I’m excited to welcome Marjorie Price  to Jenn’s Bookshelves today!  She’s writing on a subject that truly comes into play in her memoir, A Gift from Brittany.

Writing — another form of Painting?

Eight years ago, when I began my memoir, A Gift From Brittany, I didn’t think of myself as a writer. Even though over the years I had written short stories, poetry and several children’s books, I was – and always had been – a painter. Once I began the book, however, I couldn’t stop. Even if my book never were to get published, I had to finish it and make it the best I possibly could. I was determined to tell about an unforgettable time in my life in the 1960’s.

I was in my twenties, had traveled alone to Paris to paint and had fallen in love with an exciting French painter named Yves. After we were married, we bought half of a remote hamlet deep in the countryside of Brittany to escape Parisian summers and to paint. What a romantic adventure for my painter’s soul! But Yves broke my heart when he ordered me to stop painting, and my seemingly idyllic marriage began to unravel. I continued to paint watercolors in secret, but it was never again the same.

Finally I left Yves in Paris and moved with our young daughter to live year round on the farm. There, I had the amazing good fortune to grow close to an elderly, illiterate and remarkable peasant woman who lived in the nearest farmhouse across the road. Jeanne Montrelay was 68, she had three cows to her name, didn’t know how to read or write and had never left the tiny village. Yet, her ancient wisdom, resilience and humor were an inspiration to me. Outwardly we had nothing in common. Against all odds, our friendship leaped across boundaries of age, language, culture and life experience; we became so close that we transformed each other’s lives. Often I thought I should write about her. Perhaps a children’s book with illustrations. But I never had the time.

Years later, after divorcing and returning to the states, I settled in New York City, painted, showed my work in galleries and worked as a graphic designer. Then, ten years ago, I underwent serious back surgery. Unable to walk, paint, or lift a canvas, I was in constant pain. Since I could do little else, it occurred to me to write about Jeanne. Bringing her back to life helped me to endure the pain. She had healed me once before; now she was healing me again. I poured out chapter after chapter. The more I wrote, the more I came to love the process of writing, and the more similarities I saw between painting and writing.

As the book took form, I found I was no longer a painter struggling to write, but a painter/writer reliving a pivotal time in my life, using a palette of words like a palette of colors, painting a portrait of a remarkable friendship with a peasant woman who changed forever the way I saw the world. My lifelong skills as a painter nourished my writer’s aspirations – and became one. I persevered with my memoir; I revised it countless times before it found a publisher. Gradually I began to see that my painter’s eye was far from being a handicap; it was my voice.

For those in the DC area, you have access to an exhibit of Marjorie’s artwork.  Following is some information about this event:

Marjorie Price’s exhibition of new paintings from The Bathers Series opens April 3 at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, Maryland, a lovely, historical town outside of Washington D. C. To learn more about the Delaplaine, visit http://www.delaplaine.org

Having been an avid swimmer and competitive synchronized swimmer — as well as a painter — all her life, Marjorie’s connection to The Bathers Seriesis an especially personal one. The theme is inspired by her love of the water; the paintings express how the body moves and feels in another element, how once released from the pull of gravity, one feels a sense of freedom and abandon. The sea is never the same; the paintings in the series explore its endlessly changing moods. For a preview of the show, please visit her website: http://www.marjorieprice.com/paintings/current-exhibitions

“Of all the many themes I’ve painted throughout my life, The Bathers Series is perhaps the closest to my heart. I grew up along the shores of Lake Michigan, and water has always been my element,” says Price. “I’m told I swam as a tot even before I could walk. I’m so pleased to have the opportunity of showing the most recent Bathers at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center.”

For more information on Marjorie’s paintings and to find out more about her other appearances, please visit her Web site.

Thanks to the publisher, I have THREE copies of A Gift from Brittany to give away.  To enter, please fill out the form below.  This contest is open to US and Canadian residents only.  Winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 28th.