Blake's Phantom - Wax

Many of you know that from time to time I have the immense pleasure of taking photographs in the Monaco studio of Blake, the well-known Canadian sculptor.

Here he is holding his latest 'Phantom.' She has been painstakingly created out of wax and is kept in a large container of water before she goes to the foundry to be cast in bronze. The wax is kept in water to keep it cool in the heat and so that it doesn't deform. This is a very delicate sculpture and it's held together with small rods, all welded together.

The Giant and the Passers-By

Here's another 'Giant' sculpture, this time inside the Metropole Centre. I like the delicate summer fabric of the girls' clothes, as they float by, compared to the solidity and weight of the sculpture - and neither aware of the other ...

Vernissage/Opening Photography Exhibition THIS EVENING!

Blatant self promotion today!

This evening! Vernissage of photography in the Tour Lascaris at Gorbio, near Menton. Two photographers. Khaled Youssef will be exhibiting his new series of beautiful bubble photos and Jilly Bennett will be showing new black and white photos of life and love in Menton and Gorbio.

Do come along.  Everyone welcome. 18h. Friday, 7th June in the Chateau at the top of the village. Come an have an aperitif and a enjoy the show. Afterwards? Gil, the pizza chef at the Restaurant les Terrassess/Chez Paulo, makes great pizzas.

And if you've not visited the medieval village of Gorbio before, you are in for a treat.

Christine Franchesini's Exhibition

Last night I went to a gallery opening in the medieval village of Roquebrune.  Meet my lovely, talented  friend, Christine Franceschini with one of her beautiful paintings.

The exhibition is open until the 20th May at the Salle Saint Lucie in Roquebrune village.   Christine will be there each day from 14h00 to 19h00. Do come along ...

Théâtre des Muses

How adorable is this!  A tiny theatre on the Boulevard Jardin Exotique called the Théâtre des Muses.  It has 100 seats and puts on plays and comedies and gives classes in theatre for children and adults.

Blake - Fixing the supports

We're back at Blake's Monaco studio today.  Here he is fixing the metal rods that will hold the various parts of the sculpture together.  When this is completed, it will be sent to the foundry in Italy to be cast in bronze.

Telling Tales: The Art of Creating Stories in Images and Words

Yesterday was the 5th and last day of a superb Photography/Writing Workshop in Monaco called:
 
Telling Tales: The Art of Creating Stories in Images and Words

With Nick Danziger, award-winning photojournalist, author and documentary filmmaker and Rory MacLean, best-selling author.

It was fabulous, inspiring, exhausting - we each worked on a specific project and left with the tools to put it into practice.  This is probably the only course where writing and photography are combined. It was such a privilege to be taught by and work with Nick and Rory - they really cared about us and our projects and that we should learn as grow as the course progressed.  Do click on the links above to read about the work of Nick and Rory.

There will be another workshop, I believe in September, in Monaco, so if anyone gets the chance, I'd say --- don't miss it!   Click on the link where you'll find contact details to reach Nick. Note - the workshop is in English.

Thank you Nick and Rory for a truly great workshop.

And thankyou to my fellow participants, wonderful talented photographer Tiziana from Monaco who cooked a regu to die for one evening.  To Jon (that's going to be a wonderful book!)  and Claire from the UK and her photographs representing poetry and to beautiful Elisa from Hongkong who has an old soul and will enchant us with her future work. 

The first photo was taken by Nick Danziger.  The one below by me.

Blake - the Wax Creation

Today Blake is pouring warmed wax into a mould that is the beginning of a new Angel creation.  Later he will join the delicate pieces together along with internal rods to hold the sculpture together.  Then it will be sent to the foundry in Italy to be cast in bronze. We'll see more of these processes another time.

Click on the link to see the beauty of a finished Angel by Blake.

Blake - and Bling

It's always such a treat for me when celebrated Canadian sculptor Blake invites me to his Monaco studio to take photos of work in progress. 

In the main photo, you see Blake's assistant, a sculptor herself, applying gold leaf to the interior of this sculpture in his new series, Phantom.  The first in the series, 'Phantom Sky' was exhibited at the recent Monaco-Japan exhibition. (see photo below)

Blake has written about the Phantom series:

'We have gone Las Vegas!
Bling has entered into the realm of the Phantoms!
This new series of sculptures place great value on the interior space within us, it is an exploration of our inner selves and the ideas of our emotional and spiritual psyche. By bring the interior to our attention I place a high value on this area of our intellect and emotional being, by covering it in gold I add physical, symbolic and material value to the work.'

7th Rencontre Artistique - Monaco-Japan - Viatcheslav Plotniko

Viatcheslav Plotnikov is a Russian artist who has lived in Monte Carlo since 2000.  He often paints glamorous scenes like this - the Hotel de Paris featuring famous American film stars long since dead. 

