Monday, January 4, 2010

Trames et Empreintes ...

... Exposition de Calligraphie
de deux amies : ma prof de Calligraphie adorée, Anne Sacramento et Patricia Paillaugue une grande amie d'un talent énorme qu'il mériterait de montrer au monde entier.

Anne ne se dévoilera qu'a la dernière minute C'est le suspens... J'adore ça! Mais vous pouvez voir son travail sur son site Web.


Patricia a bien voulu expliquer pour nous sa démarche et ses sensations en ce qui concerne la peinture et l'art de la calligraphie :



"Quand je peins, je pars à l’aventure dans la toile. Je suis comme un pèlerin qui part en voyage sans connaître sa destination finale.

Quelques outils dans son bagage et l’aventure commence.
Pendant ce voyage comme le marcheur, je rencontre les difficultés et passe par bien des sentiments mais il y a toujours une profonde volonté de continuer et d’aboutir.




Comme le pèlerin, j’ai rencontré au fil du temps : des lieux, des hommes, des levers et des couchers de soleil, le vent, la pluie, la mer, les fleurs, les arbres… 


Avec  ces deux  disciplines, peinture et calligraphie, je construis mes tableaux.
J’essaye de faire chanter ces mots grâce à différents outils : la plume, le colapen, la cagette, le pinceau, l’automatic pen.
Ils m’aident à traduire les émotions que je ressens, grâce à leurs différentes traces et empreintes.
Chaque tableau est un vêtement différent.
 
De grandes lettres viennent ponctuer mes toiles… énergie d’un instant… énergie de  l’âme !

 Chacune de ces rencontres laissent en moi une empreinte de joie, de compassion, d’amour, de force et de lumière, d’émerveillement.


J’essaie de traduire tout cela en écrivant sur la toile.





Au fil des jours, quand j’écris, j’ai le sentiment de créer un tissu ; les mots les couleurs les matières diverses en sont les fils de chaîne et de trame. 
Je recherche le vêtement de mon âme… il est fait de toutes le couleurs qui vont bien avec mon cœur. 




Quand la signature s’impose sur la toile, le voyage est terminé !!"


Bravo les artistes! J'ai hâte de venir voir de plus près.


Vous pouvez aussi voir l'exposition d'Anne et de Patricia 
ainsi que deux autres artistes très reconnus ici:
Galerie La Mozaïque

Saint Jean 
(Toulouse Nord)
05 au 21 janvier 2010



A demain ... en Anglais
Ooooh J'ai failli oublier !
 J'ai lancé une petite compétition à mon 'post' du 31 décembre. Allez-y voir et si vous avez besoin d'un coup de main pour traduire de l'anglais - n'hésitez pas à me laisser un message
 auquel je répondrai vite vite!




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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Progressing confidently towards the dream... the transformation of a shutter



She was greying and unkempt
when I first noticed her.
She had been left to wither in an old barn in the Ariège,
at the foothills of the Pyrénées.
Her big sisters (huge old wooden doors)
were still protecting her
to the extent that I nearly didn't notice her there;
so well was she hidden
by shadows and cobwebs!



She seemed so folorn that I wanted to bring her colour.
I sang to her, read to her...
From the beginning; it was always Thoreau (my favourite)
There was never any question about that...
His wisdom can inspire the most greying of spirits

We shared secrets, she and I.
She told me she had never seen the sea.
So I dressed her in the Bleu de L'Ile d'Yeu.


She pleaded for some embellishment,
so I dressed her with a page of history from her region.
Petit à petit we have built her a new life together
Like me, she now feels equally comfortable
with tradition and progress.
 And in her we have reconciled the two.
.
But there's more to discover in the old girl yet
She hasn't had her final say...
Maybe later today I will give her the final touches.
Maybe it will be tomorrow when the mess monsters go back to school
that we shall chat over coffee and gesso!
In the mean time I'm off for some inspiration
at Seth's Secret Sunday



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Friday, January 1, 2010

2010: Action-Packed with Pink!

It's pink Saturday over at "Beverly's How Sweet the Sound." Well it will be tomorrow but I won't be home in time. So I said to myself, 'Ange, your first New Year's goal is going to be writing a pink post. EARLY.' Pink, to me, being the quintessiential colour of optimism and hope, and therefore a great way to start the year. Me voilà!



Funny though. It's only the first day of the new year and already it feels like time is flying... literally slipping through my fingers. Honestly, where did the day go??? It is nearly time to go and fetch the messmonsters from their grandparents' house, a five hour drive from where I live in Toulouse. But I just had to meet the first goal I set myself for this year - just to set the record straight that 2010 is going to be a year to reach those goals!

 

By the sound of the following definitions which I've just found here, Pink might even be just the colour we all need to launch ourselves with bright abandon into a very promising new year. Here are a few reasons why...


Pink is said to:

Stimulate energy

Increase the blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate

Encourage action and confidence

The time has come and I have to be on my way. Excuse me while I race off to slip into something a  little more pink that will boost my energy levels for the long drive ahead! Hmm - Maybe I have just the time to paint the inside of the car a bright fuschia before we go!



