Not Forgotten: French Illustrator, Lucien Laforge

Fantasmagorie, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

One of the reasons I named this blog Scentedpapers was because of my love of paper products. I love stationery, pens, and anything having to do with paper and letters. I use a fountain pen whenever I am not using my MacBook.  I collect desk tools like sharpeners and silly scented Japanese erasers shaped like pieces of fruit.  When I was little, I looked at font and typographic catalogs for fun. My mother is an artist and these books were always around, so I grew up with a great appreciation and fascination for the alphabet and the many forms it could take.

Jardinier, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

When I was about eight years old, I received a set of cards and envelopes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art designed by the French illustrator, Lucien Laforge.  The cards were all taken from images from Laforge's  L’Abécédaire de Lucien Laforge, an alphabet book for children created in 1924.  I loved these cards and fell in love with Laforge's strong use of color and line.  I used up the entire box of cards, sending them to friends and family.

Marche, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

 Recently, a friend sent me a note written on one of Laforge's cards- she too had collected them and it was her note that inspired this blog post.  I tried to find the set again but they no longer exist.  I wanted to feature a blog post about Laforge because I think he is an artist who deserves more than a paragraph in Wikipedia.

Lucien Laforge was born in Paris in 1889 and died in 1951.  His mother painted miniatures and his father was a violinist.  Laforge started out as a painter and made a career for himself as an illustrator for French left-wing and anarchist publications.  He was a pacifist and lived his entire life in near-poverty.  Laforge's work is not well-known in the United States, which is a shame.  I did not want to focus on Laforge's political illustrations because they are not easily accessible.  He was an artist who moved from the world of politics to that of illustrating children's books, and then back to politics.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was smart in choosing Laforge's book to use for stationery: although geared to children, the images also appeals to adults.  Laforge uses repetition, pattern, and color in a way that is engaging and rhythmic.  When I look at Laforge's work as an adult, it is as if I am seeing the illustrations as a child again. I feel I am getting a lesson in the use of perspective.  Laforge's alphabet illustrations give children a great understanding of how the size of objects vary depending on where they are placed on the page.  These works were originally done as woodcuts, printed in color.

Volcan, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

La Mercurie, a French publishing house, recently re-issued Laforge's alphabet book and it can be purchased from Amazon France.

Xylophone, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

In addition to the alphabet book, Laforge also illustrated the fairy tales of Charles Perrault. The illustrations are hauntingly beautiful.  If you have some money, there are eight illustrated plates from Perrault's book currently available on eBay.

Zebre, illustration from Lucien Laforge's alphabet book.  Cards produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1930. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

There is obviously an audience out there who wish to see Laforge's work, and it is exciting to see that French publishers have responded to the demand. My only hope is that Laforge's alphabet will be translated into different languages, to be enjoyed by children and adults in every country.

Source: Ma Gallerie a Paris, a terrific blog featuring the work of Laforge
Doriane Films, the company which distributes Laforge's book.


Kneale Culbreath is a writer by night and admin pro by day. Musicians and outsiders are her heroes. She writes about modern life.

Queen of Jam: Christine Ferber

Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

The cherry blossom are in bloom all over Seattle, and the sight is intoxicatingly beautiful: imagine every tree covered with pink petaled confetti.  I find myself staring at the pink trees and engaging in conversation with complete strangers about how beautiful they are.  The campus on the University of Washington has a quad now in full bloom, as you can see from the pictures below.  It is a heady sight.  I am greedy for the pink blossoms and have taken many photos of them whenever I leave the house.  Spring is here. 

Cherry blossom in bloom on University of Washington campus. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

How do you capture a fleeting season? The first thing I thought of was jam. What about a cherry blossom jelly or jam? Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. If you Google "sakura jelly," you will find many entries all devoted to the sweets.  There is even a gorgeous-looking Tumblr devoted to the flowery desserts.  Cherry blossom-flavored food is hugely popular in Japan, home of the world's most famous cherry blossom festivals. The sakura is pickled or salted.  You can buy salt-cured cherry blossoms and cherry blossom essence to flavor foods like panna cotta and cakes.  Sakura jelly has been described as "spring in a jar," and to me this is the ideal of jam, capturing the season in a jar. The blogger She Who Eats wrote a piece on the sakura food available and her thoughtful sakura baking fundraiser to help the victims of the hurricane that hit Japan in 2011.

What does cherry blossom jelly taste like? I imagine something floral and almond with some citrus in there to make everything sing.  When I was looking for a recipe for cherry blossom jelly, the first person I thought of was Christine Ferber.  Ferber is known around the world as "la fée des confitures," or "the fairy of jams."  Ferber is an award-winning pastry chef/chocolatier/jam-maker who lives and works in her home village of Niedermorschwihr, in Alsace, France.  Ferber is no ordinary jam maker, but someone who works more like a perfumer, using fruit as her medium.  I wanted to feature Ferber because I admire her for doing what she loves and doing it brilliantly, according to her own terms.

More University of Washington cherry blossoms in full bloom.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

I was inspired to make marmalade by Ferber's cookbook I have toted around for years:  Mes Confitures: The James and Jellies of Christine Ferber.   This past Christmas, my husband J. and I made a version of Seville orange marmalade using regular navel oranges and lemon to mimic the signature bitter taste of the Seville orange.  The results were well-received by family and friends and we are still savoring the last jar.  I learned about Christine Ferber through Clotilde Dusoulier's excellent food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini. At the time, I was making perfumes and was struck by how much Ferber's jam recipes sounded more like scents in their complexity and composition. I was entranced by the descriptions and names of the jams: Apple Jelly with Acacia Flowers; Nougabricot, an apricot-based jam filled with slivered almonds and pistachio; Raspberry and Litchi with Rosewater; Orange with Earl Grey Tea; Elderberry Jelly. 

