Chapter 8 L'art, c'est les autres

While I am happily chomping away at my Amsterdam stories, the other residents are creating their own magic. They dive into their make-belief worlds, but I am honoured to get a glimpse of their methods, experiments and results.

Both Paula and Chloe use plant-based materials to dye their fabrics. Chloe has turned the leaves of a woad bush into indigo. Paula worked eight-hour days laboriously stitching patterns onto her fabrics. She collaborates with a group of women in South Africa who craft large pieces based on her designs.
@paulaboscostudio

This week, it was predominantly photographers who took over the cortijo (Suzanne and Zoe are building a camera obscura as we speak).

Oriana is exploring ways to develop photos in the dark room without using toxics. Instant coffee has been used widely for a while, but she read that the active chemical phenols occurs naturally in most organic matter. So there she went, picking plants and developing her images au natural!
@urghleshmeck

Zoe has built her own pinhole camera and is using that while she floats through the almond groves, finding her light. A visual artist originally, she is using her time here to explore photography further.
@___zoetoakley

Lucy likes to warp reality by photographing through a broken glass shard or water or cutting up her pictures into collages. Mostly working with nudes, she displays a vulnerability, beauty and distortion we can all relate to.

Helen, a professor of journalism at Colombia University and the author of many fiction and non-fiction books, has given me valuable insights into her writer's mind. She has won the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism as she speaks up for those who can't. She also tells us many juicy stories about authors she has met, such as Kurt Vonnegut and Susan Sontag.
https://www.helenbenedict.com

And then there are Donna and Simon, the reason why we are all here. While they are dedicated to regenerating the land's natural habitat around their house, collaborating with a broad range of experts, they are visual artists at heart. Simon is a painter, and Donna is an illustrator. While staying here at the cortijo, we leave a negative footprint on the earth thanks to them. But a positive imprint in our souls for sure!