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A long wooden table on the terrace overlooking the olive grove creates a companionable space for us to assemble for dinner.The sun is setting, casting warm filtered light through the olive grove as we select from plates of antipasto, local wines, cheeses,olives – and Leonie’s authentic Puglia dishes: Cozze e Patate al Forno (mussels, potatoes, rice, baked in the oven), CalamariRipieni (stuffed squid), cold almond soup, Fava e Cicoria (a Purée of broad beans with wild greens), and much more… All areserved and eaten with laughter, stories and good conversation, led by David’s sparkling wit, and sustained by the enduringwarmth of both hosts.I found this place by ‘accident.’ At home in Sydney, Ihad been watching Grand Designs, a BBC programwhich follows people initiating and completing unorthodoxhousing and building designs, often fromchallenging beginnings. I watched the building workat Impisi from start to finish and found myself deeplystirred, not only by the way the masseria constructiontook shape, but by the people involved, the waythey found their way through Italian bureaucracy,through the challenges of unknowns, the inevitablerough patches, the arduous business of learning newskills, and doing most of the hands-on work througha blistering summer. I loved how family and friendswere involved in the work, sharing meals around atable stacked with goodwill and laughter, good wineand food. I wanted to be a small part of this place.I wrote to Leonie and David, received the details oftheir planned ‘Art workshops,’ and booked in immediately.Synchronistically, the dates exactly coincided withmy planned visit to New York for the opening of myexhibition at Agora Gallery. I could fly straight toRome after the gallery opening, and on to Brindisi,to be transported to Impisi. I wanted to stay over inOstuni to relax, soak up Italy a tad, before embarkingon a new adventure. And so it was.Grasping two corners of the paper now imprintedwith a painted image, I peel it back from the glass…Pause - in suspended expectation…as the first olivetree image reveals itself…Imagined into being - olive tree -- ancient, dignified,alive!I place the print to dry in the sun on the stone gardenwall - framed by an arching orange tree, laden withfruit.Ancestral Ghosts, Family Tree 3 Caroline Josephs Ph.D.Acrylic & Mixed Media on Paper, Two Panels 28” x 39” (framed)Back home in my Sydney studio I am painting back into prints of trees – remembering burnt rust earth, the grey-green flurry ofolive leaves, a sweep of graceful, grey trunks, the fall of yellow pollen, the drift of olive blossom, a cerulean blue sky… Recallingconversations, laughter, the generosity of artists, tables laden with delicious food and good wine, the poetic musicality of theItalian language, the theatricality of Italians, the warmth of Italy!And the wonder of making Art.Caroline Josephs, Ph.D.www.carolinejosephs.com.auwww.Art-Mine.com/Artistpage/Caroline_Josephs_Phd.aspxwww.Artisspectrum.com/magazine/24/index.html?pageNumber=71www.Artisspectrum.com/magazine/25/index.html?pageNumber=6369 ARTisSpectrum