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Self-imposed embargo has always worked well for me. I do not buy more tea if I already have plenty of tea - no matter how rare, precious, or cheap it is. Until I cook at least five recipes from the last bought cookbook, I cannot buy a new one. And I do not buy new watercolors until I actually go through the ones that I already have or finish the project or concept I started. Now, this is the territory where I catch myself negotiating - with myself:
'Look at this Luxembourg park green or this Yellow Sonia; it almost has your name on it. Literally. Yes?'
‘NO.’
'Ok, what if I tell you a new concept - a watercolor map of an imaginary city? You know you have already tried that and it worked, and you love it, but this time we buy a new SPARKLY color?'
‘NO.’
It’s always very lively in my head - between art supply buying negotiations, food planning and yearning, and catastrophizing about the things that will never happen, there is never a dull moment. I do love visiting art supplies shops just for inspiration - yes, with a lot of exercise, I now can visit an art supply shop without buying a thing. I know a man who was the president of the Treated Alcoholics of Yugoslavia, and today he can even serve alcohol to his friends without slipping. That’s me in the art supply shop. ‘Wonderful amount of options but no thanks!’
I know that some of you are coming to Paris this summer, and I thought that a little round-up of my favorite art supply shops would be a good idea. I often mention them during my workshops but here is the real list!
I do like to underline also that you already have plenty of everything. Never forget that and try to just go to get inspired!
Passage Clouté
5-7 Rue des Boulets, 75011 Paris
I will start with the least attractive one, but the one that definitely makes me stop and think about what I actually need when it comes to supplies. It’s a labyrinth of papers, colors, and brushes, and if you are searching for something specific, people working there are happy to help you (which is not always the case in art supplies shop). This is where I buy all the PH-neutral cardboard for sending my art prints when you order them. I found perfectly thin paintbrushes with unglazed handles. I was specific, and they delivered.
BHV Marais
Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville is one of my favorite places in the whole city. It’s less crowded than other department stores, almost 170 years old and if you go to the café on the 3rd floor (after you do NOT buy art supplies on the second), you have a wonderful view over the square in front of Hôtel de Ville. If you go there in the morning, you often have the whole shop to yourself. It’s spacious and very Parisian, literally across the street from Notre Dame/Pompidou museum/Hotel de Ville.
Melodies Graphiques
10 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris
This is the shop where I buy my calligraphy art supplies. Be careful with this one as it is an enchanting little chest with a lot of details and precious inks and nibs. I sometimes go and just look at their pretty window. Last week, I got an order for a minimap from a calligrapher who started her career because of that shop. I will share it with you once it’s done.
Another one of my self-imposed embargoes is the one where I do not start new personal art projects until the previous ones are done.
I had no respect for this embargo.
There are new maps of Montmartre (started), Le Marais (still only in my head except this one), and new original art chair projects (mentioned here), but nevertheless, I hoped to draw a flower map of the world. I planned to draw 15 flowers: 5 per continent, which seemed reasonable and doable, especially because I had to finish it in a week's time as I wanted to have it done for Earth Day (that was on Monday). 63 (sixty-three) flowers later, the flower map art print is finished, and I actually organized myself well to have it done for Monday!
Now you can find it in my shop, and for the first ten people who order it, I am gifting small art prints of a flower of your choice from the map. Now I can calmly go back to other maps/paintings and one (for now) secret personal art project. It is what it is; some embargoes work - most of them don’t.
Some of my April favorite things and some of my current thoughts:
Goat cheese in season: this time I opted for Petit Callison
Bois de Vincennes walks with friends
A book on writing called “Writing Down the Bones” - I am almost done and I am so inspired by it. It’s from 1984, go figure.
Listening to dharma talks of wonderful Sylvia Boorstein
Apricot carnations with little pink lines from the market
I promised myself that I will finish one notebook per month for the rest of the year: writing, drawing, painting… It’s going well. I am almost done. I went through it in this newsletter
Scoop - I still don’t understand how in 2024 some countries still have monarchy. Loved the movie.
Visiting Parc de Bagatelle in Bois de Boulogne. Saw some prostitutes around it too.
Reading about magnolias - historically they developed before the bees so they have the system of procreation through the beatles
Chestnuts are in bloom, and the little linden buds started appearing despite the low temperatures this and last week
I hope that your April is going well and that you are finding time to slow down and enjoy the small wonders like flowers, raindrops sliding down the window, or simple coffee sips. Thank you for being here,
Sonja
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I feel like I may need some kind of embargo when it comes to books- that I need to finish one before starting a new one. Instead of having 7 books on the go 😂🙈