Life With Picasso, by Francoise Gilot
I’ll just start by saying I enjoyed this book tremendously. There was something about it being written from the perspective of a woman who shared over a decade of her life and a couple of children with Picasso that put the man, the legend and all the stories in a different light.
Picasso Portraits of Francoise Gilot
It was very easy to listen to and I learned a lot about Picasso the human, his quirks, his relationships with contemporaries, from friends and family members to other artists. Again, as with In Montmartre, I was happy to fill in art history gaps in my knowledge while enjoying good storytelling and a touch of an intimate personal glimpse into the life of household names of the art world.
Source : Françoise Gilot (b. 1921), Étude bleue. Oil on panel. Painted in 1953
Francoise Gilot comes across as a very interesting, even atypical woman of her era, in my opinion, in her relationship with Pablo Picasso, for example claiming she didn’t think about his age and the difference between them (almost 40 years) until very late in their relationship, her attitude or the slightly unbelievable reactions or comments she describes to have had in certain tensioned circumstances. I would probably need to read more about her to be able to make up my mind about how much I can truly accept from her own portrait of herself.
Nonetheless, such a worthwhile and fulfilling book.
Death on the Nile (1978)
I watched Death on the Nile (1978) fairly recently for the first time. I was in the mood for an escapist, aesthetically pleasing and star-studded production, and this one, featuring favourites like Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury and being a classic book adaptation seemed to be an obvious choice.
I enjoyed a lot the quirky characters and the brilliant performances and it made me think how many similar hidden gems are simply waiting for me to enjoy them. There is such an abundance of new and modern content these days, more clever and more striking movies and series every day, that for me at least it feels overwhelming. There is something reassuring about watching something old, with a familiar plot, but simply visually and cinematically pleasing, if there is such a thing.
Source – Death on the Nile 1978 Cast
My Girl with a Pearl
While the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer is on loan from The Mauritshuis in the Hague to Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum for the largest-ever exhibition of the Dutch artist’s work, the first museum came up with a cool way to fill the empty space. 170 works reinventing the original, varying widely in style and medium, are shown on a loop, and even more, can be seen on the dedicated My Girl with a Pearl account. Simply brilliant!
I love museums and I hope to one day work for one, thus I feel inspired by creative ways to address situations that are normal in this world, like loaning treasured artworks from a collection and turning these into opportunities for the public to interact and contribute to creating a new story.
Doll House-Themed Furniture
I have a soft spot for anything miniature house or doll house inspired, from lamps to terrariums, or simply decorative accessories like book nooks or candle holders. The latest obsession? Furniture! It probably all started with this DIY tutorial I spotted on Instagram, beautifully transforming a simple Ikea nightstand.
Then Pinterest showed me I am not fully ready for a trip down this rabbit hole, but there is so much waiting for me when I will be! I have started a dedicated board to collect inspiration, like the pictures above and below, which go from over the top fantasy of my dreams to more minimalistic and easy DIY options too.
Enjoy!
Vintage Beauty Products Design
I never stop marvelling at how much more special and precious everyday objects and products seemed to have been in the past, designed not only to be functional, but also creative, aspirational and artistic. On the Instagram account Vintage Make-up, Laura Evans shared exquisitely designed beauty products from decades ago, from a piano-shaped metal compact to vintage porcelain doll powder puffs or a clever and pretty mirror to attach to any lipstick.
True collectables now, seems a bit surreal that these should have been once quite common and easy to find, doesn’t it?
Flower Holder Brooch
This exquisite find was one of those which make me think, wow, there is so much more to discover, an abundance of ideas I can still fall in love with. This thought fills me with hope and joy. Flower holder brooches seem to me like a distinctive way of showcasing one’s passion for beauty in general and flowers in particular. I love an oversized flower brooch, I just somehow never thought it could be an actual flower!
Source: Assorted vintage iterations found on Etsy searching ‘Flower Holder Brooch’.
The modernist design at the top, which also feeds into my obsession with hand-themed accessories, is what prompted my research and let’s just say, I would like to start a collection. I find the actual vintage miniature vases very sweet, but I also like some of the more vintage metal filigree designs I have seen, as well as the contemporary glass or ceramic iterations.
Bonus exquisite find is the artist creating not only one of the brooches above but also very delicate flower holder jewellery and I like the earrings and necklaces below in particular.
Rare Word – Apricity
Who knew that there was a word for the warmth of the sun in winter, but now that I have discovered it, how clearly I see what it means and how distinctive in my memory is the feeling of experiencing apricity.
Of course, that is also because we are on the point of saying goodbye to winter and the sun is teasing us every day with the prospect of the spring to come. I love every season for different reasons, it would be hard to pick a favourite, but few things beat getting more hours of daylight, more sun and intoxicating spring flowers.
I hope your weekend is filled with apricity!
Bon weekend!
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