The little witch in you.....

Among the various nicknames I'm being baptized with by Monchéri, my favorite is "mi brujilla" my little witch. Although we do not really have the habit to celebrate Halloween in Andalucia, we felt like having a bit of fun this year and I found those black horror nails at the drogueria with the black lipstick....(men are funny indeed, when I love wearing ultra red lipstick at night, Monchéri is not so enthusiastic about it but he LOVES the black lipstick, bizarre non?). I was quite eager to try those nails and scratch my back with them, only they don't stay put so I'm trying to figure out another way to use for them...little spoons for pumpkin soup may be ?

Have a wonderful week end and happy Halloween to you if you celebrate !

Flamencas by Ruven Afanador..olé ! (part II)

I took so many pictures of the Mil Besos exhibition that it was difficult to make a selection, but here are my favorite ones, full of alegria, totally exuberant with outsize accessories, giant fans and surreal endless hair

Totally love this one !! with the typical whitewashed wall and blossoming jasmine and the crazy hair of course....I like to imagine that an admirer passing by slowly picks up jasmine flowers and adorns her hair....

Hope you enjoyed them and that they make you feel like wearing black lace and be a bit flamenca...Olé !



exhibition Mil Besos by Ruven Afanador
Museum Memoria de Andalucia
Granada

Flamencas by Ruven Afanador...olé ! (part I)

Last saturday was too beautiful a day to stay indoors and work so we went to see the exhibition of super star Colombian fashion photographer Ruven Afanador in the new cultural center Memoria de Andalucia in Granada. The exhibition Mil besos is a series of black and white stylized portraits of flamencas. Rufanador chose young girls and old women to transmit his vision of the mujer flamenca (flamenco woman), because as he says flamenco is an art which passes from generation to generation and the result is simply captivating and powerful.

I think Monchéri who is 100% Andalusian would like to be in the picture too...and do some palmas (clapping) in such good company !

I will post more pics of the exhibition Mil besos next wednesday....

Azurro toujours.....

Being deeply a monomaniac when I work I've still been surfing on the blue wave and the theme of travel these past days, and made a few more items to complement the previous notebooks : a big big paper bag, a box containing matching cards, a gift envelope to place an airplane ticket....
I'm going to have an exhibition at my new work studio, early december and I'm having lots of fun making all sorts of things with paper.

This week end, I'll follow the amazing adventures of Jean Galmot, French entrepreneur, journalist and gold prospector which French writer, Blaise Cendrars narrates in a lively journalistic style in his book Rhum written in 1930.

Have a marvelous week end !

Bleu...blue..azul.....

Between conversation and a glass of white wine, my muse alias Monchéri inspired me these notebooks this week end. As you know I love my dear Andalusia but a little trip to Venezia or Corsica wouldn't be too unpleasant, would it? Alas...alas...not in the near future...So in the mean time, we can still write down our dreams....

Click to enlarge

Ay Paella !

For this week end, I am not asking too much, just a bit of music, something joyful to bid farewell to summer although we're still having a wonderful weather. As the Andalusians say, it is the quince summer, el verano de los membrillos.

well, a plate of paella would surely make me happy too....Rice, saffron, mussels, red peppers, gambas, green peas...it's all it needs and a big sarten (paella dish) of course and a couple of hours

and I guess while we're still in october, I could have one of those espeto de sardinas (sardins cooked on a stick)

and if time and work allow may be a stroll on the beach in Almuñecar....

Have a wonderful week end !

pics : my favorite café in Almuñecar and the feria gastronomica in Almuñecar last june

My new holiday cards collection

As promised, here is my new collection of holiday cards which is keeping my little fingers busy at the moment. Year after year, I like to reuse some of my lucky fetish themes : the cat, the boot, the playing card and the dollar bill. Next week, I'll have a bit of time and put a few on my etsy shop.

Click on the image to enlarge

Hope you like them !

ps : yes...they're all handmade !

