Jamie Beck Honors THE FLOWERS OF PROVENCE

Wondering how Jamie Beck’s THE FLOWERS OF PROVENCE (Simon Element, 2023) could possibly compete with her bestselling An American in Provence? When the artist’s new book arrived in the mail, my mother was visiting, and the moment she glimpsed the cover, she gasped. “Everyone, everywhere should display this beautiful book!” Even before opening it, we both sensed the artistry arising inside, and we were not wrong. More than a lovely collection of pretty South of France landscapes and still lifes, A LUMINOUS MAGIC RADIATES FROM THE ARTIST WHO PLACES HERSELF IN THE PATH OF BEAUTY. We need her fine art, her flowers, and her heartfulness.

photos: by Jamie Beck – courtesy of Simon Element

I hope you’ll enjoy my interview with Jamie Beck and treat yourself to THE FLOWERS OF PROVENCE. You’ll be supporting an artist who has discovered “priceless peace” delicately blooming in the French countryside.

Jamie Beck Interview & The Flowers of Provence

THE FLOWERS OF PROVENCE (Simon Element, 2023) is so breathtaking you may find yourself transported to quietude. Author and fine art photographer, Jamie Beck traded New York City for Provence where her art career is in bloom. She delicately preserves flowers, captures romantic landscapes, and creates images to inspire wonder.

I asked her about her reverence for the unforever of what blooms now and will soon fade.

Nature, Beauty & Timelessness

Hello Lovely: HOW DOES YOUR CONNECTION TO NATURE INFLUENCE YOUR IDEAS ABOUT BEAUTY, TIMELESSNESS, AND THE PARADOX OF HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO?

Jamie Beck: Nature and Provence are always changing, a bittersweet realization that forces you into appreciating the present moment and seeing the beauty and importance in all the stages of life. 

I am endlessly inspired by observing the cycles of growth, rest and re-emergence. It bounds me to see that time changes and shifts each day and throughout the course of months and years. Much like the subject of my new book…flowers.

They are part of an ecosystem. Beautiful but also a part of a bigger whole–making honey, pollinating fruit trees, providing nourishment to the soil, offering medicinal applications for us. Flowers can even tell farmers signs of disease before it attacks their crops.

In the end, nothing can stop the flowers in spring from blooming nor inhibit my curiosity to capture life through a photographic lens. It’s all in the way one chooses to see. The paradox of creating a photograph is that I am immortalizing a moment forever and maybe that’s what also allows me to take it fully in the moment and then release it after the click of a shutter.  

Slow Living in Provence

As I considered Jamie’s commitment to a slower lifestyle in Provence, I thought about my own relationship with the beautiful prairie landscape where I work and live. I thought about the pitfalls of American work culture which rewards one for: work indoors, short vacations, productivity, and nature-deprivation.

Hello Lovely: HAVE YOU FOUND WAYS TO BALANCE CONTENT CREATION WITH WHOLEHEARTED EXPERIENCES IN NATURE?

Jamie Beck: When I’m creating a photograph, I like quiet. I have to work alone. I need to hear the thoughts and story that dances about in my head. To hold still to click the shutter and preserve the moment, the light, the day, the feeling. I feel fortunate, except during the season of a book launch, that my life in Provence fuels detaching and rewards you for slowing down to take it in.

You often hear people here say “On a le temps…” or “we have the time…” Nothing is rushed. It’s human and natural. – JAMIE BECK

Embracing Effortlessness & French Sensibilities

Hello Lovely: IN YOUR BOOK, THERE’S A NOTION ABOUT FRENCH CULTURE YOU SHARE THAT STRUCK ME. YOU WRITE “NOT EVERYTHING HAS A PRICE, AND CERTAINLY NOT BEAUTY.” WHAT HAS EXPOSURE TO SUCH CULTURE AWAKENED WITHIN YOU? 

Jamie Beck: The French, especially the women, set their own rules. Here in Provence, it was the women who were out harvesting the grapes during the first wars in full Provençale wear. Style has no age limits as long as it feels like you–you can do it.

There is less of the in your face, biggest, brightest mentality and more of a harmonious dance with care throughout the years and life.

You embrace age and celebrate it because it’s natural. That’s one of the greatest lessons Provence has given me; what is natural is most beautiful. -JAMIE BECK

Viewing the artistry Jamie has gathered so beautifully in THE FLOWERS OF PROVENCE and pondering the life of flowers reminds me of themes arising in my own personal growth. For example, letting go of delusions that contentment awaits in some future destination as opposed to right here, where peace and joy are alive on the journey.

Jamie Beck on Living Well

Hello Lovely: WHAT DOES HEALING WITH NATURE AND LIVING WELL LOOK AND FEEL LIKE RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE NOW?

Jamie Beck: What first began in my little apartment (now my studio) expanded to the market. Then, when I got a bike, I was able to go further…into other villages, farms, and landscapes. 

Right now, to me it’s about  pause and reset. Each season has something beautiful that I create in my studio. Inspired by the nature around me that’s just outside my door, what’s new seasonally at the market, or just bloomed that morning in the garden.

Some days it is just the way the clouds look in the sky. It’s really quite simple. And within that simplicity, I find inner peace. Priceless peace. -JAMIE BECK

So beautiful, Jamie! Thank you for such tender reflections and for the treasure of your fine art which embodies such priceless peace.

The Gift of Jamie Beck’s THE FLOWERS OF PROVENCE

Just wait until you glimpse the beauty inside! Visit Jamie Beck on IG…her lovely von lovely book makes the perfect gift:

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

Thanks for shopping RIGHT HERE to keep decor inspiration flowing on Hello Lovely!

Hello Lovely is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.