Top Disain Interior: A Monday in Paris...

Some of you know that I'm (Kari) spending two weeks in Paris, taking a class at Parsons Paris. The class is called "Paris Interiors & Architecture" and the focus is on rendering, something I absolutely love. So, today was the first day of class. I get pretty excited about architecture and interiors anyway, but a class that focuses on Paris' wonderful built environments is kind of a dream come true. I have high expectations for this class and am hoping I can return to my school semester this fall inspired by what I experience the next two weeks in this wonderful city.
Orientation was only slightly painful (aren't all school orientations a bit painful? You take the campus tour, you hear about the academic policies, you get a slight glimpse at which classmates will become good resources and which classmates will be just plain annoying...you know, the usual orientation stuff). After orientation, our first stop was La Cite de L'Architecture et du Patrimone. The architecture here was amazing...a few photos follow (again, used the iPhone, so excuse photo quality. I am just not good about getting my camera out!)

A wonderful floor of modern examples of great design. Lots of fabulous models, like this one:

The gothic relics downstairs really captivated me. Many of these pieces were excavated from churches around France, preserved so that we can appreciate the fine masonry and artistry in each piece. I love "church art" and am grateful for a sound Biblical background because it's so fascinating to be able to recall the stories being told in these artistic scenes. Beautiful. Wish I had more photos of these beauties to share (although that would probably be boring for you...don't you hate it when people have a million vacation photos to show you?!)

Here's a lovely scene:

A lovely example of church architecture from the gothic period. (My brain starts reciting terms from a past architectural history course: spire, crocket, buttress, quatrefoil...)

A lovely detail...I wouldn't mind having this in my home somewhere:

We were supposed to be doing sketching and I confess, I never really found my groove today. Here's a thumbnail of a sketch I started and then discarded (a bit blurry, I'm afraid. I'm blaming the iPhone). Let's hope I get back into the swing of things tomorrow. I love to draw and I was really looking forward to doing some great sketching in Paris. Today, I disappointed myself a tad. I've heard of writer's block, but is there such thing as sketcher's block?

Following the museum, we took a loooooong walk along the Seine, checking out bridges and some of the other buildings in the area. It was a beautiful, sunny day!