I have a feeling that this will be my last entry before I come home on the evening of May 4th! I will provide a brief (= P) synopsis of my last few weeks.
April 5th-7th
My beautiful cousin Amy Karel came to visit from Toledo, Spain! She was on Spring Break with a handful of her friends, and I got to spend time with them for the brief time they were here in Florence. We went to the Academia, walked around, shopped, and got gelato. They stayed with Amy’s friend Gina from St. Norberts, and Gina made an extraordinary dinner for all of us! She was so sweet –all of those girls were wonderful! I miss my cousin!! = )
The 7th was my roommate Catherine’s 21st Birthday—It was fun to go out for her birthday and enjoy an aperitivo with friends! I was so excited because it was an excuse for me to make a sign—hehe—and so I decorated the apartment and drew a poster-sized Kung Fu Panda (her favorite movie—that she is obsessed with) for her. It was joyous!
April 12th Easter
I stayed in Florence for the majority of the time. The only excursion I made was on Saturday—to Cinque Terra with most of my roommates. It is called “5 Towns” because there are hiking trails that connect these small towns to one another along the coast of Italy. It was a gorgeous day and SO much fun to hike and get a little exercise. The view was breathtaking! I LOVED it! Hiking amidst such beautiful nature really reminded me of Winona. I have realized how much I take for granted the beautiful surroundings of Winona. I certainly have a newfound appreciation for it!
Easter was fantastic! My roommates and I went to Piazza Repubblica and watched the Renaissance-clad men do a flag-throwing performance. This was followed by a colorful parade of ‘Kings and Queens’ dressed in traditional Florentine Renaissance attire. The parade ended at the steps of the Duomo, where the crowd gathered to watch the famous ‘fireworks.’ Well, these weren’t just ordinary fireworks…they were hundreds of small fireworks strapped to this Enormous structure, pulled my two huge white oxen. The bishop and papal officials said a mass inside of the Baptistery, which was played on loudspeaker for the crowd to hear. At the conclusion of the mass, the bishop lit the ‘dove’ from the candle of holy fire, which then, traveled along a wire attached to the fireworks-structure, and lit the first of the fireworks. There is deep tradition and belief behind this ritual, and it was incredibly beautiful. The fireworks display was LOUD! The noise of the fireworks reminded me of the loud, bright fireworks on 4th of July—the ones that are barely visible, but rattle in your chest. I was not a fan of those at all. They reminded me of war. But soft flowing fireworks followed these—those were beautiful! The whole display was incredibly symbolic of Christ’s death and resurrection—a beautiful depiction of this most holy event! I was fortunate to be able to witness it!
April 16th-19th Paris
I went to Paris, France with Sarah, Jackie and Liz. They were so much to travel with, and for the majority of our time there we split up into pairs and Sarah and I saw the sights with her local French friend, Magali. It was so wonderful to have a local Parisian show us around her hometown! Paris is beautiful, and despite the chronically rainy weather, we had a fantastic time! There is so much character to Paris, but it is highly modernized and catered to tourists. We enjoyed the street venders, who sold delicious baguette sandwiches—and the majority of the time, it I simply carried around a baguette with me as we toured the major sights. Starbucks was a very nice treat throughout the weekend—we missed that American commodity.
We saw Notre Dame and the Eiffle Tower by day and night. We didn’t climb it, due to the weather, but we did get a gorgeous panoramic view of the city when we went to Mont mart. We saw Moulin Rouge and the Red Light district by car (thanks to Magali) and I was not impressed at all—it is just ‘something you must see.’ So we checked that off our list, and continued on with our sight seeing. We saw the Arch di Truimph and spent a good chunk of our time walking around and shopping.
Contrary to many of the negative opinions that I have heard about French people, we had very positive interactions with the people of Paris. I really enjoyed our stay in Paris! It was a relxing and enjoyable weekend, but by the end, Sarah and I were excited to return home to Florence.
My last 13 days
I have the last of my classes this week, and finals the following week. Tomorrow, in oil painting we are having a critique of our final series of landscape paintings and the following week we will be having an exhibition of our work. In fresco, I am in the process of removing my final fresco from the wall and transferring it onto canvas. Italian is wrapping up and we will be having our final on Thursday of next week. In Art History, we have finished up our lecture and will be seeing an exhibition on Bernini at the Bargello Museum on Thusday—my final will be on Tuesday of next week. I check out of the apartment on the 2nd of May, after my finals, and will be staying at a nearby bed and breakfast until the 4th, when I fly back to the states.
I am excited to be done with the ‘academics’ of my stay here, but I will greatly miss the experiences of Florence that go along with them. I have learned so much and I am excited to be able to take what I have learned back with me. All in all—I have mixed emotions about the end of the next handful of days. I am SO excited to come home, but I am realizing how much I will miss Florence, the beauty of Italy, and the people that I have come to know. All I can do is make the most of it and absorb all that I can. I love it here and I will miss it—the culture, the people, the friends I have made, the art, the architecture, the history. My eyes have been opened on many different levels through this experience and I look forward to taking what I have seen and experienced and allowing it to further shape me for the future.
I do miss everyone back at home (in the US) and I am excited to see you Soon!!
Much much love and many hugs!
Mollie
4/21/09
3/19/09
Come matto è questa vita!
WOW. How can I catch you up on a month and ten days of packed experiences?? Offtah. I will do my best to summarize the big events as well as give an updates of my classes. All I can say is that I am SO glad that I lable all of my photo albums with dates. I know myself too well. haha.
= ) Ok, here it goes:
02/11/2009-02/19/2009
Erice/Trapani Sicily: visited with roommates Melissa, Lauren, Sarah and Catherine, as well as friends Jackie and Domenica.
