The Old and the New, Religion or Art / July 16, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

Every time you step into a museum, something new and fascinating swims into your consciousness. The magic happened again yesterday as I was in the most interesting British Museum exhibition, Sunken Cities, Egypt's Lost Worlds. Presenting amazing artifacts recovered from on-going underwater archeological work in the re-located sunken ports of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus at the mouth of the Nile, the exhibition tells of the new insights into life in Egypt during the last four hundred years or so BC.

When Art suddenly appears / June 28, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

It is always fascinating to learn of how and when people become artists. It can be from early childhood, or even late in life - think Grand Ma Moses. Whatever the timing, it is always wonderful if that turn towards art is indeed so deep that the resultant art not only fulfills the artist but also enriches us all as viewers. I happened on an example of a young Parisian, a musician, who took up ceramics at the age of 24 and within four years, is producing amazing work. I was at a large, summer exhibition's opening at the Contemporary Arts Centre atthe Château de Tanlay in Burgundy, "Hommage à Bénin".

Art and a Sense of Perspective on Events / June 26, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

Since I share many Europeans' profound shock and dismay about the Brexit vote in now what is becoming rapidly "Little England", I found myself thinking back to a wonderful series of carvings I had seen the evening before. They helped me regain a sense of perspective and reminded me that down the ages, every country, especially here in Europe, has gone through so many upheavals and shocks. I was exploring the wonderful little Burgundian village, Montréal, near Avallon.

Artists' Inventiveness / June 17, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

I am back with my artist's "hat" on, and almost immediately, I learn yet again how inventive artists are! Yesterday, in Beaune, Burgundy, an elegant exhibition of paintings by Marie José Malargé was opened. Hung on the dove-grey walls of a lovely restaurant, La Grilladine, in the centre of the old city, it was sensuous, quietly insistent yet serene and very beautiful. It will be on view in Beaune until 23rd November and is well worth seeing.

Celebrating the Aerial Arts / April 24, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

So often, as a visual artist, I am looking down - at my paper - orlooking out at whatever I am drawing or painting. I don't find myself looking up very often. So it was a lovely change to spend an evening, last night, at Marsh Studio in McIntosh County, Georgia, looking up and delighting in aerial arts. Caroline Calouche had brought her aerial and contemporary dance company, CC&Co, to perform an evening of cabaret dance, "Rouge", for a lucky audience.

Art that Transcends Time / April 8, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

Springtime on the Georgia coast, and already the woods are melodious with the calls of the Painted Bunting scouts. How lovely - it is time to put out the white millet to greet them at the feeders.

The Space Between / March 27, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

Walking this morning in brilliant sunshine in a Mediterranean pine forest was an exercise in delight. The amazingly intense blue sky above was the perfect foil for a myriad dancing greys of tree trunks that twisted and swayed in graceful coexistence. Beneath, the grey-green sheen of resinous shrubs seemed to reflect the light back upwards to the pines and complete the harmony with the bright green crowns of pine needles. Beneath, luminous pink and white touches of rock roses (cistus) were punctuated by the magenta spears of tiny wild gladioli.

Art that Stands the Test of Time / March 19, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

Every artist must at least occasionally have moments of doubt about whether work being created will stand the test of time or whether it will even be appreciated by other people. It is inevitable, I suppose, given that most creative ventures are fairly solitary. You work away at your desk, your potter's wheel, your easel, your sculpture table, your musical score, your ballet bar or whatever the work might require. Your vision and your passion, you hope, carry you forward to creating something that is good, worthwhile, meaningful to others. And something that will stand the test of time.

Romanesque Frescoes / March 14, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

One of the serendipitous bonuses of my explorations in winding Pyrenees valleys near Bordeneuve was a church not even listed clearly in the maps I was using: Notre Dame de Tramesaygues in Audressein. Two impetuous rivers join in their rush downstream, ultimately to swell the Garonne river, and the small village borders these tumbling waters. In fact,Tramesaygues means "between the waters' in patois. On the UNESCO world heritage site list, this 14th century Romanesque church is graced with some really wonderful frescoes in the entrance portico. Since they are roofed over by the bell tower, they are protected to an extent, and thus much more impressive.

Romanesque Art in Ariège, France / March 12, 2016 by Jeannine Cook

As so often happens, delicious coincidences have again come along to enhance life for me. When a fine day suddenly burst through from the clouds of rain and snow, I decided to give myself a break from silverpoint drawing at my wonderful artist's retreat perch at Bordeneuve, in Betchat in the French Pyrenees. My hostess, Noelle, extremely knowledgeable and a lover of all things natural, historic and beautiful in Ariège, confirmed that my plans for the day were good.