Slightly edited and anonymized. One missing as it was handwritten and no digital documentation remains, strictly analog and limited in its temporal nature to the space between hands and eyes.

My dear P*,

I hope you have had a wonderful time in B* these past few weeks. Please accept my apologies for being unable to be here to welcome you personally but know I have kept abreast of … from where I am.

It has been a great pleasure to learn of you and your … practice, and I am sure, if I were still alive, you would … a beautiful … of me, the me I truly am. When I was alive artists were always trying to capture my spirit in their medium. Admittedly, I did not make it easy for them. After all, how does one capture a free spirit? Since my death this past December I have become an even freer spirit, traversing the universe beyond the boundaries of time and space. There are advantages to being deceased —no longer having to wait in line to go thru airport security being perhaps the greatest! Still, I miss the gaze of the artist as he tries to decipher the complexity of my persona. My nose has healed since the slight slip up by that butcher Upstate which sent me to this place beyond last December. Maybe there is a way for you to make … of me as I exist now here in the great beyond?

Excuse me, I meant not to write about me but about you. This is your … here in B* and I hope you have made the most of it. I personally have never attended myself but did accompany R* a number of times. One of the best things about being where you are is the people you meet, I always was able to find a special person with whom to slip off to P*, to V*, for a little or a lot of pleasure and fun when things grew dull or heavy in B*. From what I’ve learned about you I feel we are very similar, always up for pleasurable company as long as it does not become too serious!

Again, I digress from the purpose of writing you this email. I wanted to tell you that the lilies on the table are there for you. I know yesterday R* said she had brought them for the class so that all may enjoy their beauty as they slowly open up in the hot and humid environs of studio six, releasing a burst of their dizzying ‘duft’ into the air but don’t believe her. R* purchased the flowers at my behest, not for the workshop members but specifically for you. These flowers are a memory — of me —for you to fix into your own memory of your time here this summer. Go to the flowers this morning, gaze at them the way you would a subject of your painter’s eye and brush, see the details of what makes them beautiful. Gently stroke their petals and deeply breath in the fragrance they exude into the air surrounding you. Take all of this into your memory and store it away until the next time you see a white or deep pink lily — then summon it all back and think of B*, and most importantly of me , Melusine van der Weyden.

Who knows, perhaps our paths will someday cross and we can make another memory together? Until then …

Yours,

Melusine

My dear A*,

I know yesterday R* said she had brought the flowers for the class so that all may enjoy their beauty as they slowly open up in the hot and humid environs of studio six, releasing a burst of their dizzying ‘duft’ into the air but don’t believe her. You know how she is and that her relationship to truth and life is as melodramatic as the scent of those flowers! The lillies are for you from me. R* purchased the flowers at my behest. These flowers are a sensual memory of me for you to add to your vast and hopefully growing collection.

Go to the flowers this morning, gaze at them, ask yourself ‘Why am I so attracted to them — to Melusine? Then gently stroke their petals with the tips of your fingers as gently as you would stroke the tip of your loaded brush to the smooth, cottony surface of the paper hanging on the wall of your sanctuary. Deeply breath in the heady perfume they exude into the heavy, humid air surrounding you. Take all of this into your memory, place it in the small box you’ve stamped ‘Mel’ until the next time you see a white or deep pink lily — then carefully lift the lid from the box to let the sweet scent slip out and waft upwards past your glorious … to dance seductively around the tip of your nose before slipping into your nostrils and re-awaken your olfactory organ; bringing back not memories of this place and time but of me — Melusine van der Weyden.

Until then …

truly yours,

Mel

My dear S*,

I hope you have had a wonderful time in B* these past few weeks. Please accept my apologies for being unable to be here to welcome you personally but know I have kept abreast of the residency from where I am.