Closeup of cherry blossom tree. Photo: Kneale Culbreath

Jam-making is a lot like making perfume in that it is a solitary pursuit requiring focus and attention but the end result is something that you share with others.  Ferber's cookbook is divided into chapters entitled Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, making for seasonal and mouthwatering reading.  Ferber's recipes are not complicated but the instructions are thorough and detailed. Ferber has described her work as a process of understanding the fruit, respecting it, and showing it off to best advantage.  I was won over by Ferber's attention to detail and her belief in using the freshest, ripest fruits and vegetables, picked in season. In order to control quality, Ferber makes jam in batches no bigger than eight pounds.  Ferber believes there are no shortcuts or cheats to good jam-making.  I would urge anyone with an interest in jam to pick up a copy of her book. 

I hope to visit Maison Ferber the next time I am in France and imagine I will have to set aside an empty bag just for her jams.  In the meantime, I am looking at spring produce with extra care, deciding on which jam to make.

I have always loved Antonio Vivaldi's violin concerti "The Four Seasons," and the Spring movement is the most fitting piece I can think of here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKthRw4KjEg
This version features Itzhak Perlman playing with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006.  I think of the bass and cello as representing the steady growth of the earth and the violins as the winds, grasses and trees all beginning to bloom and grow furiously.  Bring on spring.

Sources:

http://www.christineferber.com/Christine-Ferber.html

For years, jam fanatics had to trek to France to buy Ferber's jams or ask friends to bring them back to the States. You can now purchase Ferber's goods through www.thesweetpalate.com (http://www.oriol-balaguer.com/CHRISTINEFERBERJAMS.aspx) 

If you read French, this interview with Ferber is a fascinating portrait in which she discusses her history and philosophy:  http://cuisine.journaldesfemmes.com/magazine/itvw/it_ferber.shtml

Saveur magazine was one of the first American publications to discuss Christine Ferber and the global obsession with her products: http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Christine-Ferber-French-Jams

Iconic: Bass Weejun Loafers

Vintage Bass Weejuns ad.  Source: http://www.ivy-style.com

Apparently, loafers are having a moment.  I am puzzled by this because the loafer is the perfect shoe. How could it ever be out of style? Picture Michael Jackson without his black loafers and white socks in "Billie Jean." Any movie from the 1950's would be missing something without loafer-clad characters.  Loafers were de rigueur in Lisa Birnbach's The Preppy Handbook.  The good-girl Sandy wore them in the movie "Grease."   I cannot imagine my wardrobe without my loafers.

Some history:  Maine shoemaker George Henry Bass was a leather-tanner who began making shoes in 1876.  The first Bass loafer, or "Weejun," was modeled after a shoe seen on a trip to Norway.  Every film set in the US from the 1940's to the 1960's seemed to feature the loafer as the ultimate American footwear.  I can only think of one other American shoe to be as important: the Converse sneaker. Converse was worn by athletic preps and grungy punks.  The loafer is at home in any setting, from casual to dressed up, unlike the sneaker. To me, the penny loafer is a casual shoe when done in brown or oxblood, and looks a touch more dressy when done in black. There is something effortless about dressing up and adding a more casual shoe to bring everything down a step or two.

Plenty of designers have taken the loafer for a fresh spin. You can picture Fiat magnate and most-stylish-man-on-the-planet Gianni Agnelli wearing Tod's Gommini, the loafer-moccasin hybrid in luxe suede with the signature pebbled sole.  Marc Jacobs made a  patent version of the loafer with a chunkier sole that reminds me of Patrick Cox's Wannabe loafers from the 90's.

Loafers look great with striped or colored socks, but I like them best worn over bare feet. The Bass loafer is not only well-made and reasonably priced, it is incredibly comfortable. This is the same shoe I wore when I was in my early teens and now wear in my 40's.  How many shoes, besides the flip flop and the ubiquitous Converse, can make this claim? Would you even want to share your closet with shoes you wore as a teenager?  Lately I have been wearing the Bass tasseled loafer in tobacco brown, a more dressed up version of the penny loafer. The next pair I will add to my wardrobe will be the Wayfarer pair in black and white, a nod to my love of ska. 

Nothing beats the Bass Weejun for style, comfort, and versatility. The loafer is a shoe to take you anywhere.

Here is Michael Jackson singing "Billie Jean," wearing signature black Bass loafers and silver socks.  Jackson headlined the celebration for Motown's 25th Anniversary in Pasadena, California in 1983.  Not only was the first appearance of Jackson's Moonwalk, but I think it is the loafer's finest moment: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=michael+jackson+thriller+live+1983

Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier Extreme: Figs for Dessert

L'Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier Extreme.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

Are you a sweet person or a savory person?  If I had to pick sweet or savory as my go-to for a treat, sweet wins out every time.  Never mind that 'cheese' was my first word, and when I was little I could easily snack on olives, pickles, and saltine crackers all day.  But if I had to choose as a child, I really loved sweet things: a homemade brownie. Nutella on a baguette.  Pie.  But a plate of figs? This would not be my choice, even though I loved fruit.  Fig Newtons, yes. Plain figs? No.  I loved Fig Newtons because they smelled of vanilla and the biscuit exterior was as soft as velvet.  From my view as a sugar-obsessed kid, fresh figs seemed more like a punishment than a treat.  Full of seeds and no cookie? I don't think so.  So good for you and full of fiber, too! I would have rather eaten a box of raisins or a sweet-tart Granny Smith apple.

