Manoir de Couesme, “Desseins de Femmes” Ceramic Art

Desseins de Femmes

Ceramic art exhibition at the Manoir de Couesme

A few days ago we visited the Manoir de Couesme in Ancinnes to see the outdoor exhibition of sculptures, paintings and ceramics on display in the grounds of the manor house.

The Manoir de Couesme, in the commune of Ancinnes on the border of Normandy and Pays de la Loire,  dates from the 15th century and has been beautifully restored by the current owners.  They hold regular art exhibitions there each September under the patronage of Jean-Pierre Coffe.

The manor house exhibits for 2010 are the creations of Céline LAURENT DESSOR, who studied Fine Arts in Tarbes then ceramics at Mulhouse, but was especially influenced by learning native pottery in a Nigerian village. For the last ten years she has run the AL TERRE NATIVE centre at Nancy, where she runs vocational courses in the ceramic arts.

The grounds are brought to life by her sculptures , murals and dishes decorated with images of women.  Her work speaks of the virtual and literal enslavement of women in certain societies and contrasts this with the freedom they enjoy in others.

The exhibition runs until the end of September 2010 – if you are in the north Sarthe, make a detour and enjoy the exhibition – truly inspiring.

Manoir de Couesme “Desseins de Femmes” Exhibition

Practical Information

Opening hours

Every day from 4th to 30th September 2010

Hours 10h00 to 18h00

Facilities

Bar on site

Parking on site free

Souvenir and gift stall run by the “Amis du Manoir de Couesme”

Artwork for sale

Directions

The Manoir de Couesme is situated between Ancinnes and Bourg-le Roi in the Sarthe department, Pays de la Loire, France.

The Manoir de Couesme is 2 minutes (2km) from our B&B in Lower Normandy by car, or 20 minutes on foot.

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Manoir de Couesme, “Imaginary Garden” in Pays de la Loire/Normandy

Le Jardin Imaginaire, Manoir de Couesme

Today we visited the nearby Manoir de Couesme in the Pays de la Loire and viewed the FREE outdoor exhibition of sculptures, paintings and plastic arts on display in the grounds of the manor house.

The Manoir de Couesme, in the commune of Ancinnes on the border of Normandy and Pays de la Loire,  dates from the 15th century and is being beautifully restored by the current owners.  They hold regular art exhibitions there each September.

The exhibits in the current (2009) exhibition at the Manoir de Couesme are the creations of Emmanuel and Fabrice Perrin, inspired by the painting  “Jardin de Délices” (Garden of Delights) by Jérome Bosch (1503-04).  The original painting is a triptych depicting a sort of Garden of Eden with naked men and women boozing, gorging and cavorting with animals, insects and birds, Paradise mixed with Hell, where pleasure and pain are intertwined.

The result in the Manoir de Couesme 2009 exhibition is a fantastic, wonderful and often amusing view of the baser side of mankind, sexuality and excess.

The artworks on display are made in iron, wood, glass, ceramics, terracotta and paper – and they are all for sale.  If you want to make us a gift, then one of the STUNNING metalwork dragonflies – a bargain at 700€ – would be a welcome addition to the sculptures in our own garden and would look superb in our lake.

The exhibition runs until the end of September 2009 – if you are in the area, don’t miss it – we were taken aback by the wonderful, imaginative, bizarre, rude and amusing artworks on display.

Manoir de Couesme “Jardin Imaginaire 2009″ Exhibition

Practical Information

Opening hours

Every day from 5th to 30th September 2009

Hours 10h00 to 18h00

Facilities

Bar on site

Parking on site free

Souvenir and gift stall

Artwork for sale, individual items 15 euro to 3000 euro

Directions

The Manoir de Couesme is situated between Ancinnes and Bourg-le Roi in the Sarthe department, Pays de la Loire, France.

The Manoir de Couesme is 2 minutes (2km) from our B&B in Lower Normandy by car, or 20 minutes on foot.

The town is 20 minutes (20km) from our B&B in Lower Normandy

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Museum of the Le Mans 24 Hours

Scenes from the 2008 “Le Mans Classic” motor race

During the winter the Motor Museum at the racing circuit of Le Mans has been refurbished – it reopens on the 29th April 2009 under its new guise as the”Musée des 24 Heures”, having previously been called the “Musée Automobile de la Sarthe”.

New cars, an extended section devoted to former Le Mans 24 Hours racers, state of the art race simulators and a complete makeover of the main halls have transformed the museum, which is located next to the main entrance to the Bugatti race circuit.

The exhibits include previous Le Mans winners such as the 3-litre Bentley from 1930s, the Ferrari 166 from 1949 which made Ferrari’s name, the Ford GT40 which won 4 consecutive years from 1966, the Porsche 917 “long tail” from 1971 and many more, including every winner since 1998.

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Normandy ORNEXPO 2009 at Alençon

ORNEXPO 2009

2009 will be the year of the 80th ORNEXPO event – an annual gathering where companies and producers of all sorts of goods and services meet at Alençon to exhibit and promote their businesses.

From 25th February to 2nd March 2009 there will be 280 exhibitors taking part in the ORNEXPO, which is held in the Parc des Expositions.

The event is always extremely popular and well attended by the general public; every year it has a special theme, this year being “Thailand”. Entertainment is laid on each afternoon and evening. In keeping with the theme, a traditional music and dance troupe from the former Kingdom of Siam will performing at intervals throughout each day.

The businesse represented come mainly from Normandy, but by no means exclusively – there are over 30 different companies in the food and drink sector coming from all over France to take part.

Opening hours are 10.30am to late evening each day (except 25th Feb, opening ceremony at 2.00pm).

Entry is free for early arrivals (10.30am to midday), after which it is 4 euro for adults and reduced tarifs for children and adolescents.

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