Fabulously French

I took French as an extra subject in grade 10 and 11 and since the school I attended did not have enough interest in the subject to employ a teacher, I had to go for private tutoring.

It became the subject I enjoyed the most. Here’s why:

My teacher was a real French lady. She and her husband, a renowned South African artist, spent many years living in France. She firmly believed that to learn meant “to experience”. So on warm summer afternoons we (a class of four), would sit in the shadow of a large oak tree, around a café table tasting French pastries, sipping lemonade and listening to French music. Simple. Sweet moments.

They were a creative couple with a passion for beautiful things and an even greater passion for the Creator of beauty, Jesus.

I remember the studio in the garden where we would often watch as her husband created the most beautiful artworks in glass and concrete. He specialized in the technique called dalles de verre sous beton, a method using coloured glass and concrete, developed in France after the second world war. The major achievement of the dalles de verre technique is the creation of window walls or walls of light, which can occupy entire walls in churches or other buildings, reaching from floor to ceiling (source: wikipedia). And he created masterpieces!

In fact, later on in life, I attended a wedding in a chapel adorned with one of his “window walls”… and although the wedding was beautiful, I could not keep from staring at the beautiful artwork… the colours seemed to be alive. Vivid.

It reminds one of the large Cathedrals of Europe. I have to admit, that I rather do like those old Cathedrals with the stained glass windows and echoing halls. On a recent group tour to Israel this year, we entered a historic Orthodox church and sang a hymn… it was... magical! I had the same overwhelming feeling of awe than when I stared at the coloured glass window created by my French teacher’s husband.

He has spoken of the magic of coloured glass as creating "the prism through which we see into eternity."

C’est magnifique!