Sicily was beautiful!! It was SUPER cold and rainy much of the time—but God definitely revealed His beauty through the seemingly gloomy weekend. I definitely needed time to absorb life—and I got it!! I learned that positivity is an absolutely essential tool when it comes to stressful ‘learning’ experiences, unexpected ‘surprises,’ and rainy weather. The rain in Sicily is so beautiful! It is soft and delicate, even when it downpours! I found joy amidst the cold and rain!
02/20/2009-02/24/2009
I visited the Boboli Gardens– GEORGEOUS!!! I love it!! It is an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of urban Florence. Bellisima!!
MIDTERMS—they came and they went. I have nothing to complain about: 2 studio classes, an art history, and an Italian language class. It was the least stressful midterm schedule that I have ever had – and will ever have!
02/27/2009-03/06/2009
SPRING BREAK Kara Came!!!
There is so MUCH to SAY!!! I love Kara. She is my best-est friend. I still can’t believe that she actually CAME to FLORENCE to visit ME!!! I am Waaay too blessed!! OK—so we had a great time in Florence seeing things; the Accademia, the Uffizi, the Central Market, around Florence. Kara met awesome people from all over Europe that were staying in her hostel (Melissa from Australia, Reineke from Holland, James from London, and Armondo—from the States—to name a few) and she shared them with me—we went out one night and had a TON of fun! = ) Unfortunately, my immune system couldn’t hold out for my entire 4 months abroad, and I got a bad cold and laryngitis—it happens. It didn’t deter us from doing things though—Kara and I packed up and went to Rome—having quite an interesting experience; seeing the Colosseum and Vatican City. Georgeous, huge, diverse, loud, crowded, and slightly scary. It was a good experience, but we were glad to return to Florence. Sadly, the week went too fast and I had to say goodbye to my other half the day after we got back. =’( It was SO wonderful to have Kara here, though!! It was the perfect spring break!!
03/08/2009-03/15/2009
Mom and Dad Came!!!
If I wasn’t blessed enough by having my best friend come—my PARENTS came!!! I still haven’t digested it all, but we had SUCH a great time together!! Many meals out—my parents loved the restaurant Dante. When I was in class they went on a bikeride to the Chianti countryside and saw a castle, did wine tasting, had a meal, and shares great conversation with their guides Mary and Andy. Hopefully I can go on the same tour in the near future with my roommates—my mom was raving about it the entire rest of the week! My parents and I took a day trip to Siena. It was a beautiful day; we ate wonderful food, saw beautiful sites within la Chiesa de San Caterina and the Duomo, and worked our glutes walkint up and down the sloping streets of Siena. We played cards, laughed, and talked. I love my parents.
Art History: Michelangelo to Bernini
We transitioned from the earlier Renaissance techniques of Raphael and Michelangelo, into mannerist painting of Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo, and Rosso Fiorentino. Currently, we are focusing on painters from Parma, Parmigianino and Correggio, as well as artists Giorgione and Titian, from Venice. It is interesting to compare and contrast the Florentine techniques of painting to the mannerist styles seen from later artists as well as artists from the Venitian school. The Venitian school focused much more on effects of light, atmosphere, and landscape as tools of expression, versus the Florentine focus on architecture and sculptural human form of the subjects in the composition.
Oil Painting
We had a male nude model come and sit for us for a class period. That was interesting—I have never painted (or drawn for that matter) from an actual human form. I found it much more beneficial to my struggle with proportion to work from an actual model than from a still statue. We have now begun a series of 2 urban landscapes. I am having fun experimenting with texture—using acrylic glue and sand as well as playing with gesso. It is quite enjoyable—and much more fun to create a composition that is more abstract! Next week we will be working from the nude model again and having a lecture on the specifics techniques of texture used in oil painting.
Fresco
We finished our first wall fresco and then began the process of pulling out fresco off the wall. It is quite an interesting, delicate process—as everything is with fresco. My professor, Tiziano, prepared the glue for us, which consisted of ox glue (basically ox cartilage) melted in hot water. We cut 3 pieces of thin canvas slightly larger than the size of our fresco. Carefully, (and trying hard not to breathe in the toxic fumes) we applied the glue to our fresco, covering the surface completely in a thin layer. We had to work quickly because the glue dried promptly. Once the ox glue was sufficiently spread, we took one piece of canvas and spread it on top of the ox glue-covered surface. When smoothing the canvas to the surface of our fresco, we had to be extremely careful not to leave any wrinkles or pockets, because these imperfections would cause the glue to not adhere to the fresco correctly, resulting in patches of fresco that refuse to remove from the wall. We let this sit and dry for the following day and removed the canvas, and consequently, our fresco from the wall. It was fascinating because only a thin layer of the frescoed surface was transferred from the wall onto the canvas. This technique is effective due to the fantastic nature of fresco painting. If you recall, when creating a fresco, the oxidation process that evaporates the water and, in turn, pulls the pigment inside the plaster, causes the color to rest deep inside the surface. Therefore, when we remove merely the surface of our completed fresco, there is not only enough pigment to be removed onto the glue-covered canvas—but also enough pigment to leave a light impression of the fresco intact on the wall.
After removing our fresco from the wall, we were left with a reverse impression of our original fresco. This being said, we needed to begin the process of ‘flipping,’ or transferring, the fresco from one canvas to the other, in order to view it in the manner that we had originally created it. First, we scraped the back of canvas with small trowels, removing any extra mortar and rough texture that may have been removed with the fresco. Next, we prepared a second glue mixture, consisting of one part lime and one part acrylic glue. We needed to be even more attentive to spreading the second canvas on top of the glue than with the first removal. It was much more difficult to prevent wrinkles and air pockets from forming due to the mobility of the canvases. Let’s just say that virtually everyone in the class ended up hating the word ‘wrinkle’ by the end of the class.
