In Residence at VCCA-France
A week ago, I boarded a train in Bordeaux (see what I did there?) and an hour later disembarked in the city of Agen, where I was met by staff from VCCA-France Moulin-à-Nef, the home of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in France. We made the short drive from Agen to the village of Auvillar, a picturesque town situated on the Garonne river, where I proceeded to settle into my very comfortable accommodations.
[image error] La Maison V.
VCCA-France has room for four artists at a time, all with bedrooms in the gorgeous Maison Vieilhecazes, a very old house near the river that dates from the days when Auvillar had a bustling port. We have shared bathrooms and living space–a beautiful kitchen and dining area, plus a lounge–that make for a cozy environment when we aren’t working.
[image error] La Cebo
But the work is the whole point, so right next to the Maison is La Cebo (an Occitan word that means “onion”), the studio building where we all have large studios. Because the workspaces are designed to be used by either writers or visual artists, they are big and bright. Mine is at the back of the building, with a view of the hill behind the property. (A similar studio at the front of the building
[image error] market hall
looks out on the river.) This is where I spend the bulk of my time.
[image error] rear studio
[image error] L’Horloge
Residencies are for working, so the availability of entertainment is irrelevant. For a bit of daily distraction, I’m content to walk up the hill to the village and wander around the narrow streets, and stop into one of the shops (if they happen to be open–hours seem pretty haphazard), the bakery, a cafe, or a bar. There’s a small market weekly in the village’s gorgeous market building, but the VCCA residents also once a week go across the river to a larger town to shop at their much bigger farmers’ market and a supermarket.
But mostly, I’m working on a new novel. I’d had to put this project aside for most of the year as I was finalizing three other books and the anthology that just came out, but with all of those done and under contract, I can focus on this single book, which is nice. No more excuses! By the time I leave here, I won’t be done with the book, but I should have a good idea of what’s left to do to get the manuscript in shape, which I hope to do in 2019.
