Paris in April, A Symphony of Art

Whew!

Where does the time go?

April was a spring whirlwind for me!

(And I MUST now say May, 
oooooh and June as well!)

(To listen to Stravinsky's 
Rite of Spring 
which the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra recently performed, click HERE)

In case you didn't hear,

late last year, 

I was asked by my good friend and client 

Lisa Rotolo
to chair the 

Jackson Symphony League Luncheon,
which is in itself a rite of spring,

and of course I said "YES"!

My fascinating friends and clients Suzannah McGowan and Lisa Rotolo at the
2012 Jackson Symphony League luncheon at The South.
Everyone was invited to wear a Fascinator!

My brain immediately kicked into creative overdrive trying to come up with a theme, decorations, and a guest speaker of unparalleled wit and interest.

I have been really been 

contemplating and concentrating on creativity and art this year, 

so somehow my theme 

just seemed to jump right out at me

"A Fascination with Art: Making It Your Life."

And since I am blessed to be surrounded by artsy, creative friends, 
the Decorations Chairman and the speakers were not a tough decision either. 
 I chose my artist friend, and many times helper and floral aficionado
Chris Morrow for decorations.

(I love the artist's palettes that Chris 
designed for the centerpieces!)

Thank you my dear Chris!

And I chose two people whom I have known for years and years and love dearly, 
both of whom have absolutely
 made art their lives, 
the irreverent and uber talented John Lyle as 
my featured speaker and the magical and fascinating Madge Marley Howell.

 Both John and Madge 
are native Mississippians.

John, based in New York since the '80's and owner of John Lyle Design 

and INOX New York,

 is designer extraordinaire of all things beautiful including furniture, 
fireplace equipment, 

objets, and rugs.

(See more of John on 

MS Design Maven HERE.)

Me with John Lyle my featured speaker at the luncheon and my sister Susan.
Susan, by the way made her own fascinator!
Read more about my sister Susan HERE.

Madge, the older sister I never had, is the owner, publisher, and creative genius 
behind the blogazine

"The Delta Bohemian".

(See more of Madge on 

MS Design Maven HERE.)

The Symphony Woodwinds Quartet Plays for Me and Madge 
as we unexpectedly channel Bonnie and Clyde

Both of these fascinating friends were indeed fascinating at the Symphony luncheon, 

but I have alas digressed a bit from talking about what I originally intended, as I soooo often do.

Well anyway,

thinking about Art and The Symphony got me to thinking about another 

fascinating and inspiring artsy friend of mine, and fellow Delta native I might add, 

Lisa Paris.  

So right smack dab in the middle of preparations for the luncheon, 

I paid a visit to Paris in April.

  

No, not THIS Paris!

Lisa welcomed me into her beautiful and artfully decorated home.
She was wearing some of my very favorite hand knotted silk beads in amber.
I used to import them from Sweden, and I was honored that she had them on for me. 

THIS Paris!

Lisa is the epitome of a gracious southern lady and hostess.  She is a seventh generation Mississippian and a talented third generation artist and strong arts and symphony supporter,
 not to mention fun, charming, and endearing.

Lisa Paris at the Symphony League luncheon.
Lisa has served the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Jackson Symphony League
as Vice President of Ways and Means, 
Chairman of the Symphony Ball, and Chairman or Sub Debs.

She welcomed me into her restored and
 art filled A. Hays Town designed home 

one April morning to show me around. 

A. Hays Town signed and presented the original house plans to Lisa and her husband when they purchased the house.




Art, color, and artful touches are everywhere in Lisa's home.

Lisa, like me, loves and collects birds.
One of the little handmade red birds she
introduced me to several years ago was nestled in a beautiful orchid and greeted me just inside the door.

And so did one of Lisa's newest paintings!
Lisa paints in oils and has traditionally been primarily a representational artist, but recently has been 
painting more abstracts.

I think this may be my favorite Lisa Paris painting.
I love the bold color and scale.

I loved this little pillow on the settee in her entry hall
"My Crown is Called Content
A Crown It Is That Seldom Kings Enjoy (1590)"

Lisa had two other abstracts fresh off her easel and waiting to head out the front door for display.









Lisa's  foyer and front hallway 
are a fabulous gallery of her work and
that of other artists she loves.

Lisa took me up to her studio.
I was immediately struck by the 
two tiered chandelier that hangs there
 over her easels. 

She paints to music (ancient cello is particularly thrilling to her soul)
 and often paints on dual canvases 
using the same color palette.

Lisa has a current penchant in particular for 
cadmium red light. This painting with lots of that happy, bright orangey red color is currently on her easel.

And of course, I love that
 her fingernails match!

Lisa has also been painting with lots of soothing blues lately.  It's no surprise that these 
blue paintings of Lisa's
have been hanging at my friend
Nancy Price's design studio.

