La Vie Creative

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I’m American, but I’ve lived in Paris for 25 years and the stories I write are far off the tourist track. I tell tales of the invisible people – a one-man band in the Tuileries, a pickpocket near the Opéra, a lonely bus driver, a despairing spice vendor and an evil child in postwar Paris.

A former journalist for the Washington Post, I turned to fiction some years ago. A short story I wrote (about the one-man band) was selected by blind submission to appear in "Vengeance," edited by Lee Child, in the 2012 anthology of the Mystery Writers of America. I also am the co-winner of Noir Nation’s Golden Fedora Award for “The Wheels on the Bus,” and my story “A Day at the Office” appeared in the January issue of Mystery Weekly.

Home page: https://anneswardson.com/

Blogs: https://anneswardson.com/blog/

Fiction: https://anneswardson.com/fiction/

Twitter: @AnneinParis

Instagram: anneinparis1 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anne.swardson/ 

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To celebrate this lovely Valentine’s Day we are exploring more of the art of the Musée du Louvre and all the definitions of love that they convey. Last week we shared Psyché and Cupid, and today we uncovered a few more. 

From Catherine de Medici and her monument to her husband’s heart that inspired a beloved Paris monument you all know today to the father’s love and appreciation for saving his daughter. Along with the painting of a king's beloved that always arises a few giggles and the throws of passion that are surrounded by suggestive hints. Each of these and more that we cover in episode 92 are filled with beauty and can be found in my favorite valentine, the Louvre. 

You can even take this episode with you on your next visit to the Louvre and discover them on your own. 

More info and photos: https://www.claudinehemingway.com/paris-history-avec-a-hemingway-podcast-1

Support Claudine on Patreon and get more of Paris and all her stories and benefits like discounts on her tours, custom history and exclusive content  https://www.patreon.com/bleublonderouge

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Join us every Sunday for a LIVE walk through Paris filled with history https://www.claudinehemingway.com/events

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Alison Grace Koehler is a stained glass poet, originally from Chicago and currently living and working in Paris, France. Her windows and glass installations can be found in private and public spaces around the city, as permanent fixtures and in temporary exhibitions. She fuses stained glass with poetry in her windows, hangings, and glass portraits, as well as in video and performance art pieces. Her first collection of poems, entitled Stained Glass Poetry, has recently been published by Paris Heretics. 

http://alisonkoehler.com/

https://www.instagram.com/alisongracekoehler/

https://www.facebook.com/AlisonGraceKoehler

poetry book : http://alisonkoehler.com/stained-glass-poetry/

Instagram: @alisongracekoehler

Facebook: @alisongracekoehler

Twitter: @AGraceColor

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I was born in Peru but grew up in several countries throughout Europe and South America including Italy, Spain, Germany, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, etc. 

Throughout my life I had 3 constant dreams/ passions: that of becoming an artist or working in the Art world, cooking and moving to Paris. in 2002 I moved to NYC and met my husband Mike, we lived in NYC and then San Francisco where we both had a chance to develop careers in our passions (Mike with music as a sound engineer mixing and mastering albums and me in a creative environment as an event and floral designer)

I worked on many high profile events designing wonderful tablescapes for weddings, birthdays, and galas but my true love really was with visual arts. When we left San Francisco and I started my own company I vowed to use my workshop space  and notoriety to sponsor young emerging local artists. I started producing and curating art exhibits whenever I had a chance, organizing cool openings with my event planning knowledge. Meanwhile Mike was accumulating a very large collection of vinyl records so he would come spin at my art openings and this when our "Vinyl Meets Art" adventure began.  

As time went by and the country fell into a political climate we did not like, we decided that it might be the perfect time to finally make that dream of living in Paris come true. So in the summer of 2019 we packed our belongings, our massive album collection, books and whatever could fit in 4 suitcases, sold the rest and moved to the City of Light. 

Little did we know things would not work out as planned. Between the greve of 2019 and the Covid Pandemic we were not able to advance career wise and we were spending too much money in Paris. The kids were not happy trapped in a 50sq. m apartment either. 

This is when we decided to move to the countryside and invest our savings in something that combined both our passions: Vinyl and Art by opening The Flipside Vinyl Disquaire and Art Space in Toucy. 

We've been open for 1 month and have been very well received and we plan to exhibit young artist in our small gallery space "La Galerie" and in the fall we'll start music/art workshops for children, as well as monthly music events. 

www.costamagnadesign.com

www.theflipsidevinyl.com

@theflipsidevinyl

@theflipside_lagalerie

Events/ weddings website

www.costamagnadesign.com

 Kickstarter 

https://kickstarter.com/projects/theflipidevinyl/the-flipside-vinyl-is-expanding

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Vivian Maier stacks up next to many of the greatest photographers of our time, but she never planned on being seen. Born February 1, 1926 to a French mother and an Austrian-American father she would be remembered as never without her camera after the age of 10. Vivian’s parents separated when she was just three and in 1932 she left for her mother's native France. Influenced by Jeanne Bertrand an artist and photographer and close friend to her mother, she began to take photos around the small Haute Alps village. 

In 1951, Vivian was hired as a  nanny for a Southampton family. In 1956 she moved to Chicago and began to work with the Gensburg family and their three boys who would remain in her life until her death. A series of families followed and each move included her 200 boxes filled with every single piece of her life including hundreds of undeveloped film canisters. 

In 2007, Jon Maloof, a young Chicago real estate investor bought a new house and wanted to write a history of the area and needed some old photos. At the auction house across the street, he found a large collection of negatives and film. He placed a bid on the largest box for $380 and that was the start of an obsessive hunt. Once he began to look at the photos he was stunned by how amazing they were. He tried to find info on the photographer but she was totally unknown. 

In 2008, a year before she died Jon Maloof began to upload her photos one by one onto Flickr and became an instant sensation. In 2009 after he found her name it led to the Gensburg boys and they told him to take whatever they didn’t keep. Her life now came together before their eyes. 

The rest of the world finally discovered Vivian in 2013 when Finding Vivian Maier's documentary came out and was a hit. There was a court case against Maloof wondering if he did enough to find her heirs and a foundation in her name and a scholarship created by Maloof. Today her collection is featured in museums around the world and recently in Paris at the Musée du Luxembourg which constantly had a line to attend. 

More info and photos: https://www.claudinehemingway.com/paris-history-avec-a-hemingway-podcast-1
Support Claudine on Patreon and get more of Paris and all her stories and benefits like discounts on her tours, custom history and exclusive content  https://www.patreon.com/bleublonderouge
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Join us every Sunday for a LIVE walk through Paris filled with history https://www.claudinehemingway.com/events
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