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Many of the female artists we have shared on Paris History Avec a Hemingway on La Vie Creative Podcast have been hidden behind their male contemporaries. Sonia Delaunay is just as well known as her husband Robert, but there was a whole side to her art that I had never noticed before. 

Sonia Stern born November 14, 1885 in the Ukraine. Her parents were working class and at 5 years old her mother gave her up for adoption to her wealthy uncle Henri Terk. Henri showed the young Sonia a life of art and culture and exposed her to an education she would not have received from her working class parents.  At 18 she was fluent in four languages and was off to the Academy of Fine arts in  Karlsruhe, Germany in 1904. 

The next year she was in Paris at the Academie de la Palette. The same year Wilhelm Uhde arrived in Paris from Germany and opened a gallery on Rue Notre Dame des Champs and purchased his first Picasso and built a collection and circle of friends that would include Sonia. In 1908 she and Wilhelm married, a marriage of convenience between friends. Sonia wanted to avoid returning to Russia and Wilhelm needed to conceal his homosexuality. That same year she met French artist Robert Delaunay.

On November 15, 1910 Robert and Sonia married but she and Wilhelm remained close for the rest of their lives. Sonia had already begun painting and exhibiting at the Salon and the couple now influenced and inspired each other as a force few had seen in Paris. Sonia was constantly looking for other ways to share her art. She moved from the canvas to every other form of art she could find. 

Her focus would turn to home furnishings, fabric, clothing and even cars. During WWI while in Spain she opened Casa Sonia, selling her fabrics and home goods and opened 4 locations. 

Inside the Musée du Louvre while most of the greats were inspired by the masters, she was drawn to the jewelry of Egypt and Messopotamia. In 1964 she was given the first living female artist exhibition inside the walls of the museum that inspired her. Even Picasso didn’t exhibit in the Louvre until 1971. 

Hear her entire story today at La Vie Creative Podcast - Paris History Avec a Hemingway.

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Claudine Hemingway 

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Rhonda Findling is the author of the bestselling and internationally acclaimed "Don’t Call That Man! A Survival Guide To Letting Go" which has been translated into eight languages. 

She is also the author of "Don't Text That Man! A Guide To Self Protective Dating in the Age of Technology", "When He Can't Commit: What To Do When You Fall For An Ambivalent Man", "Men Who Run From Love: How To Have A Relationship With A Relationship Phobic Man", "Don't Lose That Man: How Women Sabotage Their Opportunities For Successful Romantic Relationships And What They Can Do To Change", "Portrait of My Desire", "Smithtown Girl" and the "Don't Text That Man!" app.

Rhonda is a psychotherapist with an international practice based out of Atlanta, Georgia.  She has a bachelors degree in psychology from Stonybrook University in New York and a  masters degree in clinical psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago. She worked as a staff psychotherapist for Post Graduate Center for Mental Health in New York City for 13 years. Rhonda has also worked as a psychologist for the State of New York for 3 years and United Cerebral Palsy of NYC for 1 year. She was a counselor at Victims Information Bureau where she counseled victims of rape, sexual assault, and spouse abuse.

Rhonda has taught courses on psychology and counseling at Marymount College and Berkeley College in New York City. She has presented training for professionals based on her clinical work at the 70th Annual Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama Conference, the 15th European Symposium on Group Analysis and the Training Institute for Mental Health in New York City.  She has led workshops and seminars (including the Learning Annex, the 92nd St. Y and Hazelden) in New York, L.A., Paris, Berlin, and London. Rhonda is also the author of several bestselling courses on DailyOM.com

Rhonda has been featured in the New York Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Newsday, Rocky Mountain News, Cosmopolitan Magazine, PovitchUS Weekly.com, Forbes.com, Latina Magazine, Glamour (UK and Paris editions) Le Progress, Life and Style, Femina and Today's Black Woman. Her articles have appeared in Complete Woman Magazine, Essence, and International Living. com.

Rhonda has appeared on several national talk shows including CNN Headline News, Ricki Lake, Geraldo,Povich, Eye Witness News, Good Day New York, Carnie, Ilyana, Tempest and Judith Regan Tonight. She has also been a guest on radio shows nationwide.

