The American Cemetery on Omaha Beach in Normandy France is a location near to my heart. It honors those who I hold in the very highest of respect. 

"If ever proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not for a conquest it could be found in these cemeteries. Here was our only conquest: all we asked... was enough...soil in which to bury our gallant dead." - General Mark W. Clark                           

                           

Our fallen lie among you. They gave the last full measure of their devotion. Sleep comrades, forever young. We salute you, remember us.

       Yesterday I went to the Saatchi Gallery in Sloane Square, London. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name Saatchi, he is a famous art collector who is known for collecting contemporary british art. To be completely honest I am not all that into contemporary art, I don't get the extreme infatuation that goes along with this type of art, art that when you look at it you think to yourself "well now I could have made that in kindergarten."

     Although when I went to the Saatchi Gallery yesterday I think I gained a greater understanding for this type of art, maybe even a bit of inspiration. As I walked through the gallery I stumbled upon a piece of art that is not all that aesthetically pleasing, on the contrary it is actually rather ugly. The piece was entitled, Down by Juliana Cerqueira Leite. Have a look. 

    So you are probably thinking the same thing I was. This is was until  I understood how the piece was made. So this artist Juliana Cerqueira Leite made this box, a box that was slightly bigger than herself. She took this box and she filled it with clay. She then went atop the box and began to dig she dug with every part of her body until she clawed he way to the bottom of the box. Once she was finished she poured plaster into the hole she had dug and she made a plaster cast, which is now displayed at the gallery. The piece may not be pretty or something you would ever consider putting on display in your living room but it is still nonetheless brilliant. When you get up close to the piece you can see her toes, hands and knees and you can feel her struggle. I find the piece inspiring because it incites such a strong emotion. 

So last week I took a trip out to France with my family. I found myself so uninspired by Paris, which upset me a lot. Surprisingly enough though on our day trip out to Normandy is where I found true inspiration. In a little village called St. Lo there stands a cathedral, St. Notre Dame Eglise. When you look at the cathedral you notice that much of its face is missing. This is because the church had been bombed in WWII. There is also a neutral shell  remaining lodged in the side of the cathedral. When the city was looking to rebuild as there was almost nothing remaining, one architect decided to leave the cathedral the way it was. This was to remind the people of St. Lo and the people of the world that freedom is not free it comes at a cost, this cathedral would be a reminder of what that cost was during WWII, and furthermore it would be known as the wounded cathedral.

        

And so she said it all... be inspired.

Awhile ago, I had a professor at Ithaca College who showed us some videos that a friend of his had made, and the videos moved me on such a profound level, I still watch them now. The man who makes the is an absolute video genius. This video out of all of them is one of my favorites, the couple is just adorable, the location is awe inspiring and the music in the video is from the score of "P.S. I love you" which is one of my favorite scores of all time.

Anyone who is close to me knows how much I truly enjoy babies. I think they give off a sort of ora that can make anyone in the world happy. No matter how upset I am, I always find it impossible to feel down when there is a baby in the room. So since a bunch of my cousins have recently had the most beautiful children in the world, our family has become excessively happy. It is so powerful what the little humans of the world can do, the most amazing part being that they are blissfully unaware that they are doing so.

                     

So today I was flipping through a few old magazines that I had. I stumbled upon one magazine that I have been holding onto for awhile now, a magazine that came out this past fall. It was a special edition of Elle magazine, featuring the lovely Julia Roberts, and her film Eat Pray Love. I am currently reading the novel now, so I thought this discovery was a great coincidence. Anyway, I love how the photographs in the article are taken and in great contrast with each other. The raw black and white photos of the west and the inspiring color photos of the east. Julia Roberts is my favorite actress, she is stunning and skilled. I have yet to see her in a film in which I didn't adore her. Well anywhoo.. here is       the inspiration