Julia Denos's Blog, page 10

Paris Snapshots

Window ladies, Champs-Elysées

We arrived via Aer Lingus, our lift off time dangerously close to the 6pm "Rapture"...but we made it. (Click any images to view larger)

First things first...Voilà! Des livres pour enfants...j'adore, j'adore...

I visited Les Minots, a children's bookstore in the 14th, and also stumbled on another nearby called Librairie Tropiques, where I spied my new favorite fille : JACOTTE, with her crazy carrot hair! (Illustrations by Estelle Billon-Spagnol). Also pictured above are Marie de Paris illustrated by Princesse Cam Cam and a lovely rendition of Cendrillon by Alexandra Huard.) Go lose yourself in their art blogs!

En métro! (The Boston T could learn a few tricks.)

Then we said Bonjour to Notre Dame, L'Arc, Charlemagne, Place de Concorde and every arrondissement we could manage to meet!

Matt shows off his stash of sweet french comics on his blog here.

Some drawing (and fuzzy bird spying) in the Tuileries...

Lots of "fraise" and "framboise"... My favorites french words because they taste just like they sound, listen...


A trip out to gorgeous Giverny.

Monet's water lilies.

Picnic with sweet Parisian friends Abby LaBranche (of Gloaming Designs –a blog you must visit!!) and her beau, Romain, at the Chateau Vaux Le Vicomte out in Maincy, France...buried our toes in "bouton d'or" (literally buttons of gold!) /buttercups...introduced to new species of fromage.
...and stayed till midnight to see the Chateau at night:
Paris is a new city by night. It has a glow along the Seine that is hard to capture in words or camera. You'll have to go yourself one day to see!

Merci, Merci ♥

Hot off the presses (and plane!)

Et voilà! Woosh! We're back! Moments after my jet-lagged self walked in the front door, I found this little package waiting for me:
The Anthology Spring Issue is here!


I wish I had a better word besides "dreamy" to describe working on a magazine cover/spread of a little party, but that's exactly how it felt! It was an extraordinary bit of luck to get to work with magazine creators Meg Mateo Ilasco and Anh-Minh Le too. And wouldn't you know, I happened to meet two of the macarons from the painting in Paris...hmmm

(Crunch)

Issue #3 is especially SATURATED with color, gorgeous photography, insightful artist interviews, soirée ideas, and is just about bursting its spine with creative and visual inspiration. As a reader, I always get loads of new ideas from flipping through the pages. Now available at Anthropologie too! (in stores+site) :


...and pictures from Paris to come...

À bientôt!

Well, we are off to Paris.

When we land it will also be our 1 year anniversary (provided the world hasn't ended yet!) I bring with me a trusty sketchbook, french lessons on the ipod, a long long list of things to see/eat/find, and too many pairs of shoes. I hope to return bursting with new ideas, stories and pictures. Many thanks for alllllll of your glorious well-wishes, travel hints and tips. You are lovelies! I leave you with a song you will never EVER be able to get out of your head... Much love ♥

Inspiration: The Family Tree (Take 2)

(*Thanks to all the readers who've shared their amazing family stories with me when I initially posted this last week! Sadly, Blogger's system crashed for 5 days and the blog post, your comments and our conversation was deleted so here is Take 2–I wish there was a way to contact each of you, thank you folks!)

Norman Rockwell's Family Tree (stared at endlessly by Denos siblings)

I mentioned that language acts like "caffeine" for my creativity, so I wanted to share another source I draw from: family trees. They've always been inspiration to me...not quite sure why. Perhaps it was because growing up, we didn't have a lot television–we had grandmas with good stories. I think I'm mostly fond of family trees because I love CHARACTERS and the elements, historical/genealogical/magical, that join to create them. I love to think about lineage when I'm creating a character...


Plus, family trees are chock full of my favorite things, like...

STORIES!

I love that each of us is a perfectly particular culmination of stories that stretch way back in time. In researching my own tree last week, I found out that my husband Matt's distant relative came over on a ship from England called the "Truelove" (really!) and most folks from his mother's side were pilgrims, some settled Plymouth. We just discovered Matt's also a direct descendant of John Proctor of the Salem Witch Trials! Remember Arthur Miller's The Crucible?

As for me, my Scottish side descends from the Clan Munroe which still keeps its Foulis Castle in Scotland (dating back to the 11th century!) What was it like to live there then? What did my ancestors dream about within these walls? Can't wait to go and see one day...lots of stories here.

Foulis Castle today

AND NAMES!

