La Mémoire Vive

Quote: On Reading... [Gustave Flaubert]

2.25.2013 • Lasting Impressions Quotes

From Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary:

...what could be better, really, than an evening by the fire with a book, with the wind beating on the panes, the lamp burning?

Your head is empty,... the hours slip away. From the chair you wander through the countries of your mind, and your thoughts, threading themselves into the fiction, play about with the details or rush along the track of the plot. You melt into the characters; it seems as if your own heart is beating under their skin.

Project 366: a Review

2.21.2013 • Project 366

In a few days I will complete my photo-a-day Project 366,...and though looking back through it leaves me wistful, I'm relieved to mark the end (whew!) of a truly challenging photo-a-day challenge. The intrepid photographer often became a reluctant shooter. I admit I fell behind. many. times...

But at the end of the day (or year in this case), it is enormously satisfying to review your work of 365+ days, in visual detail, each 24-hour day curated into a single moment. This exercise is supposed to help us become better photographers - essentially teach us how to look at every thing and every moment more keenly, improve upon or simply find our photographic style, and very importantly come out of it a more thoughtful observer. all the while having fun. It's a tall order. I certainly need more than a 365/366 to accomplish all that!...

What I have learned is that my favorite photographs (by others as well as my own) are the ones that tell stories and that I've got miles to go before achieving that. So I'm thinking about my next photo project, something less demanding this time; a Project 52 sounds about right. Perhaps you'll join me?

To you friends who are undertaking a photo-a-day project of your own or bravely hosting a photo-a-day blog - I applaud you! I so enjoy looking through your posts, dreaming about what your days are like. Have fun + persist even when you feel like stopping!

There's a wonderful and relevant read when pursuing artistic endeavors (and for life in general) from Maria Popova's Brainpickings post: Advice on Design and Life: Graphic Designers Then and Now.

Babar the Elephant

2.16.2013 • French Francais

The plush Babar, the beloved king of the elephants who sports a bright green suit and golden crown, was originally a gift for my older son when he was an infant. Now Babar sits most happily in my bedroom as my boys (yes, even the two year-old) have simply outgrown him. So all the souvenirs I've picked up over the years in France have now mostly become mine, though thankfully the boys still enjoy Babar's delightful tales and adventures with his wife Celeste and their family (one of my favorites is A Gift for Mother, which taught my son that his drawings are more special and more valuable than any store bought present).

In the States, it's been nearly impossible to find Babar mementos except for the storybooks... until now. With the 80th anniversary of Babar upon us (in 1933, Babar's first book appeared in the United States, two years after the publication of the French version), we'll be seeing a lot more of our enchanting little pachyderm stateside!

I did run into these pretty paper butterflies upcycled from vintage Babar book pages (from Dallas Manicom's Abounding Treasures shop on Etsy) that I think could easily be hung in an adult space, ...non?

photo credit: Dallas Manicom

Here's a short video with author and illustrator Laurent de Brunhoff at his home in Florida explaining the history of Babar and demonstrating his process of sketching, painting and bringing Babar to life. At a youthful 87, Laurent has no plans of retiring Babar. The 42nd book of the series, Babar's Celesteville Games, was just released in 2011.