Provence lifestyle
Writing about life in Provence where I’ve been living for the past 20 years.
The barber’s minutes
His beret was perched at ten past seven. In reality, it was half past two. The sign on the wall clearly stated that olive drop-offs started at 2 p.m. Continue reading
The oldest house in Oppède-le-Vieux
Oppède-le-Vieux, our residency of the past twenty years, is perched on a rocky outcrop in the Luberon region of Provence. It’s known for its medieval architecture, rich history, and lush vegetation. The silence and desolation evoke a sense of timelessness. The name says it all, ‘vieux’ (old in French), and I often pondered what the Continue reading
The creation of a story map: Moulin Saint-Augustin, Oppède
Estate map vs. story map In the creation of the story map for the Moulin Saint-Augustin in Oppède Provence, I started by learning the history on what estate maps used to be. Estate maps, also known as land maps or cadastral maps, have a long history dating back centuries. These maps were created to document Continue reading
The landscape as memory
When we consider a landscape to be the memory of time, a collection of past events, I cannot but speculate when I see the breach in the dry stone wall where wild boars, coming from the mountain, have made a passage to look for water in the valley during dry periods. Continue reading
The cultural artefact in the Provençal landscape
Drawing is that rare thing that gives you a chance of very close identification with something, or somebody, who is not you. A quote by John Berger that stays with me … Continue reading
Jean-Paul Clébert’s house
Unfortunately less known and hard to find in translation, but for me, Jean-Paul Clébert is right up there with Giono and Bosco. Especially when you know that Guy Debord (Situationists) based his ‘dérive’ on the writing of Clébert. Continue reading
About Me
World citizen with a notebook in hand to write, sketch and tell stories with all senses present.
This blog is a zibaldone in itself — part notebook, part stage, where fragments turn into text, images, and sometimes motion. More about me.
Recent Posts
- My zibaldone: Everyday life as a Prompt
- My Zibaldone: A Journey Through My Reading Nooks
- The barber’s minutes
- Interview about sketching on location
- The oldest house in Oppède-le-Vieux
- A Double-chambered Vessel
- Thinking through making
- Coup d’État
- Mexico 1986, my plein air sketch roots
- A commissioned travel journal
