Christmas Cakes

Finally my Christmas cakes...

Winter Fancy

For my class Christmas party. Some liked it, some didn't, some loved it...and others were scared to even taste it. (They'd never heard of a cake that soaks in rum for over a month)

The Whimsical Tree in Winter

I also wanted to make one with only traditional marzipan fruits. As this was the 3rd cake (and I had a lot more time to decorate. The first ones were done in a rush following exams, as the christmas party was the day after), I think it turned out the best. Enjoyed with Mémé and Pépé, my grandparents, for our Christmas lunch. 

A gift for my teachers at school. Thankfully they were some of the ones that loved the cake!

Merry Christmas! 

In the accidental footsteps of Blair...review of Gerome...french pastries...and my birthday

There's a first time for everything.

I had my first macaron. It was a disappointment for its price, personally, but definitely something very original.

No photo, but I'm sure everyone knows what they look like (or you can google it to find out). Early birthday present to myself :D.

My sister got us French pastries for breakfast on my birthday: pain au chocolat (the best!), cinnamon roll, and croissant. With a nice bowl of coffee to accompany it, I was off to an awesome start to the day!

On my actual birthday...Class was cancelled due to the snow, and the teachers not being able to make it (due to the snow), so I went to my new favorite museum, since my first visit a couple weeks before, the Musée d'Orsay with a friend.

It just so happened I discovered that Blair Waldorf's favorite Monet painting is in the Musée d'Orsay. Somehow it had me feeling like I was part of their world for a minute to stand there and look at that painting. So I stood there for a little while, but sadly no prince walked up to meet me heh heh. Then again, I was far more interested in seeing the exhibition on Gérôme, an artist I had never heard of before, but who I realized I had seen allot of his paintings before, in someone's screensaver collection. A lot of Arab and Moroccan scenes, but what is amazing is his skill in detail, with color, how one's eye is drawn into the scene and a feeling of peace is conveyed, despite some scenes that are far from nice, it is portrayed as the normal part of life that it is. I had heard that there is always something hidden to be discovered with close scrutiny in all of his pictures. Some are the faint outline of a woman in a dark doorway, or a detail of clothing or architecture not noticed at first glance. So much detail, it almost looks like a photograph, but more styled, with the well defined style that is Gérôme.

 I went to the Champs Elysées afterwards where we landed right in the middle of the Marche de Noël, so we walked around for awhile looking at all of the fascinating food and gifts.

Party was planned, but postponed until the weekend after exams! Overall a good day, it even snowed, my first white birthday since I was five I think!

I'M IN!

It's finally time to say it...

I GOT IN TO PARSONS PARIS!

I've been overwhelmed, overjoyed, liberated, empowered, feeling damn good about myself and my future, thankful to my family and friends that helped me through and believed I could do it...

These are of course shadowed by waiting to find out if I got the scholarships necessary to attend.

But in any case...it's a first success I can always look back proudly on!
Fingers crossed for the next step...

Happy Birthday to me!

Yay I'm officially older! May the next year always be better than the last!

To be clear, or not to be?

I am going to start my own American versus French life column. I swear, the American mentality is to study for a good future career. The French mentality is study what you have a passion for, is the most mentally tasking, and never talk about money. If you tell a French person "Oh I want to study x because there are good job opportunities in that field". eeeeerrrrr! Wrong answer. You tell them you are a fine arts student however, and they flip with praise, ask to see your work (at least 70% of the people I've met here).
You tell an American person, "Oh I want to study art because I love it"....and I've been looked at like I'm crazy, and immediately asked what I intend to do in the future, and how I intend to make a living.

Fortunately I am in the middle of these. I want to study visual communications because I love art, and because I can see potential career in it. After all isn't the dream to get paid doing what you love? (at least where I come from :D)

But to learn the right things to say at the right time, and what will not offend the ears of the hearer is a massive challenge. With my multi-cultural background, I realise more and more that I am a citizen of the world, and I have to learn to balance the varied cultures and mentalities I have floating around in me head. Basically, learn to say the truth in the RIGHT PRESENTATION to everyone, so that they can understand me. Sucess or failure depends on who you are trying to succeed with, and the right thing to say depends on who is listening.

