Inspiration through Travel

I’ve just returned from two weeks filled with idea gathering. My next collections will undoubtedly be peppered with bits and pieces of my travels to Belgium and France.

BELGIUM

I was searching for shrines shapes and I did find them in Brussels and Bruges. Huge thanks go to my cousin Gary for spending so much time with me and chauffeuring me around the area.

It’s interesting to note that one half of Brussels speaks French, the other Flemish. The country picks from both cultures, but the most distinctive visual element for me was the stair-step building facades. The canal ride in Bruges showcased many such buildings.

The doors and windows of the cities also provide a seemingly infinite variety of wrought iron work.

Normally I’m not big on hearts, but the Sacred Heart collection at the Brussels Museum presented a solid history of the symbolism and use of hearts. I was particularly impressed with the Flaming Hearts

I also visited the Salvador Dali exhibit and was surprised to learn that in addition to his well-known surreal work he had a major commercial account for a hosiery company. Those (still surreal) works always featured a shapely leg and were printed in high fashion magazines including Vogue.

Another fact I found interesting about Brussels; the “freeway” through town is actually a tunnel, with off-ramps to other tunnels. Kind of risky navigating, though, as you have no landmarks to guide you when selecting the next tunnel. But it makes for a beautiful (above ground) city.

FRANCE

Durfort, a small medieval village once known for copper fabrication—The workshop, presented by Dayle Doroshow, is the perfect blend of beautiful accommodations, talented classmates, interesting field trips, instruction in technique, delicious food and studio time.

To give our creativity a jump-start, Dayle assigned each of us fictitious character. This was the seed from which we could create a visual, verbal or written story. Click here to see my story of Madame Collette Liane.

Soreze—the adjacent town was my lodging spot for the next evening although it would be a great place to stay for longer. Housed in an old mill, the Moulin du Chapitre B&B also includes an artistically eclectic museum curated by performance hat artist and co-host Veronique Follett. I’m only sorry I forgot to go back and peruse the erotic section of the collection…

Roussillon—It was definitely the height of tourist season in Provence. Next time I hope to visit the area in more depth, but I was able to satisfy my curiosity about the ochre from the area and bring some of the mineral home. I can’t wait to see how it mixes up into polymer clay!