Giverny – A Painter’s Paradise

Giverny was an absolutely magical place. After one bus, one train, one subway, another train and a taxi ride (in a bmw taxi!) later we arrived in Giverny. We started the time with some lively discussions about life, truth and reality while we cracked open the champagne and spent time with our professors and host from the Terra Foundation. Here’s what my days in Giverny consisted of: wake up around 8, take a bike ride through the beautiful one lane town, coffee on the house’s terrace, bath in the gigantic bathroom with a heated towel rack, start painting around 10, paint til lunch – lunch with all of Marchutz at the Museum of Impressionisms (yes, Impressionisms – as in plural), another painting – home. Wash up, check the computer, start playing card games, dinner arrives from the catering service (sounds great, but the food was pretty crappy and they actually forgot to feed us one night…oupla!), wine with friends, hang out on the terrace, night painting on the terrace with everyone – sleep, wakeup, repeat. Yes. This is my life. Two months into my time in France and I still can’t believe I’m here!


In Giverny I painted two oil pieces and started experimenting with watercolors. You’re not allowed to paint with an easel in Monet’s gardens (because we’d take up too much room) but you are allowed to paint sitting down or draw sitting down. At one point there were 6 of us sitting next to each other on two benches and we had an entourage of people watching us. I was sitting on the end of the bench and lots of little kids would come over and watch me draw and paint. It was probably the cutest thing ever. One charming little French kid asked, “How do you know what to paint?” And I was just like, “Good question! Ummm…I like colors so I choose the ones I like!” Another cute little boy was maybe a year and a half old and he was adorable! He was a little too rambunctious for his family by the time they got to the bench I was sitting on and the mom passed me a smile full of gratitude when he settled down and watched me watercolor for almost an hour. So charming!

We visited Monet’s house along with his gardens one day. His house is a long, thin building with hundreds of Japanese prints decorating the walls. They’re stunning. His studio is also grand and has racks he used to display all of his works for visitors. The colors of the house are definitely the colors of an artist. The kitchen with its unique tiling is bright blue. The dining room – bright yellow! It’s a lot of color, but glorious. And his gardens are absolutely breathtaking. If someone created gardens like that in their lifetime it would be a great accomplishment…not to mention being a world famous artist (at least in the latter part of his life). The gardens take up a lot of space and have a rumbling brook running through them which then feeds into his famous lily pond. The Japanese bridge is still there. The entire place feels otherworldly. It’s just so striking that you feel that it couldn’t possibly be anywhere mortal. The gardens have a life of their own – and they’re certainly timeless in their beauty.

The house we stayed in was four stories and absolutely stunning. It was very tastefully decorated in French country. My room was very blue with lots of prints and I loved it. There was internet there too which was great! My bed was tres petit but that’s okay – I didn’t roll out once but I think I came close!

Giverny is very interesting in the fact that Monet lived there and has since made it a tourist and artist destination. If it weren’t for Monet, Giverny would be a small French town an hour outside of Paris…and not many people would know it exists. It truly has one main road, and you can ride a bike from one side of town to the next in under 10 minutes. Monet’s house and gardens combined with Le Musée des Impressionismes keep this town alive. It’s very quaint and a great place for painting for a lifetime or visiting for a day. The museum doesn’t have a permanent collection but instead has expositions of specific artists. While we were there Joan Mitchell’s paintings were on display. She’s a modern artist and while I didn’t care for her works a great deal – I still appreciate them for their artistic values, their sheer size (they’re HUGE!), and the emotion with which you can feel she feels.

Giverny was an experience I could never repeat. I had infinite fun with my Marchutz family and the learning attained during those few days of intense painting and studying could never be replaced. It was truly an amazing experience.

Now I’m in Paris with Mom - AWESOME! But you’ll have to tune in later to read all about our adventures!

Pictures to come when I'm not on limited internet access in the Paris hotel :)! Promise.