Lastly, we applied a thin layer of acrylic glue on top of the second glue-covered canvas in order to secure adhesion of the two canvases. Finally, we covered the third piece of canvas with a plastic sheet and weighed it down with a board. Cross your fingers, because, come Monday, we will see the results of our first attempt at removing our fresco!! In addition, we will be starting our next fresco, which we will have a month to complete. We were free to choose the subject of this composition, and because we were all working from personal photographs, transferred our picture onto a larger sized sheet of drawing paper using the grid method. Once we had drawn our subject to a larger scale, we traced the image onto vellum, or tracing paper, and poked holes in the reverse side, as previously described. I am all ready to go for creating my next fresco! What an adventure of a class!
03/18/2009
V-Day—Creative Campus Event
The Creative Campus group that I have been a part of with Italian and American students broke up into group initiatives- and mine was focused on raising awareness for violence against women through different art media. A group of students and I (representing 4 different institutes here in Florence) had been planning for this night for the entire semester. It consisted of a gallery of artwork pertinent to experiences in Italy and violence against WOMEN –and then we decorated the whole upstairs and downstairs with Italian and English stats about violence against women. There was spoken word poetry, music, singing, a video of interviews of Italians and Americans about perspectives on 'a night out in Italy,’ and letter signing for addressed to president of the Congo calling on movement to stop sexual violence. There was an optional aperitivo with a % of the proceeds donated to the causes. It was a lot of work, but was a fantastic turnout!! It was so wonderful to be a part of something truly beneficial here in Florence!!
This weekend I am SO excited to relax and catch up on my academics (from what I missed the previous weeks of family, friends, and fun) and do something fun on Saturday the 21st. Well, it IS my golden birthday, so I SHOULD do something fun to celebrate, but I have no idea what I will be doing. I will be staying in Firenze due to the cost of train tickets to Venice, but **shrug** it will be fun to not HAVE to do anything at all—just get people together, have fun, and celebrate our togetherness. I am Goin’ against the grain of ‘traditional American 21st birthdays’ and I am proud of it!! haha. = ) Regardless of what I do, being here in Florence, experiencing the culture and life of this city, and having Kara and my parents here to visit me is above and beyond the best golden birthday present I could ever receive!!!
I apologize for this novel full of such brief information.
I will try and be more diligent with my blog and post info sooner.
Thanks for reading!
Ciao! A presto!
Mollie
= ) Ok, here it goes:
02/11/2009-02/19/2009
Erice/Trapani Sicily: visited with roommates Melissa, Lauren, Sarah and Catherine, as well as friends Jackie and Domenica.
Sicily was beautiful!! It was SUPER cold and rainy much of the time—but God definitely revealed His beauty through the seemingly gloomy weekend. I definitely needed time to absorb life—and I got it!! I learned that positivity is an absolutely essential tool when it comes to stressful ‘learning’ experiences, unexpected ‘surprises,’ and rainy weather. The rain in Sicily is so beautiful! It is soft and delicate, even when it downpours! I found joy amidst the cold and rain!
02/20/2009-02/24/2009
I visited the Boboli Gardens– GEORGEOUS!!! I love it!! It is an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of urban Florence. Bellisima!!
MIDTERMS—they came and they went. I have nothing to complain about: 2 studio classes, an art history, and an Italian language class. It was the least stressful midterm schedule that I have ever had – and will ever have!
02/27/2009-03/06/2009
SPRING BREAK Kara Came!!!
There is so MUCH to SAY!!! I love Kara. She is my best-est friend. I still can’t believe that she actually CAME to FLORENCE to visit ME!!! I am Waaay too blessed!! OK—so we had a great time in Florence seeing things; the Accademia, the Uffizi, the Central Market, around Florence. Kara met awesome people from all over Europe that were staying in her hostel (Melissa from Australia, Reineke from Holland, James from London, and Armondo—from the States—to name a few) and she shared them with me—we went out one night and had a TON of fun! = ) Unfortunately, my immune system couldn’t hold out for my entire 4 months abroad, and I got a bad cold and laryngitis—it happens. It didn’t deter us from doing things though—Kara and I packed up and went to Rome—having quite an interesting experience; seeing the Colosseum and Vatican City. Georgeous, huge, diverse, loud, crowded, and slightly scary. It was a good experience, but we were glad to return to Florence. Sadly, the week went too fast and I had to say goodbye to my other half the day after we got back. =’( It was SO wonderful to have Kara here, though!! It was the perfect spring break!!
03/08/2009-03/15/2009
Mom and Dad Came!!!
If I wasn’t blessed enough by having my best friend come—my PARENTS came!!! I still haven’t digested it all, but we had SUCH a great time together!! Many meals out—my parents loved the restaurant Dante. When I was in class they went on a bikeride to the Chianti countryside and saw a castle, did wine tasting, had a meal, and shares great conversation with their guides Mary and Andy. Hopefully I can go on the same tour in the near future with my roommates—my mom was raving about it the entire rest of the week! My parents and I took a day trip to Siena. It was a beautiful day; we ate wonderful food, saw beautiful sites within la Chiesa de San Caterina and the Duomo, and worked our glutes walkint up and down the sloping streets of Siena. We played cards, laughed, and talked. I love my parents.
Art History: Michelangelo to Bernini
We transitioned from the earlier Renaissance techniques of Raphael and Michelangelo, into mannerist painting of Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo, and Rosso Fiorentino. Currently, we are focusing on painters from Parma, Parmigianino and Correggio, as well as artists Giorgione and Titian, from Venice. It is interesting to compare and contrast the Florentine techniques of painting to the mannerist styles seen from later artists as well as artists from the Venitian school. The Venitian school focused much more on effects of light, atmosphere, and landscape as tools of expression, versus the Florentine focus on architecture and sculptural human form of the subjects in the composition.
