Monday, November 7, 2011

It's May and We're On Our Way!




January, February........... lots of paintings to paint, classes to teach.
March
........... a glorious month in residence at the Virginia Centre for Creative Arts (VCCA) making paintings for my upcoming exhibits in France.











VA8, my favourite studio at VCCA.

April ................ it's time to pack home and studio, visit with family and friends, say our good-byes and we're off......... for our third season in southwest France where I have the good fortune to be artist in residence "Directrice Résidente" of le Moulin à Nef, the international branch of VCCA.

May ........ we arrive on the first of the month to Auvillar, the village we've come to love. We are reunited with our French friends, sunshine, fresh cherries and the start of an extremely lively and interesting season!

Our first batch of cherries.

John in the backyard cherry tree, 5/8/11

(photo by John Alexander)

To our delight we find at least 6 different varieties of strawberries at our first Tuesday market of the season. Um, how would I create those rich reds in a painting?

Professor Agnes Carbrey from James Madison University arrives for her third year to teach her summer painting program. Her students paint in the studios, village and local fields and head out on fieldtrips near and afar.







Also in May....... a lively group of poets descend on le Moulin à Nef for a poetry workshop with Marilyn Kallet. John and I are surrounded by painters and poets, c'est merveilleux!










Here I am making an introduction in the garden of the Maison Vieilhescazes, la Chapelle St Cathérine in the background. Lecture de poésie dans le jardin.


The energetic and always smiling Mme Dassonville. (Last 5 photos by John Alexander)

I love the people here and am so grateful for their friendship and the many kindnesses they offer us.
Our first month is coming to an end and we are about to move into the village for 6 1/2 weeks as the next group to arrive will use the entire facility including the little house that we live in, la Cloucado!




1 comment:

  1. Your images and snippets are making me yearn for more...
    the life that you are leading in France sounds blissfully perfect.

    ReplyDelete