Wall, fence, enclosure, stockade, barrier, curtain, screen, bullwork, bastile, moat, railing, rampart, trench, ditch, barricade. What are walls for? To keep things in and keep things out. This week's book-of-the-week, titled
Beyond the Palisade is about what's on the other side of the walls we construct within ourselves.
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| Leather and silk and a photograph of a window grill in Angers, France |
A
palisade is
a word from the French 1600's and refers to a wall of stakes set firmly in the ground as a defense. The cut paper images of windows and stairways in the foreground of this little book act as a barrier to the patchwork imagery of photographs taken during my first trip to France. Personally, I suspect I had built my own palisade of reasons for not taking this wonderful trip. Luckily, an opportunity occurred and in 2005 I found myself in this beautiful and complex country.
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| Behind the cut paper are photographs of churches, government buildings and castles... |
Known for the marked beauty in architecture and artistry, France's history of conflict in politics and religion is a contrast worthy of a
palisade. Quaint French villages of hundred-years old cottages, chateaux and open-air vegetable markets; tiny streets of cobblestone that wind and twist... the aroma of croissants and lavendar... and French milled soap in every Super U! ...as a tourist, I was oblivious to the social tensions and daily challenges. The only thing missing was a
standard size cup of coffee.
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| In the villages life goes on behind hand-tatted lace curtains |
A beautiful country of mild climate and excellent agriculturists... each turn revealed another beautiful flower garden.. another sweetly lowing bovine... another community of industry and artistry. The year-long dry spell and environmental legal challenges did not affect a tourist's preoccupation with the TGV, rural maps, signposts and beautiful vistas.
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| A lone windmill grinds wheat.. used to make crepes in the restaurant next door. |
Whether walls are built to keep things in or to keep things out, a
palisade can be breeched... a curtain can be pulled aside, a window can be raised, a door can be opened, a room can be entered. All it takes is the opportunity... and courage to go
Beyond the Palisade.