Oil Painting
We had a male nude model come and sit for us for a class period. That was interesting—I have never painted (or drawn for that matter) from an actual human form. I found it much more beneficial to my struggle with proportion to work from an actual model than from a still statue. We have now begun a series of 2 urban landscapes. I am having fun experimenting with texture—using acrylic glue and sand as well as playing with gesso. It is quite enjoyable—and much more fun to create a composition that is more abstract! Next week we will be working from the nude model again and having a lecture on the specifics techniques of texture used in oil painting.
Fresco
We finished our first wall fresco and then began the process of pulling out fresco off the wall. It is quite an interesting, delicate process—as everything is with fresco. My professor, Tiziano, prepared the glue for us, which consisted of ox glue (basically ox cartilage) melted in hot water. We cut 3 pieces of thin canvas slightly larger than the size of our fresco. Carefully, (and trying hard not to breathe in the toxic fumes) we applied the glue to our fresco, covering the surface completely in a thin layer. We had to work quickly because the glue dried promptly. Once the ox glue was sufficiently spread, we took one piece of canvas and spread it on top of the ox glue-covered surface. When smoothing the canvas to the surface of our fresco, we had to be extremely careful not to leave any wrinkles or pockets, because these imperfections would cause the glue to not adhere to the fresco correctly, resulting in patches of fresco that refuse to remove from the wall. We let this sit and dry for the following day and removed the canvas, and consequently, our fresco from the wall. It was fascinating because only a thin layer of the frescoed surface was transferred from the wall onto the canvas. This technique is effective due to the fantastic nature of fresco painting. If you recall, when creating a fresco, the oxidation process that evaporates the water and, in turn, pulls the pigment inside the plaster, causes the color to rest deep inside the surface. Therefore, when we remove merely the surface of our completed fresco, there is not only enough pigment to be removed onto the glue-covered canvas—but also enough pigment to leave a light impression of the fresco intact on the wall.
After removing our fresco from the wall, we were left with a reverse impression of our original fresco. This being said, we needed to begin the process of ‘flipping,’ or transferring, the fresco from one canvas to the other, in order to view it in the manner that we had originally created it. First, we scraped the back of canvas with small trowels, removing any extra mortar and rough texture that may have been removed with the fresco. Next, we prepared a second glue mixture, consisting of one part lime and one part acrylic glue. We needed to be even more attentive to spreading the second canvas on top of the glue than with the first removal. It was much more difficult to prevent wrinkles and air pockets from forming due to the mobility of the canvases. Let’s just say that virtually everyone in the class ended up hating the word ‘wrinkle’ by the end of the class.
Lastly, we applied a thin layer of acrylic glue on top of the second glue-covered canvas in order to secure adhesion of the two canvases. Finally, we covered the third piece of canvas with a plastic sheet and weighed it down with a board. Cross your fingers, because, come Monday, we will see the results of our first attempt at removing our fresco!! In addition, we will be starting our next fresco, which we will have a month to complete. We were free to choose the subject of this composition, and because we were all working from personal photographs, transferred our picture onto a larger sized sheet of drawing paper using the grid method. Once we had drawn our subject to a larger scale, we traced the image onto vellum, or tracing paper, and poked holes in the reverse side, as previously described. I am all ready to go for creating my next fresco! What an adventure of a class!
03/18/2009
V-Day—Creative Campus Event
The Creative Campus group that I have been a part of with Italian and American students broke up into group initiatives- and mine was focused on raising awareness for violence against women through different art media. A group of students and I (representing 4 different institutes here in Florence) had been planning for this night for the entire semester. It consisted of a gallery of artwork pertinent to experiences in Italy and violence against WOMEN –and then we decorated the whole upstairs and downstairs with Italian and English stats about violence against women. There was spoken word poetry, music, singing, a video of interviews of Italians and Americans about perspectives on 'a night out in Italy,’ and letter signing for addressed to president of the Congo calling on movement to stop sexual violence. There was an optional aperitivo with a % of the proceeds donated to the causes. It was a lot of work, but was a fantastic turnout!! It was so wonderful to be a part of something truly beneficial here in Florence!!
This weekend I am SO excited to relax and catch up on my academics (from what I missed the previous weeks of family, friends, and fun) and do something fun on Saturday the 21st. Well, it IS my golden birthday, so I SHOULD do something fun to celebrate, but I have no idea what I will be doing. I will be staying in Firenze due to the cost of train tickets to Venice, but **shrug** it will be fun to not HAVE to do anything at all—just get people together, have fun, and celebrate our togetherness. I am Goin’ against the grain of ‘traditional American 21st birthdays’ and I am proud of it!! haha. = ) Regardless of what I do, being here in Florence, experiencing the culture and life of this city, and having Kara and my parents here to visit me is above and beyond the best golden birthday present I could ever receive!!!
I apologize for this novel full of such brief information.
I will try and be more diligent with my blog and post info sooner.
Thanks for reading!
Ciao! A presto!
Mollie
2/10/09
Viareggio for Carnival! 02/08/2009
On Sunday a big group of my friends and I took the train to Viareggio to see the first day of Carnival. I have no memory of seeing a parade of floats or any carnival in general, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Well...it was incredible!!!
The costumes, the colors, the ENORMOUS floats that moved and blinked and made noises!! Each float was completely unique, was preceded by a parade of elaborately costumed, dancing performers--and then the float came with booming music and bass. It was so great, because there were no blocked off roads -- people literally touched the enormous floats as they passed. Every time they would pass by, everyone would push eachother to the side of the road---just enough so we wouldn't get run over. It was great!!
