Life in France
I have had a love affair with France for many years now and finally got to move the Limousin two years ago. Limousin is right bang in the middle of the country. We have cold winters with snow but hot summers and four very definite seasons which I love and find excitement with each changing season. Limousin has three ‘departements’ and I live in the Creuse which is the least inhabited (and stupidly one of the seven regions of France which does not produce its own wine!). It does however have the most spectacular countryside and I live amongst woodland and rolling hills and hedgerow full of wildflowers. It has most definitely influenced my work in both embroidery and beading; I find myself almost exclusively trying to recreate the colours and forms of the flowers.
Selling my work here is a challenge because of the language however the culture in France is to shop in markets and they are everywhere, making it easy to sell wares directly to the public for very little outlay. I have also found a shop in a local town which runs like a gallery charging commission. I think its a great way to have a shop. The shop owner doesn’t need to buy stock reducing overheads and artists get a chance to sell products in a ‘proper’ shop. I wish I could find more of these shops in other parts of the country!
