Roxanne: Today I’m handing over the reins (pen/tablet) to my hubby Ron. He’s been here in France with me at this Artist in Residence program at Chateau Orquevaux. We applied together so we could work on a book project together; his writings/meditations and my illustrations. This particular essay is the 15th in our series of ‘seeking peace through artistic pursuits’. (Our working title of the book is still evolving as we progress through the month).

flower rockets

arc across the morning view -

Come outside to play!

This haiku moment was experienced in a cottage near Chateau Orquevaux, France as we looked at the view Sunday morning, July 17, 2022. (Ron Steed)

Ron: A movie-favorite of ours is A Room with a View [1]. It’s a visual feast, and while Lucy Honeychurch’s predicaments and passions make for a good prose, it is just the fact of travel that comes to mind.

Roxanne’s painting depicts the window’s morning view during our travels to Orquevaux, France. Here, butterfly bushes, full-bloomed, arc across the scene like fiery rockets pointing the way. Morning sun casts in the distance, and the road curves with a look back at us… “Won’t you come out and play?”

In this time of COVID, play seems like the last thing we can risk. We still feel travel-friction, the pandemic having turned it all higgledy-piggledy. Now fully-immunized, with COVID-outcomes waining a bit, the travel atmosphere seems something more like molasses and less like concrete. But, there are other fearsomes; war in Ukraine and a raft of craziness in the U.S., so the temptation is strong to stay home-bodied.

But we took a breath together, closed our eyes; and did it. Why? Un petit mystere…

We’re doing something special; a month-long artist-residency at Chateau Orquevaux in the Champaign region of France. It is pure pleasure and a liberation from the mundane worries of living at home. We leave a little cottage in the morning, returning late at night. We have a studio to work in, and a fabulous group of other artists who are magnificently inspiring. Both of us have been making art every single day, living in the flow-of-the-moment. When darkness arrives at the late summer-hour, we wonder where the day went.

And we’re both changing; moving in fresh and surprisingly creative directions, with watercolor and with prose. We did not know where the work would take us when we arrived, and we still don’t know where it is headed, but the fact of being-taken-for-a-ride is thrilling and playful. There is a freedom that comes with going to a far-away place for creative work. We’re able to focus without the distractions of life imposing its will on us. And, we’re immersed with people who not only inspire, but freely talk about their doubts and processes, helping us to sort our own.

Another clue about why-we-travelled, is the stunning beauty of the location, and the depth of our lingering stay here. By dwelling-in-a-place, you have the time to discover its subtlety and nuance… an abandoned ruin… an orchard being restored… a mysterious-looking brook whose cool shade invites us out of the hot sun. And there are the people we have come to know. Rather than just traveling-companions who go to historical sites together, we’re becoming friends; our attention rests on the people rather than architecture or frescos. We’re being intensely vulnerable with one another, and when you linger in a tender-hearted place, you can’t help but to bond to the other’s joy and passion; where our own joys are reflected and mirrored. We think we’ll leave here having gathered new friendships rather than a trove of historical facts.

And if the gathering of mundane experiences seems like weak tea, well… it is the mundane that is grabbing our attention. A bee on a thistle bloom (anything involving bees it seems!), brown cows in a pasture, the shape of hills with far-away fields, magnificent clouds wandering over the valley’s wide expanse… a glass with embossed bees on its bowl. All of these are treasures-of-the-heart. And it is these mundane moments that become Roxanne’s paintings; a planting of lavender, a vase of gathered-wildflowers, a shared-meal. And for me, I’m finding spiritual practices to write about; the hallowing of found-objects, the contemplative prayer of swaying tree branches, the parallels between water-flowing and flowing-attention. Did we have to travel this far to find these things? No… and yes.

Travel helps us to see more sharply and with more curiosity. I find myself wondering more… struggling in prose to find the answers, or at least to walk a path toward them. It feels like play to me… like breathless child’s-play… and that makes me feel fully-alive. And in my view, it’s worth some travel to feel that way.

Roxanne: I’m so grateful that Ron is here with me - joining in creativity. We are looking for ways to bring all these feelings home with us. We’re also inviting you to join us in Italy this September 6-16th for a painting workshop. We’ll be touring and painting (and eating) our way through the Tuscan countryside with my workshop coordinator Lisa Statkus, of Lisa’s Gryphon Art and Travel. You’ll want to get registered for this pronto!!

For more of Ron’s daily practice meditations and writings, go to this link.