In March 2008, on a painting commission Niya stayed in a small traditional French Village, Carces, just north of Marseille. She discovered a place completely unto itself—so un-enchanted by the ‘new’. Charmed immediately, she immersed herself in their traditions, language and ways, their humor and antics and brought back the stories and images to Sonoma, her new home.

Here is her statement:
“Whether I was sitting in the middle of a dirt road while the wild boars had their midnight snack in front of my car or woken by the soft, warm winds of North Africa in the morning looking out over the village rooftops, one thing was certain, Provence clearly held in its daily life, a force of imagination that flattened any goals or ambitions I had coming into it.”

SPONSORS, SUPPORTERS:
James and Mila Hahn, Sunflower Caffe owners.
Steve Brumme, Sunflower Caffe Art Director.
Deb Sutinen, University of Wisconsin, Madison for her support in finding my luggage at Heathrow that contained much of the show notes and studies in it.
Mac and JoAnne Beasley, Stanford University, financial contribution to the show.
Betsy Brill and Ken Kobre, Villa in Carces owners and painting commissioners.
Liz Kalloch, for the gift of the little red leather pencil and sketch book that contains the notes
And studies for this show.