Despite my early dislike of plain figs, my tastes changed as an adult and I grew to love the fruit. I love the tiny, crunchy seeds and the vanilla-sweetness of the fruit. I became something of a fig fan, especially for fig scents. I discovered a few fig perfumes that really make me happy: Diptyque's Philosykos (and the matching candle), which to me smells like a fresh fig crushed with the leaves, sap, bark, and earth; Pacifica's Mediterranean Fig, a plain, unornamented fig; Body Time's Green Fig Oil, smells of green dried figs, quite heady and rich; and Olivia Giacobetti's L'Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier, the first fig perfume in which fig leaves are combined with almond milk and sandalwood. 

The follow up to L'Artisan's Premier Figuier, Premier Figuier Extreme, is for sweet lovers. I translate Extreme to mean concentrated. After the first spray, I get a blast of intense fig, followed by coconut and almond milk.  The perfume also includes notes of fig leaves, gorse flower, stone pine, and dried fruits.  Instead of thinking of Premier Figuier Extreme as a concentrated version of the original, drier fig, I think of Extreme as the dessert version of Premier Figuier, where the sweet notes of coconut and almond are the strongest.  This perfume is a decadent treat and a little goes a long way.

I think Gordon Ramsay's "Fig and Frangipane Tart" is a fitting dessert to try, with all the appropriate ingredients: figs, almonds, and cream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY0T8Nq07PY

Blooming Lovely: Roasted Beet Salad

Cherry blossom tree on the University of Washington Quad, Seattle.  Photo: Kneale Culbreath

Last week, I wrote about my ridiculous love for waxed paper bags.  Either I need to get a life or I get joy from the littlest thing. I like to think it is the latter rather than the former.

I am ready for spring and want to be done with eating stews, roasts, and other cold weather foods. I saw the cherry blossom beginning to bloom on the University of Washington campus and there were cheery yellow daffodils and purple and pink narcissus, full petaled and reminding me of Easter.  But it is still early March and Seattle is a tricky city that throws a cold weather curve ball; last week I was wearing my wool coat one day, carrying my umbrella the next, then watching bare-armed colleagues walk into the office the following morning, looking totally comfortable.  I am busily applying self-tanner nightly, wondering if my feet are ready for sandals and coral pedicures.

One way I like to bring spring in early is to cook things that remind me that warm weather is coming soon.  Usually in winter the thought of a salad leaves me cold- it is just too chilly to get excited over chilled lettuces and icy dressings. Root vegetables are a great compromise between winter and spring.  These vegetables remind us of what is available in the cooler months and this salad gives us a hint of flavors to come in the spring.  One of my favorite winter vegetables to cook are beets. I love their earthy and honeyed flavor.  Beets are easygoing and can be delicious served with just salt and pepper but I think they welcome a good punch of sharp vinegar or lemon and lots of fresh herbs- beets are so candy-sweet, they can take it.  Years ago, a friend served me the best beet salad I have ever had: it was full summer and Tanya had roasted young asparagus with beets and then topped them with toasted walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. This is an end of winter tribute to her salad.


Note: this recipe is a rough one, meaning if you are a stickler for measuring, please refer to your favorite vinaigrette recipe. I roasted some beets in olive oil and then dressed them in a mustard vinaigrette while still warm.  This salad can be eaten warm or cold. 

Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts, Feta and Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette (serves 2-4)

4 medium-sized beets, washed and scrubbed
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, or lemon juice, your preference
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 c of feta cheese, cut into small cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make a foil packet for the beets: place a large square of foil on a cookie sheet and place the beets on top.  Dress the beets with a good drizzle of olive oil, enough to coat them.  Wrap the beets up in the foil (not too tightly, you want them to have room in the foil to sweat) and roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until you can pierce the skin of the beet easily.  Make room for the walnuts on the same cookie sheet as the beets: you can toast them on the same cookie sheet with the beets- just take them out after toasting in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

The beets should feel slightly soft but not mushy. This may take longer than 45 minutes, depending on the size of your beets.  Leave the beets to cool in the foil until you can handle them.  While the beets are cooling, you can toast the walnuts in a cast iron pan on the stove over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the walnuts smell fragrant.  Do not let them burn.  

I usually put on a pair of kitchen gloves reserved for jobs like this to avoid having beet-soaked fingers: using  a paring knife, pare away the beet skin, taking off the knobby beet ends and tops, too.  Chop the beets up into small cubes- not fine dice but you want the pieces to be small.  Place the beets in a medium bowl and set aside.

To make a vinaigrette, I usually do a ratio of 3:1 oil to acid.  In a glass jar or measuring cup, place 3 generous heaping tablespoons of Dijon mustard.  Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite acid- I used white balsamic vinegar.  Slowly stir in the olive oil, a little at a time, until the sauce is emulsified and everything is nicely blended.  Season with  a pinch of sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.  Pour over the beets. Add the chopped parsley, feta, and scatter the walnuts over the top. Stir gently. If you do refrigerate the salad to eat later, bring it out of the fridge 15 minutes or so before serving to take the chill off. You could also pile it on a baguette with tuna for a great sandwich or serve alongside roast chicken. This is a salad to mark the end of winter,  or think of it as a hint of spring and the bounty to come.

