Michele Bedigian

“It is here, it is here where the martyrs are, it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come”.  -   Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert

                Perched high above the city, along cobbled stoned streets and winding alleyways sits the glorious Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.

Upon approach it was clear this place was special, so grand, immaculate in all it’s white, and such presence. Yet another magical element to this magnificent city, (the glory of its churches). I understand why so many pilgrims would hike these crazy hills to reach such a beautiful place of worship.

The church stands tall in the heart of Montmartre (the butte Montmartre) , once a principal artistic center of Paris. It was there in the mid-1800s artists such as Johan Jongkind and Camille Pissarro called home and by the end of the century, (with its counterpart on the Left Bank, Montparnasse) artist associations such as Les Nabis and the Incoherentswere formed, (not to mention being a stones throw from the Moulin Rouge, where  Toulouse-Lautrec designed those incredible posters).  Yes, a religious experience all around, and one I will treasure forever.

So, how does the Basilica stay so stay white? … Sacré-Cœur is built of Travertine stone quarried in Chateau-Landon (Seine-et-Marne), France. This stone constantly exudes calcite, which ensures that the basilica remains white even with weathering and pollution.

And why is it called a Basilica? … The name Basilica is given to certain churches granted special privileges by the Pope. 

Just a little trivia this somewhat sunny Sunday morning, see you next week! - Michele

My last official ‘published post’ was in January … a season past, and if you’ve been wondering if I’ve actually followed up with those ‘good intentions’ I must confess proudly, yes. Although I haven’t been posting day to day on the happenings, there’s exciting news to share. 

The past few months I’ve not only had the privilege to work on some awesome projects, but found myself designing a group promotion that I’m really, really proud of.

It was the first of much to come for 1482. Inspired by the great masters of seasons past, such as Picasso, Bakst, Passalaqua, and Brangwyn, we (Despina Georgiadis,  myself , Greg Betza, and  Dominick Santise) decided to create, design and produce a contemporary piece with an artists eye on the popular debates we hear so often regarding environmentalism.

Artists are interesting people, (and if you know one personally), you know they are full of opinion, direction, and most often very passionate about their vision. This is why I can’t express how much the process of working with these particular three meant to me. 

We met often, either in the museum’s Petrie sculpture garden or someone’s home studio always ready to engage in new possibilities aiming high for that ultimate goal; a successful product, and still be Ok to discard what felt wrong through the journey.

I guess the most magical part was through meeting after meeting, (although we clearly knew the direction), we never saw each others images. We worked on faith. “What a glorious compilation of talent and interest. We don’t think alike, we don’t work alike, but somewhere we knew instinctively it would work in the end.”

It wasn’t until the last day, over at Greg and Despina’s that we brought the images together and unveiled the gold. Christmas couldn’t compare. Dominick said, “it was like when all the relatives get together for the first time”.                   

… and in the end, it truly was a symphony of images speaking aloud, each with an opinion, a direction and for sure great passion.

I wonder if we’ll look back on this collective one day, in another season, maybe wiser, certainly older and see it’s richness through life’s unpredictable filter, time.

January 1st is notoriously the day of good intentions. Excitedly I plan, and plan BIG…It’s becoming classic. I can actually hear myself saying it again, “yes, this year is different …I’m going to invest more time, more attention to promoting myself. I’m going to keep up with my blog. I’m going to run a more efficient studio, and for sure give more time to my practice.”   

   But something always seems to happen within the first thirty days that makes it get a little fuzzy around the edges, and predictably six weeks later I’m back exactly where I was two days before Thanksgiving, (the calendar year before), negotiating with my big plan A and tweaking the edges (that is if I can even find the list at all in the pile on my drafting table). So what makes this year any different? 

 Approach … so simple a concept, why didn’t I think of it before?

(I guess too easy, LOL)   …and so it begins in 2009, one nibble at a time.  

* Be sure to check out some new book jacket samples I just uploaded on the studio site.