In a workshop hazy with sawdust, just a few steps away from the main canals of an idyllic Provençal village, Alain Pretôt crafts a small, wooden boat. It’s one of two or three he’ll make this year, in a style unique to the Sorgues River. The workshop, decorated with posters of Georges Brassnens, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC, is narrow. There’s just enough space to circle the long table where the boat’s skeleton takes shape. This is a place of labor, but not obligation: The pleasure of crafting in this…
