1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 285 Let's try something new!
After parting ways with the farmers, Ronan took his 'bee' artwork to Louis's house.

As soon as she entered, Leah whispered a complaint:

Zoe hasn't eaten dinner yet.

"Didn't eat again?" Ronan immediately frowned.

Zoe has a bad habit of not eating on time when she's busy, but once this happens, it means she's at a crucial moment in her creative process and doesn't want to come out of that state.

“She keeps saying she’ll be out soon, she’ll be out soon, and it’s already past nine.” Leah glanced at her watch and pushed Ronan toward Zoe’s workspace. “Go ask her again.”

Ronan readily accepted the task:

"I'll go and call her out."

Leah continued in a accusing tone:
"You have to keep an eye on her. If she continues like this, her health will suffer. She needs to balance work and rest to maintain her best condition."

When Ronan pushed open the door, Zoe was carving a plaster mold.

Having known Zoe for a long time, Ronan had become very familiar with her work process and steps. Making molds with plaster was one of the earlier steps in the glassmaking process.

The plaster cast indicates that the previous attempt failed and everything needs to be started over.

If Ronan's count is correct, this is Zoe's fifth time 'starting over' in a short period of time.

Ronan swallowed all the 'harsh' words that were on the tip of his tongue; it was inappropriate to say them now. He could already empathize with the terrible feelings artists had when their creations failed.

"You've arrived?" Zoe turned her head to look at her, her tone indifferent.

Ronan stood behind Zoe and massaged her shoulders:

"Should we come out and eat first?"

Zoe quickened her pace:

"I'll be done soon, and then I'll go out to eat."

Ronan didn't force her; he simply asked with concern:

Is the progress going smoothly?

Zoe kept her head down, so Ronan couldn't see her expression.
"We encountered a slight technical difficulty, but it shouldn't be a major problem."

Ronan tried to keep his tone light and peaceful:
“Sometimes working on things blindly doesn’t solve problems. Do you remember my advice to talk to you when I encounter difficulties?”

Zoe's shoulders twitched twice. She put down the carving knife and the small air blower, and said with a smile:
"Don't worry about me. Have you had dinner tonight? Want to eat something with me?"

Zoe's mindset is completely different from what it was a few months ago.

When Zoe was making the mermaid for Mr. Thuram, she had several emotional breakdowns and became extremely irritable.

But now, Ronan is certain she's facing a huge 'problem,' yet all she's shown is that she can't eat on time because of her busy work schedule; there's no emotional problem whatsoever.

Even when Leah nagged her to stop doing this, Zoe could still laugh and joke, asking if Ronan could at least give her some face.

Zoe's inner strength is growing stronger. Ronan sighed silently.

"Did you make this today?" Zoe noticed the 'bees' on the table.

Ronan pushed it in front of Zoe and said with a smile:
"Yes, how is it?"

Zoe picked it up and examined it carefully from all angles, then offered her thoughtful comments:
“I had this feeling before, and now I am even more certain that your strength lies in your exquisite design skills and extremely high level of carving. Other artists carve on wood, shells and stone, while you carve on desserts. However, due to the special nature of the materials you use, the things you make are more exquisite and delicate.”

Zoe put down her plate and said excitedly:
"Never forget your own unique characteristics. As long as you make good use of them and amplify them to the fullest extent, you will definitely be able to create excellent works."

Ronan said with a smile:
“Marini suggested that my final piece for the ‘Land Art’ event should make perfect use of my sculpting skills.”

Marini, a sculptor, said Ronan's sculpting skills were outstanding, which truly speaks volumes.

Zoe nodded in agreement:
"That's right, just like I said, we must never forget our own unique characteristics—"

She paused abruptly, and after a few seconds of deliberation, said to Ronan:
Have you ever tried sculpting on plaster?

Zoe's work for this event is still a combination of glass and ceramic techniques.

The challenge she faced was that she wanted to create a glass design with extremely high precision.

The general process of making glassware is as follows: a model of the object is made of high-temperature resistant plaster, then glass powder is filled into the mold, and then it is fired in a kiln. After firing, the plaster is knocked off, and the finished product is obtained.

In this process, if the pattern on the plaster mold is carved too finely or too shallowly, even if glass powder is filled into that area, it will be difficult to color it after the powder is fired, and even if it is colored, it may fall off with a touch. If the carving is too deep, it loses the sense of refinement that Zoe wanted.

The glass powder firing process requires firing in a kiln to see the final effect, so she has to start over again and again to find the most satisfactory state.

Although Zoe is familiar with many crafts, carving is not her forte, but glass and ceramic crafts require some basic carving skills.

In the past, her skills were sufficient for creating works that weren't very detailed. However, this time, participating in the 'Land Art' event raised her standards in every aspect, which caused her sculpting skills to fall behind.

