La Cascade: Pietra Dura Retreat
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ART RETREAT WEEK IN FRANCE: BIENVENUE a LA CASCADE! Welcome to La Cascade, Provence for a glorious late summer art retreat! ABOUT OUR WORKSHOP INTENSIVES Our classes are limited to small groups so each of you will get plenty of attention. This also means they fill up quickly, so when you know this is the trip for you, put down your deposit so you have a space! Studio workshops are in the morning. The rest of the day is up to you. You may go off exploring on wonderful afternoon field trips. You can also choose to stay in the studio or relax. There are a variety of lovely, very French experiences nearbye to make this a sensory delight for you! Our candlelight dinners are often held on the terrace under the stars. Our chef buys fresh produce from the Revel market where local farmers have been bringing their produce since the 14 century! In the evening there is local jazz, just relaxing on the terrace or playing in the studio, which is open 24 hours a day. ABOUT LA CASCADE: Gwen Gibson's wonderfully renovated French retreat center: Our address is 27 Rue des Martineurs, 81540-Dufort, France. The phone number at La Cascade is (011) 33 5 63 50 81 09. Please remind people you give the number to of the time difference; France is 9 hours ahead of west coast time and 6 hours ahead of east coast time. La Cascade is in the quiet village of Durfort, an artisan village that's been producing copper vessels since medieval times. Life is slow and peaceful. The noisy motorbikes that destroy the peace of many French towns are rare in Durfort. Perhaps it’s because troughs of running water that were once used to temper copper vessels run down the middle of the back streets. We are part of the life there and do our best not to disrupt a way of life that hasn’t changed much for five hundred years. La Cascade, at number 27 Rue des Martineurs (Street of the Copper Beaters), was built in the mid 18th century. The houses in this area have been built in the same way from the medieval times up until the 20th century. They are made of local stone, mud and wattle, or straw. And Gwen's house has been restored beautifully; honoring its history and adding modern facilities. Thank you, Gwen! There's a large studio on the third floor. There are four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen, of course, for the fabulous French food. There are also a newly renovated living room and a large outdoor terrace. Outdoor terraces go right down to the river! Altogether there's room for eight people to live and work comfortably. ABOUT DURFORT Durfort is a historical town in the department of the Tarn, incidentally where the film Chocolat was filmed. Our town is adjacent to a national park that takes in a huge area of forested mountains, and lakes. The road that follows the gorge uphill out of town passes several old mills and waterfalls. At the foot of the village, the land opens up into a rolling patchwork of fields that turn gold with sunflowers in July. The Pyrenees Mountains are not far to the south. There is a rich religious history here: during the 11th and 12th centuries, this region practiced Catharism, an ascetic form of Christianity. This was considered heretical by the Catholic Church, which wiped out the Cathars in the Albignesian crusade. Today, the ancient Cathars are admired for their courage and values of community, tolerance and independence. Albi, a nearbye town, was one of the major centers of Catharism. The amazing Cathedral there, along with the Toulouse Lautrec Museum, makes for a wonderful visit. And Carcasonne, the great fortress town restored by Violet le Duc in the 1800's, is under an hour’s drive away and well worth the visit. There are many wonderful historical, creative, and spiritual places all around this area, and I will tell you more about those as we go along, so you can plan field trips with your friends! PLANNING YOUR TRIP Once you’ve decided that this La Cascade art retreat is for you, you’ll want to know more about getting there, what to bring, car rentals, and insurance. Many questions are answered below. For anything else, please email me at victoria@toryhughes.com FLIGHTS TO TOULOUSE Toulouse, France is your final destination. Your first touchdown in Europe will probably be London, Amsterdam, Munich or Paris, where you’ll pick up a short flight to Toulouse. When booking your flight, allow enough time between flights to go through the airport procedures. I usually plan about an hour and a half. I will be sending more detailed information about booking your flights to answer more of your questions. Please plan to arrive between 12- 5 pm so we can travel as a group from the airport to La Cascade. GROUND TRANSPORTATION ARRIVAL To and from the airport: Durfort is about 70 km from Toulouse, approximately one and a quarter hour’s drive. Everyone should meet at the airport between 12 and 5pm on the arrival date. Rental cars will be picked up and we will piggyback to La Cascade together. The dates listed as the workshop dates reflect the arrival day and the departure day. Please don’t book a flight until you have the “Go Ahead and Book Your Flight” note from me! DEPARTURE Please don’t book a flight out before 10:00 AM on departure day unless you have your own transportation to the airport. Alternately, you may choose stay in Toulouse the evening before, if you must leave early\. CAR RENTAL Students get together to share the rental of cars for each workshop. This makes it possible to visit the many points of interest within driving distance of Durfort. When split between the class, a car rental is quite affordable. Often two cars for the group should be enough. Car rental prices vary considerably. Pay with a credit card that covers collision and injury rather than buy it from the auto provider. The European diesel auto is quieter and more powerful that the ones in the U.S. They’re also more efficient, and diesel is cheaper than gasoline. If you book through Europe by Car, “Citer” at Toulouse airport will provide the car. Europe by Car ( www.europebycar.com ). Auto Europe is another choice. INSURANCE Insurance is a requirement for staying at La Cascade. This covers trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delay, baggage loss, baggage delay, emergency medical expenses, rental car damage, and air flight accident. We usually use CSA Vacation Guarantee, telephone 800-348-9505 LOCAL SERVICES SHOPPING People come from all over France to buy the beautiful, reasonably priced copper ware for which Durfort is famous. The shops in the village sell copper ware, glass and leather products. If you want to buy almost anything else, you need to go to Soreze, the next village one