Disposable Camera Swap

Back in June I signed up for Campfire Chic's disposable camera swap.  I boarded my flight to France shortly after, picked up a disposable camera at a grocery store, and took mine to the village post office a while later to be shipped to California.  When I got off the return flight home on Tuesday I found my partner's envelope with camera inside.  I made my way to the store to get my mystery photos developed.  These were a few of my favorites!  I hope my partner has received my camera by now.  I would love to see the photos I took while the little French village I was staying at was fresh and new to me.

Rose Thorn Bloom: August

...

The summer has come and gone and I for one had a marvelous time. I flew home from France on Tuesday night and I've been slowly familiarizing myself with normal life.

Roses... 

-Getting to spend another month in a beautiful place. 

-The always beautiful sunrise in the valley. I saw a few of these while pulling all-nighters.
-Entertaining green van adventure trips on the back roads of France.

-Spending as much time possible with the small group of printmakers I was lucky enough to share a studio with. 

-French cheese. A-yum. 

-Having a successful end of summer art show (even selling some of my work)! 

-Living without a cell phone.

-Long meals.

-A designated coffee hour set aside everyday.

Thorns... 

 -Having to leave the wonderful village in the South of France I was lucky enough to call home. 

-The people who complained everyday (I mean, come on! We were in heaven!) 

-Leaving all the wonderful people who made the summer excellent.

-Re-entering the world of air conditioning.  I seriously have been wearing jeans and sweaters since I got back.
-I miss seeing ruins and old, broken castles everywhere I look!

Bloom... 

-I hope to keep learning the French language. 

-Bring on the Fall foliage!

Heat, Naps, And Productivity

The heat has set in here in the South of France.  Right in time for finals.  Joy!  We've all been hard at work and for me that seems to mean sleeping all day and printing all night.  It's actually a nice treat because I often get the shop all to myself and I get to see beautiful sunrises.  I mean beautiful.  Ridiculous.  This morning was hazy and dreamy, but yesterday morning was a show stopper.  The best sunrises seem to come out when my camera is on the other side of the village.  Hmm, tough luck.  We are atop a hill making for a perfect sunrise lookout.  It is also generally my cue to get to bed.  I am happy to report that I pulled my last print as of... a few hours ago... and I am just about right on track to get our show hung on Friday.  A good feeling indeed.

Rose Thorn Bloom: July

This time spent in France can only be described as wonderful.  This first month flew by way too fast for my liking, and I know I only have a few weeks left here.  That time will be busy, busy, busy with work and an upcoming gallery show.  What luck I have to live such a wonderful life!  A big part of me wishes this summer would never end.

Roses...

-Waking up everyday in a medieval French stone village.

-Spending as much time as I want in a small printmaking studio.

-Amazing views everywhere.  All the time.

-Chippy, our lazy cat friend who comes to borrow our shade.

-Being terribly spoiled here in France.

-Every single thing.

Thorns...

-Impossible.  Though I suppose I could do with fewer scorpions.

-Knowing this can't last forever... silly round trip ticket.

Bloom...

-Anything and everything involved with my last month here.

Weekend Waygone 6

Sometimes we are lucky enough to go on bonus field trips. This time around we jumped in our vans and followed the road to Louis Jou's print shop, museum, and home. We got to come face to face with the wood he was engraving, the blocks he printed, and his collection of other art... which includes, but is certainly not limited to, Durer, Rembrandt, and Goya's Disasters of War series. It was unreal. Needless to say, jaws dropped, some folks got a smidge choked up, and I just couldn't believe what was happening.

French Friday 3

To the castles and the ruins we will go.  On one of our field trips this week for travel portfolio drawing class we went up, up, up until we found an old stone playground.  Not actually a playground, but we were climbing all over the place and having a lot of fun.  We came here to draw perspective, but as usual I found it too hard to sit myself and draw.  All I wanted to do was explore! The name of the broken castle is Oppede Le Vieux, and it is excellent. It was fun to mix a bit of adventure into the drawing class. There were cliffs everywhere and no warning. Luckily our professor warned us ahead of time and had us keeping an eye out, because it definitely could have been a bit tricky without the wise warnings. There were dirt paths that seemed to lead right up to a cliff. And we were quite high up. High enough, at least. And as every field trip goes, we didn't want to leave. There is a bike path that leads up there so hopefully I can go back if I find the time!