Le conservatoire des ocres

The "conservatoire des ocres" in Roussillon is located on the edge of the village in an ancient factory used in the past for working the ochres found on the hillsides. It has been rehabilitated in recent years and it is now used for all sorts of workshops as well as a source of the pigments for those who already know how to use them. Most of the walls of the buildings in Roussillon have been colored with the ochres and there is a huge variety of shades of this wonderful "soil." The cheerful building is set in a grove of pines and it looks more like it could be a candy store!

The first thing I saw as we walked in the door was this array of beautifully colored books about the pigments as well as about Provence including cookbooks and sketchbooks. I am a book fanatic so I had to linger here a bit.

Right across from the books was this rack of blank notebooks! JC had to drag me away since we were on a timeline but I shall return!! Can't decide which one(s) I want to get!

It was wonderful to stroll through this building on this early spring day...it was almost all to ourselves and we walked through the factory building where many permanent exhibits are set up to tell the story of ochre and its importance to the region.

There was only a class of middle school students and their teachers visiting so JC and I wandered at will and enjoyed the sunshine and the interesting exhibits set up throughout the grounds.

These shirts were all rubbed in various shades of ochre...such an artistic way to display ordinary farm jackets!

This is the projection room with a continuous film about ochre...don't you just love the purple wall?? What about those great chairs!?

Along this hallway are examples of how the pigments are used to make paint or used on fiber. Also some collages made by students at the conservatoire.

I have a list of possible classes to take here and I am going to find one for me. Everything is starting up again in the region and there is an "open doors" visit here this coming weekend.

We drove off on the backroads towards Joucas that village in the distance.

As we drove along we passed this old building...maybe a sheep corral??? and its little "borie."

There seem to be many "bories" around this part of the Luberon valley and you can see many stone fences built along the roads. The building with orange tile roof is an elementary school.

This is a view out to the blooming fields just below Joucas.

And a windmill back there in the distance.

We decided to drive back to Carpentras through Venasque so this meant we would go by Gordes perched high above the valley.

No ochres here but throughout are those interesting stone walls built the same way.
There is an entire village of "bories" just around the corner from Gordes.

A bientôt!

Bon anniversaire Betty!!