Another example of my current dilema:
My teacher today really liked my mis en page (layout) of my application CV.

(first draft)

But one of his critiques was, you need to put something over that picture on the side, its too direct, its too clear and draws attention to itself. You see like the painting on the bottom, it is a "challenge intellectuel" to see what the picture underneath is.
The critics I am used to hearing have been "Its not clear enough" or "Can you move it to the front so we can see what it is?" After years of learning to tell it like it is, and show it as it is...subtlety for the sake of subtlety is...a new thing.

What I take away from this is the French don't want things to be clear, they want them to be complicated. Whatever happened to simplicity in design? I guess that was an American idea.

autoportraits psycologiques

Etranger = Foreigner

Etrange = strange. One letter fell off, but I realised it gave an altered meaning to the picture, so I just took another photo.

My first abstract. We were supposed to use different methods of expression and styles, so I thought why not. 

I don't want to say what I meant by each of them...although some are fairly obvious. This was our first homework assignment of the year and the point was to represent different facets of our personality through six to ten images, and then show how each one connects to the other (hense my floor circle). 

Apple tart

Result of holidays: enough time to attempt baking. I decided to try an apple tart, the first time I'm baking since moving to France.

I also began my Christmas cakes...wanted to start early while I had time in the holidays. I was missing the English Christmas cake we would have every year in South Africa. This is my first time actually making one though. I spent a Saturday shopping for ingredients (how hard is it to find nutmeg???), and that evening and Sunday morning listening to Christmas music, and baking the cakes. I'm thinking my Christmas presents for relatives and teachers..if the cakes turn out. 

Procrastinator

I am a huge fat procrastinator! In fact I am procrastinating this very minute. That's why I spent the better part of the last two days absorbed in my Christmas cake....as a way of procrastinating from a) cleaning my room, b) doing homework, and c) anything else I am supposed to be doing. In fact I am beginning to seriously doubt that this blog was intended to inspire my creativity. I think it was a big subconsious ploy to have yet another activity to occupy myself with for when I am in the depths of procrastination.
Sigh. Plus points: I now have 50% of my Christmas gift making accomplished!
It's sad I'm thinking about Christmas already at Halloween. But Christmas trumps Halloween, at least in my books.
So it's off to the grind of organizing my things...and begining the very enjoyable activity of copying a Monet painting and other thought provoking assigments.
Fear not...I will be posting pictures of all of my latest, and not so latest creations that I have been ranting about...once I beat procrastination and finish one!

How to Lose Weight Without Even Trying!

Steph 1: Move in with a skinny person and only eat what they eat. (oops, no that was not a typo...)

Step 2: Move to Paris (or other metro/tube/subway empowered city). Then walk everywhere you can, only using the easily accessible public transport when absolutely necessary.

Step 3: Move into the top floor of a 12 story complex that doesn't have an elevator.

Step 4: Don't allow yourself to buy new clothes until you lose weight. (Works especially well in Paris with 5 Euro summer sales.)

Extra pointer: Carry all the food you will consume for the next month up the 12 flights of stairs first. Not so hungry now are we...

And voilà!

Coming next:  "How to Gain Weight Without Even Trying!" (sneak peak: Step 1: Visit Grandparents)

Airplane tracks

I never saw anything like this before or since. As seen from my sister's balcony early one august morning. I actually watched an airplane pass adding a stripe, before I realised all the other lines in the sky were from airplanes too.

A collection of my best art to date...also my Parsons Portfollio

 Eggs Don’t Grow On Trees

September 2010

Oil Pastel

42 x 29.7 cm  

 Paradise

July 2009

Chute de Zongo in Bas-Congo. This is the first painting I ever sold.

Oil on canvas

54 x 41.5 cm

 Deux Sœurs

                                                 August 2008                                                  

Two orphan sisters from humanitarian project I worked with in Kisenso, DRC.

Oil on canvas paper

41.5 x 54 cm

Kikimi Village Market

July 2008

The Kikimi village market on the outskirts of Kinshasa, DRC.

Watercolour

32 x 20 cm

 Eli dans les bras de sa grande sœur

June 2008

Orphan brother and sister from the humanitarian project I worked for in Kikimi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Oil Pastel

15 x 22 cm

 Croquis

June 2008

Sketches of orphan children I worked with in the DRC.

