The Energy of Ending

The last few days here we took some time for looking back at our hopes when we arrived, and our actual experiences. One day we gathered together in the studio in the village and showed the work we produced and talked about our processes. It was really the first time that we had discussed our artwork. I have taken over 2,000 photos and for some reason nobody wanted to sit through a slide show! These are several of the paintings I did. Interestingly, in living in a place saturated with color I did not use color in anything I painted here.

Karen and Annette were the first to leave on Monday morning, but the energy of the ending was with us way before that. Raya left Tuesday, Pat and Cheryl headed out today, and here I am alone in the compound, sitting in the sun with my laptop. I love the sounds here. There's a far off tinkle of cowbells, and tractors are in the fields. The occasional car drives by, but the most prevalent sounds are birdcalls.

Today I went back to Foix, and lugged my camera up a thousand steps to photograph the graffiti carved in the old stone walls. I took the scenic drive back, on a one lane road winding through tiny villages of old stone houses with wrought iron balconies draped in heavy wisteria. I had the windows down and the wisteria and lilac took turns filling the car with their sweet aromas.

I brought home a bouquet of wildflowers, blue ones, yellow ones, and a handfull of glorious red poppies. I've placed it on the tile table, so I can enjoy it while I eat my dinner of everything left in the refrigerator. The energy of ending has filled this house.