Cloth, paper, thread and ink; these are the ingredients of my making. Inspiration for this body of work has its roots in a glorious setting: Château du Pin, Champtoce sur Loire.   For the past twenty summers I have volunteered to help with the management of this family-owned property. And to Make Art. I have discovered that old stables make great pop-up studios. So is the sun-soaked Red Room, the Petit Salon, the spacious Orangerie with its dirt floors and expansive views. I have enjoyed offering workshops, retreats and hosting residencies each summer. I have been nourished by the bolts of creativity that accompany each visiting artist. 

I also have been marked by the opportunity to be alone there and wrestle with my own making.The Anjou sky offers an extensive catalogue of blues. Boisterous beds of dahlias in full throated reds and oranges ask for the toss of brilliant pigments into my papers and silks. Soiled pages from books rescued from the chateau bibliothèque regain weight and purpose in mixed media works.  Vintage chateau linens find renewal with a coat of gesso, or with thread and textile inks. I scratch out my thoughts in a handmade journal each year. 

The remove of Le Pin has given me the privacy to go past what I already know and to grapple with a fragile idea or an aching sorrow.  The ancient walls are reassuring. There is a patience in the oldness. It is found in the softest of whites, that are actually pinks, with whiffs of yellow. Some grey, perhaps green creeping in. These old stones sustain me. It is time standing by. Standing in. Witnessing effort. I lean into a neglected sturdy space that supplies subtlety, visual complexity and wisdom.  And learn.

Marguerite Jay Gignoux
February 2026