I love the names in family trees too...how a name is borrowed for a time to brand our "looks" and faces, but they duck and weave in and out of family trees, sometimes into obscurity, sometimes enduring for centuries in records. We say things like "Those eyes are Anna's! That expression is so Denos, those EARS! They belong to the Smith side." I love how character BECOMES a name. Names are like little threads you can pull on to unravel time...


So , when I should be preparing for Paris, I've been using any free time to find the elusive Italian/French ancestor who gave Matt his last name (and my married name) : Cesare Perlot. He lived way up in the hills of Fai Della Paganella, in northern Trento, Italy. We cannot trace his origins or how his french name came populate northern Italy! The legend goes: two Parisian Perlot brothers in Napolean's army ventured over the Alps and winter-camped in Fai...(and I'm guessing they met some lovely Italian ladies and settled down due to the concentration of Perlots there today!) I love a mystery but I've exhausted sources, any Perlots out there with a lead? Maybe a hint waits in Paris...

Matt's grandma, Anna.

As for my name: Denos. My (also elusive) great grandfather, Andrew Denos, came over from Greece, and wouldn't tell a soul who/what/ where/when/why. All we are left with is his last name and 3 seconds his slow-motion wink to the panning cameraman in a flickering 1950's wedding reception reel ...as if he's saying, "You have a lonnnnng search ahead of you kid!" Another mystery.

CHARACTER DESIGN!


The physical inheritance passed through a family tree is maybe the neatest part to me, though these things like that are less documented in family trees than names and dates. Yet, the eyes you use, the nose you wear, maybe even the stubbornness you possess traveled across oceans, through stories and bloodlines to become you. The idea of "ancestors" makes me imagine too: they're with us in our features in a way...we are what's survived of them as we move ahead into our own personal legends. We carry this legacy in our bones every day. Isn't that kind of magic?

The way I imagine family trees: generations behind us stretching out like flickering tails (tales) of two-by-two trailing backward into the distance. Kind of like this:

LOVE!

Maybe it's the progressive, loving perspective I receive from family trees that gets me. It makes the whole planet feel smaller. Our stories have crossed oceans by ship, settled into houses, making countries and foreign languages feel like home; the world becomes familial and more closely knit than we can ever know; it makes peace feel more possible somehow. We extend our branches out, weave ourstories into eachother's, light up different parts of the globe for a while, making those places loved. Family trees hint at something eternal and magic, something alive and progressing...they just capture my imagination. Maybe someday I'll know what to make of it, what to DO with it. A book? A painting? A crazy mural? Hm.

So where did you come from? Does your name have a story?

Inspiration: The Family Tree

Norman Rockwell's "A Family Tree" (stared at endlessly by Denos siblings)

I mentioned that language acts like "caffeine" for my creativity, so I wanted to share another source I draw from: family trees. They've always been inspiration to me...not quite sure why. Perhaps it was because growing up, we didn't have a lot of TV–we had grandmas with good stories. I think I'm mostly fond of family trees because I love CHARACTERS and the elements (historical/genealogical/magical) that join to create them. I love to think about lineage when I'm creating a character...


Plus, family trees are chock full of my favorite things, like...

STORIES!

I love that each of us is a perfectly particular culmination of little stories! In researching my own tree last week, I found out that my husband Matt's ancestor had a storied journey to America on a ship called the "Truelove" (really!) and most folks from his mother's side were pilgrims, some settled Plymouth. Also just discovered Matt's a direct descendant of John Proctor of the Salem Witch Trials! (Woah.) Remember Arthur Miller's The Crucible? As for me, my Scottish side is part of the Clan Munroe which still keeps its Foulis Castle in Scotland (back to the 11th century!) What was it like to live there then? Can't wait to go and see one day...lots of stories in the walls of a castle.

Foulis Castle today

AND NAMES!

I love the names in family trees too...what were the lives and faces like attached to those names? It's funny how a name is borrowed by families for a time to brand our "looks" and faces, but they duck and weave in and out of family trees, sometimes into obscurity, sometimes enduring for centuries in records. We say things like "Those eyes are Anna's! That expression is so Denos, those EARS! The belong to the Smith side." I love how character BECOMES a name. Names are like little threads you can pull on to unravel time...


So , when I should be preparing for Paris, I've been using any free time to find the elusive Italian/French ancestor who gave Matt his last name (and my married name) : Cesare Perlot. He lived way up in the hills of Fai Della Paganella, in Trento, Italy, but we cannot figure out how his french name "Perlot" came populate northern Italy! The legend goes: two Parisian Perlot brothers in Napolean's army ventured over the Alps and winter-camped in Fai...(and I'm guessing they met some lovely Italian ladies and settled down due to the concentration of Perlots there today.) Any Perlots out there with a lead? Maybe a hint waits in Paris...

