To Russia with love ....

© Masha Kirikova

I'm a lucky girl to be living in the age of the internet and have the opportunity to meet other like minded people who love to connect and share their love of art.    Through Facebook groups I have met artists from all around the world and I consider them to be friends who have had great influence over the way I approach and share this work.    This beautiful piece at the top of the post is by Masha Kirikova,  who  lives in Russia and is a wonderfully gifted artist, painting in different mediums and styles.  I am privileged to own this original artwork which has come all the way from Russia to reside on a wall in my home in Western Australia.  You can see more examples of her beautiful work here and below.

© Masha Kirikova

© Masha Kirikova

 http://www.mashakirikova.com

Earlier this year    I posted about travelling  overseas ... to attend the Society of Botanical Artists mid-course Seminar and Exhibition in London and then to celebrate our wedding anniversary in France.  A dream come true to visit the French Alps, Provence and Paris.   Before I left we discussed travel and art often and my friend Masha told me she would also be travelling to Paris a few months later and that as we would be visiting Montmartre I should leave a sign for her to find.

Montmartre artists at work

Montmartre is the highest point in the city of Paris and  is a wonderful gathering place for artists .  It has a rich history with the likes of Dali, Monet, Picasso and Van Gogh having studios there and having worked in the community.    Now it is a bustling centre of artists and tourists also coming to visit the renowned Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

 It was an easy enough place to get to but how to leave a sign for Masha?  We had bought a locker, or padlock - which could be placed securely so that nobody else would see it or remove it.   We found a lovely park nearby and attached it to a fence.

The red locker

The park  near Sacré-Cœur Basilica

Hoping she would find it!

 The combination was the date we left it in Montmartre for her to find.   Months later Masha travelled to Paris, visited Montmartre and followed my clues to find the locker still safely tucked away on the park fenceline ... using the combination on the photo I emailed to her ... VOILA!!!  All the way from Western Australia via Singapore, London, Geneva, French Alps, Provence and Paris ... now residing so very far away in Russia.  I was so happy to see she found it after following my clues ...

Voila!

It was a fun adventure to think we could attempt such a mission - I am quite touched to think that I was the last to place the locker and Masha was first to find it and carries it with her as a talisman on her leather backpack bought in Paris.

Lovely Masha

К моему дорогому другу с большой любовью из Австралии!

(To my dear friend, with love from Australia!)