Nelly Josephine Atamuratova is a young artist living in The Republic of Moldova; she was my student when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Nelly has recently branched out from painting and drawing into photography. She sends me emails of images from Moldova, Romania, and Turkey and I edit them for her in Photoshop. It’s a creative and collaborative way for us to share our art and our lives across the continents.
The following image fills me with nostalgia for Moldova; I miss the villages of Eastern Europe, with all their old-world beauty and mystery. Even the remembered charm of an abandoned cottage has its secrets to share…
[Village of Hirbovatul Nou, Republic of Moldova – June 2011 – ©Nelly Atamuratova]
Hello Melly,
Last Saturday, Irina Digori and I visited the mother of our friend Irina Birca, your former student, who now lives in Texas. We visited her mother because she is alone and we are all of us missing Irina and so we traveled to the village of Hirbovatul Nou to spend the day with her.
I saw this dilapidated house there and l took the picture because the sun was going down and I could see and feel the warmth of the evening light on this old, abandoned cottage. It was taken with my very bad and cheap camera – honestly, I do not know how, but it sometimes manages to catch good light. I hope that you will like it too and I await your critique.
Love,
Nelly J.