m o l a s s e s

pass the peas, please.

no? there aren’t any more??

maybe that’s because conserverie berthou, one of pont-aven’s last canneries, stopped rolling its belts sometime in the 1990’s, or so i’m told. legumes neither come nor go these days but the former factory rests alongside the aven river across from the ever-picturesque bois d’amour (woods of love), just a few doors down from my apartment on rue kerandistro. the pea-property remained derelict until purchased by pasca [www.pontaven.org], an american art program established here some twelve years ago by art historian/gauguin scholar caroline boyle-turner.  although the school envisions the site for its second studio building (a glassy breathtaker designed by celebrated architect jean nouvel), it’ll take more than a few million peas to pay for such a grand project. for now, the structure keeps its same charming old form, minus the cans. the space is currently inhabited by the school’s facilities manager, himself an inventive artist & generous guy who has passed along a stack of the cannery’s abandonned etiquettes [labels] for my amusement. i may not be eating peas these days but i can still play with them.