I didn’t want to miss the train.

I know I’m a fully functioning adult who is responsible for keeping little humans alive, but I wasn’t so sure of my abilities to get on the right train to Chaumont, the closest town to the Chateau.

Fortunately the beautiful assistants set us up with a group chat so we met at the train and braved it together. We all shared the awkward introductions and made our way to our seats. The 2.5 hour trip went quite quickly (I’m now a spider solitaire master) and we were met at Chaumont train station by two smiling people and buses to take us the rest of the way.

We continued chatting and small talk -all pretty tired, but as we arrived at the Chateau gates you could feel it shift. We were collectively given excited energy and laughed at the sheer delight of seeing the Chateau in person after daydreaming for 18 months. Is this even real?

After a welcome champagne and charcuterie in the Salon area, we were welcomed by the assistants and Beulah, the owner and facilitator of the residency. She is a warm and welcoming Australian and completely understood how long the journey had been for me - the only Australian here.

We were shown to our rooms and I couldn’t believe my eyes. My room was on the first floor and was large, beautifully decorated and had two tall windows overlooking the pond and landscape. It felt like something from a movie. The sheer romance of the place was overwhelming. I was waiting to see Mr Darcy stroll out of the pond in a white shirt any moment. (iykyk)

The Chateau has sleeping rooms on four levels and a basement below. The ground floor also has a bathroom, kitchen, salon for gatherings and dining room. Some people were also given rooms in the Gatehouse toward the small village at the end of the driveway.

The Basement holds storage rooms, laundry, art supply (leftover/ shared) and wine cave. The most treasured of all spaces. It opens every night for 20 minuted where we can purchase snacks and gorgeous French wine. Yummo.

Dinner is a fun event. They ring a bell and the only rule is that you have to put your phones is a wooden box. Dinner is a time for connection and getting to know each other. We are fortunate to be given three meals a day with access to so much else in between. The food is delicious, varied and we all commented on how we will likely be a bit heavier flying home- which I am more than ok with!

The other residency guests are from all over the world. I have loved getting to know them and their individual stories. It has really helped me to open back up to the world. At this point in my life I have my beautiful young family, which has been my whole focus. It’s been an awakening to step back into the wider world and perspective for a short time. 

My studio space is on the first floor and just like my bedroom it is light and overlooks the pond and front landscape of Orquevaux. I felt something inside me melt when I first saw it. Again, it felt like a movie. It’s surreal and special and opened up a part of my creative heart I didn’t know was closed.

We got a tour of the rest of the spaces, studios and stables where other studios are. In the village there is also a small art supply store. There isn’t much else but it is beautiful to just walk around and take in the architecture.

The next day was filled with everyone getting to work in their studios. They are open 24/7 so everyone can work in their own times, whatever works best for them. I started with doing light base layers on about 10 of my pre cut canvases. To be honest I was still daunted by the idea of what to create while I was here. How is it possible to have so much freedom but so much pressure at the same time?

I went for a walk around the grounds while I was waiting for the bases to dry. I met a very cranky swan, Steve, who stalks you and tries to attack you if you go near the water. Other than Steve, the walk filled me up. The history of the area and grounds just sinks into you wherever you go.

I continued on in the studio, starting with a warm up exercise of painting my walk with my eyes closed and early free mark making. I worked until dinner where we continued to chat and laugh well into the night.

Welcome to the Chateau. My heart is bursting.