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Pondering Paris

The last week and a half I can’t stop thinking, pondering, and obsessing about Paris in the Fall. I lay awake at night, as I’m supposed to be getting much-needed sleep, coming up with scenarios in my head, such as – searching for an apartment, ordering a crepe, finding my favorite boulangerie, taking art history classes in French, and the list goes on. I’ve even spent a significant amount of time exploring the streets of Paris via Google Maps street view. I’ve been researching like crazy for advice on studying abroad, and brainstorming ways to save up money. If you’re wondering where in the world I’ve been the last two weeks – this is what I’ve been doing.

This Fall, I will have the chance to live in a new country. I’ll be there for five months, I’ll rent a tiny closet-sized apartment (shared toilet down the hall), I’ll be an English tutor part time, and I’ll study art history in the company of the best museums in the world. I almost can’t believe it’s going to happen – It still feels surreal.

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Simplicity of Spring

In honor of the coming spring, I’ve put together some botanical, natural history-type photographs of the most simple natural elements. Freshly fallen leaves, sprigs of lacy green in the grass, and tiny white wildflowers. Can’t get any simpler than this. It makes me want to lie out a soft blanket in the grass, and bask in the sun all day long.
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I am going to add some of these to my Etsy shop, but I need some feedback before I do. Which of these do you like the most?

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Fujifilm Instax!

I am beyond excited about my Fujifilm Instax! It’s like a Polaroid camera, but new, and wide-format! I’ve had it since Christmas, but FINALLY bought film for it a few weeks ago.

I had been waiting for the perfect moment to use the film, or the perfect subject to capture, but yesterday I realized that any moment can be the perfect moment. So, I whipped that beheamouth of a camera out of its box, inserted the film, got really excited, and then… read the instructions. Anticlimactic, I know. But don’t worry, the exciting part is coming.

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Art History is Cool – Art Nouveau

What makes Art Nouveau so unique, is that it was created for a very simple purpose: to beautify. To make cities, homes, posters, advertisements – in short, the world around us – beautiful. (you might know the famous curvy green Metro station in Paris) This isn’t a typical “fine art” movement, found only in painting or sculpture, this was a movement found within everyday objects of upper-middle class people.

Inspired by the curving lines and floral patterns found in nature, Art Nouveau is popularized today by the work of Alphonse Mucha. Almost all of his work seems to feature nymph-like women, usually with really long hair. There is a flatness to his work, which gives it a graphic design aspect, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in detail and sophistication. The colors he uses are so harmonious!

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I Love You, Erin Drewitz Photography

It’s time for Artist Feature No. 2! This month, I’m featuring the photography of Erin Drewitz.

I was browsing through Etsy, hearting away, when I ran across her Pigeons & Whales photograph. Some people might look at this image and feel underwhelmed, simply because the beauty of it is wonderfully understated. I’ll explain this more in a moment.

Erin describes her work best, as “an exploration of textures, light, shadow and color,” and I totally agree. I love the cool, desaturated tones she uses, as well as the simple, rather mysterious and uninhabited subjects she captures.

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Spring Has Sprung

It’s official! Spring has arrived! …at least in California (The flowers say so).

For those of you who live in colder, more seasonally varied areas of the world, I encourage you to live vicariously through these pictures of springtime blooms! I found these bobbing beauties at the Japanese garden (the one nobody knows exists) on my school campus. Many of these are soon to be posted in Etsy!

Enjoy!

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