Wild Yellow Iris at Farfa/Tevere Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/paper 17 x 25" 41 x 63cm
Window on via Margutta Blair Pessemier acrylic/panel 18 x 12" 45 x 30cm
Fun on the Grass Vescovio Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas panel 10 x 14" 25 x 35cm
Just Kids Vescovio Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvaspanel 12 x 18" 30 x 45cm
Ancient Stone Bench Vescovio Blair Pessemier 18 x 12" 45 x 30cm
For the first time in twenty years, we are not going to the
USA for the summer. I get a twitch in my
throat every time I think of Hemlock Lodge without us: no dinners on the glassed-in porch; no bird
mobile; no art show on the porch; no swimming in Highland Lake. Hemlock Lodge was like deluxe camping, and as
long as my father was alive, we could go to his house and take a shower or wait
out the rain. But last summer was more
difficult, and Harika will be 12 human years old in less than a month, travel
by air for her has never been easy.
Before you run to fetch your hanky, let me say we are taking
a vacation – by car. We’re heading to the
beach in Brittany to see friends, and then spending a couple of weeks in
Paris. We’ll visit the old haunts and find
new ones in a different neighborhood. We’ll make day trips here and there and paint
up a storm.
I just read in a sample of a book I am buying: “one of the gifts of being (an artist) is
that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore.” We can travel with a sense of purpose. You
can enjoy the results.
We are having the “Ave Maria” show at Vescovio at the moment,
ending Sunday. I must say it has had the
most gracious and wonderful visitors, and I feel terrific about the
experience. Vescovio is much more than a
church – although it is an ANCIENT church were St. Peter is reputed to have
said a mass. We are situated in a room
by the bell tower and monastery, with our own generous and very visible
entry. The room is littered with old
statues missing their heads and bits of masonry which toppled from the 10th
century church in various earthquakes.
There are several acres of manicured grounds where children play,
teenagers pose, parents watch and old folks perch throughout the day. There is a gelato shop and a restaurant where
they cook on an open grille. A path
winds by us to the top of a hill where there are pre-10th century
ruins. Harika likes it. I feel lucky to be there.
After trying to meditate for many years, I seem to have
finally made some headway this week. Of
course, this comes after having a meltdown and realizing I have to get my
imagination under control. I am thankful
to the internet for various free introductions, and innumerable youtube videos
which inspire. I hope to die with a
greatly evolved brain.
So, right now, we’re packing our bathing suits from
Stimigliano to go up to Rocca Malatina.
They had snow there just a week ago, but we will not be daunted. I am going to build sculptures for my
climbing roses, and to foil Ludovico, our gardener. I will invest in tools. I’d like a swimming pool but may have to
settle for the Panaro River.
