Saturday, August 1, 2009

5 Degrees of Inspiration House Party

Welcome Friends and Friends-I-Do-Not-Yet-Know,
Happy Blog Party to you! As a member of the Inspiration Avenue Team, I welcome you!

What inspires me? Anyone who knows me or reads my blog probably has a pretty good idea of a lot of the topics that inspire me, as my artwork or blog give life to most of them. Here are some images of inspiration for me. I hope they do the same for you.

Welcome to the House of My Imagination. All the rooms are decorated with extra glitter and sparkly bits in anticipation of your visit . . .

. . . and so we begin in Room One,
the Dining Hall,
so that you might sample food that inspires me. . .

. . .by taste. . .
(These pastries from Ladurée make me dream! Your first experience with the scentflavors of rose and lily-of-the-valley are something you will never forget!)

. . . by sight . . .
(Madame Joconde Eclairs from Fauchon)
Read my previous post about them here.
What is this lovely-looking item? You might think it was a dessert, but you would not be correct! It is Saint-Honoré Printanier de Légumes from Dalloyau, a tart made of tiny spring vegetables, fresh cheese and fresh flower petals!

. . .by anticipation . . .
I will definitely want to try this Wasabi Macaron the next time I visit the House of Pierre Hermé!

. . . by scent . . .
With which tea may I tempt you? Kusmi's Bourbon Vanilla, redolent of the exotic and beautiful vanilla pod, Caramel, warm and sweet, Spicy Chocolate with warm spicy notes or beautifully floral Violet?


. . . now, on to Room Two,
the Gallery,
so that you might see images that inspire me . . .

(An Ad for the coffee company Lavazza, a large sign with this ad on it was one of the first things I saw when we arrived in Paris at 7 am after not having slept all night!)

(An Ad from Fauchon)

(An Image from the Italian artist Nicoletta Ceccoli)

(An Image from the collection of Les Museés de Strasbourg)


. . . next,
on to Room Three,
the Library,
so that I might share with you
words that inspire me . . .

The Fig Eater, by Jodi Shields
This is a beautiful, dark, hypnotic book, meant to be savored over and over again. To read this book is to live in turn-of-the-century Vienna.

Paris Out of Hand by Karen Elizabeth Gordon, Barbara Hodgson and Nick Bantock (author of the Griffin and Sabine series)
This gorgeous book is a tour guide of Paris, but not Paris as it actually exists. It is a surreal, dadaist tour of the Paris of the Mind. This lovely little jewel box of a book will make you dream of visiting The City of Lights.

. . before we leave the library, I hope you find inspiration in some quotes by my favorite poets and writers . . .

"Poetry is . . . the human soul entire, squeezed like a lemon or a lime, drop by drop, into atomic words" - Langston Hughes

"Very much so. Hopelessly. I just love that time so much. It’s unfragmented and velvety. My mind is very free at night.” - Karen Elizabeth Gordon, when asked if she was a night person.

"And the day came when the risk (it took) to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage" - Anais Nin

(For further inspiration, please consider reading anything by Colette or Edward Gorey)


. . .and in Room Four,
The Listening Room . . .
. . . I hope you find yourself inspired by the music that currently inspires me . . .

a strange, joyful mix of the following:

almost anything from Joy Division (always "Love Will Tear Us Apart".
Consider this a shout-out. He knows who he is.)

"Sketch for Summer" by Durrutti Column

"Sunshine and Love" by The Happy Mondays

"Six Bells Chime" by Crime and the City Solution

"Fistfull of Tears" by Maxwell

"Song to the Siren" by This Mortal Coil (this came to me as inspiration from V by way of something posted by J.
You inspire me always. I love you so much.)


. . .Finally. . .
in Room Five. . .
the Observatory. . .
Please gaze with me at the Number One Place that has inspired me:
. . .being watched over by our Dear Friend,
Mademoiselle Moon!

Goodbye Dear Friends and New Friends!
Please have fun visiting the other parties being hosted by the other participants of The Inspiration Avenue Blog Party!
May you be inspired!

