I'm just a few days back from a whirlwind week in Durfort, a village at the southern tip of France. Our group of artists - from all over the U.S. and from the U.K. - stayed in a three-story home called La Cascade that had three-foot-thick stone walls and big, cozy kitchen (where Nesa, our chef, surprised us all at every meal!). Below, the front door of our home for the week...and a photo of the running stream in the backyard. Nesa is holding a homemade bun with some jam. She never planned our meals - she just used whatever fresh foods were at the market that day!
The two leaders of the workshop were Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby,
renowned artists from the United States. We worked every single day except one! We made the most of it, sightseeing in nearby villages such as Revel, where we found bakeries, bookstores, marketplaces, and antique stores.
As always, I took photos of doors and door knockers. This was an especially beautiful one with the elaborate leaded insert and elegant hand. (Click on any of these photos to see them larger on your screen.)
We had several meals in cafes, including our group out for pizza. There are many wonderful appetizers such as these shrimp with oranges, and figs wrapped in bacon. And, of course, the desserts!
The two leaders of the workshop were Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby,
renowned artists from the United States. We worked every single day except one! We made the most of it, sightseeing in nearby villages such as Revel, where we found bakeries, bookstores, marketplaces, and antique stores.As always, I took photos of doors and door knockers. This was an especially beautiful one with the elaborate leaded insert and elegant hand. (Click on any of these photos to see them larger on your screen.)
We had several meals in cafes, including our group out for pizza. There are many wonderful appetizers such as these shrimp with oranges, and figs wrapped in bacon. And, of course, the desserts!
We all learned so much in the class. Here are just a couple of the pieces of art...the wide-eyed woman is by Anne, the
circus girl is Jennifer's, and
the wo
man with the jester-style hat was Sandy's work.
Lynne coached us in one exercise where we made silhouettes that expressed our work, and then we put them on the windows
and doors...the woman's face, below, was mine. Lynne said it represented a mountain of ideas with many more ideas below that will come out in the future. I feel that that's true, and whenever I get together with other artists, I'm more inspired than ever.
I'm going to post even more pictures on my Shutterfly page, so if you want to see more of the countryside and my adventure in Southern France, go to my Shutterfly album on Durfort! (give me a couple of days - I have a LOT of photos!)
Of course, I have to end this blog with a picture of a French chat - there were many friendly cats in our little village.
circus girl is Jennifer's, and
the wo
man with the jester-style hat was Sandy's work.Lynne coached us in one exercise where we made silhouettes that expressed our work, and then we put them on the windows
and doors...the woman's face, below, was mine. Lynne said it represented a mountain of ideas with many more ideas below that will come out in the future. I feel that that's true, and whenever I get together with other artists, I'm more inspired than ever.
I'm going to post even more pictures on my Shutterfly page, so if you want to see more of the countryside and my adventure in Southern France, go to my Shutterfly album on Durfort! (give me a couple of days - I have a LOT of photos!)
Of course, I have to end this blog with a picture of a French chat - there were many friendly cats in our little village.
Love,
Pipka
Pipka
