14.40 - What inspires you? Hear from French creatives & entrepreneurs: Part 1
In this FREE edition I explore inspiration & introduce 3 amazing French women as examples. Are there any French women who inspire you? Who are they? ALSO Toulouse, the Loire Valley & French Music...
A personal note about France, life, passions, and more… Saturday 12.10.2024
Bonjour readers, followers, francophiles, francophones…
Welcome, to you, whether you’re a new or a long-time supporter of le Bulletin, I’m thrilled you are here.
First we’ll look at what’s happening in France and in MyFrenchLife Magazine.
Then we’ll move onto - what inspires you? How much have you thought about that question? I explored this topic earlier a few days ago and I ‘m pleased to share that with you and to introduce you to three inspiring French women.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you have a wonderful week ahead.
Regards
Judy - 12.10.’24
PS: to access the popular weekly PAID le Bulletin editions, you can upgrade your subscription here. This week is edition 14.40.a
1. NEW articles in —My FrenchLife Magazine — Let’s explore…
Did you know there are >3000 articles in MyFrenchLife Magazine, where savvy francophiles love to immerse themselves and indulge?
Thank you to all the Contributors to MyFrenchLife Magazine.
Here are the three most recently published articles:
Art & Culture:
1.→ French Music Then and Now: Interesting music from France and the Francophone world— Jacqueline Taïeb “Le coeur au bout des doigts”←
by Keith Christiansen←
“Le Coeur au Bout des Doigts” by Jacqueline Taïeb.
“The Heart at Your Fingertips” was released in France in 1967 & Taïeb is another yé-yé singer to bring a heavily American-influenced sound to the French music scene. Merci Keith.
Keith is a new Contributor to MyFrenchLife Magazine. He enjoys writing about French music, food, and more. We’ve decided to add his music to our magazine. I hope that you enjoy it.
Vie Française:
2.→ Tell your story: A French village memoir writing workshop experience
by Lorraine Tilbury←
This is an article about a wonderful program sponsored by villages around France to record familial stories that have mostly gone unrecorded.
Tell Your Story: Most of the tales told by the local seniors were not written down. It was storytelling in the true oral tradition of the “conteurs” (storytellers), an activity still happening today in France.
Lorraine is a new Contributor to MyFrenchLife Magazine, writing from a small village in the Loire Valley. We launch her contribution with this lovely story about important storytelling and memoirs.
Gastronomie:
3.→ Toulouse: The 5 Best Budget Restaurants + 5 Tips to Eat Economically in France←
by Ally Mitchell←
Ally writes for us regularly from Toulouse. As an ex-chef she is helping us create a livable food guide to Toulouse from a practical and local perspective. This is the 7th article from Ally. Enjoy!
↓ CLICK IMAGE & read all the new articles on MyFrenchLife Magazine ↓
2. What inspires you?
During a rambling and far-reaching conversation with a good friend recently as we walked the beach… walking in the water. I was asked:
What inspires you Judy?”
But first, let me ask you this question:
Have you noticed that when women chat, multiple threads are often discussed at once? Would I be correct in thinking this is a ‘female’ thing?
Do you agree?
… So where were we?
We walked in the very cold water, only wet up toward our knees…a stroll rather than exercise. Calm, peaceful… very few people around…in our heads and/or in our hearts-our choice… little talk going on… loosely alternating between gazing out to the horizon, and gazing into the water, watching the ripples of the water through to the bottom and the ripples in the sand. I might as well have been alone. This is my therapy, to one form anyway.
The walking in the water thing is something I usually enjoy doing alone, as long time readers know, but I’ve known this person for decades, and few words need to be spoken - we ‘feel’ each other.
Then all of a sudden, it came… the question:
What inspires you Judy?”
A straightforward question, but for me, not easy to answer.
There is so much that inspires me: it depends on my mood, my location, my health, the weather… you know how it goes, don’t you?
I started: “There is so much that inspires me that its difficult to encapsulte it in just a few words.” I say.
Try.” she suggested softly.
Well, I rambled for some time wrestling with this question…
”Water; walking in the water, alone, and breathing in nature…
”People; people who achieve formidable things and remain human, connected, and beautiful inside.
”The arts: writers, visual arts, and more” The creative works of others (some) can transport me!”
Our chat continued to a point where she asked me to give her a couple of examples. I couldn’t narrow it down to just a couple but it headed me in the direction where I’ve decided to regularly share “What inspires me” with you. Today I start with two women who inspire me in different ways
So, here we go - ‘C’est parti !
↓ Meet these three inspiring French women — creative & entrepreneurial
We’ve previously published articles about these women in the MyFrenchLife Magazine as part of a creative collaboration with the site Mid et Plus
The three women I’ve selected have diverse passions and talents - all inspiring in my view. Two artists and one entrepreneur/writer.
