocean and some amazing homes, the strip malls plastered with neon signs have got to go.

I like the smell of perfume and cologne that Parisians tend to wear

I will miss the combination of cologne and smoke when I go to a restaurant, and I am not being sarcastic

Smoking in France, in comparison to California, where you can no longer even smoke outside, still feels very much in vogue

Toilet paper and kleenex is much, much softer in the United States

Flea markets in Paris inspire creativity and next time~ I am SO buying my favorite vintage leather chair

One should floss everyday, but especially if you eat saucisson

A jar of Barilla pesto sauce can work wonders if you are in a pinch for a quick and delicious meal

Only Parisian men can pull off bright yellow pants. {By the way the new Ralph Lauren store in St. Germain de Pres is 4 floors of impressive and beautiful}

Paris skies are also beautiful

And the gardens, don't get me started on the gardens in the spring

I really like wearing scarves. I have one on right now

Postcard bags make good impromptu notepaper for making lists to post on your blog

I think the art in the Musee D'Orsay was my favorite collection

But a visit to the L'Orangerie to see Monet's large Waterlilies = incredible

French stores and museums don't make their {very odd} store hours very easy to find online

Laduree has the best cafe creme, not to mention their croissants and pain du chocolat ~ also delicious. And the macaroons ~ Laduree is famous for its macaroons. Too busy eating the croissants, I didn't get to try one. This alone is a reason I need to return.

People are ageless when they have style and a zest for life

I love this city more than I thought could

Eiffel Tower, I love you

 

I know the Eiffel tower has been photographed a million times. All you have to do is sit across from it and have a picnic at sundown and you'll see constant flash bulbs going off, almost like the Paparzzi catching a celebrity in L.A.. I know it also might seem like a tourist trap. And in some ways it is, and in other ways it is so magnificent that it takes my breath away every time I see it. Personally, I can't take enough photos of the tower and on the heels of Sean's last video, I thought I'd share a few of my recent favorites {plus a shot of the light shining through the leaves of a tree on the walk to see it} with you.

Whenever I'm walking in Paris, and I look up, I see a glimpse of La Tour Eiffel ~it reminds me that I am indeed in Paris. And now 4 weeks in, sometimes I still want to "pinch" myself that I am really here. 

 

 

 

 

Nighty night from Paris! It's always strange to blog late at night now, and realize that most of you, especially my west coast friends are just into your day. have a good Wednesday! xo

springtime in Germany

 

Finally figured out that other photo app. that everyone has been using lately, thanks to Swirly and her great pictures from Berlin. If you thought you loved camera bag, oh you just wait... Here are my hipstamatic {am now in love with this new app too} photos form Germany. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. While this photo app does enrich the colors, Germany is the most luscious green, green, everywhere green. It's all I could do not to stop and start painting, but seeing as how I left my paints and brushes in Paris, stopping to paint was not an option~ instead, I just took {way too} many photos so I could remember this green. The first photo is a view  taken during a short walk through the forest

2. my uncle, my aunt, {my mom's younger brother and older sister both of whom I adore} Sean {who I also adore} and me, I'm the one falling behind on the walk as per usual, because I keep taking photos with my Iphone

3. dandelions, "Lowenzahn" in German {sorry I can't find my umlaut key on the keyboard, which are the double dots that should go above the 'o'} which literally translates to lion tooth. If you ever wondered what a lion tooth looks like? it looks like a petal to a bright yellow flower ;)

4. I forgot the German name to these flowers, but they are the sweetest tiny daisies you've ever seen

5. & 6 all the apple trees are blooming right now

7. tulips are blooming too

8. & 9. rainy days and gorgeous skies taken while driving

10. spring green trees,  such a brilliant, vivid green, especially when the sunlight shines through the leaves ~ also taken while driving

We had the most wonderful time. I'd share more words with you, but it's late Monday night here and after traveling by train, at 350 km per hour = crazy fast, and metro and then the metro again, I'm done for today. I know we are officially back 'home' in Paris because people are speaking French outside my door. Hope you all had a lovely, lovely weekend.

  

more moments at the Louvre

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Much like we do in Los Angeles, we are trying to live in the city of Paris against the normal flows of traffic. I can't say that we are much for 'crowds of people', is there anyone that is, really? We've discovered that going out later in the day or late at night is one of the best times to walk the city, generally less people and definitely less tourists.

On Wednesday and Friday nights the Louvre is open until 9 pm, so this is when we decided to make our first visit to this gorgeous museum. Since we went just before it closed, we didn't have too much time to explore the museum. We hope to return this week to explore some more. We did however, get to experience the Louvre lit up at night, and that in itself was worth the evening visit.

1.  A Lilac bush blooming along the Seine River that we came across on our walk to the Louvre. And yes, we took a moment to stop and smell the flowers ~ more than a moment actually, because the scent of blooming lilacs is beyond intoxicating. What I loved about this bush in particular is that attached to it were two hand written notes, one in English and one in French kindly asking people not to pick it's blossoms, so that everyone who passed by could enjoy them.  {you can see the note blurred out in the background of this photo}

2. One of the many ornate bridges crossing the Seine, Ponte Alexandre

3. Le Fumoir ~ one of my new favorite restaurants in Paris, directly across from the entrance to the Louvre, great atmosphere, good food and a happy hour

4. Sailboats with what look like hand sewn sails, that children {or grown-ups} can rent and 'sail' with a stick around a little pond in the Tuileries gardens. Sean did this as a kid, and for nostalgia reasons could not wait to come back to this pond. We could've sat there for hours. You'd never guess that a simple sailboat could give little kids, and us watching them, so much enjoyment. 

5. Sean filming at the Palais du Louvre

6. The famous pyramid. I was so thrilled to see it in person

7. painting at the Louvre that caught my eye ~ reminded me of all my characters in a row ;) And I'm sorry to say that we moved through the Louvre so quickly that I did not take note of the names of these paintings, or the artists who created them, to share with you...next time

8. and 9. I love the paintings that depict the angel announcing to Mary that she is pregnant and there were so many paintings and depictions of this in the Italian painters section of the Louvre.

10. those bright green chairs at the Tuileries Gardens ~ how can you not want to sit and stay a while? especially in the ones that recline?

We're in Germany this weekend so I'm planning to take a few days away to enjoy time with my family. It's the one place in the world that I seem to be able to let go of everything and connect to the part of me that was most inspired as a child. I love it here. Not sure if any of that makes any sense to you, but it means I'll be taking a short break.

So I leave you for a few days with some more images of Paris, and I wish you a happy weekend and ein schones wochenende. bis bald ~ a bientot ~ see you back here soon ~ xo