Sanguine

65 x 50 cm

 Landscape

March 2007

Oil pastel

42 x 29.7 cm

 Jacaranda Tree

November 2006

One of my favorites, and the only painting that made the trip to France with me. It’s hanging on my wall, and reminds me of summer days on the balcony in my old home in Durban, SA.

Oil on canvas paper

60 x 41.5 cm

 Gadget Board 

2005

A learning toy for my niece, Petra.

70 x 60 cm

and finally my oldest, and according to a teacher the best...we have Cat (yes like Audrey Hepburn's, although amazingly enough I named this picture before I realised the  fame of the name.)

2004

Sketch of a neighbor's cat in Durban, South Africa.

Oil pastel

30x34 cm

When I'm inspired, I'm inspired...

I was out buying light-bulbs when I got totally inspired to make some dresses. Well, this is all thanks to Gossip Girl, which my sister loves, and was telling me just this morning before I left the house how she wishes she was rich and could buy all of those clothes. I thought what better present for Christmas for my sister than a dress from gossip girl!  I had just watched Season 4, Episode 6 last night, so with Blair's gorgeous dress in mind, I decided to attempt to copy it, and sketched it quickly on the metro. One thing led to another and I designed another dress for me to wear to the open house of a university I am attending next week...and maybe my concours next year? After all, what says I want to design better than wearing something I made myself...even though fashion isn't really my thing. I think I drew about 5 dresses on the metro, and then settled on one for me to start with for now.
Off I went to the Marche St. Pierre. I had been there before to buy canvas, and it was the only place I knew to buy cloth. (It's in the shadow of the Sacre Coeur, major tourist spot, but also has several of the largest shops for material I have ever seen.)
With only a bit of difficulty I found the perfect golden cloth for my sister's dress. I wanted to make it exactly like in gossip girl, as that is what my sister liked, and I wasn't too sure how doing it in blue or something would go over with her. Besides with her pretty blonde hair, gold should look great!
Shop assistants here can be so rude. It really discourages you from shopping...but then when they have some of the best products..so you have to stay. Sigh. 
I am so glad I didn't decide too strongly on colors for my dress before hand. I had a difficult time finding exactly what I wanted. When I found a maroon I wanted, they didn't have enough of it. I ended up with a dark blue, white for the skirt and sleeve ends, and a dark blue lace. Afterwards I went to sewing heaven across the street where they had every kind of lace, ribbon, buttons, and sewing accessories anyone could ever dream of. I was able to find exactly matching thread for my cloths, something I haven't had in many of the sewing projects I can remember.
This is giving me happy memories of when I was 12 or 13 and designed and helped to make costumes for a play. I'd also made myself a shirt, and a whimsical green coat for the "Ivy Queen", a character in some story. However, back then I had the benefit of my mother's assistance, and a sewing machine at my full disposa
And now I am going to begin the daunting task of cutting out my pattern (figure of speech, I don't have a pattern), and sewing it all by hand. And I have a deadline at least for one dress...the open house is on the 6th of November. Wish me luck! ( ...but first I'm going to put in my lightbulbs.)

My fate is decided tommorow...

Wish me luck. And pray as much as you believe in it, because my fate is out of my hands, it's in you know who's, and in the hands of those who will meet and decide it tommorow.
I can't say anymore because, it's bad luck to blog about these things...
It's what I want more than anything in the world right now!

Yay! I have a blog!

I live in the most beautiful city in the world. I am pursuing my dream of becoming an artist or designer, or just someone living doing what they love.

This blog is to be a forum for all that I do that is creative....baking, painting, drawing, sculpture, writing, and who knows what else as time goes on. The idea of this blog is for it to be an incentive for me to document the things I do. I want it to inspire me to revisit old past-times, and to try new things as well.

I feel like a bit of a baby to the blogging world. Although I've probably read your's from time to time, I never kept one up myself. But really, I hate blogging. I hate writing. It takes too much effort. So why am I starting a blog? Mainly, this blog is meant to replace my watching TV series, which I have done entirely too much of this past year. I don't have time for it, but as I manage to find the time, I'd rather spend that time sharing my love of all things creative with my family and friends.

To a new year, with new things to discover, and more time well spent!