Rhonda studied acting at HB Studios, Stella Adler Studio Of Acting in New York City and at St. Nicholas Theater in Chicago where she studied with William H. Macy. She’s appeared in several community theater productions on Long Island, New York and off-off Broadway productions in Chicago. She is also the author of the play The Psychic that was produced by Caicedo Productions and Doubletime Productions at the American Theatre of Actors in New York City. Rhonda has taken classes in directing, screenwriting, and filmmaking at New School University and Film and Video Arts Inc.  

Rhonda was the host, producer and co-editor of  "The Help Me Rhonda Show" webseries/docushort which was the official selection for three web series festivals and a semi-finalist for the 2017 Fade-In Awards. "The Help Me Rhonda Show" is available on Vimeo and Amazon.

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35 years ago this week the Musée d’Orsay opened to the impressionist, loving public for the first time. It’s hard to image a time when the museum wasn’t part of the landscape of central Paris with the lovely clocks standing over the Seine. 

The first stone of the Palais d’Orsay was laid April 4, 1810 but the fall of Napoleon would delay the finish until 1838. The Council d’Etat decided to move in to finally complete the building in 1842. Less than three decades later the beautiful building would be destroyed. On the night of May 23, 1871 the fires of the Commune engulfed the building and for 27 years the burnt out remains of the Palais d’Orsay remained. 

In 1898 it was finally destroyed and while Paris was in the heyday of the Belle Epoque, the upcoming 1900 Universal Exposition was quickly approaching and a central train station was needed. French architect Victor Laloux was selected to create the first electric train station complete with a 370 room hotel. The metal structure was covered in stone and would only take a record  2 years to complete, with men working around the clock. 

Laloux was tasked with creating a building that would fit into its elegant surroundings as well as balance with the Musée du Louvre seen just across the Seine. Running for almost 40 years, with over 200 trains a day it would stop in 1939 and again a team of people would argue over what to do with it.

On October 20, 1977 it was decided to turn the former station into a museum, bridging the Louvre to the Centre Pompidou. Three architects, Colbac, Bardon & Philippon embraced the structure that Laloux designed, keeping his many elements including the stone roses that rise up the walls. The salles and aisle was completely reimagined and now filled with art from 1848-1914 much of which once graced the salles of the Louvre. On October 9, 1986, the doors of the Orsay were opened to the public and today thousands of people come each day to see the art of Van Gogh, the Impressionists and statues of the Second Empire.  The idea of taking a building associated with noise and movement and turning it into one of quiet reflection and beauty is something only the French know how to do. 

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Claudine Hemingway
Bleu, Blonde, Rouge 

Author & historian

Podcast La Vie Creative, Paris History Avec a Hemingway 

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Marie Laurencin is known for her lovely pastel dreamy paintings but she was also able to do something few female artists were able to do. Marie was accepted into the folds of the biggest artists of the time and held her own. 
Born on October 31, 1883 she showed very early, against her mothers wishes, a talent for art. At 18 she enrolled in the porcelain painting school at Sévres, much like Renoir started. The next year she joined the Humbert Academy and met fellow artists Georges Braque and Francis Picabia who led her into the art circles of Paris.  
Gallery owner Clovis Sagot on Rue Laffitte gave Marie her first exhibition where she would meet Picasso, Delauney, Rousseau, Max Jacobs. and poet Guillaume Apollinaire. Marie inspired the struggling writer and served as his muse over their six year relationship. Her first painting she ever sold featured the poet surrounded by his friends, Picasso, Fernande Olivier, Stein, Gillot and Cremnitz and was purchased by Gertrude Stein. 
Spending a brief period in the Cubist and Fauvist movement she later named her style “nymphism”. Staying close to what she liked she used her favorite colors, pink, grey, blue and white and predominantly painted women and girls. As a child she would keep beads and ribbons in her pocket, always gravitating to pretty things. 
In the 20’s & 30’s she was commissioned to paint portraits of the Paris elite which she didn’t like. Instead of painting them how they wanted to be seen, she painted them as she saw them. Chanel asked her to paint her and when it was complete she refused to pay her for it. As one that controlled her story and her image that was always seen through a filter she didn’t like the stern look on her face. The painting would end up in the collection of Paul Guillaume and hanging in the Musée de l’Orangerie today. 
Marie’s life story is greatly overshadowed by her many relationships but her art should never be forgotten. The airy dream like pastel paintings of dancing ladies always bring a smile to your face when they are discovered. 