But Zoe suddenly realized that her Ronan seemed to have a real talent for sculpting.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Ronan sat at Zoe's workbench, head down, carefully carving plaster. "What you spend half a day drawing and carving, I can carve in half an hour. In the next few days, I will carve more than a dozen molds for you according to different depths and widths. You can put them in the kiln and fire them all at once to see which state you want."

I told you you couldn't just do it by yourself!
This time, Zoe was finally able to sit behind Ronan and hug him. She rested her chin on Ronan's shoulder and said with a smile:
"I never expected you would actually be of help. How did you train? How can you carve so meticulously?"

Zoe thought Ronan was terrifying just thinking about how a single pattern could be carved with more than a dozen different depths and widths.

Ronan said in a casual tone:
“I didn’t know I was so good with my hands. I first discovered it by knitting. Barty said I was a genius. Maybe cooking a lot has helped. You know I’m pretty good with a knife, right? Carving is just about using a different knife. But that’s nothing. Josephine’s hands are even better than mine.”

Ronan's argument was logical and well-founded, and he even brought up another well-known genius. Zoe didn't dwell on the issue, but instead asked with concern:

"Won't it delay your own progress if you help me carve so many experimental molds?"

Zoe's design is complete and in production, but Ronan is still 'practicing'.

Ronan turned around and said with a smile:
"Don't worry, I'm a farmer, and my friends are farmers too. We're a group of people who are pampered by nature. This theme was prepared just for me, so don't worry."

Zoe tapped Ronan's chin and said:

"But how can I help you?"

Ronan asked expectantly:
"How about you come with me to clear my head? We could spend an afternoon visiting a few winery cooperatives?"

Ronan's current priority is to quickly upgrade his cooking skills, and Zoe is his happiness accelerator; being with her makes everything he does twice as happy.

And he also needs to start learning about this industry.

Zoe hugged Ronan and gave him a big kiss:
"it is good!"

Ronan helped her overcome the biggest challenge, so she no longer needed to work day and night. Besides, after being cooped up at home for so long, it was time to go out and change her mood.

Besides Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Provence has many other famous wine regions where you can experience the charm of Southern French wines without paying the high premium of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

There are three similar wine regions that are relatively close to Lourmarin.

One is the Côte Aix-en-Provence appellation, about 30 kilometers southwest of Lourmarin, and the other is the Côte Provence appellation, about 50 kilometers southeast of Lourmarin.

The last one is the Côte-de-Lüberon wine region, where the village of Lourmarin is located.

This small wine region comprises several well-known Luberon villages, including Menard, Gordes, and Lacoste.

In other words, Ronan and Zoe don't have to go far from home to enjoy those delicious wines.

In fact, Ronan didn't need to make any preparations for this trip in advance.

On the way to Mena village, you can see an advertisement for a winemaking cooperative every now and then.

The advertising slogan is simple yet enthusiastic:

Come and try our delicious wine!

“If you want to go to a winery for tasting, then Châteauneuf-du-Pape is definitely the place to go, but if you want to buy original, fine wines, it’s best to buy them from the wine cooperative.” Zoe said this when the first billboard appeared.

"Which one should we go to first?" Ronan was already eager to try.

He hasn't visited many wineries and winemaking cooperatives, but he has learned a lot from both large wineries and small winemaking cooperatives.

"Are you looking for rosé?" Zoe asked Ronan.

Ronan has informed her of his decision to take over the Stellar Winery.

Zoe naturally assumed that she was going to learn at a place that makes rosé.

Ronan curled his lip and said:
"Isn't it a bit hard to find?"

In Provence, wineries that still use traditional methods to make rosé wine are extremely rare. Otherwise, the tourism bureau wouldn't spend money to preserve this technique; they probably couldn't find many even if they opened wineries all over Luberon.

"Shall we go drink something else?" Zoe asked, looking at Ronan's profile.

Ronan said definitively:

“Sure, I want to learn more than just brewing techniques; I’m open to learning any kind of wine.”

With the [Brewing] skill in the system, Ronan wasn't too worried about the taste and quality of the rosé.

What he was really worried about was the operation, scale, and investment, so whether or not he went to the rosé winery was irrelevant to him.

Zoe's tone suddenly took on a hint of anticipation:
"Shall we go for a drink that we don't usually drink?"

Ronan said with a smile:
"No problem, the more varieties the better!"

For a time, drinking was a very important way for Ronan to obtain "happiness".

Ronan's purpose for this trip wasn't to study, but also to gain experience.

He wished he could drink as many different kinds as possible.

Zoe pointed in a direction with her right hand:
"Let's go try something new!"

(End of this chapter)