Niaux and Minerve

So work has been keeping me fairly busy the last couple weeks. The artists from the last fortnight are gone as of today but with them I was luck enough to head out on a couple excursions to places in the area I hadn't seen yet (which by the way are still numerous). On my birthday May 13th, I went with the guests to Niaux its a bit of a drive I think I fell asleep for most of it (I was not driving!) Here are some of the oldest cave paintings in the world discovered fairly recently (the 70s) although it is apparent that locals had known about them for centuries as there is graffiti all along the inner cave walls dating back as far as 1602. 

 A Picture of Niaux.

 Now we weren't actually allowed to take photos once inside the cave in order to help preserve the art. As a matter of fact it was very strict, we had to use special flash lights, and at the art points we had to al turn our lights off and in the dark trust our guide to find the one single lamp she would use to show us the art. The drawings are spectacular and quite complex which is why they are so famous. Many of the other cave art that has been found dating back to the Palaeolithic era is rather simplistic at least in comparison, consisting primarily of stick figures and animals.  He in Grotte de Niaux however the art is only in specific areas of the cave, where the echo is particularly crisp. Likely this indicated a spiritual connection between the art and music. Not to mention why the art is so deep in the cave and not at the entrance where the people would have sought brief refuge, clearly the location was well thought out. Further more it appears as though the artists used the forms and lines of the natural cave wall to create shape, texture line and perspective in their own art, as if they saw the animal in the wall before they began to paint it (as though the spirit of the animal was already there). Part of the cave can only be accessed by diving under water and so I did not see the whole thing there is a very famous muskrat on the other side. It is curious because all the other animals in almost all cave painting of this era (including Niaux) are of large powerful animals such as the buffalo or horses.
One last thing that makes Niaux paintings interesting is that we know they were not depicting everyday life. There seems to be a higher purpose of thought that went into the work. There are almost never any people, and if there are it is blurry clearly having almost no attention paid to the painting of them in comparison to the care in painting the animals. Not to mention there are no corrections, no attempts at making an animal, everyone who was allowed to draw on the wall knew how to draw the animals already and were well practiced before entering the cave. It is likely that shaman or spiritual leaders were the ones coming in to paint, why and to what end we can never know.
Not all the work can be carbon dated but of what can it is known that the works were painted over 1000s of years.

 So after the excitement of my birthday, which was fabulous by the way, I was back at the hotel working. That was until Thursday night of this week so the 22nd, Kristina (just back from cycling in Spain) and I got to tag along to Minerve. Minerve is an absolutely breath taking little town that was once home of a heavily fortified castle held by the Cathars. The Cathars had built a bridge to connect their high up fortress to the river below so that in seige the would be safe from attack and still have water. Unfortunatly the enemy brought catepolts and destroyed the bridge to water, eventually flushed them out and destroyed and pillaged everyone and thing in sight. Yet much of the charm and delight still remains and the medieval homes still stand. There were several sweet artisan shops and little cafes.

 Here is Kristina in front of the town. I had a picture of me somewhere I know its on my instagram if I find it I will add it in later.

...found it 

Then for dinner we went with the guests to a nearby little studio restaurant where the guests had some horribly un-vegan spanish dish with rice and chicken and sausage and crayfish and all other kinds of meat. Lucky for my I got salad, rice, veggies, nuts and olives so I was happy too and it was very delicious:)

May 11th, 12th, 13th: Mother's Day, Bad News, and My Birthday

So this last week has been a busy one for me, not only am I working at the hotel hosting a group of 11 artists (all wonderful people) here working on watercolour I also had a couple events in my own personal life. First of course last sunday was Mother's day, I Skyped my mom from France, I didn't officially get her anything so I'll have to make it up to her with dinner when I get back to Saskatoon, however I did find out that on the 13th my gifts I picked up in Giverny and I sent for my parents and brothers from Limoux finally arrived:)

So Happy belated Mother's Day to my wonderful mom who loves me with all her heart even if I cheer for the Yankees and not the Mets or Blue Jays:P

Seriously though you rock and I can't wait for you and Dad to visit!