Variation:  If you prefer a creamier cheese, use goat cheese instead.  The goat cheese will make for a gentler-tasting salad.



Here's Nirvana's "In Bloom." I love that the band shows their sense of humor and can mock both themselves and early 60's variety shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbgKEjNBHqM

The Pigeon and the Pencil: waxed paper bags

I detest plastic bags.  There.  I've said it.  OK, they are great for freezing food and carrying your toiletries on airplanes, but I hate them for how wasteful they are and how greasy they get after being used even once.  Sure, you can reuse them, but have you tried to reuse a just-washed plastic bag?  They are expensive and bad for the environment.  Parchment paper gets all the love.  Parchment paper can be used for baking in place of greasing cookie sheets and cake pans, is great for baking fish en papillote or chicken with vegetables and broth, but I have discovered a kitchen tool that is just as useful: waxed paper bags.  Not waxed paper. Waxed paper bags.  Ah, waxed paper. You probably haven't given it much thought since you last took a sandwich for lunch as a kid.  I am a huge waxed paper fan and use it for everything from baking to wrapping up leftovers and snacks. I recently discovered a great product that I'd never seen before moving to green-minded Seattle this past summer: waxed paper bags.  They make green versions of these out of brown paper but I found the Waxtex ones at my local grocery store. 

They are square waxed paper sleeves, similar to the paper wrappers used for pastries at the bakery.  Try using these bags instead of plastic when putting together lunches; they are perfect for containing vegetables, cookies, nuts, or leftover pizza. I discovered the best use for these waxed paper bags: for keeping cheese fresh.  Plastic wrap is the enemy of cheese and it is your duty as a cheese purchaser to free the cheese from the stifling plastic wrap. If you spend good money on a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano, doesn't it deserve some love?  The plastic basically suffocates the cheese, which must be treated like a living organism- it needs space and air to breathe. Unwrap your piece of Cheddar or wedge of Maytag Blue and wrap it first in a waxed paper bag (it can breathe now!) and then into a glass or plastic container for storage in the refrigerator.  I have noticed that cheeses stored in these waxed paper bags stay fresher for much longer. I tend to keep all my cheeses in individual bags within a glass container, and the bags make everything easier to access.  From kitchen wallflower to kitchen staple. 

I learned how to wrap a sandwich using waxed paper when I was a child.  My grandfather was a chef and he may have been the first one to show me how to do this but it was most likely my mother.  I love these waxed paper bags for how useful they are.

Like the waxed paper bags, I love this song, a favorite from childhood.  It is the classic tune "You've Make Me So Very Happy" written by Brenda Holloway and Berry Gordy. Holloway wrote "Every Little Bit Hurts," and other soul hits.  This was originally a Motown hit on the Tamla label.  I grew up with the Blood, Sweat, and Tears version and love it because it reminds me of Burt Bacharach- I have a ridiculous love for Bacharach's music and anything with horns.  As sung by Blood, Sweat, and Tears, it is a hurdy-gurdy of a tune. David Clayton-Thomas has a voice that is rich and masculine- it is the perfect compliment to Holloway's version.  Find the original version on YouTube and see what you think of the two songs.  Enjoy the song and then go get yourself some waxed paper bags. 

Current obsessions

Hellebores in bloom at Anacortes, Washington. Photo by Kneale Culbreath

This week, I thought it would be fun to share some of my obsessions with you.

Product:  I love painting my nails and I like to use Sunday nights to pick a color, watch the Oscars or something Masterpiece Theater-ish, and think about the week ahead. The newest addition to my nail kit: Karma Organic Nail Polish Remover. It is an organic, soy-based nail polish remover that smells deliciously of lavender instead of headache-inducing acetone.  The remover takes nail polish off easily and I think my nails feel like they are in better condition instead of dry and stripped.  Yes, it's more expensive-$12 for a 4-ounce glass bottle- but you deserve to no longer inhale formaldehyde.

Teatime: Do you know about Remedy Teas on 15th Street in Seattle? Imagine a small and peaceful space done in calming white and green, where you can pick from over 150 organic teas along with tea smoothies, cookies, and sandwiches- Pesto Cream or Nutella Crisp, anyone? I spent two hours lingering with a friend and a pot of coconut chai, a green tea blend.  There is something there for everyone, including vegan and gluten-free options.  I love the idea of bringing more ritual to the everyday and this is the perfect spot to slow down for a bit. http://remedyteas.com/

Reading: I love candy, the more old-fashioned, the better: malted milk balls, Hershey's kisses, and the truly old-school Choward's Violet Mints, which make your breath smell like iris and Parma violet perfume.  I also love a good story. The Trebor Story by Matthew Crampton, is the tale of the Trebor candy company, a family-run institution that created not just candy but an entire culture.  It is a fascinating story, complete with beautiful photos and illustrations. 