Oh, and the people were incredible!! Everyone was so relaxed there. There was no drinking, just multitudes of people in VERY unique costumes, coordinated to match the family or significant other -- the kids silly-stringing and shaving-creaming random people -- but no one getting angry or having poor attitudes -- everyone just took the day in stride and in good natured, high spirits. It was really refreshing to be a part of something so gigantic, yet so community-oriented. It was quite a rewarding experience!!
Also, we were able to stop by the nearby sea!! It was so great to be able to hear the waves again!! I got attacked by the tide -- caught off guard, when my friend was taking a photo. Oops!! haha
All in all, it was so great to be able to see such a unique cultural event!!
As an update, I finished another oil painting (still life in colored oil paint) and my first fresco! The pictures are uploaded in their corresponding albums. Enjoy!!
Buonnanotte!
Mollie
The costumes, the colors, the ENORMOUS floats that moved and blinked and made noises!! Each float was completely unique, was preceded by a parade of elaborately costumed, dancing performers--and then the float came with booming music and bass. It was so great, because there were no blocked off roads -- people literally touched the enormous floats as they passed. Every time they would pass by, everyone would push eachother to the side of the road---just enough so we wouldn't get run over. It was great!!
Oh, and the people were incredible!! Everyone was so relaxed there. There was no drinking, just multitudes of people in VERY unique costumes, coordinated to match the family or significant other -- the kids silly-stringing and shaving-creaming random people -- but no one getting angry or having poor attitudes -- everyone just took the day in stride and in good natured, high spirits. It was really refreshing to be a part of something so gigantic, yet so community-oriented. It was quite a rewarding experience!!
Also, we were able to stop by the nearby sea!! It was so great to be able to hear the waves again!! I got attacked by the tide -- caught off guard, when my friend was taking a photo. Oops!! haha
All in all, it was so great to be able to see such a unique cultural event!!
As an update, I finished another oil painting (still life in colored oil paint) and my first fresco! The pictures are uploaded in their corresponding albums. Enjoy!!
Buonnanotte!
Mollie
2/6/09
Dropping you a line
I cannot believe that I have been here for a month now!! Time flies!!
Ten random things that I have encountered:
The class excursions I took this past week were visits to the Pitti Palace (oil paintings), Santa Croce Church (frescos), and Palazzo Medici Riccardi (the restoration of Raphael’s painting The Madonna del Cardellino). It is truly remarkable to be seeing original paintings from masters of the techniques we are studying in class!! I am so blessed to be here!!
Oil Painting
I worked diligently on my ‘eye and ‘dragon’ black and white compositions this past weekend and finished them on Monday. We began our introduction to color with oil pastels and had an assignment of drawing two landscape compositions in this medium. I have never worked with oil pastels before, so my initial reaction to the medium was “I hate this!” but after the professor showed me different techniques of application and blending with solvent, it became more interesting. It really is fun to play around with different effects!
Wednesday we started color, painting a still life in colored oil paint. This coming Monday we are finishing up out still life’s and beginning our midterm assignment of replicating a painting of an artist of our choice. I am very interested in impressionism, but also partial to realism, and I am jostling back and forth as to which technique I want to use in my next composition. I am currently looking into works by Monet and Manet for impressionism, but am also looking into various artists for realism. My professor is incredibly open about offering constructive criticism and encouragement for all of our work. There is always room for improvement! It has been really interesting to see different styles emerge with more prominence, now that we are all beginning to become more comfortable with the medium.
Fresco
We have gotten much further with fresco painting. We prepared our cartoons: using tracing paper, we traced the outline and major areas of the image and, flipping over the tracing paper, we poked holes along the border of the lines with a tack—the effect being that the raised edges are on the face of the surface and the smooth holes are on the back—this makes it easier for the powder to transfer through on to the surface of the mortar.
This past Monday we applied our topcoat of mortar covering the portion of the sinopia we wished to complete in one class period. I covered the entire head dressing of the woman’s hair, overlapping about a half an inch from my desired ‘cut of the day’ so as to allow enough room to do a quality smoothing of the surface. After the mortar was applies (about 2 cm thick) we let it dry for ten minutes or so, applied our sinopia drawing over the fresh layer, traced over the dots lightly with water to provide an outline, and then did our ‘cut of the day.’ This process consisted of tracing with a small trowel around the border of the desired area to complete. It was especially important to cut close to the edge at a diagonal, so as to make it easier to make the next day’s mortar application as smooth and seamless as possible.
Prior to applying the paint, we must prepare the colors by mixing water with the powdered pigment. The main pigment colors we use are as follows:
White (Bianco) contemporary white, used for mixing with pigment for tonal color
Yellow (Ocra Gialla/Terra Gialla/Gialla D’Ore) this color is unique, that when subjected to high temperatures, it turns into red
Red (Rosso Sinopia/Terra Rosso)
Black (Nero Roma/Nero Divite)
Green (Terra Verde/Verona)
Brown (Terra Brune/Siena/Sienabruciata/Ombra Bruciata)
Bianco di San Giovani: (coarse, white pigment made by mixing lime with water) good for high intensity yields or areas where strong pigment is needed
Verdaccio—”Ugly Green” mixed and prepared using specific proportions of yellow, black, white, and red. This color is applied as an under drawing, prior to the application of skin tone and blue pigment. The correct proportions of pigment were perfected and recorded by Cennino Cennini and have been used since the ancient masters of fresco painting.
At Santa Croce Church we were shown frescos ranging from the 14th to the 16th centuries. We learned specific details about the different techniques used in these periods, so as to be able to frescos in order to know by sight how to differentiate between the centuries simply through sight. The earliest techniques use a horizontal plane for the cut of the day, and this is made visible through the horizontal design of the composition. In addition, the sky is a red tone, being that blue was an expensive color, and there is a lack of depth and dimension to the figures. Giotto revolutionized fresco painting, by introducing the technique of creating the cut of the day around the figures instead of in horizontals, as was previously done. Fresco techniques further develop with the introduction of perspective and movement of the characters within the composition.