At Nancy Price Interior Design

"Azure"
At Nancy Price Interior Design

"Aegean"
At Nancy Price Interior Design

And back downstairs in her breakfast room, 
I spotted more birds, these blue.
(Of course the red was close by!)

And there are lots of other collections artfully displayed. 

I always love interesting plates!

Lisa and I could have visited all day, but it was time for me to say goodbye and get back to work on planning 
the Symphony luncheon.

Of course we had one more discussion on color as I was heading off the porch,

 this time about lovely, lemon yellow. 

Don't you love her cadmium red nails
WITH
the lemon yellow?

To see more of Lisa's work,
visit Interiors Market
 in Jackson's Fondren District or
Lisa's website.

 ART is fascinating!

I have just made a note to ask Lisa
about the ancient cello music
 next time we talk.


P.S.

Guess who has been recently seen frolicking in the Big Apple without ME?

ART?

Fifty Shades of Greige, Sarah Beaugez' Delta

GREIGE: being in an unbleached undyed state as taken from

a loom — 

used of textiles 

(from Merriam Webster)

GREIGE: not bleached or dyed, 

unfinished, raw ( from www.greigedesign.blogspot.com)

EVERYONE is talking about 

Fifty Shades of Grey Greige

Well yes, the books, but I mean the
 COLOR GREY aka GREIGE!

But what is GREIGE really?

Beyond the dictionary definitions above of unfinished, undyed, raw linens and
 the range of colors that 
encompass all the variations of 
grey mixed with beige . . .

from Domino

Top row, left to right: 1. Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paints Mushroom, 2. Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paints Silt, 3. Farrow & Ball Old White, 4. Farrow & Ball Bone, 5. Pratt & Lambert Silver Blonde, 6. Benjamin Moore Silken Pine, 7. Benjamin Moore Smokey Taupe.

Middle row, left to right: 8. Benjamin Moore Bleeker Beige, 9. Benjamin Moore Seapearl, 10. Benjamin Moore Grant Beige, 11.Benjamin Moore November Rain, 12. Benjamin Moore Lambskin, 13. Benjamin Moore Hazy Skies, 14. Sherwin-Williams Perfect Greige.

Bottom row, left to right: 15. Benjamin Moore Elephant Tusk, 16. Benjamin Moore Bennington Gray, 17. Valspar Woodrow Wilson Putty, 18. Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, 19. Sherwin-Williams Mega Greige, 20. Sherwin-Williams Windsor Greige, 21. Benjamin Moore Creamy White.

for me GREIGE is an ideal, a style,
an aesthetic that represents a move toward
 authenticity, realism, relaxed simplicity and calmness, livability, and the incorporation of nature in design, all the elements which I believe are important in designing interiors.

via Ronique Jones Gibson

via shop Greige

Edward table John Lyle Design

via Greige

Urban Outfitters

Barcelo from Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa in Taupe

via Atlanta Homes Magazine

Nubia vase John Lyle Design

The same elements which I have discovered became a part of my personal design aesthetic when I was growing up in the Mississippi Delta.  


My friend and now fellow Mississippi Deltan Sarah Beaugez captures 
all of these 'GREIGEY' elements in her photographic work, as well as the more than
 'fifty shades of the color greige'.

Sarah's water tower photo reminds me of the old water tower in my
Delta hometown of Lambert.  I drew the tower for the cover of a special project
in the fifth grade and it has always been special to me.

Like the water tower photo above, this reminds me of my Delta hometown Lambert,
originally known as Yellow Dog for the Yellow Dog Railroad that still runs through town.

I couldn't resist showing the Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa fabric again.  It works so perfectly with Sarah's photography and really reminds me of the Delta, the alluvial plane AND the river.

If you know me, you know I usually have to throw in a bit of color.

I love "Greige" mixed with

a bit of natural green.

via Greige

Heliopolis vase John Lyle Design

via Velvet and Linen

Kelly Wearstler Mineral in Juniper/Lake for Lee Jofa

And of course, Sarah does too!

For me the rich, "Greige", dusty, crusty, Delta soil and the vibrant green cotton, rice, beans, and corn are the perfect juxtaposition.

Do you like "Greige" design?

Do you like the more than 

 'fifty shades of the color greige'?

Which is your favorite?


Do you prefer all greige or greige with natural green?

See more of Sarah Beaugez' photography

Visit Sarah Beaugez on Facebook 

See Sarah Beaugez on 

Walt Grayson's "Looking Around Mississippi" 

on WLBT Channel 3, Jackson, MS

HERE

AND WATCH FOR MORE SARAH HERE ON

 MS DESIGN MAVEN

photo credits:  Sarah Beaugez, Domino, via Ronique Jones Gibson, Kathleen Clements via Greige, John Lyle Design, Atlanta Homes, Pinterest, Velvet and Linen