I made it to France, Yay!! Go me. I drove from Paris to Orquevaux–316 km, give or take–and made it despite the best efforts of crackhead French motorcyclists. Seriously, y’all. They’re nuts. And, TBH, I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for Maggie, my new BFF, savior, and guide extraordinaire.
Anywhoo, yeah, I don’t belong here. Look, this place is AH-MAZING. See?
That’s the view from my studio–which, by the way, is as big as my living room. There’s nothing I have ever done in my entire life that merits this. (Though maybe teaching eighth graders comes close.)
And, as I knew (as I feared) everyone here is stupidly talented. Want a fiber artist? There’s two. Photographer? Two. Painter? Ten. Enamelist? Got that. Writer, illustrator, etc? Oh yeah, that, too.
And as I’ve said, I’m just me.
BUT…
Everyone is super nice and super supportive. Not one snobbish artiste among them. How cool is that? I’ve walked in and out of salons where people are setting up their studios and have been blown away by the fragments of work that I’ve seen. It’s only been a a few hours. We just got here yesterday, and their works are already provocative and intriguing. How fantastic are their final works going to be?
I am inspired and awed and overwhelmed. A few words on the page is my entire goal. That’s it. I’m gonna fake it ’til I hopefully make it.
In the meantime. Here’s a few images of my first full day.
D.S.Dehel 