Then on the morning of the 12th came some very sad news, After having shared her Mother's Day surrounded by family and loved ones my Great Grandmother Opal passed away quietly in her sleep at 97. She was one of the most remarkable people anyone could meet and will be so sorely missed. I am glad that she passed away peacefully with no pain, she never suffered with her mind as so many do in their late years and she was still doing so much independently including writing cards and letters to family and friends. Not many people make it to 97 with such sharp wits about them but she was blessed with a clear mind, a big heart and great longevity. I am very sad I will miss her viewing and funeral and will have to visit her grave next to my great-grandfather's in Moose Jaw when I get home.

Here is one of my favourite pictures of my Grandmother and I, this one was taken just last December at her 97th Birthday Party. I have some at home of her holding me as a baby that I wish I could share but unfortunately they are not on my computer.

After hearing the news of my Great Grandma I found myself in poor spirits for planning my own little birthday here in Limoux and since I hadn't really told anyone about my birthday I figured I'd just have a quite normal day to myself no fuss. However, I must have at some point let something slip to Kristina since when I went for my run in the evening I came home to a dinning room full of wonderful people and a big Vegan Chocolate Cake for me (the Cake was amazing btw and curtesy of Einat, I must steal her recipe)! 

In July I'm tasked with making Einat's cake so I'll have to try and one up her! 

So here is a picture of my fabulous card from my Family back home!

And here is a picture of everyone at my place waiting for me to get back from my run, since they were surprising me I didn't know I was supposed to be home, so I wasn't! I guess while waiting they all played a game of inventing theories for my absence including a secret lover, or that I was out at the bar partying! They said the fact that the only thing missing from my room was my runners was a good give away for where I was. 

Last Day in London: Museums, Cat Cafe and Abbey Road

My last day in London was beautiful weather. My first stop was the  Somerset House to the the Courtauld Gallery. A small collection that houses some of the worlds most famous art work. 

 This is the Somerset House, in the winter they put up a big skating rink in he middle of the court yard.

 In spring and summer as you can see the courtyard is a fountain with little cafes spilling out of their shops.

 See what I mean, very very famous work.

 Degas

 Manet

 Van Gogh

 Seurat

 Toulouse-Lautrec

 Cezanne (My favorite artist)

 Pissarro

 Picasso 

 Kees Van Dongen ( a new discover for me but I loved his tonality, stroke and play of colour)

 Kandinsky (always a pleasure to see)

 I loved this piece by Leon Kossoff I had never seen his work before but the way he uses the paint, so thick, it almost blurs the lines between painting and sculpture as he used the paint to build up form, dimension and complexity, the piece has almost become 3 dimensional. Its remarkable.

 Then I headed to the Charles Dickens Museum which exists in one of his homes during his life London.

 Kitchens used to keep Hedgehogs to eat and keep out bugs. Who knew.

 The old washing machine, the water would be heated by the stove underneath and then stirred by a big wooden spoon essentially.

 The wine cellar

 His study containing his own personal collection of books.

The Children and servants floor. 

 Charles Dickens Father.

 After this I met up with Steph, which was no easy task due to the Tube strike that was one, I got horribly thrown off and it took me about 2 hours to get back:S Anyways, I found my way and the two of us headed out for my personal favourite place in the whole world, A Cat Cafe. Yes, that is right, a cafe of tea and cake (even Vegan options) and cats roaming freely for you to play and cuddle with :) I was so SO happy here. I plan on opening my own in Saskatoon now!

 The Furniture was amazing everything was set up for the happiness and freedom of the cats including this creative shelving unit. I got some great ideas for my future house when I am an old crazy cat lady.

 Mmm my Vegan Lemon Cake was soo good I had two!

 I loved this ones facial markings sooo cute!

 So annoyed I disturbed him from his slumber!

 Soakin up the sun rays:)

 After the Cat museum we headed to Abbey Road (since it was my last day I was really trying to cram everything in at the last minute)

 Me a walkin on the cross walk:)

 The Studios

That concluded my awesome trip to London, that night I ordered pizza for everyone at Steph's flat as a thank you and the next morning caught a cab at 4:30 am and was on my way back to Limoux.