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When the local campsite was flooded in the summer, Edith moved the wet and sorry campers into the Atelier, because there was enough room - there followed a visit from the Mayor, who said she and Daniel were such special people they would get as much help as possible.
Edith and Daniel have no formal policies. They are naturally inclusive and talk freely with anyone who comes to their doors. Feedback is instant and in discussion it is easy to check whats happening, who needs special attention. Recently they exhibited the work of an artist from Burkena Faso, Mamadou, (a first for the area) and found he had been living alone, very sadly, very unhappily - Edith promptly moved him in with her family.
The Atelier is considered as any other shop and taxed as such. They have to sell work to keep going and this can be a problem - its more expensive than mass-produced ceramics and tends to sell mostly to the English, Dutch and German rather than the French. The notion of a single product is unusual amoung the French, except amoung the city-dwellers and the erudite upper-classes. As in all fields, fashion is the dictator. Currently, "brown is out -" clear, strong colours are to be found in the homes of the modish. "It is difficult to swim against the tide," says Edith. Half of their survival is sales, the other half is down to her workshops, held both in the Atelier and given in schools. To give a workshop away from the Atelier means taking the clay and all her equipment to the venue, bringing it back with the completed work, firing it, taking it all back again with the glazes.... its no life for anyone wanting it easy.
This month she heard that the nearby school has run out of money so her local classes will be cancelled - the children will be allowed to go to her Atelier instead and pay. This means only those that can afford it can come. Here Edith makes some quick choices, as children obviously in need of both money and art practice will be given free time - and again, her very special instincts with children mean that some kids who need care are getting it.
She espcially likes to work with children. She had five of her own - now adult - and her experience shows in her patience.
"Children are not limited by aesthetic ideas,she says; "they are spontaneous."
When Edith gives a workshop it is to facilitate others not to impose ideas on them - she finds that this approach can change her work, especially when working with children.
Working with artists she helps to develop their practice and enables them to have other exhibitions after showing with her and Daniel. They like to have a range of artworks to sell and take 30% of the price on a sale. She will knock down a price for someone that has to have the artwork and can't afford it and put it up for someone who is not concerned with price. The rich subsidise the poor. "One Euro is not the same price for everyone", she says. It's not a good living, "but maybe it will be -"
What would she do if confronted with work that was, for instance, racist? This hasn't happened and probably won't - but she has had to work with a woman whose work she didn't like. It was of no substance or humour and the artist was self-important, but, as Edith says, you can't be judgemental. You can make suggestions but if they get ignored - well -
Most of the students in the Atelier are female and the place is a focus for people to meet up and get to know others, even their neighbours. Some of the women who have come to work in the Atelier have never left Esperaza in their lives.
Future plans include getting a website and doing more workshops; and finding extra time so Edith can develop her own practice. She makes a distiction between the artisan and the artist, in that the artisan follows a series of actions in order that something will work - the artist is free to make new choices. Shes like to marry the two, allowing for the discipline that can produce flawless pots to meet with experimental picture making.
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as an artist-in-residence at L'Atelier 22 Av de la Gare Esperaza, 11260 France.
Esperaza web-site
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