Visiting France to see the country's wealth of cultural and historical treasures-and being able to help preserve and restore those treasures-was an opportunity of a lifetime.
This year, there were seven of us who met in Montpellier with our French host and instructor, Pierre Ricard, owner of Chauxbusiness, of Laroque, France. "Chaux" is the French word for lime plaster and Pierre's company is the supplier of lime plasters, pigments and other products available in the United States through Dimensions International, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Nina Zubkova, president of the company, organized the trip that was not only a valuable learning experience for us but afforded us a wonderful working vacation in a beautiful part of France. Dimensions offers classes that teach artisans techniques to apply these plasters that have been used since the Romans and this trip was open only for advanced applicators who had years of experience.