On Monday of this coming week we are going to be applying our next layer of mortar and continuing with our fresco tile. My area of focus will be on the face. I am a little nervous because the face is very detailed and I worry about not being able to get the correct flesh tones or detail to my satisfaction before the mortar dries.
Art History: Michelangelo to Bernini
Our focus has transitioned from studying Michelangelo to Raphael (Raffaello) Sanzio. His calm, considerate demeanor, which is so praised in Vasari’s, Lives of the Artists, is truly embedded within his masterpieces. The symmetry and harmony of the relationship between the characters in the composition creates a soft, naturalistic atmosphere of intimacy that invites the viewer to experience the world captured within the painting. Raphael’s paintings offer a beautiful interpretation of the subject matter, and truly capture the personality of the each individual character.
Italian
On Thursday we had students from the Italian University come to class and converse with us in small groups. A few other girls and I talked with this really nice guy named Niccolo Messeri. He was very patient with us and out inability to speak very well at all. I was SO excited to try out Italian, and I asked a lot of questions. Niccolo was very open to giving advice as to where the best places were as far as excursions, appertivos, restaurants, etc. It was so refreshing to have actual interaction with an Italian that was similar in age!
Other things…
God provides. He is extraordinary.
Prior to coming to Florence, I received an email about the possible volunteer opportunities etc. that I would have the option of being a part of during my stay in Florence. There was one group that stuck out to me -- called Creative Campus: wherein students interested in all creative arts who wanted to connect with Florence in a unique way, experiencing the arts, culture, Italian community, and language could gather and create.
There have been so many things heavy on my heart since coming here, things that I have been praying specifically about: inability to connect with Italian students (proximity), the American students and partying and, consequently, stereotypes of Americans (especially women--self-respect, that they would realize their true worth and not search for it through others), respect for Florentine culture, the Florentine community, rural Florence, lack of religious presence--faith practice among Florentines as well as the general population, truly connecting with Italian culture, and making a positive impact.
Well, the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai recently sent out an email about an informational dinner meeting for Creative Campus, for this past Wednesday evening, and I jumped on it.
WOW!!! God has answered all of my prayers! Let me tell you about it...
What is Creative Campus?
The Creative Campus community is run by the International Florence Theatre Company, by a woman from the U.S. named Bari -- she has lived in Florence for just over 3 1/2 years. She is phenomenal!!
It's a way for students living in Florence to be able to get together, integrate and do something different than what the usual night life of Florence offers them ((aka...NOT drinking -- which is a HUGE problem, for American students, and consequently, is beginning to filter over to the Italian youth)). Because of the severe, and true, stereotypes of Americans (drinking and partying) -- which is SO socially unacceptable in Italian culture – Italian youth simply do not desire to associate themselves with Americans, students in particular -- and rightly so in many cases. But in order to bridge this huge divide, Bari has created Creative Campus in order to offer alternative 'nights out' wherein American students and Italian students can connect, learn from one another, create together, and make a difference in the Florentine community.
With the relationships formed and lessons learned from Creative Campus projects, students are challenged to spread these ideas to their own country, campus and community. Together we can create a global community with a shared enthusiasm in what the arts can do to better the world through empathy, communication, and collective creation.
Basically, Creative Campus is an exclusive 'club' that integrates Italian students with Americans to do creative projects that benefit the community and draws awareness to key issues going on within Florence and around the world. I am going to be a part of a photography group as well as ‘V Day.’ The photograph topic is: Your Everyday Life in Florence and Street Pics. The photos, simply, need to be a real part of our experience here in Florence. The goal is collaboration and connection, getting exposed to Florence in a new way while exercising individual creativity and self-expression. The idea is to get together and go out on a photo city safari of Florence and have lots of fun—Americans and Italians combined!
‘V Day’ is a day devoted to Violence Against Women in Florence. Unspoken, or undocumented, violence against women is prevalent in Florence, heavily due to the ‘nightlife’ behavior of study abroad students. A woman documented personal accounts of American women who wanted to share their testimonies with incoming students, and she put these testimonies in a book along with tips for being safe and emergency contact numbers. Her hope was to be able to provide incoming American students, women in particular, with informative, raw facts and resources to avoid conduct that would put themselves at risk during their stay in Florence. This simple booklet took her three years to get published due to the lack of sponsorship from surrounding universities!! Finally, once she did get enough school sponsorship, those hardly any of the sponsoring universities requested booklets to distribute to incoming students!! How absurd!! So, what Creative Campus club is trying to do with regards to ‘V Day’ is create awareness through creative expression—through artwork. I am not sure of the details and complexities of the day, but I am excited to learn more once we start meeting (for both groups), hopefully this coming week.
With How HUGE is that!! It is oozing with potential!! WHAT an answer to prayer!!! I have been praying SO much for the Florentine community and study abroad students, especially those who ‘go out’—and this is definitely an answer for spreading awareness and creating unity!! I am SOOO excited to share the love of God with the people of this group!!! I will undoubtedly get to know them very well, as there are not more than 30 of us—you have NO idea how excited I am for that!! ; )
I know that God will use this opportunity to challenge me and grow me in exponential ways this semester, and goodness Am I UP for the challenge!! I am SO excited to share more as I get further connected into specific initiatives, etc. To quote Bari, “With Art we can change the world!!”
Many blessings and much love!!
Mollie
Ten random things that I have encountered:
- Florence does not sell Ziplock bags -- or anything resembling a plastic seal bag! That is certainly something that I took for granted, and not something that I ever thought I would miss. I am deprived!
