I’m all packed up. I created a lot in a month, some of it good, some of it pure process that I can toss or remake. I guess that was the point. Making. Painting.
But you know, Despite having my guard up, I was totally seduced by the beauty of the place. Ziggy Attias, the owner and conceptual lead has created an experience I have only ever dreamed of. 
We artists have resided together in the utmost comfort of our own spacious, castle like rooms above shared living areas decorated in a luxurious style true to the Napoleon Trois building. The shared, beautifully outfitted bathrooms have served us easily and the studio rooms gave us inspiring views of the little valley. Importantly, the natural light was fantastic during the day and the walls and floors could be dripped on without worry.
As a surprise, we also had most of our meals prepared for us by a gifted French chef, Marie. The food was excellent and Marie was always happy working in the kitchen. It freed us up to paint and it created a jovial family like atmosphere for evening meals. 
Ziggy’s house rules were few and easy to live with. Generally, any minor tasks we shared in were carried out without discussion. They just got done in a manner that was respectful of everyone’s time. With that level of respect in a communal space, it’s easy living together. 
I will miss my new friends but I suspect we’ll all keep in touch and meet again. They’ve touched my heart and become a part of me. I also plan on returning to this beautiful place one way or another. It had the best double rainbow I’ve ever seen anywhere before. There was actually a golden shimmer beneath it. How could I not want to come back?
I am filled with gratitude for this experience in France coming on the heels of my retirement. It has transitioned me.
Thank-you, Ziggy. Thank-you, Universe.
Today I’ve been working on what will likely be the last painting I create at my Art Residency at Chateau Orquevaux. As I painted, the last in what has become a connected series, I began to examine why it was important for me to do such a thing. Here they are, in order of importance for me.
It’s getting closer!!!! My art residency in France has me planning despite the disruption of my father’s heart attack and bypasses. I just can’t believe that I’ve been invited to witness France in the spring! I feel so blessed! And the rainbows lately, has anyone else been noticing them?
I feel confident that this is how I want the days before the residency to be. It will be like fuelling up on French culture. I want my body and mind and soul filled with the place. I want my cells oozing before I get to the Chateau.
Hello!
is missing when they are pale. It was quite a change to be in the intense, humid heat and with no time to prep the palid skin, I admit, I got a little burnt. No worries, Mate. Did I mention that Aussies are everywhere in that part of the world? Canadians aren’t.
island is struggling with the huge influx of tourism these past few years. Sewage smells, bottled drinking water, a ridiculous plastic product problem, and poorly planned development are visible symptoms of this. The beauty of another time can still be found, but you have work to do to find it.
For me, Bali did not trigger a soul connection the way the sacred valley did. Perhaps it was timing. Perhaps I should have visited longtimeago. I was twinged momentarily in Ubud as I gazed on the jungle as the sun lowered its gaze, and in the hot sun one day when when I found a moments salvation in the shade of a tree on the high side of the gorge. Bali just didn’t pull me into it’s arms, perhaps too many are asking too much of it already. Even places need boundaries.
Sherri Jean McCulloch 