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

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Claudine Hemingway
Bleu, Blonde, Rouge 

Author & historian

Podcast La Vie Creative, Paris History Avec a Hemingway 

Hemingway tours of Paris

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La VIe Creative - Paris History Avec a Hemingway podcast.

New Every Monday 

And find my live from Paris videos and more at my

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Cygnet Theatre was founded in Paris by an international group of theatre artists looking to create, develop, and perform plays in the classical repertoire. The company is run by a board of administration, and all members of the team serve a creative function vital to Cygnet Theatre’s ability to thrive.  

Following the success of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the decision was made to form a company to produce high quality theatre in the heart of Paris. During the Summer Seasons, Cygnet performs in the beautiful Jardin des Arènes de Montmartre.

Taylor Scott:

Born and raised in Vancouver, I still struggle to name the surrounding mountains but can list the local theatres with ease. Theatre has always felt like a homecoming to me. After graduating with a BFA in Acting from the University of British Columbia in 2017, the heaviness of a four-year program left little room inside me for creative passion, s0 I did what seemed most logical at that moment… I ran away to Paris. 

Amidst the culture and chocolate crepes, I discovered it was possible to become a theatre artist on my own terms. Cygnet Theatre is the product of six like-minded individuals, all at different points in our artistic journeys, who came to that same realization. Our varied backgrounds and individual strengths challenge us daily, but ultimately they are also the steadfast foundation of a company that was unimaginable until my feet hit these cobblestone streets.

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Sharon decided to celebrate her 60th birthday with a six-month hiatus from her life in NYC. She stayed in an apartment in Paris for two of those months, exploring the city on foot, via metro –and eventually on city bikes.  Fortuitously, she met other Americans living in Paris, who helped her tremendously.  Three years later, she co-founded AmericanConcierge.com to make it easier [and more fun] for others, who like herself, want to get the most out of their time in Paris. We chat about what it's like to run a travel planning company in Paris, France.

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Paris is filled with museums and a few stand out over the rest. Of course, there is my love, the Musée du Louvre, and the Orsay and smaller ones like the Picasso and the Delacroix. However, one that might not be on the list for those heading to Paris for just a few days but should be is the Musée Rodin. 

On today’s new episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway on La Vie Creative Podcast we jump into the history of the museum and the life it had before Rodin discovered it. 

The Musée Rodin is housed in the Hotel Biron but that's not where the story begins. Wealthy wig maker Abraham Peyrene de Moras was also a close confidant of Louise Francoise de Bourbon, the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV and past podcast subject, Madame de Montespan.  Moras tapped architect Jean-Jacques Aubert who also designed the nearby Palais Bourbon for Louise Francoise. Between 1727 & 1732 on the Rue de Varenne outside the city of Paris, the Louis XIV-style mansion was built. 

Moras only enjoyed it for a few years before he died in 1736 and his widow rented it to  Louise-Benedicte de Bourbon-Condé, wife of another legitimate child of XIV. It was Louise that would add the beautiful carved wood moldings and paintings above the doors that still remain today. 

 In 1753 the Marshall de Biron purchased it and it was under Biron that the gardens came to life. The mansion survived the Revolution, the Russian embassy moved in for a year then the Sisters of the Sacred Heart for 84 years before they were asked to leave, and then in 1905 the artists arrived. 

Jean Cocteau was the first to move in and he told Isadore Duncan and Matisse who taught classes here. On  October 15, 1908, its most famous resident arrived. Cocteau had told the 68-year-old sculptor about the wonderful building flooded with light. Rodin moved into the ground level 4 rooms that face the garden.  

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

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Sarah Donnelly is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actress who performs in English and in French.

Sarah is the co-creator and writer of the Audible Original series God Save My English with Paul Taylor, now in its second season and one of the best sellers on Audible France.

Sarah is also the co-creator of Becoming Maman, a comedy show and podcast about raising French kids in Paris when you are not French.

In 2018, she toured with Gad Elmaleh as his opener for the European leg of his international Dream Tour. She has also opened for Louis CK, Ted Alexandro, Brody Stevens, Tom Rhodes, and Keith Alberstadt.