End of October Blues

I think there’s something about the end of October. The professors warned us about this. At this point all those fun, new things in the beginning aren’t so exciting. The rude Frenchman isn’t “Oh! That’s so French!” Instead, it’s “Hey. Jerk!” And everyone standing close to you doesn’t evoke that excited I’m-in-France-moment but instead, “Lady, if you breathe on the back of my neck one more time while I’m trying to buy stamps (which I still can’t pronounce correctly!)…” But that’s exactly what FALL BREAK is for! Giverny begins tomorrow and will last until Tuesday. Then that late afternoon I’ll be meeting mom in Paris for some gallivanting together. We’ll return to Aix on Friday and will spend the weekend here with Mamie. There are some festivities planned in town for Halloween and I can’t wait to show mom the new decorations that were just hung over the main road. It’s going to be a wonderful next 10 days – just in time to get geared up for the final month and a half here. Also, Mom is going to meet my best friend - Rick Steves. The greatest travel guide ever, we're practically on a first name basis (shout out to the travel divas!).

Hooray family <3 Hooray Break <3 Hooray loved ones at home whom I can’t wait to see soon!

Noah’s Ark is Lookin’ Real Fine

Lesson #1 about living in France: It might be nice and sunny and cloud free for 90% of days…but what they don’t tell you in that on those other 10% it POURS! And not only is it pouring but le Mistral is working out some anger in the form of very gusty winds.

8. The number of umbrellas I saw fly inside out.

2. The number of umbrellas that have opened, thrown their bolts and springs everywhere, and then died on me.

3. The number of times a car hit me with a wave of water…something tells me they like seeing my reaction.

5. The number of articles of clothing currently drying on my radiator because the rain soaked through 2 coats, one pair of jeans, one pair of leggings under those jeans, hat, scarf and shoes.

3. Times I laughed at how absurd I must look trying to jump over the mini streams that formed while flowing downhill on my walk home…all going towards my house.

2. Times of just wading through these streams because, hey, you’re already soaked. While bother jumping?

3. HUGE puddles I tromped through because my jeans were already soaked, so soaked that the water had crept up the legs all the way to my knees. The only dry part of me was my back because of my book bag…which is also drying next to the radiator.

5. Number of Britney Spears songs I listened to on the walk home because I figure she’ll keep me smiling.



Lesson #2 – When it rains, it pours. Power walking has become a new sport for me. The ability to get home faster than usual is very advantageous for when the heavens open and start what looks to be on par with a Biblical flood.

2. The number of cups of coffee it’s going to take to muster up the courage to make the walk to Marchutz in a couple of hours.

1. The number of how many midterms I totally kicked academic butt on this morning!

10. The number of assorted sized canvas boards I bought for this weekend/week’s trip to Giverny with Marchutz.

25. The number of colors of oil pastels in the set I bought today which will make their debut this afternoon and which I plan on doing some sketching with while in Paris with Mom <3 Hooray!

1. Raincoat which I need to buy, maintenant!

1,239,343,093. The estimated number of raindrops which plunked on my head on the walk home…I could hear them over the music playing in my earbuds! They’re HUGE raindrops!



Lesson #3 – When you can’t change it, accept it. Instead of getting bummed about this GROSS weather I plan on spending the next hour reveling in the glory that was my midterm paper, watching Gilmore Girls, eating the delicious sandwich I bought on the way home (plus M&Ms and Sprite…my body needs something more than all this good food! I need some sugar!), cuddling my stuffed animal turtle Freddy, wearing comfy clothes and snuggling up in my favorite oversized long sleeve waffle tee. If you ask me, my plan for the afternoon is perfect. And it’s nice to not feel guilty about being a bum for a little while; after all, the rain is good for justifying quiet moments like this.

Time is Relative

It’s the 18th of October…the 18th of October!!! How did that happen? September felt like it would never, ever end – and then it did and before I knew it October was already over halfway done. I’m not complaining though, I love being abroad (and it’s an AMAZING experience), but I am very much looking forward to returning home in December. But this is why time is relative: I feel like I waited forever for Dennis’ visit and then BAM(!) it’s already over. Craziness I tell you. Despite already having said goodbye to Dennis sooner than I could’ve ever expected I am looking forward to finishing midterms this week, going to Giverny for 4 days with Marchutz to paint in Monet’s gardens, and then meeting up with Mom (hooray!) in Paris for fall break. That’s all going to be amazing and is going to take me all the way to November – can you believe that?!

