Day Four – Our First Full Day at the Chateau

Waking up for the first time in Orquevaux, the excitement was palpable. We had our first breakfast together, and then it was time for our proper tour. We were given a full tour of the entire building, including the top floor studios, the basement wine cave, and a brief history of the structure. It was the “small” castle in town, as the family that built it created it as essentially the hunting lodge, a complement to the “main” castle in town. This is why there are several tapestries in the building illustrating the theme of hunting.

The tapestries are also some of the last few pieces of art that predate the second world war. The chateau was occupied by the Nazis and when they fled at the end of the war, they did what the Nazis usually did: they took as much artwork as they could. The tapestries were left behind, likely too large and cumbersome for pillaging whilst retreating. Much of the other artwork on display was created during the Covid shutdown period. During the shutdown, the artists in residence were forced to stay longer than anticipated (something we all agree would be just terrible); to pay back the chateau for putting the artists up for an unexpected extension, the artists agreed to create works to display in the building. Thus, the decor is a lovely combination of 20th and 21st century works.

After the building tour, we visited other parts of the grounds, including the old horse stables that have been turned into beautiful artist studios, and we also went into the village (population: 58) where there are a number of buildings owned by the chateau–primarily living spaces, more studios, and the art store.

The art store is small but well-supplied. The only items of use to a writer were blank journals and pens. I am not in need of either, but I picked one of each up all the same. The store is only open for a half an hour each day but has the distinction of being the only retail store in France open seven days a week.

After the tour, and our lunch, the artists embedded themselves in their studios whilst the writers met with our writing director, Suzi Q. Smith. I had known that Suzi would be joining us, but I thought it would be in person. Instead, she joined us on Zoom from Denver, Colorado. She met with the writing cadre, and we all spent a bit of time getting to know each other better. Suzi outlined how the writing cadre would be meeting with a few times, how we would share our work, and how we would support each other. I am excited to not only work on my creations, but I am equally looking forward to collaborating with my fellow writers.

Following the writers meeting, all of us (writers and artists alike) met to share “Who Am I As an Artist.” Each of us were given three minutes each to introduce ourselves and answer that question that best way we could. It was a real opportunity to listen to each other’s stories, to hear about the work each resident does, what inspires them, and what brought them here. It is a very interesting, passionate, talented group, and I am lucky to be sharing this space with them all.

Before dinner, I visited the wine cave, which, unsurprisingly, sells wine, salty and sweet snacks from around Europe and the U.K. It also sells toiletries, in case you discover late in the residency that you didn’t pack quite enough toothpaste. I bought a non-alcoholic chardonnay and a bag of Tyrell’s Cheese and Rosemary kettle cooked potato chips. I enjoyed them both.

Tomorrow will be the first full day where I will have large blocks of time to work on my writing. I am looking forward to having the opportunity and space to do so. I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you that part of the story.