Between May 6 and 15 september this year, Julie Rezac and Joost van Mierlo have the combined age of 100 years. That’s a mid-life crisis opportunity and we’re spending it in a rickety camper van touring through France and Spain. This blog is about our travels and search for what to do with the rest of our lives. It is going to be our way to express the thoughts, revelations, pictures, drawings, poems, songs – who knows what – that we come up with in this period.
On the 6th of may next year we will arrive in Santiago de Compostella together. That will be the day when the two of us will be a 101 years old together and the ultimate excuse for us to travel together. There must be worse ways of getting older. We’ll keep in touch.
About Joost
Where to begin our journey? Thinking about this ‘recherche a temps perdue’ it was soon clear to me that we would have to start in Clairvaux. More precisely in the abbey that Bernard started in the year 1115. It is a prison now.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Why is there this journey in the first place? There are several answers possible. Different friends have gotten different versions over the past few weeks.
This is my current favourite: Julie and I are going to explore the foundation of our relationship. No psychology or yin yang involved here. We are going to look at the sculptures that inspired Eric Gill. He was an amazing sculptor, lettercarver and letterdesigner and also a twisted personality who was devoted to God as well as obsessed by sexuality. A colourful person. Julie and I spent a very happy week, when she turned 40, hunting for stones he carved around Ditchling and Oxford. Now we will use seven months to figure out where his wonderful sense of gracious form came from.
We have been fascinated with the sculpture and architecture of the 12th century from the vacation we spent in France in I would guess 2001. First we visited Autun and were mesmerized by the sculptures of Gieselbertus in the cathedral there. ‘Gill’, Julie said, and although there is no evidence he ever saw these sculptures, those were the ones that must have inspired him. Later we visited Senanque abbye in the Luberon. The lavender was already picked, but it still was an amazing experience. The tranquility and purposeful restfullness of the place were something we would never forget. Just to make sure that would not happen, we visited the place at least three times since then.
So we are not visiting France, or Spain, we are visiting the twelfth century. Trying to explore as many 12th century churches, abbeys (and ponds) as we think is possible.
This twelfth century has been an amazing era. The Plantagenets created the United Kingdom, 21 million people were killed during the three crusades that happened in this period. So many relics were being discovered that every saint must have had sixteen feet. From John the Baptist is a skull available from when he died and from when he was a young adult.
This is a truly amazing time that I will try to get intimate with in the coming months. So we start in Clairvaux and then will travel through Burgundy, Poitou, Languedoc and Provence before heading up north again where I will start to walk to Santiago de Compostela from the beginning of march next year. A pilgrimage seems like the best way to end a journey into the 12th century.
About Julie
For me this is a time to develop things I’ve been doing and try some things I’ve always suspected I’d be good at (excellent voice in the shower sort of things) I’ve packed the following:
My chisels and mallet and easel:After 20 years as a lettercutter (www.memorial-artist.co.uk) I want to breathe some new life into my work and try my hand at sculpture. I’ve always loved the sweet simplicity of some sculpture from the middle ages. Giselbertus, the sculptor at Autun, is my hero. His Mary, saints, 3 kings, donkeys and cows have a grace, sincerity, and charm I want to understand. How did he do it? I’ll be sketching and sculpting to try and figure it out.
Ukulele: This was a birthday gift from Joost a few years ago. I don’t play any instrument and think I should. My brothers always play their guitars at Rezac family gatherings. One day I want to join them with my ukulele. Naturally I will also serenade Joost with ballads and “tip toe through the tulips” He’s stipulated that I can’t practice in the caravan if he’s there.
A few books: One is “Finding Happiness” by Abbot Christopher from Worth Abbey in Sussex. In his book, he explores the 8 vices as a way to find happiness. We’ve always had a full vice cupboard and this should be a snap! I’ll write more about that once I’m in the book. (I suspect it’s not as simple as that)
Unfinished Crochet scarf: Begun 3 years ago, I’m going to finish the damn thing.
2 cats