Betty

19 comments:

  1. Ohhhhhhh Betty....your posting was fabulous! I am drooling over the macarons! Bourbon Vanilla tea sounds delish!!

    Fabulous posting my dear friend!

    Love,
    LuLu~*xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. I so enjoyed that. What fun to meet you at this party with all your pretty things you brought along.

    The Lavazza poster is particularly delightful.
    I'll have the spicy chocolate tea please with a cup cake to match.

    Ah Paris, city of dreams (and lights). Thanks for the book ideas. I am particularly intrigued by the Paris one - I'm itching to explore...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, what wonderful images you chose to share with us. I love what inspires you. Beauty in all the senses. Thank you for having me and sharing these with us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your post Betty!! Very nostalgic - I could definitely see myself sitting outside a Paris cafe sipping a cafe au lait! (I'll be sipping a cafe au lait tomorrow afternoon in France, although not in Paris!) xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. My mouth was watering over the macaroons and I swear I could smell the tea! The love the artist Nicoletta Ceccoli! I have one of her children's books because I love her illustrations so much!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have such rich and beautiful inspirations Betty! I loved looking at your photos and reading the quotes - "And the day came when the risk (it took) to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom" is my favourite!

    ReplyDelete
  7. i love the way you wentthrough the senses! and thank you! you've introduced me to a lot of new things!

    ReplyDelete
  8. WOW!!!!! now that... was inspiring!! what a beautifully crafted post! my gosh ... i was mesmerized ...by the words and the pictures :) it must have took you a long time to write that and to put all the links in ... you are the best! this is perfect!

    i can kick myself! i didn't realized i haven't added you!! i was waiting for your post to appear in the dashboard the whole day & night ... (that's what i was doing :p waiting for everyone to join the party :)) ... and it didn't appear! good thing i came here and discovered that i made the boo-boo :( but that's all gonna be rectified now!

    peace and hugs!
    luthien :))

    ReplyDelete
  9. Truly inspiring post I must say. First time peek, but I'll be back for sure. If you look at my blog...this blog is evidence of my inspirations....

    tootles,
    bunny

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Betty, this was, as always, so utterly delightful and inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing the essence of who you are and I relished in touring the House of Your Imagination with you - what a magnificently intriguing and wonderful place!!♥

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, your post is definitely inspiring- it calls to all of the senses. :) I'm especially hungry after reading this, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you so very much to everyone who visited with me today! I had fun putting my post together and am now making a late-night visit to everyone I didn't visit early this morning!

    Wishing everyone a very happy evening!

    Betty

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is a great post. I'll have a piece of that rose cake and some chocolate spice tea. This was a fun way to lead us through the five senses.
    Your list introduced me to some new things. Thanks for sharing them at the party.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you for truly amazing post! It is pure inspiration to read it and look through divine pictures.I is such a rare delight to read something so delicate and beautiful.Thank you for inpsiring me!

    ReplyDelete
  15. All too wonderful! Thank you for taking me on a journey of pure delight!
    xo's

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a wonderful idea. A tour of the senses. I really enjoyed it. There is a shop here that makes candy into art, or art with chocolate...either way, it's the best of both worlds doncha think?
    Peace...Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is the best post I have ever seen. Thank you very much. Hugs, Margie.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello darling, thank you so much for visiting my cottage and for the sweet comment you left behind. I am here for a visit too and I must say you have a fantastic looking blog. I simply love it. I can see you and I have many things in common, as a matter of fact, since I prepare my posts a few days ahead of time, I now have a post ready to be posted in a few days with the photo of Dalloyau,. Doesn’t look appetizing, an candy for the eye. I have visited Dalloyau once with my Aunt, it‘s a fantastic place. I just joined your followers and placed a link to your blog on mine. I will stop by daily darling and please do visit me again.

    Duchess xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Darling I hope you had a lovely weekend. I just stopped by to wish you a sunny day!!

    ♥ hugs ♥

    Duchess

    ReplyDelete

I am so very happy to read your comments!