La Société Des Solubles Extraordinaires and Other Nice Unverified Esoterica

I am hearing bits and pieces about something called La Société Des Solubles Extraordinaires (my French is trés mal, so excuse any boo-boos). I haven't got it all put together yet, but there is one thing that certainly sounds credible, so I'm going to include it here. It seems La Solubles give out an award called L'Ordre De La Palette Sale. I think the literal translation would be "The Order Of The Dirty Palette" which sounds kind of yucky. However, as best I can tell this is really something very prestigious; given out only to persons who have used their palettes honorably in furtherance of and to the benefit of water soluble oils.

It seems that in this case La Solubles consider this web site to be a palette where good things (the paints) are blended for brushing on the canvases of our lives. (Wow, that really is esoteric ) Anyway, I understand that L'Ordre De La Palette Sale is about to be awarded to Janet, Judy and Callie for creating this "palette". Congratulations

Oh, one other thing. I understand that L'Ordre is sometimes delivered by a very pompous bunny rabbit, usually in the wee hours of the morning. So maybe you three want to keep any dogs or cats away from the front door for a day or two. I don't know what the award looks like -it supposedly is made of a material that is only visible to members of La Solubles. However, the important thing is that you will be receiving it and can wear it proudly, even if you can't see it. Three

I'll keep everyone posted when I find out more about La Solubles .

It sounds like the king's invisible robes. Judy

Well, don't think it is meant to take the place of regular garb, so it shouldn't be a problem. One of the bunny rabbits that frequents our back yard and knows that pompous La Solubles rabbit, says he's sure that the award really is an honor and presented only to the most worthy of water soluble people. hmmmm ..... not sure if that means you have to stay out of the rain.

Sounds like a great honor, you guys! Please let us know happens. Congratulations!

Dayle

There's always a lot of rabbits in my yard - I'll be keeping an eye on them
This must be a secret society, Jim. A quick Google search turned up nothing. What have you got yourself involved in?

Oh my!! Callie, I'm certainly not worthy enough to be a member. Yes, I think definitely secret. But you know rabbits; they can't resist dropping hints of things they aren't supposed to be talking about. Listen in on your rabbits once in a while; maybe you can pick up additional details. If so, let us know .

I think that La Solubles have existed for a long, long time, but haven't always gone by that name (maybe that's why they don't Google). References to some sort of Société pop up from time to time, but then fade into obscurity. These references seem to correspond with times of stress in the art world caused by the introduction of new technologies. I admit I'm just guessing here. Maybe between times the members go back to their painting .

I wondered how the French connection of La Société Des Solubles Extraordinaires came about. Looking back through history at particularly contentious times in the art world there are vague references to apostles of new technologies banding together to defend the new ways.

The earliest such reference that I have stumbled across so far dates to the early 1840's. It doesn't seem likely to us that the invention of a tube for holding paint could be contentious. However at the time (1841), there were those that strongly maintained this to be an inferior product that would not last and that any paintings created with this abomination could not be considered real art. The French Impressionists (already viewed as outcasts by many traditionalists) quickly began to use tubed paint. And it's use obviously spread elsewhere (thank goodness). There are many vague references to groups defending this use in one place or another. I'm going to go out on a limb a little bit and suggest that this may have been, if not the origin of La Solubles, at least the model upon which it is based.

On a modern note, it seems that in the Toronto area, it's some of the black squirrels that are the messengers of La Solubles. However, I understand that this is only a few of them and, in fact, some black squirrels may be messengers for the "other side". It's a complicated world.

Sounds like a fascinating bit of history. Even back then, people were put down for not following the tradition.

I keep watching the rabbits in the front yard to see if they have hidden the award in the trenches under my cactus, but I'm not about to explore.

Judy