kilometer away or Revel, 5 kilometers away, where you can find almost anything you’ll need. You can buy an international phone card at a tabac in neighboring Soreze to use at the public phone right near the house. They are easy to use and a good bargain at 7.50 euro for a one hour card. BASICS Utile Market in Soreze: Food, post cards, maps, film, magazines, French newspapers, Fax, copier, wine, and deli. Boulangeries in Soreze: There are three boulangeries in Soreze, the main one is on the square. Tabac in Soreze and Revel: Writing supplies, phone cards, stamp, envelopes, copies, and postcards. Open all hours except lunch. Bank, Credit Agricole, in Soreze: ATM outside is open everyday, all hours English newspapers in Revel at Presse Tabac on the main square. Internet Café in Revel Photo Processing in Revel: Sarda on the north west side of the square. FINAL PREPARATIONS Make sure to notify your credit cards of the dates that you will be spending abroad. One year Gwen forgot and both her debit and credit cards were blocked. Check well in advance that your passport is current and bring a second photo ID, like your drivers license. You don’t need a special license to drive in Europe. Remember to bring prescriptions and specific medical information. Dayle recommends bringing an extra set of glasses, just in case. Plan your packing carefully to get the most use from your space: All you really need is one skirt (optional), one/two pair of slacks, one sweater, one light jacket, a light blouse, a few tee shirts, and a pair of walking shoes. The bedrooms are up one flight of stairs; the studio is on the third floor You’ll receive a short materials list at least 8 weeks before the workshop. You will receive a list of your classmates so you can arrange for cars and just chat about our adventure. PAYMENT DETAILS The retreat itself costs $1700. which covers the class, lodging, and most food. A $500 deposit will reserve your place. The remainder is due by August 1st. If the workshop is cancelled your deposit will be returned in full. If you cancel by July 1, $250 of your deposit will be returned to you. After the final payment due date, August 1, your workshop fee will be returned only if you or I can find someone to take your place. BON VOYAGE! This will be an extraordinary class. I am so looking forward to seeing you there! Anything I can do to help, let me know. I am full of gratitude to Dayle Doroshow and Gwen Gibson for their inspiration, encouragement, and all the love and work they have put in to making classes at La Cascade the marvelous experience that they are! Merci beaucoups, mes cheries. See you in September- Victoria mailto:victoria@toryhughes.comhttp://www.europebycar.comshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
LA CASCADE RETREAT: PIETRA DURA in Polymer Clay Take Home a Little Bit of France! Tory Hughes teaches her new imitative technique in an inspirational setting. September 22-29 La Cascade, Durfort, France 7 days, $1700. In this magical class with Tory Hughes you will learn her brand-new imitative technique in polymer clay: Pietra Dura. And you'll be staying at Gwen Gibson's renovated historic home, “La Cascade” - The Waterfall - in Durfort, a lovely medieval town whose roots stretch back through to the Roman days. Your studio days are softly surrounded by the sound of the waterfall outside, and your evenings filled with good Fench food and the company of other artists. This ripe, rich adventure in art and culture will stay with you forever! You’ll create brooches with compelling small images, made by inlaying imitative materials. You'll use native earths and local materials with your polymer, incorporating Provence herself into your jewelry. You’ll have access to pigments, spices, and ochres from the region to texture and color your inlays. You'll create images for these brooches from what you see during your week here. We’ll go on photographic safaris to capture the evanscent sensuality and glowing light of Provence in the late summer. Your evocative images will make little paintings that embody your time here. And you'll take your inspirations and experiences home, as a little bit of France goes home with you! This weeklong retreat combines morning studio time with optional afternoon field trips: you can tailor your time here to the precise blend of studio time and local exploration that most suits you. We'll spend a week cultivating all our senses, making art with Tory Hughes in an intimate class-room setting. Only eight people will be taking this class, so that we all have space to create and relax. The fee covers instruction, double rooms, most meals, and the intangible allure of southern France in the late summer! This famously artistic region is rich with history and beauty. There are wonderful walks, adventures large and small, and quiet studio time to integrate all you are learning. Flea markets, local fruit and vegetable markets - the harvest is coming up! - markets full of handicrafts, small restauraunts and cafes, unusual shops, treasures everywhere! We'll enjoy classic French food, often outside on the terrace over the river, or on sun-filled picnics. We'll laugh and play, and learn new things about polymer, design, and creative action. The art of pietra dura is a centuries-old process that gathers and assembles perfectly shaped pieces of semi-precious stone, to create astonishing small 'paintings'. By carefully attending to the unique variations of color and shading in each stone, these artists made sumptuous precious miniatures of geometric forms, landscapes, flowers, and other natural scenes. You will learn to recreate this process, just as beautifully and much more easily, using polymer clay laminae, or layers, that are carefully shaped and embedded in a matrix. You'll learn how to design for this specific technical approach, and translate what you see into elegant images for your jewelry. On our explorations of this wonderful region, we'll see so many beautiful things: vistas, houses, fruits and vegetables in the marketplace, hills and valleys and trees- all full of esthetic inspiration for you. You'll make a brooch or pendant that represents something you saw while you were here, so that wherever you go, you’ll take a little bit of your time at La Cascade with you! This is a one-of-a-kind retreat experience, combining the visual and physical charms of this unique place with new technical information. You'll leave with tangible objects that link you to the magic of an intangible experience! To register or with questions, email me victoria@toryhughes.com and also look at www.gwengibson.com/workshops.htm mailto:victoria@toryhughes.comhttp://www.gwengibson.com/workshops.htmshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1