La Cascade
is our 17th century house situated in a tiny medieval village in southern
France. It lies nestled between a mountain river and the steep walls of a gorge. The village fans out
of the gorge onto rich surrounding planes which have been fought over by a succession of Francs,
Romans, Franco-Romans, Vikings, etc. Peace came to the area with the rise of a mysterious dissident
Catholic sect called the Cathars, who were unfortunately wiped out by papal decree in the 12th century.
Durfort is presently occupied by artisans whose families have been making copper vessels since the 13th century. The name Durfort can be translated as “hard and strong”. You can still hear the ring of hammers on copper in the narrow streets. The shops in the village sell little other than copperware, because the name of the remaining copper atelier is famous and people come from all over France to buy copper pots and pans in Durfort. I was thrilled to discover that our neighbor is a master martineur, or copper hammerer. Our address is 27 Rue des Martineurs.
I had fallen in love with this unspoiled corner of France during past visits, so when my husband, Jerry,
and I saw a large house for sale at a price we could afford we went ahead and put the whole thing on a
credit card. Although it was a little hard not to be turned away by the dismal state of an interior that
reeked of feral cats and was in a serious state of disrepair, we put on our rose colored glasses and
envisioned a house filled with light, color and joy. It took a lot of stubborn denial to overcome the
doubts expressed by well meaning friends, doubts that mirrored our own. Nevertheless, we had faith in
Remi, a skilled restorer of old stone buildings. Working together, we were able to turn a ruin into
the gracious retreat La Cascade is today. To achieve this miracle, doors were knocked through three
foot walls, piles of old plaster were tediously chiseled away to reveal old stonework, new floors
were laid with old tiles. Where there was no plumbing, plumbing was installed, likewise with wiring,
bathrooms and kitchen. The studio, which is now a bright, cheerful room, once looked like a set for
a horror movie.
We named the house La Cascade after the lively little waterfall that spills over a sluice gate facing
the back of the house. It fills the rooms with its music and when I go to sleep at night I hear voices in
its complex medley of rumbles and splashings. La Cascade, a large three-story house, sleeps eight (not
counting our own apartment on the top floor), has a couple of riverside terraces, a cozy stonewalled
living room and a large sky-lit studio. Although the house is on a typical medieval village street,
once you’re inside; it’s a world unto itself. Across the river the hillside rises dramatically creating
a dense backdrop of tangled brush and chestnut trees with their luminously pale blossoms. The houses on
our street, when viewed from the front, present well-maintained facades, but the backs of the houses tell
the real story with their exposed stone walls and huge beams blackened by time. The hydrangeas that flourish
amply along the banks of the river add a theatrical touch to the ramshackle charm of the old gardens. One of
my favorite memories is of a glimpse I had of a woman seated on a chair on a tiny island in the middle of the
river. It was a hot afternoon and she was reading, feet in water, under the shade of an old black umbrella
which was tied to the back of her chair.
Because Durfort is listed as a medieval town, the facades of the houses must retain the character of the region and the period in which the house was built. The shutters had to be blue, green or brown. I like the way soft green shutters accent the warm shades of the local stone from which La Cascade is built. It seemed that centuries of old paint that was burned from the window frames and shutters before they could be repainted. By the end of the summer the planters were brimming with bright red geraniums.
Another
before and after picture. Remi is standing in the same corner that my writing desk presently occupies
along with treasures I’ve found in local vide greniers, or flea markets. La Cascade is full of the eccentricities
that I’ve found in the vide greniers that are held in local villages. Each season I find something new to collect
like, workmen’s lunchboxes, puppets, or old student workbooks for collages.
I taught
my first workshop in the new studio that summer. I didn’t realize how much effect the light and color
would have on us, how much it would become part of us and show up in our work. This workshop was based on
individual coaching and represented a break from my old teaching style. The goal for this year’s class is the
same as last year’s, to create an individual look upon which to build a collection.
This year Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes will teach their latest wizardry with polymer clay, Diane Culhane will teach her whimsical, multilayered style of painting, Susan Lenart Kazmer her powerful mixed media totemic jewelry as well as a return of Dayle Doroshow and her rich offering of mixed media techniques and Victoria Vieira’s French class for francophiles.
Meanwhile, to remind ourselves we’re in France, we take pictures of barrels of olives in the farmer’s market, bins of vintage postcards in a flea market, the narrow cobblestone streets of a mountain village devoted to books and architecture mellowed by time. The pictures we take on outings will kindle nostalgia for days of sun and laughter once we return, but the real value of a creative retreat at La Cascade is a deeper understanding of yourself as artist.
France | About La Cascade | Driving to La Cascade | Workshops
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| Photos by Arlene Finocchiaro | ||