Watching: I am always late to the party but thanks to good friends Sarah and Martin, have become completely obsessed with Paul Abbott's television series "Shameless," the UK edition.  If you want to discover everything you need to know about life on a Manchester council estate, please go and find "Shameless" on Netflix. Paul Abbott is a hero of mine and wrote the brilliant BBC series "State of Play."  Shameless is nothing like "State of Play," except it is also set in Manchester. But like "State of Play," Abbott's "Shameless" is full of characters you fall in love with.  It is smart, heartbreakingly sad, funny, and bitter.  The show's sharp, honest writing inspires me to always want to be a better writer.

Listening to:  I am waiting for Johnny Marr's The Messenger,  which will be released this Tuesday.  I will report back next week.  In the meantime, here's a song which shows off Marr's work with the English band, The Cribs, "We Share the Same Skies": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DbcAl3EbIs

What is inspiring you this week?

Capable of great feeling: Carol Reed's "Oliver"

It is the spring of 1974- I know this because I am in third grade and it is right before my parents separated.  School was what felt normal, when I would still walk the five blocks to school with my younger brother. This was before I switched schools, left my friends and my Westmount neighborhood and moved to Old Montreal.

One of my last memories of my childhood before my parents got divorced was a film screening at school.  All of the students from kindergarten to grade five were packed into the auditorium to watch a screening of the 1968 film of the musical, "Oliver."  This film had a profound affect on me and has stayed with me all my life.  I have Charles Dickens and the Carol Reed film to thank for introducing me to my lifelong interest in the depiction of class culture in England. In fact, I can trace my obsession with England to first seeing the cityscape of London in "Oliver."   A few months ago, I bought the original soundtrack from iTunes and found myself listening to it and crying at how familiar each song was. I have always cried easily over music that moved me. The first notes of "Who Will Buy?" took me back to the small auditorium in Montreal, surrounded by my classmates and teachers.  Nancy (Shani Wallis) singing to Oliver completely captivated me.  I recently learned that Oliver's singing part was sung by Kathe Green, because Mark Lester (Oliver) apparently could not sing. The song is sung in a call and response round-style, with each street vendor singing a different part: flower seller, fruit vendor, knife sharpener, milkmaid, each voice playing off the other. The song is plaintive and heart-rending. Like any good piece, it is not all sweet but full of dark moments, too.  At times it is not the joyous song you expect and has a bittersweet edge. The musical showcases what a vibrant piece it is, set like a period city ballet. 

"Oliver" provided me with a chance to revisit a time in my childhood.  Of course, listening to the soundtrack and watching the film as an adult, I realize I have the same problems with some of the scenes that I did when I was little: Fagin's racist depiction as a money-hungry Jew is truly awful. Oliver witnessing Nancy's death at the hands of Bill (Oliver Reed) is still the single most terrifying scene of any movie I can think of. I think I was too young to have seen this as a child and wish for some modern editing- but at the same time, the film was intensely joyful and painful at the same time, something I am glad to have experienced.

Watching the "Who Will Buy" video clip as an adult, I caught something I had not noticed as a child: the only people who can truly enjoy the day are Oliver and his fellow well-dressed, wealthy neighbors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11x9V1OyKpg

I watch it now and think, 'How would you have any time to sing or dance if you were busy beating carpets, cleaning houses, and nannying for the rich?'  The tune describes wrapping up the day in a box to remember- these words have always stayed with me. Is your friendship a memory box or something active that you can work on, letting it evolve?  I think movies, music, and friendship got me through the time of my parents divorce.  Movies were a way for me to experience enormous emotions without having to talk about them.  I do not even know if I had the words to express the tumult of feelings inside me at the time. Movies provided a safe haven, even if there were big emotions expressed, pain and sadness and heartache. 

I had the chance to revisit my childhood this weekend with a visit to Vancouver, where I saw my oldest friend- we met when we were six and had not seen each other since we were fifteen.  Another opportunity to experience a safe haven of emotional comfort and connection.

Original poster for "Oliver." Note: The film excerpt available on YouTube has Spanish subtitles.

An Insider's Outsider: Doris Duke

Courtesy Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives
Special Collections Library, Duke University

There have been a recent spate of books celebrating introverts. Books with titles like The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World; The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. I am surely amongst many to get up and cheer - albeit silently- as I am an introvert. I love spending time with others but it is by spending time alone that I am able to re-energize, ponder, get good ideas, muster through things, write, and get my most creative work done. I am always inspired to learn of other introverts, famous or not- people who are puttering around, working out ideas and trying to better themselves and the world around them. I have decided that famous philanthropist Doris Duke (1912-1993) was clearly an introvert, someone who was happier making things happen from behind the scenes, someone who never wanted to be in the spotlight. Duke let her actions speak for her. It is difficult to underestimate her influence. I admire how a private person was able to do so much in her lifetime and beyond.

I was thinking about the idea of custodianship and the long-held notion of the wealthy using their fortunes to help others. Doris Duke lived this principle.  In "Downton Abbey," the Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley, says to his family: "...My fortune is the work of others who laboured to build a great dynasty. Do I have the right to destroy their work or impoverish that dynasty? I am a custodian, my dear, not an owner. I must strive to be worthy of the task I've been set." Duke was more than worthy of her task as a cultural, humanitarian and civic custodian. Stewardship. Philanthropy. Environmental protection. Child welfare. Animal welfare. Medical research. Doris Duke was a visionary. It is unfortunate that she is no longer alive- I imagine she would be very happy with how her money has been spent.