Matt's grandma, Anna.

And, Denos? My (also mysterious) great grandfather, Andrew Denos, came over from Greece, and wouldn't tell a soul who/what/ where/when/why. I'm left with only his last name and 3 seconds of his slow-motion wink to the panning cameraman in a flickering 1950's wedding reception reel...as if he's saying, "You have a lonnnnng search ahead of you kid!" Another mystery.

CHARACTER DESIGN!


The physical inheritance passed through a family tree is maybe the neatest part to me, though these things are less documented in family trees than names and dates. Yet, the eyes you use, the nose you wear, maybe even the stubbornness you possess traveled across oceans too, through stories and bloodlines to become you. The idea of "ancestors" makes me imagine too: They're with us in our genetics in a way...it's like a legacy in our bones every day. Isn't that kind of cool? We are what's survived of them as we move ahead into our own personal legends. The way I imagine a family tree: generations behind us stretching out like flickering tails (tales) of two-by-two disappearing into the distance, kind of like this:


LOVE!

Maybe it's the loving, progressive perspective I receive from family trees that gets me. It makes the whole planet feel smaller. Our stories make far away lands and foreign languages feel like home; we become more closely knit than we can ever know; it makes peace feel more possible. We extend our branches outward, weave our stories in and out of eachothers', light up different parts of the globe for a little while making those places loved. Family trees always hint at something eternal and magic, something progressing and alive. They just get my imagination going. Maybe someday I'll know what to make of it, what to DO with it. A book? A painting? A crazy mural? Hm.

So where did you come from? Does your name have a story?

While I listen...

...I doodle! Chances are, if we've had a phone conversation, it ended up pink and/or squiggly. Try it next time you're on the phone, or listening to the radio or talking to someone (be a discreet doodler). Watch what comes out! Then report back, because I love spying on people's doodles too...here are some of mine lately:


Mopey ladies in the shade of orange lipstick I coveted (and finally found–Barry M LP#54–yes!):


Little sentences in the pauses of noise:


Realizations:

(and c-r-a-z-y!) Earl Grey has my vote...

Dress Day #2

We are indeed overdue for Dress Day #2, ladies and gents!
A little afternoon dress for a lazy day out:

"Picnic"

With accompanying tune All the Wine by some of my favorite Brooklyn-based musicians, Clare and the Reasons.

Grandma's Gold!

Congratulations to Cecil Castellucci, author and just-announced gold medal winner of the 80th Annual California Book Awards in the juvenile category for Grandma's Gloves! It was a pleasure working on her heart-filled story and then finally meeting Cecil for a book signing last August. Favorite Cecil memory: her first exclamation from across the room, "OH! YAY! You're small TOO!" We had a tiny lady moment (both hovering around 5 feet) and it is funny to think about how we all imagine each other from across the internet, isn't it? Cecil is a petite whirlwind of energy, ideas and talent (she is also a playwright, vocalist, graphic novelist...)
...and check out Cecil's new Literary Diaspora project too, a little game of art and words being snail-mailed from authors, illustrators and left in the pages of unsuspecting books in book stores around the US/Canada! Maybe you will find one?

Cecil's words from Grandma's:

"She speaks to me in French, because that's what she spoke when she was little, before she grew up and met Grandpa and came to this country.

'She's forgotten it all,' Mum says sadly.

I tell Mum and the nurse that Grandma hasn't forgotten to water the plants in her room. They are big and green, and the violets are blooming..."

♥

The Shop

is preparing for a spring opening! We've been busy bees (butterflies) over here. Limited and open edition giclée prints, and my first line of greeting cards will be available soon...Stay tuned!

A Dress For Spring

Is it really REALLY TRULY Spring? Here in the Northeast, it's hard to let your heart be convinced lest it be quickly broken (by April snow), but I'm believing in Spring today. It's gorgeous and sunny and the perfect time to wear your favorite dress. Speaking of dresses...I heard from a bird (named Chad Beckerman) that the advances of my next book are IN:




I Had A Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn! (Fall 2011)

Deciding what THE dress of dresses would be for the little girl in this book was a dizzying task, and you can imagine how many tiny dress drawings were made (a tiny closet full). So I'm going to open up the closet for random Dress Days throughout the months leading up to the release of the book. Some dresses you will be able to spy throughout the book! I had to name them all to keep them straight so on Dress Day #1 we have:

"Lemonade Gala"

with accompanying tune: Glenn Miller's String of Pearls
More soon!