Okay, all my incredulities about time aside, I had a terrific time with Dennis here in Aix! Besides being very good at keeping my hand warm in his while walking around – which is very handy when it’s so cold outside (aren’t I punny?) – he’s also great at being my painting assistant in the countryside because, I’m telling you, I did done some of my best work when he was here! We spent his first night walking around the city and enjoying the night atmosphere while sitting outside under the heat lamps eating fresh mussels and loving being together again. I think the couple sitting next to us thought we were crazy because we talk a million miles a minute when trying to catch up on weeks apart. When I had my lecture courses Dennis worked on his own homework up in our tiny library where 1. He was attracting attention because he’s male and there are very few guys in our program (sorry ladies, he’s mine!) and 2. He might’ve been napping on Plato because of the time difference. For being 6 hours ahead of his normal time he did very well at keeping up with us time-adjusted folks. We did some shopping in town, walked around a lot (I pointed out all my favorite buildings, puppies in the park, art stores etc), took the bus with Marchutz into the country for painting, ate dinner with Mamie at night (who loved Dennis especially because he made her homemade potholders which she proceeded to hang right up on the wall), and just generally enjoyed being back together again. I can’t believe it’s already over and that we’ve said goodbye again, but it’s the last goodbye for a long time because once break starts it’ll be hard to keep us apart :) hooray! Thanks for visiting Dennis, and thank you to both our families - who bought tickets, drove to airports and made this happen, yay!


So after Dennis’ visit I’m back to real life in Aix, which meant a presentation in Art Crit which went really well followed by a field trip to Arles (yes, again). This time Le Mistral (the wind here has a name it’s so bad!) was out in full force. I spent most of the day eating my hair because it kept hitting me in the face. It was a fun, long day though. And after Arles we had another potluck dinner with Marchutz at my friend Mary’s apartment which is always a good time – gotta love family! Anyways, this time in Arles I explored some new things! We visited the Roman Arena which was spectacular. It was built in the 1st and 2nd centuries and could hold from 20,000-30,000 people. Woah! We also spent time in the Roman Theatre which is the oldest monument in the town. The Tragic Vision class which also came on the field trip performed a short part of an act by Sophocles. The Republic Square holds a giant obelisk, Saint-Trophime church and then town hall clock tower. We also explored a museum with lots of relics and ended the day with touring the archaeological site of Glanum. It was fun walking through the ruins of a civilization past and envisioning their way of life and its stark contrast to ours.
Four more days until departing for Giverny, Paris and seeing my Momma! I can’t wait to see another friendly face from home (Sorry Nicole that I’m stealing Mom for Halloween, I promise to spend Halloween with everyone next year!). Time to review some more for midterms, although in all honesty I don’t think they’re going to be terribly difficult compared to Gettysburg exams.

Merde, Smoke & Van Gogh

Dennis arrives today! And his flight is arriving later than planned, so in an effort to pass the time until I leave for the bus more effectively, I’ll update all of you on my observations, my life in France & field trips!


Observations:

The French might not be fat, but they’re going to die of lung cancer. Okay – huge generalization, I know, but it’s what I experience every day. I’ve seen two (only two) obese people since I’ve gotten here. And that includes trips to neighboring French towns – and I’ve been to a lot of places so far! In America you see overweight people at least once a day if you adventure out to the malls or supermarkets. And I think the secret to their skinniness here is that they walk everywhere. I’m serious. I play sports, Ultimate kicks my butt into really good shape, and even still my legs are sore after walking around here. I have leg muscles in my thighs that I didn’t even know existed! Not to mention I live in the center of a valley and I walk uphill to Marchutz and uphill to the main campus in town at least once every day. Lots of walking = new leg muscles = losing weight? That’s right (and don’t worry mom!) but I’ve gone down two belt sizes since getting here because of getting toned up. I’m not even trying! I run twice a week just to clear my head and because the park here is beautiful, but without working out a lot I’m still losing weight. I think it’s because they use sugar here instead of corn syrup in everything (so you’re not drinking carbs), I’m not eating processed foods and all the walking. To top it all off the French smoke – a lot. I’m thinking maybe because they’re smoking they’re occupied and eat less? I don’t know. All I know if they’re in good shape from walking so much but that their lungs probably look like the inside of a truck which lays tar. I am looking forward to the States where you don’t walk through a cloud of smoke when entering buildings. But after being here over a month I’m getting used to the smell and can even identify different kinds of tobacco being smoked (gross, but true!).

