COUNTRY FRENCH TREASURE HUNT: Let the Fun Begin!

OK. So I created a "Fan Page" on Facebook late Thursday night--I mean late into the wee hours after working a full day at the office (with my first meeting in Greenwich starting at the still-dark-outside time of 6:45 AM)....a long day--and about 36 hours later, shazam! I had 48 fans. Whoa!


I find that amazing! Did you sign up as a fan because you're thinking about joining us in Southwest France next summer for COUNTRY FRENCH TREASURE HUNT & THE ART OF ILLUSTRATED JOURNALING? Are you simply a self-confessed Francophile who is thrilled to find an online soul mate? Supporting me in this most recent endeavor just because you are a kind and wonderful friend and reader? Thinking of taking an escape with your spouse or your college-age son or daughter as a way to explore the world? Maybe you find yourself agreeing on several counts.


Well, I admit: that my contagion about this project is oozing from every pore of my being. I have always wanted to study art in France, always wanted to shop the flea markets and outdoor fairs, always wanted to hunt for treasures in the winding alleyways and off-the-beaten-path shops where I suspect rare finds await me...finds that, honestly, I know I will never uncover stateside. And with three bathrooms left to renovate and decorate in my Connecticut house, I continue to look for inspiration in country French antiques and treasures. I remain attracted to rough textures, painted furniture, wonderful lines and evidence of decades of wear and tear, whether it be on a piece of furniture, in a light fixture, worn into a decorative accessory or in a primitive work of art. I am anxious to slip into my walking shoes and explore the Southwest Perigord region of France. Rural France. The part of France that oftentimes gets overlooked in favor of Paris or Provence. I yearn to uncover the sights and sounds of bustling market days; the aromas of locally baked pastries; the slow indulgences in the wines of the region. I find myself rejuvenated every single day with pure and simple imaginings of just how wonderful this exploration will be. I long to take a “time out,” both physically and emotionally, from the demands of my day job, my life at home and my board and community responsibilities. If only just for twelve days…


And having studied the four illustrated travel books of my colleague and partner, Diana Gessler, I am most anxious to learn how to sketch, draw maps and people and cartoons and caricatures--not to mention paint in watercolors, hand letter factoids and insights...and to learn how to slow down enough in my journeys that I stop and record things artfully. As an oil painter, I have never received instruction in watercolor painting. I actually bought a journal, just like the ones Diana uses for all of her travels large and small, and took it with me on our summer vacation this year to Bermuda. Let me tell you: The Art of Illustrated Journaling is a lot more difficult than it looks to the untrained eye! I really struggled with it. Was completely frustrated by it. My pages looked like a kindergartner did them. My lettering was sloppy and unprofessional looking. So it is with great anticipation to be able to sit at the feet of the master and learn how to illustrate with confidence. With joy! To create works that I will be proud to pass down to my kids and my grandkids one day. I look forward to traveling the world and recording each and every trip in handpainted images, with beautiful lettering and wonderful inscriptions, in the hope that they will be treasured by my family. That they might be humble heirlooms, appreciated and prized long after I am gone by those nearest and dearest to me. Like my art. My hand-hooked rugs. And needlepointed belts. Treasured like the artfully-constructed photo albums of our own family’s history of life on earth together.

And I admit that I frankly never even thought about illustrated travel journals until I met Diana and really got to know her. I always thought that one was to record travel in photographs and perhaps, in written journal form. So this whole concept was new to me too! Refreshingly new! And I embrace it with expectant optimism and a sense of adventure!


Take a peek at these photos of the Dordogne region where we will be traveling. And visit our itinerary at: http://rousset-perigord.org for all the information you need. If you'd like to receive a hard copy of the brochure, registration form and terms & conditions sheet, please send an email to me at: emomrx@yahoo.com with your mailing address and I'll send these to you via snail mail. Also feel free to call Dr. Beverly Held, who holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Michigan and who has developed and offered over 2000 Cultural & Culinary educational programs for 15 years. Dr. Held has been exploring France for the past two decades and thoughtfully renovated Petit Rousset, the 18th-century farmhouse and art studio which will be our home for ten days this summer. She will gladly take your call at: (415) 933-9799.


We'd love to have you join us! Our philosophy: “Chez Nous-Chez Vous.” We want you to feel at home in our little paradise.


Until next time, all blessings!