Blessings and may all your projects in 2010 packed pink with action and confidence!

Oops, nearly forgot! Don't forget to enter into my give away at my last post. 
It's open to all - darling followers or not!



Thursday, December 31, 2009

5 ways to a successful 2010 and a 100th post give-away game!


Ooh la la it's finally the 31st of December. A magic day that tips us over into the start of a new year full of possibility and and promise. Of course you've all got your 'tout doux' lists ready for 2010: me too!
But rather than bore you with my goals for the coming year and the other 1000 50  things I would like to accomplish in my lifetime (as I cross things off one end - the list grows at the other), I thought it would be more 'ME' to share with you 5 quotes that most inspire me and have done so for a number of years - all with a distinctly 'Ange does it in 2010' twist!

When you've finished reading my version ... you'll have a wee task to accomplish at the end. Are you ready? Let's LEAP!

1) Find your Passion and Do What YOU LOVE!

The trick to success is making your vocation your vacation
Mark Twain 
(photo from here)

2) TAKE CHANCES!

Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. 
You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. 
David Lloyd George
(photo from here)

3) Be POSITIVE

No pessimists ever discovered the secret of the stars, 
or sailed to an uncharted land, 
or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.
Helen Keller 
(photo from here)


4) SPLURGE at least once OUTRAGEOUSLY!

"Anyone who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination" 
Lionel Stander ( photo from here)

Was that a bit too much for one year? I suggest we all...

5) TAKE REST! 

A field that has rested gives a beautiful crop 
Ovid


Now it's YOUR turn!
It's GIVE AWAY time... 
(or a 'fun' way to Give Back, as Laura says)

To take part all you have to do is leave a comment on this post giving an inspiring quote that moves you, tickles your fancy, makes you giggle, reassures you... and you will go in the prize draw.
What will you win? One of my 'positive planks,' which, as you know, are recycled from French wine crates, with your favourite words of wisdom, in your choice of colours (or as close as I can get to them) to suit YOUR home!

I will have One plank to give away - and two other smaller objects which I am still deciding on, and will share later on today when I am more awake: but all three will be hand calligraphed with each winner's respective favourite words.

The game is open to every one, in all countries with or without a blog and you don't have to sign up as a follower to be in either. I'd rather people hitched along for the ride with me because they like my work and my writing. But I'm big on including every one when it comes to games ... don't like people to feel left out!

For those of you who are nice enough or a wee bit crazy enough to have accompanied me this far, I'd be really thrilled if you'd grab my 'Signed by Ange' button below (a big thanks to Julie @ Being Ruby for the design she made from a few scribbles I had put down on paper - she's amazing!), put it on your side bar and link it to this post...



Hope you'll join me in the adventure!
May 2010 be an inspiring and giggle-full year for you all and your families...
Oh dear - it's 4.27am and I'm still here...
Bonne nuit
Ange xx

OOPS! I nearly forgot. I'll be drawing the winners on Saturday Jan 9th at dinner time with the kids. It's much more fun, albeit more work, to have the wee messmonsters gleefully drawing names out of a hat than doing the old 'random' machine... Although I know how to do it now n'est ce pas Julie ;-) And I will announce them in my Secret Sunday post... on Sunday Jan 10th.

... Bed? Bed? Where are you Bed? Oh I give up - I may as well make myself a cuppa and wait for the sun to come up!


J'ai trouvé ma place ...


... j'y étais tout le long!
Il est 1h30 du matin et je tombe de sommeil. J'avais prévue de vous proposer un petit jeu afin de pouvoir faire un 'give-away' et fêter mon 100 ième article écrit sur mon blog. Je le ferai non pas Mercredi (hier déjà???) comme je pensais, mais tout-à-l'heure - aujourd'hui. Alors n'oubliez pas de revenir voir si vous avez l'esprit joueur ...

Il est temps d'aller retrouver ma place - sous ma couette si accueillante ...
...sans oublier qu'il faut prendre un peu d'avance sur le sommeil avant ... Ce Soir!

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Stillness: The calm before the Storm

It's still 2009... Just!
Before revealing those inevitable goals to you
(N0! Not resolutions ;-)
I'm desperately trying to finish off something
that I started after my last trip to London
IN MARCH
A simple quote that touched my soul
and lit my lightbulb
from the programme of a dance performance ...
by a great composer:

"Stillness is our most intense mode of action. 
It is in our moments of deep quiet 
that is born every idea, emotion and drive 
which we eventually honour with the name of action. 



In stillness every human being is great; 
he is free from the experience of hostility; 
he is a poet and most like an Angel."


Leonard Bernstein



Nearly finished it...
it's still missing something.
Colour?
Light?
A focal point?
Decisions!
And time is running out...
Later on today
A wish...
and a 100th post giveaway
In the stillness
before the whirlwind of 2010 arrives ;-)



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Dancing through 2009

So here we find ourselves together, you and I in the wee hours of the morning that begins Wednesday 30th of December. Only a few more hours to go and we will all be popping champagne and sparkling and smiles. And dancing! I know I will be ... This year it just feels right again to wear some glittery tights and a girly dress, a tiny speck of sparkle and party with a few close friends.

