Rumblings

Harry was both bad and good to mention my name to an important collector and philanthropist he has been interviewing. His collection includes everyone I know: Sally, Bill, Heide, Kendall and many more. Now if we can only cast a spell on him or bribe him by catching him doing something awful... maybe we could require him to ask the powers that be about my work? Oh, when hard work isn't enough I guess there is always the Dirt! I am kidding, of course. My strategies for success have always been wrapped around the work ethic... if only I could take my own advice that I offer students freely - it can be more efficient to work SMART than to work HARD. Sigh. Ahem.

They are playing a jazz version of Santa Clause Is Coming To Town on the french jazz radio station I am listening to. Jazz all day, all the night, all the time. 99 percent American musicians and composers. I guess that's one thing we can always be proud of... we gave the world JAZZ. Obviously whoever is DJing doesn't speak english since January is coming to a close soon so I doubt Santa will be round anytime before then. It IS a nice jazz version if you don't know its the end of January.

I don't have energy or the heart to compose a letter to my dear friend who lost her sister. It has been such a difficult month. I know it is hard for her since her family is so far away no one in our community really knows them. Its like when my sister was missing for a week after Katrina. No one even knew to ask how my family was... it makes it even harder.

So many beautiful people are gone. It has been a month of memorial services: The Harvey's, Dick Carlyon, Wendy Wasserstein, my friends's sister Emily, Coretta Scott King and of course Rosa Parks... A generation is passing - oh and there are so many, many more. I am ready for February to begin for once in my life.

I am depressed that I haven't heard responses to a few proposals regarding my work but it just means that I need to work even harder (and smarter) here. Its been a long day and an even longer month. I miss Harry and our cats more than they will ever know.

Message in a Bottle

Now that I am here (two weeks) I am in the just over the hump with a cold/virus and
am still getting sad emails from Richmond. For more on the comings and goings of people we love and will miss in Richmond please visit The Blue Raccoon.

I set up The Blue Raccoon for Harry as part of his birthday present on January 3rd. We wound up spending his birthday at a memorial service for the Harvey's so I hope we'll make up for it when he visits Paris in March. We went to Mom Siam afterwards with Regi and Lothar. Thai food seemed to sooth our aching hearts that evening. I hope Reg will be able to stop in for a day or two when she visits her parents in Switzerland.

In the meantime I am looking forward to visiting Picasso, Tapies, Gaudi, Bilbao and more when Irene and I go to Spain! It might be more art than I can absorb in four days but I'll give it my best shot.

Night and Day

Angelina's is the best tea room to stop in after a long afternoon at the Grand Palais. The Chocolate African is the closest thing you'll find to whoop juice in Paris. The chocolate is so rich it will give you a buzz. The interior is so timeless you may mistake a local for Anais Nin. Some people think its too much. That's why I go there after I've worn myself out and need a crank to get me going. Time stands still so I have a chance to catch up.

Connexions

Doesn't the French spelling of the word Connections seem to imply MORE than the American version? It is more appropo for me since Connexions are SO important in making a life for oneself and one's partner.

The image above was created for the anniversary of Karen Kincaid's birth. I will miss the big shin dig back home but she should know I think about here ALL the time. The dog depicted in the photo card was caught doing his business in front of a gorgeous gate in the Marais. The elegant clock shop here is located a few blocks further down rue du Vielle du Temple.

I've been settling into my atelier at the Cite over the past 10 days or so.
When one is settling into a another time zone life if a series of ups, downs, twists and turns - or les torsions et tourne, as the French might say. After days of wanting to throttle clerks, get this space in "working order" and attending to a sore throat I've finally succeeded in making some connections that aren't artful in nature but equally important.

I have once again caught up with a long lost cousin I grew up hearing about more than seeing. I've only spent a small amount of time with he and his French wife as an adult since they have been living in France since some time in the 80's. He studied painting and is also a writer. I was told he was writing for People Magazine when I was in highschool and there are memories of me searching People's Masthead for his name while in the checkout line of Kroger... and of wondering if this Richard Oliver was REALLY my cousin. Most of the relatives we saw regularly were farmers or lived close to the land on farms they grew up on. Not Richard. I am looking forward to introducing he and Sonja to my beloved Harry when he visits in March.

Another unexpected connexion occured this evening as I made my way in the mist to the Supermarche. I heard someone near the Metro St. Paul speaking English - a familiar voice - and a familiar HAT... and it was Maria and Norie, two delighful and brilliant Australian artists I met here in 2004. Their work is interactive in nature and designed to be seen on the web and is linked the title of this post. They are here filming addional footage for a project they will complete at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire during the next two months! Tomorrow we'll get together with another Australian I've met, Irene Barbaris, and catch up over a drink before we head out to a few openings in the Marais/Bastille neighborhoods.

My work here is in a very preliminary stage at the moment. I felt some excitement after seeing the Vienna show at the Grand Palais but then I started to get sick after standing in line for three hours to see the Melancolia exhibition there the next day. And so it goes. I was thinking of dashing over to the Palais de Tokyo tonite for a vernissage but it is raining and I am starting to lose my voice. I think it needs to be nursed with hot soup and liquids tonite - oh, and maybe a little Bushmill. Tomorrow....

The riddle of time

I left Paris on December 29, 2004. Lights and Christmas decor were hanging all over the city with the merry go round and ice skating rink in front of Hotel de Ville being the highpoints.
I arrived on January 9 and its like I never left. A Christmas tree is in the lobby of the Cite and
all the lights are up in town. The Merry Go Round is running and everyone is excited about the post holiday sales. (THIS IS DIFFERENT!) Sales on France are regulated by the goverment and they all start on the same day in January!

I've been here three nights and already met a number of people...don't know if there are
any potiential pals yet. Too soon to know if any of them are as fun seeking and art-making
maniacs as my Tasmanian friends Sally and Tara or the Sydney artist Eugenia R.

I wonder if Tara is still working on the Ice Hotel or if she is back in Paris?
Would love to know more about that adventure.

In the meantime I still have jet lag to get over and keys to locate. Day two
ended with a wonderful vernissage at the Cite galleries. Champayne, good art
and converstation filled the evening...until I ran to BHV afterwards for a few
materials. I arrived back at the atelier and couldn't find my KEYS! I remember
Sally lost her set and I couldn't believe such a thing was possible. It is possible.
They are MIA. Crossing my fingers they will show up in the Lost and Found at
BHV.

I did see some good work at the Cite Vernissage. There was a group exhibition of
young artists from Brittany and an installation by an Australian artist names Irene
Barberis. It was a good opening reception to begin my residency with.