{"id":159878,"date":"2025-11-29T16:07:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/159878\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T16:07:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:07:10","slug":"inside-an-idyllic-art-school-in-the-remote-transylvanian-countryside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/159878\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside an idyllic art school in the remote Transylvanian countryside"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meanwhile, pencils, brushes and paints require attention. We are not Van Gogh, throwing paint<\/a> around or chopping off our ears. Lucy\u2019s equipment is a model of neatness, while mine is not. I quickly learn the difference this makes to the delicacy of a brushstroke or the accuracy of pencil marks, and how effectively a nice clean rubber erases mistakes. The group gathers round an electron microscope, a magical instrument not available when I was working for biologist Miriam Rothschild on a book about gardening<\/a> for butterflies.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s studio at the end of the garden has a stable below it.<\/p>\n

Lavinia Cernau<\/p>\n

With electronic magnification, the sweetest of blossoms becomes a prehistoric monster worthy of Jurassic Park. Plants, as with dinosaurs, are programmed for survival. There are tiny globules of stickiness on stems and leaves that allow insect-eaters \u2013 sundews or butterwort \u2013 to trap and digest their prey. My own choice is a ghost orchid, a plant that, lacking the ability to process sunlight, sucks colour as well as nourishment from its quarry. Botanical artists study surface \u2013 the number of petals, the distribution and shape of leaves, the way a flower sits on the stalk \u2013 in much the same way that a portrait painter considers the colour of skin, texture of hair or the set of a head on shoulders. The challenge is not to show that each plant is identical, as can happen with photographs, but to tell the truth \u2013 provide a record of life rather than an image frozen in time.<\/p>\n

Every evening, we all \u2013 tutor, guests and host \u2013 gather in the book-lined comfort of the drawing room, while our hostess works with tranquil confidence in the open kitchen beyond. Rachel has a strong sense of place and is an instinctive cook who does not follow recipes<\/a>, though tradition and inspiration are both evident in the beautiful dishes she sets on the table.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

Tomatoes are among the homegrown produce\u00a0showcased in Rachel\u2019s recipes.<\/p>\n

Lavinia Cernau<\/p>\n

She grinds her own cornmeal from dried maize kernels for naturally yeasted bread. Eggs, butter, honey and fresh white cheese are laid out in the kitchen for breakfast. Beautiful salads<\/a> \u2013 with young beetroot, new potatoes, fresh herbs \u2013 appear like magic on a long wooden table for lunch outside. At the end of the day, there are delicious stews made with just-dug vegetables and newly cut greens, washed down with local wine<\/a>, to be savoured with a view of the rose arbour that leads to the studio. If it sounds idyllic, indeed it is. And a lesson, too, in how to<\/a> walk lightly on the earth that\u2019s all too easily forgotten.<\/p>\n

Ways and means<\/p>\n

Transylvania School of Botanic Art & Illustration<\/a> offers eight, week-long residential masterclasses a year, \u20ac2,700 each per person, full board, including five days\u2019 tuition, transfers and excursions. Wizz Air flies from London<\/a> Luton to Sibiu Airport, a 90-minute drive from Copsa Mare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meanwhile, pencils, brushes and paints require attention. We are not Van Gogh, throwing paint around or chopping off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[105253,442,498,499,500,501,68195,156,2024,111,139,69,274],"class_list":{"0":"post-159878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-activity-holidays","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-destinations","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-europe","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz","20":"tag-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}