Duke was an unusual woman for her time and perhaps because of her wealth had little concern for social conventions- after all, she had more money than anyone else (her nickname since childhood was "the richest girl in the world") and she could do what she wanted.  Her legacy is one of impressive wealth used to benefit millions of people whom she did not know. For Duke, creating public programs and giving money away was perhaps an introvert's way to develop community and to feel connected to others. The idea of legacy and programs which continue long after she was gone means that she is forever linked to strangers and people she could never know personally or meet face-to-face. Perhaps this is the ultimate introvert dream: to help others, but from a safe distance through history, or through public works, buildings, arts programs, and medical research.

I am inspired by her as someone who shared her vision of a better world in a quietly powerful way.  Originally I wanted to focus on Doris Duke and the architecture of her house, Shangri La, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Shangri La is a dream destination for me made even more fascinating by learning about Duke and her far-reaching humanitarian, artistic, and environmental efforts. Duke transformed her private home into what is now the Center for Islamic Arts and Cultures, containing the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. I wanted to know more about what would inspire Duke to create an architectural monument and to fill it full of Middle Eastern art. Duke is a model of an introvert capable of enormous, public acts of generosity and stewardship. Duke was the well-known private philanthropist, environmentalist, art collector, and preservationist who spent her entire life giving money away. She rarely granted interviews. Over the course of her lifetime, Duke gave away approximately $400 million dollars. The Doris Duke Foundation is currently estimated to be valued at over $1.6 billion dollars. I was inspired by these numbers to learn about the elusive benefactor of so many meaningful programs.

English author James Hilton coined the term Shangri La in his book, Lost Horizon. It refers to an imaginary land set in the mountains of Tibet. I am fond of mixing seemingly disparate ideas and thought I would include the magnificent Kinks song of the same name. The opening of "Shangri La" is a chance to appreciate Ray Davies's beautiful voice, guitar, and horns. The song meanders through melodic changes which remind me of many 60's pop anthems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt0IXkIVvo4
 I love a good story song, especially one that gently mocks middle class values and aspiration, done as only The Kinks can. Davies creates the portrait of an ordinary man who attempts to insulate himself in his house as protection from the worries of the outside world: bill-paying, a new car, a mortgage, the stress of everyday life. "Too scared to think about how insecure you are/ Life ain't so happy in your little Shangri-la…" I included this song because Duke certainly never had any of the concerns of living in a tidy suburb, bill-paying, or a mortgage, but her private life was messy- money may have made her life easier but it did not protect her from great sadness. Shangri La was a sanctuary for her. It is lovely to imagine her enjoying a moment of peace, much-deserved, for all of her hard work. Introverts need a place of respite and Shangri La was such a place for Duke. Shangri La exemplifies all that Doris Duke represents: her wide-ranging interest in valuing diverse cultures and people, protecting green spaces, and giving as many people as possible access to art and culture that they might not otherwise know about.

Powder compact belonging to Doris Duke.  Image courtesy of The Newport Restoration Foundation.

Sources:
www.ddcf.org 
www.shangrilahawaii.org 
http://library.duke.edu/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5580/
www.dukefarms.org

The Pigeon and the Pencil: J. Herbin Inks

Pencils at my desk.

Every now and then on the blog, there will be a feature called 'The Pigeon and the Pencil,' my ode to the everyday item. I call it 'The Pigeon and the Pencil' for a few reasons: I love pigeons and I love pencils, and I believe that these seemingly dull and often maligned objects are due for some much-needed appreciation.  These posts will be about recognizing the beauty in humble, everyday items.

Did you know that a pigeon is actually a dove?  Pigeons are Rock Doves, and both pigeons and doves belong to the Columbidae family. The pigeon is a beauty queen disguised as Cinderella. Pigeon parents both produce milk to feed their young.  Pigeons mate for life.  One famous pigeon, Cher Ami, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for her work as a homing pigeon, carrying messages during World War I. Cher Ami served in World War I by dispatching messages from a wounded and depleted battalion stuck behind enemy lines.  She was shot at, lost at leg, yet managed to carry a message around her wounded leg to help save the lives of over 190 soldiers.

Pencils may not have saved lives but they were considered a staple in the kit of any Civil War soldier.  Pencils are reliable and inexpensive. The pencil is an ordinary tool, incredibly useful, no matter now stubby and tooth-marked. If you were to measure the distance a pencil could write, it would measure 35 miles, or approximately 45, 000 words.  Everyone uses pencils, from schoolchildren to architects, artists, and composers.  Can you imagine people writing pieces of music with ballpoint pens instead?  I recently read a great interview in the Wall Street Journal with Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell, the head of the venerable pencil company. Faber-Castell was founded in 1761 by cabinetmaker Kaspar Faber. When journalist Cynthia Kling asked Count von Faber-Castell to say something about the pencil, he summed it up this way: " When you are young, you put a pencil in a drawer. Then when you get to be very, very old, 100, and you want to give something of yours to your great, great grandchild, you pull that pencil out and it still writes. Can a pen do that?"  He is right.  That gorgeous fountain pen probably will no longer write, the insides caked with dried-out ink.   

