It's all about art

Our friend and painter from Amsterdam is here in Rabat. For almost three weeks. She will continue working on Nuria's portray. After Solange it's her turn to sit and pose. It is an amazing process. The girls get involved in collaborating with an artist and construct a deeper relationship with the painter and David, her lover. The painter sits in a transparent chair closed to the window, with a view on the garden. Her lover lays comfortable on the couch during the sessions, which turns into a bed for the night. The guest room has nicely been transformed into an atelier. The atelier becomes at the same time the girls' secret garden. During the weeks of their stay, the girls are bringing their personal belongings and stuff to the atelier. Homework, flutes, recorders, violin, books, food and their laughs. David tells stories of his life, illustrates the different episodes with truly vivid colours and in a humorist and dramatic way.  

The boy who lived in a house with other boys, just after the second world war. Hardly any food, lots of violence and sadness. David pushed his luck and for his own sake he started fighting back. The years in London, where he danced with Nureyev and the Balanchine ballet. Attending the finest boarding schools in Europe and admiring the beauty of life. Parents who were connected with the world of art.
The girls stretched their borders and had their friendly fights with David in the garden. The painter works quietly when the girls are running and screaming with David. Late bedtime stories and the love for food. He happens to be this chef in the kitchen who has the patience and the skills to involve the children. Home made French fries and mayonnaise with garlic. The kitchen remodelled in a battle field, filled stomaches and the melting taste of apple compote with cinnamon. Dutch heritage in his cuisine? No doubt for the Dutch pancakes he made us on a lazy Saturday. No oil like I would use in the pan, but real butter. The pancake then is baked and served as a roll with syrup and butter.  My sister once told me a story of a small girl. She was invited for a birthday party and they got Dutch pancakes for lunch. The girl started feeling sick immediately while eating. Desperate what to do, she threw the pancakes behind the radiator. David's pancakes were all finished and at the end of the meal everybody laid down to digest.

To alternate the posing and the listening we intend to realize a green nature project during their stay. They brought lots of fine seeds for vegetables and flowers from Holland. Transfering Dutch greenery? Soon the girls will start their new organic gardening adventure. We tried to do this last year and we succeeded halfly. We ate the salad and the zucchinis. These tasted all good. This autumn the project is more ambitious than last year. We decided to make the gardening spot much larger and we'll use less seeds of the different varieties. The digging is done by Mohamed and we can start planting very soon now.