Carolina

Country French Treasure Hunt & The Art of Illustrated Journaling

The inspiration for Country French Kitchens, the book, arose from percolating design ideas during the course of several trips to Paris, armchair travel to Provence…and my own frustration at the lack of resources available for developing an American translation of this style. You can view the results of my own country French kitchen installation via video on my amazon.com author’s page. While it doesn’t show you the entire room, it gives you a glimpse into some of the solutions that my renovation offered me and my family for the space.


Since then, I have been looking forward to further travel to France, to scout local markets, explore those rural villages which time constraints had never before allowed, and shop for the Provencal fabrics, pottery and glassware that I currently purchase stateside.


A dream come true, I will be leading a group of students in a sojourn to Southwest France, specifically the Dordogne region, in July-August of next year. As a group, we will hunt for country French treasures, scavenging the countryside in search for all things beautiful and wonderful. I’m teaming up with fellow teacher Diana Gessler, a gallery-represented fine artist and author of five books, four of which are bestselling illustrated travel books. Her latest, Very Washington, DC, earned her a signing at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. Diana will be teaching The Art of Illustrated Journaling, as she has found that her students are able to beautifully illustrate their own travel experiences in their own developed style, once techniques in pen and ink drawing, watercolor washes and map-drawing, caricature doodling and fancy lettering are taught. Diana has been illustrating her own world travels in journals for the past 30 years. Her students testify that she has forever changed not only the way they travel and the way that they "see" places, people and experiences; indeed, they claim that she has changed their lives.


We will, together, explore the beautiful Dordogne region of Southwest France, named for the river that runs through it, and have timed the trip to take advantage of the many brocantes (open-air antique fairs) and vide-greniers (open-air flea markets) that the area has to offer during these twelve days of our trip. Hunting for country French treasures for our own homes and for permanent capture into our personal illustrated travel journals, we'll wander quaint villages, scavenge the markets, and explore the true rural countryside, enjoying French food and wine in the process. On-site instruction in The Art of Illustrated Journaling and Country French Design will occur both in the newly-renovated art studio of the 18th-century farmhouse, Petit Rousset, which will be our home for twelve days, as well as during our day trips to these various markets, fairs and other noteworthy excursions.


During a recent corporate breakfast of the global investment bank from which I run my daytime advisory practice, the keynote speaker, Jonathan Clements, co-author of The Little Book of Main Street Money, noted three financial goals that appeal to the cave dweller in each of us. The second goal is to “build a life of thoughtful progress.” He advises us to “spend our money on building life experiences.”


“You’ll always have Paris,” he told the audience. Travel, unlike shopping trips to department stores to buy expensive merchandise which yields temporary pleasure, gives you more and better memories over the years. It helps you build a life of thoughtful progress.


We'd love for you to build memories and make “thoughtful progress” by joining us in France. Please visit our online page for terms and a registration form, as well as our brochure:
http://www.rousset-perigord.org/LPRLibrary/2010/gessler-fernandez.shtml.


Feel free to call me with any questions (203.942.8282). If you are unable to join us but know of a world-traveling or Francophile friend, please ask them to contact me at: emomrx@yahoo.com or to call me to discuss. The trip is limited to 18 guests.


Until next time, sending all my very best!


Carolina

Country French Design Inspiration in the Dordogne!

Stay tuned for the itinerary on an upcoming Arts Education trip to the Dordogne region of Southwest France, named for the river that runs through it. With my friend and colleague Diana Gessler, we'll be teaching The Art of Illustrated Journaling as well as Country French Design via our very own Treasure Hunt! Learn how to capture travel memories permanently in your own handpainted, hand-rendered journal using time-tested techniques of five-time author Diana Gessler, along with tips from Country French Kitchens author Carolina Fernandez. Record your adventures in pen and ink drawings, watercolor washes, creative doodling, caricatures of the people we'll encounter on our day trips, quirky maps and individualized comments during this twelve day sojourn. We will scavenge the brocantes (open-air antique fairs) and vide-greniers (open-air flea markets) in the quaint villages on our journey; peek our heads into authentic country French kitchens; shop for locally made fabrics, pottery and produce; and enjoy glorious French food and wine along the way. We'll explore lands inhabited since prehistoric times, including the charming villages of Eymet, Bergerac, Ste. Alvere, Monpazier and Sarlat, among others. Details forthcoming! We'd love you to join us!

What Makes a Country French Kitchen Country French?

It's the question I hear all the time. Check out my response in the latest issue of ARTES, an e-magazine devoted to fine art and design. Country French Kitchens is the featured book of the May issue.

Go to: www.arteswriting.com.