I cannot choose between the pencil and pen because I appreciate them both for how different they are. This month's "The Pigeon and the Pencil" entry is about ink cartridges, the kind used in fountain pens. I have used every kind of ink cartridge over the years, from Parker to Sheaffer to Lamy. My favorite ink cartridges are made by French ink maker, J. Herbin, who have been producing inks since 1670.   J. Herbin is the oldest ink maker in the world.  The company even makes scented ink as well as invisible ink! The inks I like best are the ones made for fountain pens.  You can purchase the ink in bottles or in cartridges, as I prefer, because by the time I finish a cartridge in one color, I am ready to try a new shade. There are six cartridges in each small metal canister, with the name and the color of the ink on the lid.  The names of the inks are poetic: there is no navy, but instead "Bleu Nuit" (Midnight Blue). Not pink, but "Rose Cyclamene" (Cyclamen Pink)  or "Rose Pensee" (Pensive Pink).  What about "Larme de Cassis," (Tears of Blackcurrant) or "Diabolo Menthe" (Peppermint Soda), named for a popular French drink for all ages made of mint syrup and soda water?  You would be hard-pressed to pick only one shade.  Read the website for extensive, evocative descriptions for each of the colors.   I think the range of greens is especially beautiful.  You may not be someone who writes letters anymore but using colored ink in your pen is a great way to liven up your daily scribblings, doodles, or notes.  The J. Herbin cartridges are considered universal, standard-sized and will fit most fountain pens. I get my cartridges here ($5.50 for six). 

Pigeons, pencils, and ink. All items which are more complicated and have more depth than you would imagine.   Dave Brubeck's "Unsquare Dance" also has hidden depths: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yExwkQYcp0  It sounds simple at first, using only piano, bass, snare drum, hands clapping and fingers snapping, but the song's breezy informality belies how complicated a piece it actually is. In an unscripted ending, you can hear the musician's laughter at the end of the track, when Brubeck includes the famous riff, "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits."  The more you listen to it, the more the piece reveals; "Unsquare Dance" is set in 7/4 time, which is an amazingly complex time signature.  This piece sounds as fresh today as it did in 1951, something you can return to again and again. Maybe now you will give your own much-used and under-appreciated pencil a second glance, and you might be kinder to the next pigeon you see on the street. 

More Than A Three Minute Heroine

The Selecter. Photo courtesy of Neol Davies.

It was the summer of 1979 and I was thirteen.  Marc, a friend of my brother's, had been to England for the summer and brought back a cassette from a band called The Selecter on the 2-Tone label. I had recently discovered 2 Tone and was working my way though their catalog as my summer project.  My first 2-Tone single was "The Prince" by Madness, an homage to Prince Buster, the Jamaican musician of 50's fame.  I had found my people.  Not only did I listen to Marc's cassette, but I "borrowed" it and somehow conveniently forgot to return it (sorry, Marc).  I listened to The Selecter cassette so much that none of the songs could be played properly by the end of that summer. 

2-Tone was an important record label founded in the late 1970s in Coventry, England. The two "tones" were black and white musicians who were influenced by Jamaican dancehall, ska, and punk  music. Jerry Dammers, keyboardist for The Specials, invented the term.  2-Tone bands included The Specials, The English Beat, The Bodysnatchers, The Special AKA, and even Elvis Costello and The Attractions. 

The Selecter's lead singer was Pauline Black. I knew who she was before I saw her photo staring out from the cover page of an issue of England's New Musical Express (NME). The music papers all talked about her as a "mixed race singer." Black was wearing a man's fedora and the classic 2-Tone outfit: men's slacks, white polo neck shirt, black loafers, and a seriously aloof yet menacing scowl. Most thrilling of all was her skin tone: she was brown like me. More specifically, biracial.  A biracial woman fronting a 2-Tone band? I was giddy.  I would save my allowance to buy issues of the seminal music/design magazine The Face and would wait weeks for outdated issues of NME to appear at my local magazine shop in downtown Montreal, yellowed from age, but I didn't care. I tried desperately to keep up with the endless wave of music pouring out of England at the time.

I took all of the 2-Tone songs to heart, taking on the causes of unemployment-rife 1970's England as my own: naively, I actually believed that racist National Front skinheads would somehow make their way from the Brixton race riots to my safe Montreal neighborhood and I would have to be ready to take them on single-handedly, armed with little more than my familiarity with every single Specials lyric.

Music was my comforter. I felt I had found a spiritual big sister in Pauline Black, someone I didn't know but who I could look up to, a young woman who was living my values: she was making music and fronting a band, she was a strong feminist, and she seemed completely fearless.  I was a biracial teenaged girl living in a mostly white, privileged Montreal neighborhood. As a daughter of white mother and a black father, I never felt as if I belonged to any community.  Black became my role model: a strong, confident, beautiful, fearless woman, unafraid to express anger and grief and joy and elation in the space of a three minute song.  She was awe-inspiring and a bit terrifying to me, with her expressive eyes, her rocking stance, and her total confidence.  She was everything I wanted to be. 

The world of ska and punk music was where I gained my strength; the words and tunes bolstered my own belief that I would be able to get through adolescence, even when sometimes I felt it would never be possible.  I wasn't any different from any other teenager; musicians were my saints and their music my daily prayers, played over and over on my Walkman as I took the Metro daily to and from school.  Don't all teenagers feel like aliens? 

You have to listen to the harshly beautiful and lesser-known "Celebrate The Bullet," (1981) to get a feel for the depth, melancholy, and sheer loveliness of Black's voice and the accompanying music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLZtTvxgyGE
The deep bass (Norman Watt-Roy of Ian Dury and the Blockheads) and echoing horns (Barry Jones) are like boxers mimicking shadow play with imaginary punches, surrounded by hovering rhythm guitar.  Black's voice dances in and out of the dark and light, creating a song that is tragic and haunting.  This song highlights the range of her voice in a way not heard on the earlier recordings.  It is easy to see how so many of us fell in love with Pauline Black, including Gwen Stefani, who cites her as a major influence.