- The doors always PUSH open. I cannot describe how many times I have made a miniature scene of myself by pulling the door towards myelf --loudly re-shutting the door-- prior to pushing it open. It is quite an entrance! haha--can you imagine? oh, my... I am predicting that I'll finally get it down by the time I need to leave.
- All of the drinks are served neither hot nor cold (so coffee is just warm and water is room temperature). Ice is available upon request.
- Coffee is not normally drank at home--you go to a Bar (cafe) to drink your coffee. A cafe (or the equivalent of an espresso in the states--that term does not exist here) is drunk standing at the counter. Also, as some of you may have heard, it is culturally unacceptable to order a cappuccino after 10:30am--till about 4.
- When ordering a cafe or a panino at a Bar, you receive order and you go sit, or stand by a nearby counter, and eat it. After you are finished, you bring the empty dishes to the counter and then you pay. This is something that I am still getting used to.
- Florentines go to a different Forno (bakery) for each different type of bread, depending upon the bakery specialty and use for the bread.
- At a restaurant, each course of an Italian meal is served separately. You order an antipasto, primo, and secondo course--desert is ordered after the meal. There is a wait between the antipasto and the primo course, as well as between the primo and the secondo. The primo arrives for all people at the same time. When the secondo arrives, your contorno (side dishes) also arrive. Normally, coffee is served after you have finished your meal, never with it. Order coffee after the dessert course as coffee and dessert is not normally served at the same time. Italians usually always finish a meal with "something for the digestion”. This is usually one or more shots of liqueur(s). (my body doesn't enjoy this, but it was an experience the first time) ; ) The waiter will not give you the bill for your meal until you request it. You should not tip. Tip is included in the cover charge for sitting, that is included in the bill. Also, you have to purchase water for the table (in bottles)--complimentary tap water is not an option.
- Wine is drunk with nearly every meal. I love this about Italian culture! White wine is to be drunk with fish and white meat, Red wine is to be drunk with most pasta, and red meat. In
- I still haven't gotten used to the eating schedule--it is SO late! I think my biggest adjustment is being out late--my 'late' is stretched as far as 1 am--CrAzY, I know....haha...but I am honestly unable to function if I do not get 8 hours of sleep! This has to be the biggest cultural challenge for me. I have adjusted just fine to the conservation of energy: turning off all unnecessary lights, being conscious of how much hot water is used, and how long of showers I take-- even the 'shower every other day' routine, but I have not managed to keep myself awake past midnight! haha.
- The crosswalks are just a suggestion here. Yielding is a necessity, otherwise you will never make it across the street! The unspoken rule is that if you are on the crosswalk, traffic has to stop for you, otherwise they will hit you, of course ; )
The class excursions I took this past week were visits to the Pitti Palace (oil paintings), Santa Croce Church (frescos), and Palazzo Medici Riccardi (the restoration of Raphael’s painting The Madonna del Cardellino). It is truly remarkable to be seeing original paintings from masters of the techniques we are studying in class!! I am so blessed to be here!!
Oil Painting
I worked diligently on my ‘eye and ‘dragon’ black and white compositions this past weekend and finished them on Monday. We began our introduction to color with oil pastels and had an assignment of drawing two landscape compositions in this medium. I have never worked with oil pastels before, so my initial reaction to the medium was “I hate this!” but after the professor showed me different techniques of application and blending with solvent, it became more interesting. It really is fun to play around with different effects!
Wednesday we started color, painting a still life in colored oil paint. This coming Monday we are finishing up out still life’s and beginning our midterm assignment of replicating a painting of an artist of our choice. I am very interested in impressionism, but also partial to realism, and I am jostling back and forth as to which technique I want to use in my next composition. I am currently looking into works by Monet and Manet for impressionism, but am also looking into various artists for realism. My professor is incredibly open about offering constructive criticism and encouragement for all of our work. There is always room for improvement! It has been really interesting to see different styles emerge with more prominence, now that we are all beginning to become more comfortable with the medium.
Fresco
We have gotten much further with fresco painting. We prepared our cartoons: using tracing paper, we traced the outline and major areas of the image and, flipping over the tracing paper, we poked holes along the border of the lines with a tack—the effect being that the raised edges are on the face of the surface and the smooth holes are on the back—this makes it easier for the powder to transfer through on to the surface of the mortar.
This past Monday we applied our topcoat of mortar covering the portion of the sinopia we wished to complete in one class period. I covered the entire head dressing of the woman’s hair, overlapping about a half an inch from my desired ‘cut of the day’ so as to allow enough room to do a quality smoothing of the surface. After the mortar was applies (about 2 cm thick) we let it dry for ten minutes or so, applied our sinopia drawing over the fresh layer, traced over the dots lightly with water to provide an outline, and then did our ‘cut of the day.’ This process consisted of tracing with a small trowel around the border of the desired area to complete. It was especially important to cut close to the edge at a diagonal, so as to make it easier to make the next day’s mortar application as smooth and seamless as possible.
Prior to applying the paint, we must prepare the colors by mixing water with the powdered pigment. The main pigment colors we use are as follows:
White (Bianco) contemporary white, used for mixing with pigment for tonal color
Yellow (Ocra Gialla/Terra Gialla/Gialla D’Ore) this color is unique, that when subjected to high temperatures, it turns into red
Red (Rosso Sinopia/Terra Rosso)
Black (Nero Roma/Nero Divite)
Green (Terra Verde/Verona)
Brown (Terra Brune/Siena/Sienabruciata/Ombra Bruciata)
Bianco di San Giovani: (coarse, white pigment made by mixing lime with water) good for high intensity yields or areas where strong pigment is needed
Verdaccio—”Ugly Green” mixed and prepared using specific proportions of yellow, black, white, and red. This color is applied as an under drawing, prior to the application of skin tone and blue pigment. The correct proportions of pigment were perfected and recorded by Cennino Cennini and have been used since the ancient masters of fresco painting.
