Rae Dunn - France: Inspiration du Jour

I dedicate this book to my dad, whose curious mind, excitement for trying new things, and openness to inspiration everywhere shaped who I am today. His pure and simple exuberance for life was true joie de vivre. Copyright 2017 by Rae Dunn. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. ISBN 9781452153759 (epub, mobi) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dunn, Rae.

Title: France : inspiration du jour / by Rae Dunn. Description: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 2017. Identifiers: LCCN 2016010284 | ISBN 9781452153650 (alkaline paper) Subjects: LCSH: FrancePictorial works. | Paris (France)Pictorial works. | France, SouthernPictorial works. | ArtistsTravelFrance. | Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) | Inspiration. | FranceIn art. | FranceIn art.

Classification: LCC DC20 .D86 2017 | DDC 914.40022/2dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016010284 Chronicle Books LLC
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San Francisco, California 94107 www.chroniclebooks.com

Sometimes, something good can come from something bad. This happened to me in 1993. While traveling through Spain, my camera was stolen out of my backpack as I was getting off a train in Mlaga. I know exactly how it happened. The man pushing me from behind grabbed it as we headed toward the door, almost in slow motion, but I was too tired and confused to react, and thought he was just in a hurry to get off the train. It wasnt until I was in the train station that I realized what he had done.

The pouch zipper on my backpack was open and my camera was gone. This loss soon became my gain. I have always carried a journal with me, but on this trip, the journal soon became a sketchbook. I felt I had no choice. In order to remember the things that I wanted to remember I quickly drew sketches of them in lieu of taking pictures. I did not go to art school, never took a drawing or painting class, and didnt think I could even draw very well.

But this pivotal event opened up a new way for me to see the world and to document my journeys. Imagine a life without any recording devices. These days we rely so heavily on our cell phones, our cameras, our video equipment, anything to record an image hoping to capture something that will stay with us forever. In Spain, when this technology was taken away from me, I had to rely on my own devices: my eyes, my hand, a pencil. A camera, of course, is a very important and necessary tool, but I learned that when I drew something that inspired me, I remembered it more viscerally than if I had just pushed a button. It is a much deeper connection to the object and a more soulful experience.

These sorts of things have always been important to me. Growing up, I knew for certain that I would somehow work in a creative field, and I eventually chose graphic design. This was the pre-computer, pre-internet era when things were truly done by hand. But the design world was quickly turning toward technology and soon I lost interest. It was by complete chance that I discovered clay when I signed up for a ceramics class by flipping a coin. Heads: stained glass, tails: ceramics.

It was then and there my fate was sealed. The minute I first touched clay, I knew I had found my voice, and since 1994 it has been my life. For the past four summers, I have done a residency in the South of France to further explore my work with clay. I began each day by running to the Mediterranean Sea for a swim. Mornings were spent in the studio and afternoons were for traveling, exploring, observing, and soaking up the inspiration of France. I was always armed with my sketchbook and my camera to document these journeys.

I am immensely inspired by the colors, the food, the landscape, and the culture of Franceboth Paris, where I first arrived, and the South of France, where I spent the bulk of my time. What you will find in these pages are my impressions, thoughts, and inspirations from my time therecaptured in my sketchbooks in words, photos, and drawings. I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world but I feel particularly connected to France because I share the sensibilities, aesthetics, and quality of life of the French. My sketches are literally drawn in seconds, often while walking, traveling in a car, a train, or even on a bicycle. It is not my goal to draw the object perfectly or to represent an entire scene the way a camera wouldet voil, I just use my camera for that! Im merely trying to quickly capture the essence of an object, a moment, a feeling, an inspiration. Drawing with precision is not important to me, it is simply my interpretation of what I see, feel, and choose to remember.

I invite you to peek inside my sketchbook and join me on my journey through France.... le petit chien was drawn to these bags as much as i was. this is MY kind of french graffiti. an impressionist afternoon at le jardin du luxembourg. vibrant hues of french silks.

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