Poop. It’s still everywhere - on the sidewalks, on the curb, in the road, on the lawn, at your feet, under your shoes and stinking up your nose. While walking around Arles yesterday on a field trip periodically you’d hear one of us Marchutz kids yell out, “Watch the merde!” Which roughly translates to, “Watch the shit.” You can’t avoid it, the best you can do is be aware of where it is and try not to step in it (and make good friends who rescue you right when you’re about the walk into it!). Living here is an assault on the nose. You’re either smelling smoke, shit or really yummy food. Only one of those is appetizing to me!

Life Updates:

Classes are still going really well. My studio art courses, which are 3-4 hour long studio sessions Monday-Thursday and a 4 hour Seminar on Fridays, are AMAZING. Our professors are very intelligent, extremely giving with their time, and completely devoted to their students. They’re willing to spend out of classroom time with us getting coffee and talking about our pieces and what we can do to better ourselves. We’re always being given new reading materials to enrich our knowledge of the art world. But the best part is they lead by example. Everything we’re doing they’ve done before. They participate in the seminars (and serve coffee and homemade tea too, yum!), they come out the country with us when we paint from the motif (or direct observation from nature) and they’re there with us at L’Office de Tourisme at 7:30 am to take a chartered bus to our field trip destinations. When one of us was sick John (one of the profs) ran next door to where he lives next to the studio and asked his wife what medicine my friend should take to feel better. They had some on hand so they brought it right over to him. My professors in the states have never administered medicine to me…it’s hard enough getting the health center to test for mono when you’re clearly withering away in front of them! It’s great the amount of caring they show for us. They really are the Poppa Ducks, and we follow those two around the cities just trying to soak up as much knowledge as we can from them in this short semester we have. Sometimes we fancy ourselves the baby dicks because a lot of the time we’re following our professors around single file…like little baby ducks. These professors are less professors and more colleagues, which makes for an exciting and stimulating work environment. I can’t wait to get painting again on Monday!

ML is still as wonderful as ever. She’s the sweetest, most kind and generous woman. And she’s still cooking great food! I’ve had homemade quiche, apple pie (well she didn’t call it that, but that’s what it tasted like! But not as good as my mom’s apple pie, that’s for sure!), casseroles, pastas and everything else under the sun. And after every meal we have cheese and bread. So I’ve learned to not eat to my capacity during the main meal because they’re still more to come! Sometimes after dinner I’m so full that I just lie on my bed for a couple minutes. But 10 minutes later I’m hungry again because all of this walking has my metabolism revved up! Also, thanks mom and dad for the care package with the coffee! We alternate now between her coffee and mine in the mornings. It’s very nice to wake up in the am (and because she wakes up earlier than me most days) with the coffee smelling delicious and knowing that it’s going to taste yummy too. They say smell is your greatest sense in terms of remembering things, and when I sit and drink my coffee here – if I close my eyes and smell the steam I feel like I’m at home, sitting in dad’s spot on the coach, about to watch some morning news before school. It’s great.