It has been a great pleasure to learn of you and your rich and varied practice. I apologize that I was unable to be with you but the circumstances of my passing this past December have made it slightly more complicated to cross borders. Although, compared to the distances you must travel to seek out the pleasures and perversities of this world I am lucky, I suppose. It takes significantly less time and jet full to cross the border of life and death than to fly from S* to B*. Like yourself, I have always been a free spirit and I revel in this new freedom I have gained through my untimely death. Of course, one day you too will know this freedom of your own person, a freedom which has allowed me , a persona, to become an even freer spirit, traversing the universe beyond the boundaries of time and space. I am my own space and time … something most of the world might find a bit perverse, no?

There are practical advantages to being deceased —no longer having to wait in line to go thru airport security, jet lag, the drain on the bank book, or dealing with rude people being perhaps the greatest! Still, I miss the gaze of the artist as she tries to decipher the complexity of me. My nose has healed since the slight slip up by that butcher but I don’t regret what drove me to him and his knife. Vanity is essential to driving us to live our lives both within and beyond the status quo. Who doesn’t want to be different, stand out from the crowd? Does this mean we are all deviant in nature by wanting to be different from others, including our own self?

Excuse me, I meant not to write about me and these questions I have but to you. As I have learned these past few weeks you are quite a fan of asking questions.

This is your … here in B* and I hope you have made the most of it. I personally have never attended myself but did accompany R* a number of times. One of the best things about being where you are is the people you meet and to whom you will remain connected! As your fellow ... sider and … always says about this place … it is as if serendipity has brought us all here!

Why I write this epistle to you is to say the lilies on the table are there for you. I know yesterday R* said she had brought them for the class so that all may enjoy their beauty as they slowly open up in the hot and humid environs of studio six, releasing a burst of their dizzying ‘duft’ into the air but don’t believe her. Her relationship to the truth can be at times quite different than most. R* purchased the flowers at my behest, not for the workshop members but specifically for you. These flowers are a memory — of me —to enter into your own memory of your time here this summer.

Go to the flowers this morning, gaze at them, question who and what they are. Then gently stroke their petals and deeply breath in the fragrance they exude into the air surrounding you. Take all of this into your memory and store it away until the next time you see a white or deep pink lily — then summon it all back and think of B*, and most importantly of me, Melusine van der Weyden.

Who knows, perhaps our paths will someday cross and we can make another memory together? Until then …

Yours,

Melusine

My dear F*,

It has been a great pleasure to learn of you and your practice. I apologize that I was unable to be with you but the circumstances of my passing this past December have made it slightly more complicated to cross borders however, I revel in this new freedom I have gained through my untimely death. And this place your find yourself in will if you choose to make the most of it will grant you a similar freedom for yourself, your life, your creative practice.

There are practical advantages to being deceased —no longer having to wait in line to go thru airport security being perhaps the greatest! Still, I miss the gaze of the artist as she tries to decipher the complexity of me. My nose has healed since the slight slip up by that butcher Upstate, I should have gone to the gentleman recommended to me on Fifth Avenue. New York City has so much more to offer than the rest of the world, that is why the rest of the world finds its place in New York City. I have spent many hours there and find my spirit still wanders there quite often, searching for the potential Manhattan has to offer.

Excuse me, I meant not to write about me but to you.This is your ... here in B* and I hope you have made the most of it. I personally have never attended myself but did accompany R* a number of times. One of the best things about being where you are is the people you meet and to whom you will remain connected! Once you return to … you might even find how extensive and deep these connections run through a community that, like myself, might not be ‘here’ but is always here for you.

Why I have written this email to you, is to say the lilies on the table, like the artists in this community you’ve newly entered into this summer, are there for you. I know yesterday R* said she had brought them for the class so that all may enjoy their beauty as they slowly open up in the hot and humid environs of studio six, releasing a burst of their dizzying ‘duft’ into the air but don’t believe her. Her relationship to the truth can be at times quite tenuous R* purchased the flowers at my behest, not for the workshop members but specifically for you. These flowers are a memory — of me —to enter into your own memory of your time here in B* this summer and carry you through the next year.