In 2016 she wrote and performed her sold-out, one-hour stand-up comedy show called Help! I Married a Frenchman, which received runner-up for the Best English Comedy Show in Paris by Expatriates Magazine. In 2017 Sarah was a writer and actress for the first-ever English language comedy show produced by the French network Canal+ starring Paul Taylor called “What the Fuck France ”.

Sarah has worked on scripts for 2P2L and BlackPills productions, including an English Kev Adams series called “Super High”.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Sarah has performed comedy at venues all over the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, the Olympia, and at comedy clubs and theatres in the UK and Northern Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Hong Kong.

Finally, she’s got two French kids and a French husband, who give her all the comedic material she could ever need.

Anyone in Paris can see Sarah LIVE  in her new one hour stand-up comedy show “The Only American in Paris” at the Jardin Sauvage Sunday November 21st at 7pm or 8:30pm. You can reserve tickets here: https://www.billetweb.fr/sarah-donelly

Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahdcomedy/

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Go to her website to learn about show dates and other news: www.sarahdcomedy.com

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Harriet Welty Rochefort grew up and was educated in the Midwest (B.A. University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor and M.S.J. Northwestern Medill School of Journalism). A
French-American dual citizen, she has lived in France since 1973 with her French
husband Philippe. They have 3 sons, Nicolas, a neurologist in Marseilles, Benjamin,
a computer specialist in Montreal, David, an editor and novelist (chez Gallimard NRF)
in Paris, and 6 grandchildren.
An author, Harriet has written three humorous but informative books about her life in
France. and the cultural differences she has perceived as an American
« embedded » in France.

Her bestselling account of her first impressions of France, French Toast: An
American in Paris Celebrates the Maddening Mysteries of the French, remained in
hardcover for 11 years, appearing in paperback in 2010. Diane Johnson, the
bestselling author of Le Divorce, called French Toast « a classic » and « the gold
standard of books about the French ».
It was followed by French Fried: The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris, a
personal account of French wining and dining viewed from her mother-in-law’s
kitchen and interviews with leading French food and wine experts.

Her third book, Joie de Vivre (2012), delves into the French penchant for enjoying life
with style and panache. Publisher’s Weekly wrote that « Rochefort...is a foreign
observer of what it means to be French and, with wit and a unique insight, offers
advice on loving life the way her adopted country does. »

Published by St. Martin’s Press, all three of Harriet’s books about French manners
and mores have been translated into Chinese. A French version of French Toast
was published by Editions Ramsay in 2005

Inspired by true events that took place in the seething cauldron of the southwest of
France three months before the D-Day victory and the tragedy of Oradour-sur-Glane,
Harriet’s first novel, Final Transgression: One Woman’s Tragic Destiny in War-torn
France, was published in May 2020. In his endorsement of the novel, eminent
historian Robert O. Paxton, author of Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order calls it
“historically well-grounded” and a “vigorous and compelling tale.”
Harriet is a member of several professional writers’ organizations. They include PEN,
The Authors Guild, and the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris where she
served on the board for many years.

A freelance journalist, Harriet has written scores of articles on French business,
culture, travel and lifestyle for leading magazines and newspapers, including the
International Herald Tribune (now the International New York Times), The Atlanta
Journal and Constitution, Huffington Post, and Time magazine where she worked as
a reporter in the Paris bureau for more than ten years. For Time, she covered many
different stories including the Klaus Barbie trial in Lyons, the arrival of Disneyland
near Paris and the controversy over the building of the Pei Pyramid in the courtyard
of the Louvre.

As a teacher and speaker, Harriet taught a reporting course in the international
program of the Ecole de Journalisme of the renowned Institut d’Etudes Politiques de
Paris (Sciences Po) from 2007 to 2011. She regularly gives lively lectures on France
and French-American cultural differences to associations, travel groups, and
university programs, such as the Sweet Briar Year Abroad, Smith/ParisTech Telecom
and the International Media Seminar at the American University in Paris where she is
invited each year as the keynote speaker. She has spoken about her books at many
venues in the U.S. and in France, including the American Library in Paris Evenings
with an Author.

A true Francophile, Harriet loves French cooking which she learned from her French
mother-in-law who hailed from the Périgord, and has a particular affinity

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