Claire Basler
Li Chevalier, and
a) Claire Basler – a rebellious artist
This article about Claire Basler and her superb work appears here in English as part of a collaboration with the website Midetplus.fr which focuses on inspiring women in France. The article was written in French on their site and translated into English on MyFrenchLife.org
I like everything about Claire Basler. Needless to say, I like her work, which is so rich and varied with its bright and changing skies representing strong and harmonious nature. I also like her integrity to pursue a career path through thick and thin; her energy, willpower, persistence, creativity and her ingenuity.”
“…From as far back as she can remember Claire Basler has never put down her pencils. She has always wanted to be a painter without openly expressing it – which in itself is a daring gamble at an age when we are trying to find ourselves…” You’ll find the article here.
Please take time to read this article and also to view her amazing artwork: the scale and the detail!
b) Li Chevalier – the ink of the soul and spirit
Franco-Chinese artist Li Chevalier gracefully restyles the ancient art of Indian ink (*) in original pieces which reflect her obsession with beautiful things.”
Through the sensitive nature of her artwork, this former singing soldier of the Cultural Revolution reveals her philosophical and spiritual quest. Be inspired by the delicacy, the magic, and the poetry of her paintbrush! “…
Li arrived in France in 1984. As she didn’t speak a word of French, she learned the language on the benches of the Sciences Po University, then at the Sorbonne (the third semester was spent studying Political Philosophy).
She has always been passionate about painting, even if up until later on in her life she had been more of a musician than a painter. She followed her husband who was sent to Japan for two years and started her work painting then.
c) Marie-Hélène Cossé - fondatrice Midetplus.fr - a positive view of women in France.
Midetplus: Un magazine d’informations créatives et positives écrit par des femmes pour les femmes
…[the midetplus woman] is no longer ‘the daughter of her father’, ‘the wife of her husband’ or ‘the mother of her children’. She is just herself or on her way to becoming herself…”
Perhaps a decade ago, I was introduced to Marie-Hélène Cossé by a very dear French friend who now lives in Brittany. Immediately I felt connected to this talented woman.
This is how I introduced the article about Marie-Hélène Cossé:
Writing stories about the lives of others is a privilege.”
Even more so when it is the life of a compassionate, energetic, optimistic French woman. A woman who spends her time delighting in finding, meeting and writing about other courageous, dedicated and inspiring women. I introduce to you Marie-Hélène Cossé.”
Marie-Hélène feels she has reached her goal to be now, in her mid-life, doing what she was made for.”
Here you can read the article I wrote about Marie-Helene in MyFrenchLife Magazine
Here you can read about the website midetplus.fr
Here you can read about her Camino in 2019 the year after commencing midetplus.
and here (in French - July 2024), Marie-Helene speaks in a way that many women of a certain age will relate to. If you don’t read French, I suggest that you pop it into a translator. :) Breakup and Dating.
After delighting in solo long-distance walking, Marie-Hélène bought Donamaria House, a guest house on the Saint Francis Way, (Camino), at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in Basque country, after leaving everything behind except for her magazine MidetPlus in which she’s still totally engaged.
EDITOR NOTE:
Soon, I hope to be able to feature more Inspiring Women.
There are so many! If you have women you’d like me to interview please let me know with a comment below.
Judy
3. Follow us on Instagram → @MaVieFrançaise
Each day, each week offers something fresh!
Bursting with news, views and articles, video chats, poetry, introductions to new magazine contributors… and more… follow us and join in @maviefrancaise … See you there soon, I hope.
Jennifer’s popular regular Pilgrimage Report:
The only constant at the moment is the weekly post by Jennifer Andrewes on her solo pilgrimage - Via Francigena - to Rome: 2500km watch out for it…
Here Jennifer is, after 95 days… And Rome is almost within sight!
Having crossed northern France, then the St Bernard Pass, (the third highest) from Switzerland to Italy today a rest day in Sienna then onward toward Roma. You can read the details in her weekly guest post on our Instagram account @maviefrancaise
A total of 2075km so far!
Do you have any questions for Jennifer Andrewes?
Image credit: Copyright Jennifer Andrewes
4. “Thank you for subscribing to ‘le Bulletin’ newsletter… I hope that you’re well and planning a wonderful weekend” Judy xx
Judy MacMahon
Fondatrice
MyFrenchLife.org
You can always email me with feedback and suggestions
at info@myfrenchlife.org
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Super interesting format with lots of great and valuable info on various subjects !
Thank you Alisa. I’m delighted that you enjoyed reading this le bulletin about such fascinating women. Aren’t they extraordinary?
You’ve also reminded me to schedule another in this format.
Warm regards
Judy