Who knows, perhaps our paths will someday cross — maybe on … ? Until then …

Yours,

Melusine

My dear T*,

It has been a great pleasure to learn of you, your research practice and to have you back in B*. I apologize that I was unable to be with you but the circumstances of my passing this past December have made it slightly more complicated to cross borders however, I revel in this new freedom I have gained through my untimely death. It was and has been a crazy and at time destabilizing time between B* and B* for most of us but it is good that you have hung in there and hopefully after this the plane will finally leave the gate.

There are practical advantages to being deceased, perhaps even Heiddegger would attest to this, Satre might say we always are to a degree. No longer having to wait in line to go thru airport security being perhaps the greatest! Still, I miss having the eyes of the world upon me. My nose has healed since the slight slip up by that butcher but we all must suffer a little pain now and again for beauty and our art!

Excuse me, I meant not to write about me but to you.This is your ... here in B* and I hope you have made the most of it. I recall last year you were only able to join near the end hopefully, your time here this summer has expanded your understanding but not exhausted you. I personally have never attended myself but did accompany R* a number of times. One of the best things about being where you are is the people you meet and to whom you will remain connected!

I write you to say the lilies on the table are there for you. I know yesterday R* said she had brought them for the class so that all may enjoy their beauty as they slowly open up in the hot and humid environs of studio six, releasing a burst of their dizzying ‘duft’ into the air but don’t believe her. Her relationship to the truth can be at times as theatrical as the scent of those flowers! R* purchased the flowers at my behest, not for the workshop members but specifically for you. These flowers are a memory — of me —to enter into your own memory of your time here in B* this summer and carry you through the next years of your … .

Who knows, perhaps our paths will someday cross? Until then …

Yours,

Melusine

My dear G*,

It has been a great pleasure to learn of you and your practice these past years in B*, N* and M*. I apologize that I was unable to be with you at this, your ... but the circumstances of my passing this past December have made it slightly more complicated to cross borders. Fortunately, the digital world we all exist in today allows me to communicate to you across the border of life and death. Always having been a free spirit I revel in this which has allowed me to become an even freer spirit, traversing the universe beyond the boundaries of time and space. I am my own space and time.

There are practical advantages to being deceased —no longer having to wait in line to go thru airport security or dealing with rude people being perhaps the greatest! Still, I miss the gaze of the artist as he tries to decipher the complexity of my persona. My nose has healed since the slight slip up by that butcher Upstate which sent me to this place beyond last December. Maybe there is a way for you to express the essence of who I am as I exist now here in the great beyond?

Excuse me, I meant not to write about me but to you. This is your ... here in B* and I hope you have made the most of it. I heard rumors that lead me to believe it will be quite a memorable one for you … life altering, perhaps? I personally have never attended myself but did accompany Robyn a number of times. One of the best things about being where you are is the people you meet and to whom you will remain connected to for eternity!

I wanted to inform you that the lilies on the table are there for you. I know yesterday when you asked about the flowers R* said she had brought them for the class so that all may enjoy their beauty as they slowly open up in the hot and humid environs of studio six, releasing a burst of their dizzying ‘duft’ into the air but don’t believe her. R* purchased the flowers at my behest, not for the workshop members but specifically for you. I remember your appreciation for the beauty and symbolism of a flower. These flowers are a memory — of me —for you to fix into your own memory of your time here this summer as you would fix an image via the carbon process to a sheet of soft, white rag paper.

Go to the flowers this morning, gaze at them the way you would a subject with your artist’s eye, see the details of what makes them beautiful, take a photo of them. Then gently stroke their petals and deeply breath in the fragrance they exude into the air surrounding you. Take all of this into your memory and store it away until the next time you see a white or deep pink lily — then summon it all back and think of B*, and most importantly of me, Melusine van der Weyden.

Who knows, perhaps our paths will someday cross and we can make another memory together? Until then …

Yours,

Melusine