Sunny week end and a happy brocante at Gym's Sandpit Club in the Lecrin Valley

Last week end, my darling Gym organized a bazaar in her restored barn, baptized the Sandpit Club. As always, it's a fun event where one can find a bit of everything: local food, plants, books and music, clothes, carpets, paintings, decorative objects.....The weather was just perfect and the sky a happy clear blue...We stayed nearly all day chatting with friends, meeting new ones. This morning, when I called Gym to tell her how much we enjoyed it, I said "that was a great party!"..it was merely a fleamarket but it really was like a party !

the mayor of the village gave his authorization to use the little plaza near the barn
At lunch time, the lounge upstairs was packed

James the cook is busy making burgers. The day before, he prepared chili con carne, chicken curry, salads, apple crumble to keep our stomachs happy. As you can see, the clock indicates 3.25pm...yes, lunch is quite late in Andalucia!

Gym is busy welcoming newcomers
After lunch jazz musicians entertain us until early evening
Outside, the brocante is still on until 7pm in a cool and laid back ambiance

The sky is blue, the good mood is contagious....I don't think I could ever get tired of such happy days!

When we leave, we cross the neighbors going for a ride
Back home, I took a pic of my little finds. I love my new chunky choker
but what really intrigues me is this vintage mirror cum lipstick holder. Ingenious, isn't it ? Does anyone out there know this brand Stratton ?



ps: for info, if you're in the area, Gym will host another bazaar in mid-december. You can see more on Gym's antique shop here

and...Clare, I was so GLAD to have met you again....At last !!! xoxo

Of being radiantly solar.....

I always loved this photo by Robert Capa of Picasso and Françoise Gilot, his young lover and painter who shared his life for nearly ten years. Françoise is most radiant. Her step is confident. Her straw hat is her crown and like a queen protected by a zelous admirer, she seems to lead the way towards a bright future.

I always wondered how this photo was made, if it was prepared or spontaneous. Eventually, I learned that the young man in the background, smiling like a mischievous Cupidon, is the son of Picasso's younger sister Maria de los Dolores.
There is so much happiness in this portrait I can hardly take my eyes off it.

J'ai toujours aimé cette photo prise par Robert Capa, un beau jour d'été sur la plage de Golfe-Juan, de Picasso et sa jeune amante Françoise Gilot qui partagea sa vie pendant près de dix ans. Françoise est lumineuse. D'un pas ferme et assuré, couronnée d'un simple chapeau de paille, et telle une reine protégée par un admirateur zélé, elle s'avance et semble ouvrir une marche triomphante vers un futur radieux. Je me suis toujours demandé si cette photo fut l'effet d'un geste spontané ou d'une préparation minutieuse. Récemment, j'ai découvert que le jeune homme se tenant en retrait derrière Picasso, tel un Cupidon aimable et souriant, est le fils de la plus jeune soeur de Picasso, Maria de los Dolorès.
Il se dégage une telle sensation de bonheur et d'élégance nonchalante dans cette photo que j'ai du mal à détacher mon regard.

photo Robert Capa - 1948

A few days ago, I was thrilled to receive Françoise Gilot's book, Vivre avec Picasso (living with Picasso). It opens with these words : "J'ai rencontré Pablo Picasso en mai 1943, pendant l'Occupation. J'avais vingt et un ans, et je sentais que la peinture serait ma vie..." I met Pablo Picasso in may 1943 during the Occupation. I was twenty-one years old and I felt painting would be my whole life.

Il y a quelques jours, j'étais ravie de recevoir dans mon courrier, le livre de Françoise Gilot Vivre avec Picasso, édité chez 10/18. Il ouvre sur ces mots: "J'ai rencontré Pablo Picasso en mai 1943, pendant l'Occupation. J'avais vingt et un ans, et je sentais que la peinture serait ma vie..."

I try not to read too fast to linger more in the exciting entourage of Matisse, Cocteau, Miró and the master himself.....

Je savoure ma lecture, je ne veux pas aller trop vite pour ne rien perdre de ce vibrant témoignage et rester plus longtemps en compagnie de Matisse, Cocteau, Miró et le maître lui-même.....

Please tell me what are the most interesting biographies/memoirs you read

and have a wonderful week end !!

ps : to please a few friends in France who complain about my writing in English and not in French, I made an effort to do so. Actually it is easier for me to write in French but it's also more time-consuming, so I guess I'll do it once a week, in my friday or saturday post.