Atelier Montmiral
Bonjour Friends and Family,
It has been quite an adventure getting to France and to my beautiful cottage and studio in the hamlet of Le Mas, near the medieval village of Roquecor.
First, Brooke and I traveled from London to Paris, and had such a wonderful time absorbing the sites and sounds of the city of Love.
Our hotel was near the Eiffel Tower so we could walk over and look at it anytime we wanted, it became the theme of our
visit there. Brooke took lots of photos of it in every possible light. I will be posting those soon.
We took a great bike tour of Paris with Fat Tire Bike Tours,it was good exercise and a great way to see the sites.
At the famous Paris marche' aux puces (flea market) we searched and found some special tokens to take home with us and enjoyed cafe' au lait often while people watching in the sidewalk cafe's. We walked for miles.
We hated to leave Paris but alas, we boarded the train to Agen and toward the SW Region to the Cottage. The views of the country side was amazing, colors of fall and patterns made in the earth by the plows were speaking to me constantly.
We arrive at the cottage during a rain storm that lasted for 3 days,it made it easy to relax and reflect on our trip together. Reading and card playing with a great glass of local red wine became our routine. Great memories!!
When Brooke left for home, I attended a wonderful art school , Atelier Montmiral , www.ateliermontmiral.com,
in another medieval town called Castelnau de Montmiral not far from Toulouse. A beautiful area with views that took my breath away and inspired my collection of prints.
My teachers , Bunny and Mick Newth , were gracious and talented artists from England. My classmates, also English, were from all walks of life and we created lasting friendships as we learned to translate our visions using the printmaking processes of drypoint and etching.
It was truly a turning point in my art process and my work is evolving from the images that flooded my vision during my in time in Montmiral.
But more about that later,
Avoir
Marti
