Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
5 Jan 2025
Feedback
4
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
I'm Gisela, a German artist and curator, specialising in painting, graphic art, shadow play and art education. I love organising creative gatherings. After a series of strange and meaningful coincidences, I settled in the Morvan Regional Park, Burgundy, France, with two other artists 10 years ago. Here, with many helpers, in a former sawmill that was abandoned for 20 years, we founded a small art centre on a wild terrain. The artist's house facilitates encounters between creative people from different cultures and of different ages. It is also an encounter with wilderness, with plants, animals, and most of all with yourself.
My offer is simple. If you help in the garden or on the building, I will give you an art class. You do not need special skills, but to stay here with us, you do need to clean up after yourself, and help with the dishes. You are invited to apply if you are inquisitive, ask your own independent questions about the world, and make up your own mind. We are artists. There is more to life than the evening news. We welcome visitors of all religions. You are allowed to be different. You must also be comfortable with people living with autism, are perhaps neurodivergent, or just don't think like you. If you love that, welcome. I do too.
If you want to apply, please put in some effort to think about why, and be specific. A copy and paste request will get a copy and paste response.
You must also know that we limit our use of digital telecommunications technology here. We live on the edge of the forest. There is no Wifi and the mobile signal is weak. We have chosen to keep it like this because it creates time for the work that matters to us. It allows us to be more present and have meaningful conversations face to face.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Elderly Companionship
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Farming
Events & social
Politics / Social justice
Sustainability
Culture
Charity work
Languages
Writing
Performing arts
Plant care
Music
Gardening
Books
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Art & design
Architecture
Yoga / Wellness
Outdoor activities
Hiking
Nature
Cycling
Camping
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We came here to learn to be with the wilderness. You can discover things here that you would not normally, when you become quiet. You can choose whether you like to be on your own or want company. You might be sent off to practice your French while you buy bread, croissants or pain au chocolat at the excellent local bakery. If you know how to cook, chop wood or make a fire, you're a bonus! Often, friends and neighbours stop by with some goat's cheese, onions or lemons. We might end up speaking English, German, Dutch, Spanish, and of course French. Take walks alone in the local village and forest. Ask questions and learn about art and artists. You will also be on top of an ancient Roman Gallic archeological site. We'll offer to take you along when we visit events like local cultural festivals, or evenings at the local Bibracte museum, or Cultural Centre. We might go shopping in the small city of Autun. For a rural area, there is an enormous amount going on.
Help
Calling all gardeners, carpenters, builders, cooks and cleaners of all ages, with a creative flair. Artists, architects and ecologists are also welcome. Our place is slowly transforming from a building site into a habitable house with artist studios, a community room, and (probably) the most unusual shower in the world.
We are slowly learning how to leave the garden wild, while caring for it at the same time. There is now a vegetable patch, with three sunflowers. We have a very small team: one active resident artist, and a lot of helpful visitors. Together we have made this place what it is today, despite the odds. It gets too much for one person to manage sometimes, and that is where we need your help.
- Cutting grass and brambles. Wood cutting and trimming. This year, all the wood lying around on the site will be turned into firewood or used to enrich the soil.
- Carpentry. We have a number of cabins in various stages of completion, a deck that needs to be built, and renovations in the main house are ongoing. If this is your job, apprenticeship, or you have a lot of experience and professional training, you are very welcome.
- Cleaning. Believe it or not, the dust and wildlife can get into an old house and its a constant effort to keep clean. You could be a great help just doing that.
This is a non-profit project. Workawayers will not be helping with paying guests or in spaces used by paying guests.
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Turkish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
I am a German Native Speaker, always open to improving my French and English, which I both use daily.
Accommodation
In the summer you can choose to sleep in a garden cabin or under the stars. You will also have the choice of two peaceful rooms in a ramshackle house covered in mosaics looking out onto the forest. The rooms are painted with colourful crazy childlike illustrations. We are completing another guest room in the house opposite our library, but it might not be finished when you come to visit. There is enough bedding, there is nothing you need to bring except clothes and toiletries. Please note it can get very cold in winter, and at night.
The toilet and bathroom are in the main house, and electricity is limited. You can use your phone as a torch or light a candle. There is no Wifi, and mobile reception is limited, but you're not coming out into nature just to spend all your time online, are you?
We all share a kitchen and communal space, and take turns cooking. You can share our meals and we will do our best to accommodate you. Vegans and diabetics will have to be disciplined, we do eat things like ice cream and bacon, so you might need to do additional shopping. A supermarket, bakery and two restaurants are within 10 minutes walk.
What else ...
Please arrange your own transport well in advance, we recommend using Trainline or Blablacar. Our closest village is St Léger sous Beuvray. There are train stations in Étang sur Arroux and Autun. You will have to cover your own travel costs, but we will fetch you from the station and drop you off.
This is partially a building site. That is why we need your help. If you hate camping, chaos, and unfinished projects, this is not a good fit for you. If that sounds like adventure, building some muscle, and connecting with creative thinkers, send us a message! We look forward to hearing from you.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
There is a suitable parking spot in the road below us.
Can possibly accept pets
We border on a road with occasional traffic. Your pet must please be housetrained, well behaved and on a leash when outdoors. We don't want it running off into the forest and getting eaten by a wild animal.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (2)
The house itself had a unique and magical atmosphere. Therefore I was also happy to help out around the house and contribute to making it even better.
Overall, my experience was very… read more
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
The house itself had a unique and magical atmosphere. Therefore I was also happy to help out around the house and contribute to making it even better.
Overall, my experience was very… read more
