PARIS Connections 1

Getting to Know Paris 
In 2019, I was eager to know more about Paris and to open up my little Etsy store, French Press.  I had been fortunate to sketch throughout City of Light and the French countryside during 2018 and 2019. Alas 2020. I began scouring the Internet to learn more about French art, culture and travel.

One thing led to another—and that is how connections happens!
I had admired artist Dreama Toelle Perry and soon found her podcast interview with Krystal Kenney at La Vie Creative. Each week, American born Krystal interviews a creative person living in Paris or follows the path of history with her friend/co-host, Claudine Hemingway, Bleu, Blonde, Rouge.

This wonderful wealth of information kept me alert, entertained and inspired throughout 2020 and beyond. Krystal’s podcasts can be found at . https://www.laviecreativepodcast.com/ and you can see he photo shoots throughout Paris at https://www.instagram.com/missparisphoto/
 
As an art and literature teacher, France has always fascinated me.
About 2.2 million people live in central Paris today which is actually less than one hundred years ago when Paris was home to 2.9 million.
 
Think Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Isadora Duncan Pablo Picasso, James Joyce and dozens more.
 
Slowly, I am learning more about Paris, a walkable city. One would certainly not try to walk Los Angeles, where I was born, or London. In Paris, walking is a thing!
 
The French even have a word for it: Flâneur
Flâneur is noun referring to a person, literally meaning "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer." Flâneur derives from the Old Norse verb flana, "to wander with no purpose".
 
(Wikipedia provides an more detailed description including the proposed flâneuse for the female equivalent of the flaneur)
And here is more about the flaneuse
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jul/29/female-flaneur-women-reclaim-streets
American Girl in Italy by Ruth Orkin, 1951
Scenes from Sophie Calle’s Suite Vénitienne

Krystal Kenney - Miss Paris Photo, Miss Paris Photo Instagram, Dreama Toelle Perry, Dreama Toelle Perry Instagram, Le Flaneur, Flaneuse - ​Suite Vénitienne