Countryside & Confiture, Horses & Hay Bails

I’m back in Paris after a week in the Loire Valley, where I spent time in the countryside with some very old friends (in Gien, mostly, but also Aubigny-sur-Nère and Châtillon-sur-Loire). It is beyond relaxing to soak up the Loire’s serene landscapes of hay bails, horses, orchards, and grandiose chateaux. One highlight of my visit was making jam with Nathalie – one batch of strawberry (fraises) and another of raspberry-red current (framboises groseilles) – with berries we picked at a nearby garden. I especially enjoyed being tasked with making the labels!

{ Above, Nathalie and Mattéo show off the afternoon’s pickings, and Mattéo enjoys fresh raspberries.
All photos in this post are by Plurabelle Calligraphy. }

{ Our pickings yielded two jars of strawberry jam and four of raspberry-red current. The latter was much more gelatinous so it solidified while the jars were still upside-down and the bottoms rather than the tops ended up empty! The labels are written with an everyday ballpoint pen. }

Plurabelle in Paris

On Sunday I leave for Paris, where I will spend the month of July in a tiny sixth-floor apartment in the Marais. A long time ago I lived in France for a couple years and to this day I still know no better place to go to focus, gather inspiration, and revitalize my creative energies. Even though it’s only six months along, 2012 has already brought what feels like 6 years worth of developments – some of them exciting, some of them sad. Last month I completed the biggest and most thrilling undertaking of my career (more about that to be revealed here soon!) and now it’s time to recharge, reboot, and refresh with one month of Paris summertime and god-only-knows how many croissants.

In a recent surge of nostalgia, I unearthed (from the depths of my hard drive) the folder of my old Paris photos. Above, clockwise from top left: an example of my favorite neighborhood graffiti artist’s “Amour” tag on a Métro car window; a much younger me at my Marais window; the Vedette de Paris sign, pointing the way to boat rides on the Seine; a picnic at Parc André Citroën.

And if looking through old photos weren’t enough to get me in the spirit, I’ve recently started baking baguettes. Below, my first attempt. While they were actually better than I’d hoped, they were still nothing like the real Paris boulangeries!

A Plein Air Painting Picnic

{ Photographs by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

Here in Los Angeles we are in the thick of picnic season – the weather is breezy and warm, but not yet too hot. This is great news for me since packing picnics is one of my favorite activities ever. When I used to live in Paris, I would picnic on the grass at least twice a week in the spring and summer, and then sketch or write in the shade for hours. But for one reason or another, I haven’t continued the practice in L.A. Last Sunday, however, with my good friend Katie, I revived my Plein Air Painting Picnic tradition at a park in Santa Monica.

Sunday’s farmer’s market yielded some wonderful picnic ingredients: melt-in-your mouth speck, aged gouda, and perfectly ripe cherries, nectarines, and avocados. Those finds, combined with the fact that I’ve been on a baking kick lately (and recently baked, with great success, my first batches of homemade donuts and baguettes), made for an amazing lunch. We popped some prosecco to celebrate a few recent cheers-worthy events in our lives, and passed five lovely hours on the grass.

My lettering design – “I am the impression that will change” – is a quote from The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke. It is one of my all-time favorite books, which I’ve reread once or twice a year for the past eight years. My life is in a period of transition, which made the quotation feel especially appropriate to paint en plein air – the practice popularized by the impressionists themselves.

{ L’ombrelle verte by Berthe Morisot – one of my favorite impressionist paintings }

En café

{ Photo & Calligraphy by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

Every day I feel so grateful and lucky that I’m able to make a living doing something that I love. With a mountain of work on my desk and the inevitable hand cramps from doing calligraphy for hours on end, I sometimes lose sight of how fortunate I truly am. The best way to remind myself is to take some time each day to play around and do a personal project. Last night, while sipping on my usual cup of evening coffee, I actually dipped my pen into my espresso cup instead of my pot of black iron gaul ink. In the words of my art school typography professor, it was a very “happy accident”. It sparked about half an hour of playing around with coffee calligraphy on a variety of surfaces, and I must say that I love the antiqued look of it! I want to try tea and pomegranate juice next….

Color Inspiration: Graffiti Eggplants

{ Photography & Color Palette Design by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

Yesterday while shopping for dinner, I found these beautiful graffiti eggplants and, even though I hadn’t been planning to make anything with eggplant, I just couldn’t resist. Dark purple and red-violet are my favorite colors and these combine every shade under the sun. I feel inspired to design something based on these colors and textures, like maybe sage green envelopes lined with red-violet ink washes done with a wide, dry brush to create the effect of the uneven stripes. We shall see!

etsy: my top picks for august 2011

in honor of summer and the fact that this season always fires up my sweet tooth, this month’s etsy picks are all sweets.

1. dark chocolate peppermint patties from sweet mcbirdie, $15.75; 2. lemongrass marshmallows from whimsey & spice, $6; 3. rosemary pine nut shortbread from butter blossoms, $13.50; 4. bourbon pecan caramel bar from have it sweet, $12; 5. watermelon & pink peppercorn lollipops from lollipops by mihow, $10; 6. monogram hard candy lollipops from vintage confections, $9; 7. peanut, cashew almond brittle from fusion sweets, $17.88; 8. white chocolate truffles from sweet mcbirdie, $16.75; 9. rose vanilla marshmallows from whimsy & spice, $6; 10. dark chocolate-covered, marzipan-stuffed apricots from sweet mcbirdie, $19.75

let’s eat!

designing the layout of a menu is a fantastic way to build up an appetite. after making just the first draft of this one, i had to treat myself to an amazing dinner. too bad i couldn’t whip up any fried buttermilk chicken and waffles….

{ calligraphy + images by me }

macarons & mousse

since moving back to america, i have been on a mission to find the best macarons in los angeles (and the best duck rillettes, crème fraîche, baguette, almond croissant, nutella crêpe…the list goes on…). i think i have finally found them at the little next door in west hollywood. these macarons are the perfect balance between airy and chewy, with delectable fillings and a different flavor assortment every day. eating them transported me back to the finest patisseries of paris! who could resist these three-bite wonders and their lovely springtime color palette?

{ clockwise from top left: lavender, vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, raspberry, coffee }

i can’t leave out the little next door’s other amazing desserts, which fill their pastry display case to the brim. everything, from the coffee éclairs to the fresh framboisiers, the chocolate croissants to the tarte tartin, are simply scrumptious!

{ dark chocolate mousse }

ricotta banana

This morning I made a delicious Saturday bruch: ricotta pancakes with hot banana syrup. I don’t think I’ve ever had pancakes that were so fluffy and soft! I can’t take credit for the recipe and since I’m not a great food photographer I invite you to visit the source, the fabulous Sweet Paul Magazine.

{ image via sweet paul magazine, spring 2010 issue }

bagels