Aujourd'hui de Dinde. Gobble Gobble.

Thanksgiving in Paris. Sound unheard of? Well, yes because it is not a French holiday--we own that one:) but, my fantastic fellow American students and our wonderful guest of honor all enjoyed one of the best Thanksgivings, ever.

the well designed table--Martha, don't hate

Thankfully I did have someone yell at me that I was not carving the turkey properly.

Natalia and Nina. Natalia made awesome gluten-free stuffing!

Thanks Sherry and Nina. We had our own American football rivalry!

Catlina, Audrey, Raena, Jean-Pierre Constant, Nina, Gabriella, me, Janine

And all of our festive turkey hands. Long live kindergarten traditions!

What a great turkey for JPC's first time:)

It was very cool to have a professor share such a special tradition, and considering that this was his first turkey day, the exchange of culture was wonderful. He did note that we were teaching him. (I felt like I was in the college in the 60's having my professor over for dinner and sharing wine.)

All of my girlfriends did a fantastic job. The company was such a pleasure. We did say what we were thankful without any tears, barely.

We did have plenty of Beaujolais Nouveau, as well as some Absinthe to try.

I give so much credit to everyone because we had to make do (very design) as well as hunt for ingredients, and tools for cooking. Do you know where to find cranberry sauce? Gab did the centerpiece with leaves from our street. Sherry found pumpkin pie ingredients at store called the "Real McCoy." Raena made green beans for the first time! I brought out crayons so we could participate in a true American pastime, turkey hands!!

Three cheers for everyone and I hope your Thanksgiving was just as special!

Istituo Marangoni, Milano, or as my cousin Carla called it, insurance on my future

I was in Milano and then, Basaluzzo, and Genova this weekend.

I took Easy Jet, which is very cheap to Milano, Malpensa and then a shuttle from Malpensa to Milano (central). My objective in Milano was to visit the school Istituto Marangoni for possible masters program in fashion design. I could not believe how smooth my transportation from the plane, shuttle, and taxi went in order to arrive to the school on time for my orientation appointment, but it did!

Once there, Tiziana, the orientation officer answered all of my questions and then some. The school even has a masters for e-Fashion which is in partnership with the online shopping company yoox.com--very cool. The masters of fashion design really sounds wonderful and I was told that there are a couple of American students in the program as well. Hmm...there could be a designstudentlivinginMilano next year;)

this is in the lobby. videos of previous collections of students work played continually

The school is right in the near all the fancy high end shops

The Tate Modern Continued...

During my visit last weekend to London, I spent a full day at the Tate Modern.

One piece that really rocked my world was Marcel Duchamp's 3 Standard Stoppages. The description quoted Duchamp's idea of chance as a means to combat logical reality. The description continued on stating that "This work was made by dropping three threads, each a metre long, from a height equal to their length, then cutting wooden rulers to record the shaped in where each had fallen." Duchamp described these as 'a preserved metre, preserved chance.'

Wonderful. A preserved conclusion in the numerous variables of this question. To also show the negative space, the surrounding, creates a new result. Yes! Possibilities are endless and there is an opposite/negative reaction to the possibilities.

The MOMA collection has this well documented and explained, with pics. take a look:)
and i also like this website for process and thoughts

It was very cool to see Joseph Beuys, The Pack, 1969, in person. This is a piece that art history books can't quite capture. take a look

I was reminded that my home is full of art, design, and knowledge. The exhibit that I viewed at the Tate Modern was John Baldessari: Pure Beauty. John Baldessari is an American artist who made his name in the 1960's with his text and image paintings. His works are referred as "witty and ironic." He uses words and images interchangeably with equal measures of self-reflection and wit. He uses visual one-liners, but beneath his playful approach lies a deep and sustained interest in ordering the world around him. (Tate Modern) He is also a longtime art professor at UCLA.

I viewed a video of him stating over and over again "I am making art, I am making art, I am making art" all the while he is turning his hands and limbs slightly over and out. Funny, awkward and annoyingly true. Just claim something is art--why not? here is the video

Here is a piece that is quite humorous and fun for most, Tips for Artists Who Want to Sell, 1966-68.