For instance, that's Ava Gardner sitting at the front.  Looks like Humphrey Bogart in the background. I'm sure others are recognisable too.The painting is called 'By Night Monaco.'

7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco-Japan - the Rhino and the Panda

This sculpture is called 'F... Panda.'  I'm not being prudish in not typing that four-letter word but I don't want all the spam that will arrive if I do.

The sculptor is Patrick Schumacher - he makes lots and lots of what he calls 'rhinozebros.' Click on the link to read more.

7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco-Japan - Reni

This lady is dressed somewhat differently to other ladies and you'd think she is young, wouldn't you?  But - good for her - she absolutely isn't.

Her name is Reni and she always wear unusual outfits. She's one of Monte Carlo's characters and loves being photographed.  You may remember her in the Casino Gardens posing for the camera on the night the casino was lit up pink.

7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco-Japan - the Golden Elephant

This elephant reflected all the colours of the exhibition. It was fun to look at and see the constantly changing light and shade - lots of red -  as you walked by.  I couldn't find the name of the artist on the plinth.  

7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco-Japan - the Cleaning Lady

Not everyone dresses up for the vernissage ...

7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco - Japan - the Ladies

In Monaco, you dress up for the opening of an exhibition.  These Japanese ladies did just that.

7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco - Japan - Blake's Phantom

Last night saw the opening of the 7th Rencontre Artistique Monaco - Japan in the Auditorium Rainer III. It's a marvellous space overlooking Port Hercule and of course 'le tout Monaco' was there including many Japanese ladies wearing traditional dress - wonderful!

Each artist showed one work only.  This beautiful piece is by the well-known Canadian sculptor Blake, whose studio is in Monaco.  This is one of his new series called Phantom and yes, that's real gold leaf which I believe takes over a week to apply. This sculpture is called Phantom Sky.

The exhibition continues today and tomorrow - 11h to 19h.

Chapel de la Miséricorde - the Painting

Walk behind the altar in the Chapel de la Miséricorde and this is what you find.

Photography Exhibition!

Not a photo by me today but one that includes me! - it's the programme for a  an exhibition of photography at the Tour Lascaris/Fondation Raza in Gorbio village, just above Menton, from the 15 February to the 3rd March - 10h - 12h and from 14h to 16h. Closed on Tuesdays.

Khaled Youssef is a wonderfully creative Syrian-born photographer who lives in Nice. Khaled takes fabulous  photos of enormous bubbles, of beautiful reflections and of graffiti. It's an immense honour for me to be presenting my work at the same time. My photos will show what I adore about life here - the festivals, the ambiance, the food, the way of life in Menton and the medieval village of Gorbio. But most of all the people who live that life.

The vernissage is between 15h and 18h on Friday the 15th February (it will go on later than 6 p.m.) Everyone is welcome. Do mark your calendar and come along. And for anyone who wants to pass the evening in the village, the Restaurant Les Terrasses serves great pizzas.

Normal service will be resumed on this blog tomorrow!

~~~~~
  
Aujourd'hui, ce n'est pas une de mes photos, mais une photo sur laquelle je suis! - il s'agit du programme d'une exposition de photographie dans la Tour Lascaris / Fondation Raza au village de Gorbio du 15 Février au 3 Mars - de 10h à 12h et de 14h à 16h. Fermée le mardi.

Khaled Youssef est un photographe, merveilleusement  créatif, d'origine syrienne qui vit à Nice. 
Khaled prend de  magnifiques photos de bulles énormes, de beaux reflets et des graffitis. C'est un immense honneur pour moi de présenter mon travail en même temps que lui. Mes photos montrent ce que j'adore de la vie d' ici - les fêtes, l'ambiance, la cuisine, le mode de vie de Menton et du village médiéval de Gorbio. Et par dessus tout, les gens qui vivent cette vie.

Le vernissage aura lieu entre 15h et 18h le vendredi 15 Février (cela se poursuivra au delà de 18 heures) Tout le monde est  bienvenu. Notez la date dans vos agendas et venez. Et pour tous ceux qui voudraient passer leur soirée au village, le Restaurant Les Terrasses  sert de délicieuses pizzas.

Le blog reprendra son cours, demain!

Half a Painting ...

A glimpse of a painting through some sort of structure - seen at the vernissage at the Marlborough Gallery.  I don't know the artist and presume the couple are in a gondola in Venice.

The Marlborough Gallery - Chihuly

This beautiful vase by Dale Chihuly is on on display and for sale at the Marlborough Gallery on Port Hercule. The note alongside says 'Pine Green Soft Cylinder with Deep Blue Lip Wrap, 2002.  Soufflé Glass.

I've adored Chuhuly glass for years yet I've never actually seen any.  I've seen films about him on television- working with the glass blowers of Murano, his installations at Kew Gardens and in America, so to actually see one of his creations was an absolute treat. I can tell you up front and personal, it is absolutely beautiful.