Rodin in (un)likely places

"All my life I have drawn...in fact I started my life drawing" - Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). 

The drawings of Rodin, Capturing the Model can be seen at the Musée Rodin until 1 April, 2012. The  permanent collection is closed whilst The hôtel Biron undergoes renovation. His sculptures though can still be seen in the gardens of the museum and in some other interesting places.
In fact, since I saw the poster for this exhibit in the underground,  I am seeing his work and copies of his work in the most unlikely places.

The exhibiton goes from his earlier black drawings 'dessins noirs', inspired by Dante's Inferno to graphite sketches, his use of assemblage as a precursor to his sculptures, and the use of stumping and colour in the latter part of his life.
The man who is probably better known as a sculptor was a prolific sketch artist. Of the 10,000 drawings and sketches in existence, Musée Rodin houses 7,000.

Indulging the nerd within at Bibliothèque Mazarine

The Winter Sales started today and I was trying by all means to avoid any place that would lead to encounters with shoppers. It's crazy out there! I needed to write and was not getting any inspiration in the apartment so headed out to the library.
I must confess, libraries have always been my favourite places to spend time - I am a nerd that way. I grew up in Lesotho and some of my fondest memories are of visits to the National Library. It was not a huge library- although as a child it seemed enormous, but it was well-stocked. Precious hours would be spent here, where I'd lose myself in the worlds of Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis and later on Judy Blume. I still get a thrill from being inside a library; the muted sounds, the scholarly seriousness, the books... this visit to the Bibliothèque Mazarine was long overdue.

From Abstract to Minimalist

I thought it being a Sunday, not to mention a cold day it would be fairly quiet; this was not the case. While some Parisians were enjoying the comforts of their cosy apartments, others were taking in the jovial atmospheres of warm and loud brasseries; I do love how,irrespective of the weather, visiting your neighbourhood brasserie is very much the thing to do. The more popular ones are always overflowing.
The rest had much the same idea as I- a visit to the museum. There were throngs of people at the Pompidou Centre and I along with them spent a great deal of time taking in Yayoi Kusama's exhibition. It was the last day of the exhibition which might explain the crowds. There were some installations and sculptures that I found really bizarre; some like the  Infinity Nets had me thinking, 'how long did that take?' and others felt like a jaunt at the amusement park- like the hall of mirrors, the suspended lights in dark room, and the pervasive Polka Dot theme in all her work.

Galette des Rois

Suddenly the window displays and counters of my favourite boulangeries are lined with these pastries.
I became wisened to this celebration a bit late but it  happens around January 6th of the New Year or according to some on the first Sunday of January- the flaky pastry consumed is filled with almond and pastry cream and a small trinket is placed inside. It is then shared and the lucky little boy or girl that finds the trinket in their piece is King or Queen for the day. Lovely french custom.

Happy New Year!

With ominous warnings of a tough economic year ahead, despite what many felt was a rather hard 2011, revelers worldwide brought in the New Year with the usual amount of optimism and cheer. It was great to see. Watched it all from our TV as we ushered in the New Year with friends. Stepped out momentarily onto our balcony to see the fireworks as we mentally tweaked and edited New Year's resolutions. Bring it on I say.

Wishing you a fantastic 2012!