Val d'amour, Jura, France

For those of you who know me, you also know that I have had a passion for France, all things French, and a certain Frenchman that has lasted for the last 30 years. My little portion of France is off the beaten track. Their seem to be a lot of Dutch tourists that know about it, but very few others.

This is the  beautiful city of Dole on the banks of the river Doubs, and the birthplace of Louis Pasteur. He made   some of his important discoveries while working in the vinyards close by.

Lunch is caught in the  mountain fed streams  and eaten  canalside   the same  evening,

The very unusual tasting and delicious Vin du Jura........ before and after. The second picture is from my father-in-laws, long abandonned workshop. He was the local carpenter in the village of Ounans.

A magical evening in the middle of the forest. Everyone brings, wine, and food and sharing is half of the fun. Followed later by a concert in the woods with   folk songs  from the Jura and comedy in the local patois. Enchanting

The climate in the Jura is very similar to Toronto, hot in the summer and snow in the winter. There are ski hills close by, in the Haut Jura and Geneva is two hours away over the Jura mountains.
 
 
 

 
 

The coolest place on a hot summer day is in the beautifully restored Cathedrale, that sits atop the town and has been welcoming tourists and the faithful for over 500 years, and after extensive refurbishments, it now looks brand new, inside and out.

The money pit.  This is our house in France and it was completed in 1777, but was probably already in existence before this time. The huge attic area covered in red clay tile was originally used as hay storage. Right now it is empty, but with the right contractor, a beautiful second floor living space could be added. It is a heritage building, so it's tricky getting approval to do any major reno's that alter the look of the building. It was once a working farm, and it is still surrounded on two sides by working farms.

stay tuned for more scenes from France............

Hotel Les Baux de Provence

Designing a hotel in the South of France, Provence to be exact is an opportunity that any designer would jump on. I've incorporated the colours of the countryside, the sea, the sky and the vegetation into a cohesive blend of muted limestone and brilliant colours. Contemporary design in an ageless setting.

Tourquoise

This is one of the most amazing products that I have seen in years.  It is a photo-luminescent tile that glows for hours after being exposed to light for a minimal amount of time.  Think of the advantages that it could have in hotels, spas and even seniors homes. It is beautiful to look at and energy efficient.  It takes on an otherworldly glow that could enhance any room. Powder rooms, pool tiles, sun rooms the possibilities are endless.Lucedentro is th the company that produces this wonderful product. Once again Italian design reigns supreme.

I am fascinated by this colour.  I do not have it anywhere  in

my house but all the same it intrigues me.An ordinary spider web takes  on a whole new dimension with colour.  Think what colour can do for your room. Spectacular, Carnivale in Venice. Colour takes you to places that sometimes only exist in your imagination.This is a simple look that .can be achieved very inexpensively.

These  plates and glasses and they are under $3 at Ikea . It's a great way to jazz up a summer table without breaking the bank.

Italian Design does it again, luminescent tiles glow for hours.
http://website.informer.com/visit?domain=bathroomdesignsidea.com&url=http://bathroomdesignsidea.com

http://deborabydesign.blogspot.com/

http://deborabydesign.blogspot.com/

Body Graffiti

 Okay, this is taking graffiti one step further, or perhaps one step back.

This is body graffiti in a way, air brush as opposed to spray can.

It's beautiful to look at, but everlasting art, it is not .

  This takes hours to do and it all seems a little silly to me, the next shower and it's gone!!!Okay, I've been studying this one for awhile and I still can't figure it out. Which one is the wonky eye?  My goodness, this is fabulous art but in my mind I keep thinking we are only one wash away from oblivion.  Which brings the question to mind, what is art????Could be porno, but she's wearing a bra.  I have many  examples of body painting that are only bodies, no painted over clothing and it defies detection. I'm intrigued by this genre and I must admit that I'm a little confused?????   Why would you expend all of this talent and time into something that will be gone the next day.  It is like chalk artists. They draw their incredible paintings and one rain and POUF

 they are gone!  That's dedication and I must say, an art form that I admire a great deal,  but understand not a bit!okay, you have to admit, this is cool but remember one rain and it's gone.

A Great Alternative to Graffiti

             Now that I work right downtown, graffiti is the wall covering of many of the cities lovely old  buildings in my new hood. I'm not totally against it, in some sections of the city, it is a welcome and uplifting bit of colour in a drab landscape, but on many buildings it is a blight that is expensive to remove and almost impossible to prevent.

a  sepia coloured street scene

Fishing in a long covered over river

 

      On  a recent trip to the other side of the city, I happened upon some fairytale like murals that enhance , surprise and delight the viewer to happens upon them.   The murals are on Dundas West in the village of Islington.  I didn't even know that there was a village of Islington, I must get out more ?  The artist is John Kuna and his nostalgic paintings are a glimpse of what the village used to be. www.etobicokehistorical.com


   I couldn't find out much about this talented artist but you can view his work on several other websites. His own website seems to be under construction right now but keep looking.  He can be reached at jfkunadesign@yahoo.com.

    We are all familiar with the pictures of New York City subway cars, they are colourful but for some reason they always seem a little sinister to me.  Toronto Transit Commissions takes great care to make sure that no graffiti sullies their cars, it's a full-time job removing it . Apparently, graffiti artists have some principles and they will not spray paint over another artists work.  In the long run, painting a mural on a building is a fabulous way to stop the graffiti.  It might initially cost a little more but in the long run, it will save the great expense and bother of cleaning the graffiti off. 

   That's it for today,  I'll  be posting more on graffiti, it fascinates me and I'd like to document more of it in Toronto.  bye for now, Debora

Google SketchUp

http://sketchup.google.com/

    Do you like to draw? 

 I've just started using Google's Sketchup to
try and do some designing and it couldn't be easier.  There are plenty of
tutorials to get you started and the effects are amazing. This program totally appeals to my need for instant gratification.  Anyone can download it and the best part is......it's FREE.  

  You can do floor plans, 3D models and you can look at your creations from all angles.  I think this just might be my favourite tool for design in the future. I think that the pro version just might be in the cards .  Autocad, you have some competition!!!!!