One of my favorite springtime rituals is heading to the mairie of the 6th arrondissement for the annual Salon d’art floral. This weekend exhibition of floral art features the creations of gardeners from the Jardin du Luxembourg and neighborhood florists, who sculpt blossoms and greenery into fantastical forms. The event is held a grand [ ... ]
Read MoreI was recently introduced to what may be now my favorite competitive sport: speed crafting (think speed dating, but without the awkward small talk and judgement). The event was organized by L'Insolente for Paris bloggers to come together, sip cocktails, and race to complete as many of the four proposed crafts as possible in an hour and [ ... ]
Read MoreThe lack of light in November is driving me a little bit kooky this year. It’s dark out when I go to work and it’s dark out when I come home. I feel like the sun only comes out on the weekends. Darker moods are knocking at the door. And then I was talking to a friend on the phone on my way home from work this week, complaining [ ... ]
Read MoreI've always been intrigued by the series of statues of French queens and saints that surround the basin of the Luxembourg Garden. These women are look strong and purposeful, each unique in her pose and attitude. The statues make up the Reines de France et Femmes illustres, a series of twenty notable women from French [ ... ]
Read MoreIn the midst of getting ready for Halloween this year, I came across a website called Ultimate Paper Mache. All of a sudden, I was overcome with a burning desire to make a papier-mâché mask. Like, right now. When I get a creative itch, it can be very hard for me to not scratch it immediately. Once the idea of playing with papier-mâché [ ... ]
Read MoreIn the midst of packing up my life and moving to a new neighborhood, I can't help but think back to my first Parisian apartment, a tiny chambre de bonne on Rue Bonaparte. It had an epic view. Over the course of three years, I would lean out of the window of my garret apartment and take pictures of rooftops, Sacre-Cœur, Saint-Germain-des-Prés [ ... ]
Read MoreI have made several trips lately to Rougier & Plé, stocking up on clay, felt, plaster, paint and oh so many sequins. I am processing life through arts and crafts. Now I come home from a long day at work, set the mood with John Coltrane, Andrew Bird or Devon Graves and lose myself in messy [ ... ]
Read MoreI walked out of the Louvre one night, and all of a sudden I was audience to a magnificent sunset over the Pyramid. I had been in a hurry to get home, but the glorious moment forced me to take a breath and be still. The Pyramid is currently the site of a neon installation by the artist Claude Lévêque. The dramatic [ ... ]
Read MoreIt rained the other day, and I could feel October coming. Paris in autumn is so moody, almost sinister, and I love it. That feeling right after a rainstorm, when the air is still charged and everything is so vivid, that’s where I am now. This transition is intense, but good. Here’s a glimpse at Paris after the rain, on a walk I took [ ... ]
Read MoreLadies and Gentlemen, my thesis is done! In honor of finishing my Master's degree, I present to you The Panic Attack! One night, after a particularly rough night working on my thesis, I decided to make myself a cocktail treat. Finding only rye and cider in my kitchen, a quick Google search led me to a recipe for a [ ... ]
Read MoreÉglise Saint-Germain-des-Prés is easily one of my favorite churches in Paris. It feels ancient; a reminder of the past in the midst of contemporary Parisian life. The structure is surrounded by two little squares, each tucked in against the church and chock-full of art. These modest parks have their own distinct character [ ... ]
Read MoreJuly 20 is Marina Day. In France, every day of the year has a saint's name associated with it. If you share the name of one of the saints, that is your name day. Every year since I started studying French and learned that this was a thing, I have treated July 20 (the fête of Sainte Marina) as a mini-birthday party, a gala of 'treat yo self', a celebration of my delightful self.
Read MoreThis is what my thesis is teaching me: Life is in this moment. I am so tempted to say that life will start again when I turn in this massive document. That I will literally never have a reason to be stressed ever again. But to think that this moment a waiting period for ‘real life’ is a dangerous [ ... ]
Read MoreI realize this might be my most controversial post to date, but here goes. There have been a lot of claims lately about the best burger in Paris, as the burger scene is exploding in the city. There are arguments for Blend, le Camion Qui Fume, Big Fernand, blah blah blah. The truth is, there is [ ... ]
Read MoreI am in the midst of finishing a 150 page thesis (in French) about mobile apps in temporary exhibitions in Parisian museums. It is eating me alive. Needless to say, stress is a constant presence in my life right now. I've been fighting back with an arsenal of calming techniques, including candlelight, [ ... ]
Read MoreAfter spending a nocturne at the Louvre one Friday night, I stepped outside to find a lusciously full moon. I am a firm believer that a full moon brings out wildness and inhibition, and this night was no exception. I felt full of an almost manic energy in the moonlight [ ... ]
Read MoreA French friend came to visit my childhood home over the Christmas holidays this year. It was his first time visiting the great US of A, and I wanted to shock him with the cultural differences between our two countries. I took him to an enormous Costco, I made him drink a Root Beer Float, we almost got run over by [ ... ]
Read MoreThe Fourth of July of 2012 fell on a Wednesday. This meant that the official party would have to wait for July 6. But a friend and I decided to have a quiet pre-celebration in Place Saint-Sulpice on that Wednesday night, equipped with a 12-pack of sparklers. We each pinned on a cocarde tricolore (ignoring that they [ ... ]
Read MoreEvery morning as I descend the staircase of my apartment building, I am drawn to the windows at each landing that look out over the courtyard. My apartment building has a secret garden. I don’t know who is responsible for maintaining it, as I have never seen anyone gardening. In fact, the only time I’ve seen a neighbor in the [...]
Read MoreAs someone who used to think that cocktails were servings of alcohol with so much sugar as to be crunchy, it has taken the coaching of many knowledgeable and talented friends to convince me not only that cocktails are worth my time, but that they can be an art. I have gone through several deviations on [ ... ]
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
IMAGINIBUS is a blog about playing in museums, with a focus on imagination and creativity.
This blog is a place to be inspired to use your imagination around artworks—and to see the art of your daily life.
When we engage creatively with art, museums can become playgrounds and laboratories to experiment with attention, mindfulness, and imagination. Interesting things happen when we use that museum gaze to look at our daily lives like a work of art.
Find more inspiration for playing with new ways of paying attention to your daily life here.
Hello! I'm Marina Gross-Hoy, a writer, Museum Studies PhD candidate, and mother currently living in Quebec. I take playing in museums very seriously.
Read more about the blog here.
Check out my newsletter on Substack to be inspired to see the art in your daily life.