Field Trips:

Yesterday we explored the small town of Arles and then the institution at St. Remy. Both towns are about an hour and an hour and a half north of Aix. We went to at least six different motifs (or exact locations) from which Van Gogh (YES THE VAN GOGH!!) painted and drew his landscapes. Mom, I saw the place that he looked at when he painted the two pieces we have in our house – Momma House you have the same one hung in your bedroom too! How cool is that? One of the paintings has a little sampling of a tree portrayed in it, and we got to go to that same location and saw that little sapling grown up into a towering, tall tree! It was so neat. Standing where he stood and seeing what he saw, well now I know what all of the Impressionist artists are talking about when they refer to the light here. Because le Mistral (the wind here) is so impressive it blows all of the clouds out of the sky and lets in the most beautiful and pure sunlight I’ve ever seen. But you know that when you see clouds here that you should probably find shelter because when it rains – it pours. Two nights ago we had a thunderstorm which was so loud and so intense that it pulled me out of a very deep sleep. The thunder shook the building and the lightning felt like the paparazzi was taking over my bedroom.

Photos from the Vaucluse Field Trip with Marchutz

My second field trip of the semester, but my first with Marchutz. We explored the Vaucluse - hiked through the woods, learned about architecture, visited a monastery, has a picnic lunch & so much more! I think, after this trip, we officially became the Marchutz family.

"I feel like I've gained six sisters and three brothers." -Katherine
I totally agree.

Puppies & Babies. Seen but not heard.

I’d say, in general, in the United States that people are pretty tolerant of babies. And dogs are allowed to live in the house, the yard, in the park & around the neighborhood on walks. Babies go everywhere, and as long as they’re well behaved it’s okay. Well, here it’s the opposite. Dogs are everywhere. Walking along the streets without leashes, running all around the park while their owners’ sit and chat, pooping everywhere (no one picks up their dog’s poop…ick), under the table at cafés & everywhere else imaginable. I like that the dogs are such a prominent part of this society because they are so well behaved. I’ve been here three weeks, I’ve seen countless dogs, and I heard a dog bark for the first time two days ago! I was surprised because the dogs here don’t make any noise! They mind their own business, walk near their owners and generally just look cute.

Babies, however, are supposed to be seen and not heard here. But babies are babies and they’re not always quiet. The only babies I’ve seen (and that’s about 3) have been asleep in their strollers. The only exception was a baby at a gallery whom the parents dared to bring out in public. The baby wasn’t screaming or anything (Mel & Em – think of the babies on our flight to FL – not nearly as bad as that!); it was just making baby noises. And everyone in the building shot sidelong glances and some others blatantly death-stared at the parents and baby. Needless to say, they didn’t see the whole exhibit. Now I understand babies shouldn’t really be in art exhibits because they’re quiet affairs, but this is just an extreme example of people not liking babies when they’re in public. I very rarely see babies. And the small children I do see outside of the park are like little adults. Emily, you’d like children here. They’re miniaturized adults, clothing – mannerisms – everything…they’re just much shorter. I do see kids being, well kids according to the American sense of the word, at the park. They run around, play games, play with the dogs & are adorable.

Moral of the story: If you’re a dog in Aix it’s more likely that people will be happy to see you at a restaurant than if you’re a baby. And if you’re a baby, you better be quiet – seen and not heard, baby.

In other news:

Us very cool kids of the Marchutz School of Vision started landscapes today! We were driven out into the beautiful, breathtaking countryside of Aix-en-Provence where we started our work. And guess what we could see? Mount Saint Victoire. Yes, the mountain Cezanne painted and Picasso admired (also the mountain I'm hiking this Friday with some friends). I'm painting where the greats have, and it's exhilarating! Today while drawing I turned to my friend, Mary, and asked her if this was really happening. It all still seems so surreal. But I'm trying to appreciate every day here because this experience is going quickly and I'm loving every minute of it.

ML's cooking continues to amaze and satisfy me on a daily basis. Tonight was homemade soup, fresh bread & this new dish! It was ground beef on the bottom layer of the casserole, then onions and cheese and finally mashed potatoes on the top. It was all put in the oven so the potatoes were nice and warm and baked a little. It was perfection. And I ate so much! But that's easy to do here because lunches are light and I spend most of my day walking.

This is the view from where I sit doing my landscapes with Marchutz.

Yea, I still can't believe I'm here either!