Lost at last

Dear Sara h- Day 269 of our daily drawing exchange

Hi Sarah -

Sadly, our time in Paris coming to an end. We head off to the train station to catch our train to Rome just before 6 am. Yuck. Neither of us are naturally early risers, so the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn to finish packing, gather the garbage, feed and medicate the cats, and then haul a LOT of luggage down 4 flights of steep, narrow, twirling stairs (spiral staircases with narrow steps…) is unappealing to say the least.

After delivering a copy of Found Zine to Nina Sequoiaa (the poetess on the spot from our first day of exploration)

I asked her to write a second poem for me, this one in French and about bridges, which seemed entirely appropriate given the number of bridges I’ve been up and over and under and around for the past week.

Dani, meanwhile, has been using several different documenting techniques of the early psychogeographers in Paris in her explorations of the city. She created something called an un-guide which started at Point Zero in front of Notre Dame and then led me a couple of days later (via a list of directions I had printed out) along a twisty, windy, route through the city. I had to decipher and try to follow instructions like,

Pass under the metal arches towards true love (or lust) and with elevated flowers on your left, continue up a small rise. As you reach the grand embrace, turn left…

or

Walk past the woman filming for Instagram and feel less self-conscious about your own journey, then make another length.

I managed to find a number of the weird places and sights and nooks and crannies Dani described (though the garbage trucks and speeding food delivery bikes had long gone) but did, in the end, go unfixably off route.

Given we still had to pack and I was getting desperate for a bathroom (and didn’t want to go in anywhere for coffee), I bailed after a couple of hours of floundering around and wandering in circles. It was, however, one of the most fun ‘tours’ I’ve ever been on. I enjoy the feeling of being disoriented and uncertain of my bearings - and it’s not that easy to be really lost these days, with our phones telling us exactly how many meters ahead our next turn lies.

Tomorrow morning, there will be no time for such diversions. If we miss our train, we will be in trouble. All things being equal, I should be in Rome when I next write. I am thinking I may do my drawing on the train. But, as I have discovered this week, it’s been best to stay fluid and not hold too tightly to plans over which I have limited control.

Nikki

Ciao bella,

I wasn’t exactly disoriented or uncertain of my bearings today, although I was very tired. And I can’t imagine feeling that way and enjoying it! Someday I’d like to go somewhere and get lost with you and see if I can quell my anxiety. But I do agree about staying fluid and not holding to tightly to plans (or pens).

I did a few more DG lessons today, still using the salt and paper grinders as my subject. Left hand only (one minute), then left and right together (one minute each), then a final large rendering on large paper using a big brush and black watercolour (no timer) but still moving quickly. After that I did what he calls a “reverse critique”—moving backwards through all the drawings and finding something positive in each one. My favourite, by far, is the painting.

It’s dinnertime here, so off I go. Hope you get settled in Rome quite quickly. Can’t wait to see what thrills await you there.

XO S