Black has a fascinating life story as child born of a white Jewish mother and a black Nigerian father in England in the 1950's. She was adopted by a white family in Essex and in her recent much-lauded autobiography, Black By Design: A 2-Tone Memoir, Black talks openly about always feeling like an outsider. As an adult she decided to look for her birth mother and trace her family roots. Not only had she become the lead singer of one of the most influential ska bands, she also became an actress and writer, and has received recognition for her writing as well as her acting. She continues to tour with The Selecter and her voice is still as powerful and mesmerizing as it always was.  Her message is still strong and relevant.  

Sources:
www.paulineblack.com
http://www.theselecter.net/
http://www.neoldavies.net
http://2-tone.info/index.html
Read an excerpt of Pauline Black's Black By Design: A 2-Tone Memoir courtesy of NPR: http://tinyurl.com/baaymmv

The grammar of perfume

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, illustrated by Maira Kalman.

  

Photos: Kneale Culbreath

You know how there are some books that you pick up and re-read each year? If you love to read and write, if you appreciate great language, or if you would like to learn something new about how to be a better writer, then please go and find The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, a small book about the construction and the beauty of simple and clear writing.  It is a book I return to over and over. I have a few copies that are dog-eared and worn with use because I can always learn how to improve my writing. The edition mentioned above is extra-special as it is illustrated by artist Maira Kalman, whose drawings are  elegant and full of humor- the images are well-suited to Strunk and White's text.


I was thinking about Strunk and White's book in relation to the nonsensical language used in perfume ads.  Just read a few perfume ads and after a while, the descriptions all sound the same, vague and ephemeral.  Take Lancome's La Vie est Belle: "La vie est belle or life is beautiful—the expression of a new era." Or Prada's Candy: "...instantly seductive—pure pleasure wrapped in impulsive charm." Are certain flowers representative of a new era and others are charming? The problem with talking about perfume is too often the language of rich, flowery prose is used to describe scents rather than using plain English.  Overly elaborate, gussied-up language will sell hundreds of thousands of bottles of perfume. I want the advertisers to tell me what the perfume smells like, and not who I will be when wearing the perfume- I can do that myself, thank you very much.  We consumers are smarter than this.  We understand that advertisers will sell us stories- we like them, they are fantasies. But we scent-wearers need a Strunk and White for talking about perfume.

Describing perfume accurately is something different altogether. Perfumers need useful adjectives to describe scents. Perfumer Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes created the Natural Perfume Wheel in order to clarify how we talk about perfume. The chart lists most essential oils and the groupings or "scent families" into which the oils fall. The palette is one of the tools I use daily when perfuming. Each oil is described using a general category and then a more specific adjective. For example, Sandalwood falls under the "Woody/Sweet" category, while Bois de Rose, while it is in the same "Woody" category, is labeled "Floral." I do not know if one day perfume houses and advertisers will suddenly start using plainer language to talk about perfume, but this chart is a useful and thoughtful guide. I think of the Aftelier palette as something writers Strunk and White would appreciate for its simplicity and clarity.

I think Strunk,White, and Aftel would all appreciate Elvis Costello, someone who always chooses his words with care.

Music: "Lipstick Vogue," by Elvis Costello and the Atttractions. A peerless performance from 1978. Sharp, short, direct, and perfectly concise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dip-FtbsD8E 

England's Newest Hitmaker: Corinne Day, in memoriam

A young Kate Moss photographed by Corinne Day for The Face

This belated blog post is dedicated to the memory of photographer Corinne Day, who died on August 28, 2010, following a battle with brain cancer. I had just thought of her about a month ago, wondering about her latest work, and I was terribly sad to learn of her death. Her work will always inspire me.
I will remember Day for being the photographer who introduced me to Kate Moss in the summer of 1990- not in person of course, but through The Face, my favorite magazine. I picked up the issue with a girl on the cover who looked like a typical English girl, with freckles and slightly crooked teeth, and she wore a child's paper headdress. I remember thinking at the time, 'These are important pictures, they so different from anything else.' I was thrilled to see the photographer was a woman named Corinne Day. I expected to see the name of a well-known male photographer like Anton Corbijn, Paolo Roversi or Bruce Weber- all photographers whose work I liked very much. I thought Day was brave to shoot images of a regular girl, smiling, slouching and hanging out on a sunny beach, without makeup or fuss of any kind. There is one photo which really struck me, in which Kate Moss has her eyes closed- not in a dramatic, sultry way, but as if the sun was in her eyes. I thought this decision to include the shot was incredibly daring. The image feels both casual but deliberate.

Day's pictures were not the fashion shots I was used to seeing. I admired Day's ability to reveal her sitter's personality without artifice. Her pictures of Kate Moss reminded me of pictures that close friends take of each other. Our guard comes down when we are with our best friends, and Day's photos have an intimate and relaxed quality to them that is still relevant and influential twenty years later. I continue to be inspired by her work. Examples of her work are here: www.corinneday.co.uk/exhibitions.php

I was thinking of the most English song I could think of that captured both Kate Moss and Corinne Day.  Paul Weller and Steve Craddock play an acoustic version of The Jam's "Liza Radley" that fits here beautifully: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0haQp1eAg8