The Woman Who Says No: Françoise Gilot


 
I had a very hard time putting down my copy of The Woman Who Says No: Françoise Gilot on Her Life With and Without Picasso - Rebel, Muse, Artist. I devoured about 130 pages of it yesterday and finished it late Wednesday night. Gilot is my new hero!

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/1771642270/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687762&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1853812331&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1WDNR8EQ05QBHKVNB9PK 

"You must try out different things. Put a stroke here, draw a line there. Then you will suddenly notices that something appearing on the paper in front of your eyes begins to fascinate you. You notice a line you just didn't see before, and you begin to work with it. In the end, a mistake is no longer a mistake, because you have given it its own space and significance in the larger whole."

Another quote that resonated with me:

"What would happen if we were to understand chaos as possibility? If we were to simply allow ourselves the freedom to make mistakes, because they give rise to the new and unexpected?"


Francoise Gilot (French, b. 1921)

Truly inspiring and well worth the read. I'm going to read her book, Life With Picasso as well as Lisa Alther's About Women: Conversations Between a Writer and a Painter this summer.

Francoise Gilot (French, b. 1921)

More about Françoise here and the Archives here.

Color Signed Lithograph by Françoise Gilot (French b. 1921):  

francoise gilot art | Lithograph - Francoise Gilot:  

Francoise Gilot:  

 

Comments

I read her book Life with Picasso many years ago and loved it.I just saw a copy for $1 at the library book sale....I should have picked it up for a friend....glad you are enjoying the good read too...
Caterina Giglio said…
fascinating... I will check it out! Thanks!
trish quilty said…
just put the books on my wish list at Amazon. Sound interesting. Thanks kelly
Anonymous said…
I just checked the PV Library but they haven't ordered this yet. The 1964 book is available.
Malte Herwig said…
Glad you liked the book, Kelly. Did they send you an advance copy? If all goes well my publisher will try and set up some book readings in the US (East/West Coast).
Kelly Kilmer said…
I'm so happy that the post resonated with people. Thanks for stopping by!

Malte, I loved the book. I bought it at Book Soup in West Hollywood. I hope that if you are doing readings that you come to Los Angeles!

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