But 2009 is still hanging in there for a day or so and I have been having a great time looking back at some of the high points. Not just in terms of fun and excitement, but more so with respect to those situations where I got to be the cartoon character with the proverbial light bulb of recognition flashing over my head. Insights! Flashes of Recognition! AHA's! They have often been my most magical moments. So many pennies have dropped over the last 12 months that I find myself now more wealthy than I could ever have imagined ;-)

One other magical moment for me, in terms of intense joy, admiration, fun and ooooh yes, heart pounding exhilaration was seeing this show that I was over-the-moon lucky to have been invited to during a trip to London last March.



If you find yourself floating around the London area, always check out what's on at Sadler's Wells. It will be well worth a look. 
One of the unique aspects about Destino was the involvement of Dance United - a dance company that works with the disadvantaged and the marginalised, including women in prison... Imagine the vision, belief and dedication it must take to bring these projects to life!


"Destino is an ambitious artistic collaboration that celebrates the belief in the transformational power of dance to affect and change lives." The programme said.
Ambitious. A great word. In this case, a slight understatement. As well as introducing young Ethopian dancers Junaid Jemal Sendi and Addisu Demissie to London (if you see their names on a programme anywhere else in the world - buy your tickets quick), Destino's finale was a unique large-scale community work which saw over 130 people aged between 9 and 80 odd, most of whom who had no previous experience in dance, performing to live music by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra! 


The thought of the work, conviction, courage and dedication that had gone into the preparation for this event gave me goose bumps during the whole performance. What will never fail to move and inspire me, is watching (and helping) people transform themselves, push their own limits, find their inner courage, and reach - or even transcend - their goals. What an example this was... sigh. I'm still reeling from the effect and it's nearly time for me to hit London again already! 

Hmm - has anyone heard of a similar concept on such a large scale involving art? If not, surely a worthy project to consider for for 2010... 


One more day or so of this first though... 






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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

C'est quoi une Vie Réussie? (it's my French day today...)

Emerson l'a expliqué ainsi :



Laurent Gounelle s'est penché sur la question et nous donne ceci comme réponse:

Une vie que l'on mène conformément à ses souhaits et en accord avec ses valeurs
Une vie où l'on donne toujours le meilleur de soi même
Une vie qui nous donne l'occasion de nous dépasser et de nous consacrer à autre chose que nous-mêmes.
Une vie où l'on apporte quelque chose à l'humanité - ne serait ce qu'un sourire pour les autres...


A travers des siècles et des océans il me semble qu'il n'y a qu'une recette universelle du bonheur..





N'attendons donc pas 2010 pour réussir alors! Commençons de suite!


S'il vous faut un petit coup de boost pour être pleinement heureux, je vous suggère de lire le livre
(MERCI SKIPPY, de me l'avoir passé)

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Light the Way ... to 2010

Let nothing dim the light that shines from within...
Maya Angelou

It seems fitting that, as 2009 slowly draws to a close, we finalise old projects in order to make way for the new... Remember these?



You first met them on my blog here when they were still scuffing their toes loafing around in my hallway, waiting for some TLC from me and looking for a bit of purpose in life.

"You must put your best foot forward," I told them, "if you want to move on to bigger things!" So together we decided they would shed a little light on the future. Finally, with an old bike fork, a bit of welding help from my Ferronnier, a thrifted glass lampshade from a  vide-grenier and some deft wiring skills, this is what we came up with:



You will note that I managed to restrain myself from taking to the poor things with a paint brush and my 'patine' effect (Sighs of relief. Applause). My how difficult it is to leave the past behind. I guess it's more about constantly reinventing it so that it molds and shapes itself to the present...

I had to add my signature touch though, in the form of the quote at the top of this post. I've already used it here too. Words always provide a conscious reminder for me to remain in the present and to focus on the positive. No exceptions.



I can see from the exuberant post Christmas posts that you are all full steam ahead already on 2010's projects. Before I get far too ahead of myself, as I am wont to do, I promise myself to take stock of this last year, acknowledge it's highs and lows and objectively observe the results.  This ain't gonna be easy as I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of the low points. I'm sure there were some, but I seem to have misplaced them somewhere. I must start taking things a little more seriously...

Mostly though, I am going to spend the next couple of days finalising the old projects and consolidating so my next foot forward is not only on solid ground, but REALLY my best! Mind you, how could it not be with the fabulous new pair of snuggly warm slippers I found lounging in a box with my name on it under ze Sapin !!!
Anyway, now that all three of my cherished messmonsters have been lovingly kidnapped by the PiL I am officially on holidays for five whole days. Paradoxically, this means I am free to WORK to my heart's content. Oh Joy! Oh Peace!
Oh Singing Really Loudly to my favourite songs while I 'illuminate' my home!!!



This first lamp is going to help light our very pretty, but rather dark French farmhouse. The next ones will be for sale (at very reasonable prices!). Don't hesitate to email me for details.

More lamps to light your way coming over the next few days
(umm - Mr Ferronnier, about that welding...)


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