Mythos & Marginalia

life notes; flaws and all

  • beyond words

    To travel halfway across the world and not visit the Louvre Museum would be senseless. The museum is on all the “must-see” list of destinations if you are travelling to Paris, right up there with the Eiffel Tower and the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

    Of course we went. Actually, the Louvre was the first tourist destination we saw. You can’t go to Paris and not see the Louvre: how many times in my lifetime had I been told.

    To visit the Louvre is about waiting. We paid in advance for a museum pass that would allow us access to any number of museums and galleries in the Paris. The Louvre was one of the few that required a time-entry. We were slated for 11 a.m. Along with a huge mass of humanity, we began lining up well more than an hour before.

    During this waiting period, you are allowed all that time to marvel at the historical and architectural gem and the stunning glass pyramid that marks entry to a journey of art and culture.

    What one must remember about the Louvre is that it is a museum and not an art gallery. Yes, there is art – plenty of art -from textiles to sculpture and, of course, paintings. What one must remember about the Louvre is that it is more an example of time that has past and is laid out in such a fashion that you must walk through the eras.

    It is not quiet as a gallery is more prone to be. It is filled with people (all those people who had lined up ahead of me) and there are lots of people there more to see the museum than a gallery. Art, at the Louvre, is viewed more as history than it is art. The Louvre Museum is presented more by era than by style.

    I was, throughout the morning, impatient.

    Let’s face it: I was there to see the Mona Lisa. How many times, in my lifetime, had I been told that I had to see Mona if I were ever to go to Paris. 

    The painting is important to the Louvre: it might be the only reason some people go the museum. There are endless signs throughout the amazing structure marking the way to “Mona Lisa” (Room 711 of the Denon Wing). It seems you must walk miles through all those people. 

    Mona Lisa itself is iconic. A Renaissance portrait pained by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519. Shrouded in a deep sense of mystery, Mona Lisa is celebrated for her enigmatic smile.

    The Mona Lisa is larger in legend than she was in size (30 x 21 inches). Wikipedia lists the Mona Lisa as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung abut, (and) the most parodied work of art in the world.” It is so.

    The Mona Lisa is beautiful beyond words. I’m not sure I could describe her as wonderfully as those before me have, but she is more than memorable. Beyond words. No, I did not get as close to her as I would have liked. Even after I tried to inch further into the crowd ahead of me, I knew I would never come within conversational distance.

    All I could do was bask in her smile and admire the work as it seemed like thousands of people passed by, each one lifting a cell phone to capture the moment. I did, and the moment is full of people, and cell phones, and Mona gazing beautifully at her admirers. I was one of many.

    Mona Lisa was well worth the trip.

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

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  • Mondays are just young Fridays

    Maybe it was the jet lag, or the summer cold I picked up in Paris is still having its way with me, but I’ve been slow getting going these past couple of days.

    I arrived home last week to Winnipeg weather almost as hot as it was as a heatwave that overtook most of Europe. It chilly here before I left for vacation; I’m amazed at the change over a couple of weeks.

    I am home. I am back to real life after a wonderful trip to the other side of the world; to a city I have always longed to see. Paris.

    I feel different coming back. 

    With the heat in this city, the shades of the summer to come are well established. 

    The tulips I planted last fall and were only beginning to sprout before I left and are now past maximum height, and colour. I was fortunate to see the final days of the flower’s temporary glory wilt away. 

    What I’m feeling is not what you would call rested; it was a busy couple of weeks, but I’m rechanged now and ready to take on all that I have planned for the next couple of months. 

    There’s a lot of painting to be done around the house, a garden to tend to, but there is an awful lot of art on my mind. I’ve got oil paintings to complete, some to start, and plenty of ideas for prints and possibilities.

    I saw a lot of art in Paris, and I’m inspired. That’s a great mindset to create from.

    I’m truly looking forward to this summer.

    Life is good.

    j.g.l.

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  • celebrating themselves

    A country I have not known; a visitor

    I will always be.

    Always respectful of the culture, the food, and

    why we are here.

    Welcomed. The language a challenge, but

    not communication.

    They hang their flags, like laundry, for

    everyone to see.

    Pride, no shame. Everybody every day.

    Celebrating themselves.

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

    May 19th is a Turkish Holiday celebrating Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day,  

    a milestone occasion marking the beginning of the country’s War of Independence.

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  • the trip

    Today I will embark on a journey, a much-needed vacation, to the other side of the world.

    It is a trip that has been planned for years; something I have truly looked forward to. 

    I will be travelling to places I had never considered, and to a city I have always dreamed of visiting.  I’ll be there in less than a day and will be away for weeks.

    I’m most certain I will capture the trip photographically, and poetically. My camera and trusty notebook are packed for easy access to capture my thoughts. I’m sure to post them here, as time permits, but without the regularity, certainty, or my usual predictability. That’s fine with me.

    A vacation should allow time to step away from your everyday obligations. Time will be of less consequence, I think. It is my intention to simply let life unfold as I observe another culture, and traipse through a lengthy list of museums and galleries. I want to see how coffee, and life, tastes on the other side of this wonderful planet.

    It is sure to be an adventure.

    j.g.l.

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  • feel the potential

    Before a garden is a garden, it is just dirt.

    Indeed, the remains of last year’s efforts may be apparent in the dry and dead foliage shrivelled, sorry, and waiting for spring clean-up. And all your garden tools have been stored away, powerless, while favourite perennials lay latent beneath the surface.

    It’s when the bulbs begin to show through the soil that you realize the promise that a garden holds.

    A garden must be planned. Whether floral or vegetable, you’ve got to consider the Sun’s daily impact and where your plantings will prosper. 

    You’ve got to plant a seed, if only metaphorically. With that you can imagine the succulent taste of tomatoes fresh from the vine, herbs you will use in favorite recipes, and the scent of yet unplanted flowers that will fill your yard, and your mind.

    A visit to a greenhouse or garden centre inspires, as do the seeds propagated indoors months back. You can feel the potential as certain as you can see what is happening.

    A garden is a gift you give to yourself. Naturally, it requires sunlight and water (as we, as humans, do). Enrich the soil with compost before you dig and dredge the various beds in those corners and crevices of your yard now lifeless, and longing for attention. 

    Above all, patience is required through the coming seasons.

    A garden keeps you grounded through those summer months. The season allows for travel and trips to farmers markets, festivals and cultural events, but you always return home. The garden welcomes you as it does the birds, bees, and butterflies.

    A commitment, the garden keeps you caring about what is important: growth.

    Warmer evenings, hot nights, blissful mornings and summer shade are all ahead of us. Now, the garden is pretty much dirt, possibility, and something to look forward to.

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

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