So in my art class this week we all tried to copy this painting by Kay Gallwey of a naked lady wearing a hat.  I think if I had to try doing it again, I would perhaps choose a different subject and I would probably do a much better job.  Acrylic on paper.  Here are some samples from everyone in class.  What do you think ?

Monday afternoon was the last art class for the year.  I thought I would post some photos of some of the things we have done so far.  Arts plastiques is an adult class offered by Maison Pour Tous in Octeville.  As you can see, we do a little bit of everything from drawing, acrylic painting, crafts and working with clay.  Having a strong background in art is not important as long as you are willing to try anything.  Fortunately, I love art and enjoy my class very much.  This was a craft idea inspired by the use of the color wheel.  We traced leaves onto paper and then painted them yellow, and blue to make green.  I think the finished product turned out great.  One of our first assignments was to practice sketching parts of the body.  I drew a hand holding a cloth which came out good enough that I felt confident enough to color it using pastels.  Later on, we all practiced drawing faces and bodies in motion.  Sadly, my drawing of a lounging lady did not turn out as nice as I had hoped.  Also, I was absent from class when I went on my vacation to the United States and missed several opportunities to practice and correct my mistakes.  More recently, we have been working on painting impressionist landscapes and seascapes using acrylics.  I'm not even going to tell you which one of these is mine !  Tuesday, I worked with clay to create three fish that I will then have glazed and fired.  A friend of mine made a small bell in the shape of a cat.  It was really cute.  There are more than 12 people in the class and they are all ladies except for me.  The course is just one more place that I can go to practice my French since very few people in my class speak any English including the teacher.  Overall, it has been quite pleasant and I truly enjoy everyone's company.  Normally, the class is finished at 4 PM but we all stick around another hour or more to have tea / coffee and a special snack.  On Tuesday, someone brought in a bûche de Noël and another person brought some homemade bread with raisons and cranberries.  It was all so delicious !  Bonnes Fêtes !

Made specifically for Cherbourg, the quays (quai, in French) downtown are adorned with conical light structures that change from shades of green to blue depending on the amplitude of the tides.  They were installed by the artist Yann Kersalé in May 1994.

  And all of a sudden I'm struck with an urge to unlock a door with a key that's too big for my hands and I drop it, and it falls at your feet.

There was an exposition at la Cité de la Mer that featured original posters from the private collection of Gabriel Cadringher of transatlantic cruise lines.  It had other ships as well that traveled to other parts of the world such as the South Pacific and the South China Sea.  It was very interesting and if you got the chance to see this, you were very lucky!  It closes soon and the only way to see these amazing posters will be to purchase the book which is 75 EURO !!!