At Santa Croce Church we were shown frescos ranging from the 14th to the 16th centuries. We learned specific details about the different techniques used in these periods, so as to be able to frescos in order to know by sight how to differentiate between the centuries simply through sight. The earliest techniques use a horizontal plane for the cut of the day, and this is made visible through the horizontal design of the composition. In addition, the sky is a red tone, being that blue was an expensive color, and there is a lack of depth and dimension to the figures. Giotto revolutionized fresco painting, by introducing the technique of creating the cut of the day around the figures instead of in horizontals, as was previously done. Fresco techniques further develop with the introduction of perspective and movement of the characters within the composition.
On Monday of this coming week we are going to be applying our next layer of mortar and continuing with our fresco tile. My area of focus will be on the face. I am a little nervous because the face is very detailed and I worry about not being able to get the correct flesh tones or detail to my satisfaction before the mortar dries.
Art History: Michelangelo to Bernini
Our focus has transitioned from studying Michelangelo to Raphael (Raffaello) Sanzio. His calm, considerate demeanor, which is so praised in Vasari’s, Lives of the Artists, is truly embedded within his masterpieces. The symmetry and harmony of the relationship between the characters in the composition creates a soft, naturalistic atmosphere of intimacy that invites the viewer to experience the world captured within the painting. Raphael’s paintings offer a beautiful interpretation of the subject matter, and truly capture the personality of the each individual character.
Italian
On Thursday we had students from the Italian University come to class and converse with us in small groups. A few other girls and I talked with this really nice guy named Niccolo Messeri. He was very patient with us and out inability to speak very well at all. I was SO excited to try out Italian, and I asked a lot of questions. Niccolo was very open to giving advice as to where the best places were as far as excursions, appertivos, restaurants, etc. It was so refreshing to have actual interaction with an Italian that was similar in age!
Other things…
God provides. He is extraordinary.
Prior to coming to Florence, I received an email about the possible volunteer opportunities etc. that I would have the option of being a part of during my stay in Florence. There was one group that stuck out to me -- called Creative Campus: wherein students interested in all creative arts who wanted to connect with Florence in a unique way, experiencing the arts, culture, Italian community, and language could gather and create.
There have been so many things heavy on my heart since coming here, things that I have been praying specifically about: inability to connect with Italian students (proximity), the American students and partying and, consequently, stereotypes of Americans (especially women--self-respect, that they would realize their true worth and not search for it through others), respect for Florentine culture, the Florentine community, rural Florence, lack of religious presence--faith practice among Florentines as well as the general population, truly connecting with Italian culture, and making a positive impact.
Well, the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai recently sent out an email about an informational dinner meeting for Creative Campus, for this past Wednesday evening, and I jumped on it.
WOW!!! God has answered all of my prayers! Let me tell you about it...
What is Creative Campus?
The Creative Campus community is run by the International Florence Theatre Company, by a woman from the U.S. named Bari -- she has lived in Florence for just over 3 1/2 years. She is phenomenal!!
It's a way for students living in Florence to be able to get together, integrate and do something different than what the usual night life of Florence offers them ((aka...NOT drinking -- which is a HUGE problem, for American students, and consequently, is beginning to filter over to the Italian youth)). Because of the severe, and true, stereotypes of Americans (drinking and partying) -- which is SO socially unacceptable in Italian culture – Italian youth simply do not desire to associate themselves with Americans, students in particular -- and rightly so in many cases. But in order to bridge this huge divide, Bari has created Creative Campus in order to offer alternative 'nights out' wherein American students and Italian students can connect, learn from one another, create together, and make a difference in the Florentine community.
With the relationships formed and lessons learned from Creative Campus projects, students are challenged to spread these ideas to their own country, campus and community. Together we can create a global community with a shared enthusiasm in what the arts can do to better the world through empathy, communication, and collective creation.
Basically, Creative Campus is an exclusive 'club' that integrates Italian students with Americans to do creative projects that benefit the community and draws awareness to key issues going on within Florence and around the world. I am going to be a part of a photography group as well as ‘V Day.’ The photograph topic is: Your Everyday Life in Florence and Street Pics. The photos, simply, need to be a real part of our experience here in Florence. The goal is collaboration and connection, getting exposed to Florence in a new way while exercising individual creativity and self-expression. The idea is to get together and go out on a photo city safari of Florence and have lots of fun—Americans and Italians combined!
‘V Day’ is a day devoted to Violence Against Women in Florence. Unspoken, or undocumented, violence against women is prevalent in Florence, heavily due to the ‘nightlife’ behavior of study abroad students. A woman documented personal accounts of American women who wanted to share their testimonies with incoming students, and she put these testimonies in a book along with tips for being safe and emergency contact numbers. Her hope was to be able to provide incoming American students, women in particular, with informative, raw facts and resources to avoid conduct that would put themselves at risk during their stay in Florence. This simple booklet took her three years to get published due to the lack of sponsorship from surrounding universities!! Finally, once she did get enough school sponsorship, those hardly any of the sponsoring universities requested booklets to distribute to incoming students!! How absurd!! So, what Creative Campus club is trying to do with regards to ‘V Day’ is create awareness through creative expression—through artwork. I am not sure of the details and complexities of the day, but I am excited to learn more once we start meeting (for both groups), hopefully this coming week.
With How HUGE is that!! It is oozing with potential!! WHAT an answer to prayer!!! I have been praying SO much for the Florentine community and study abroad students, especially those who ‘go out’—and this is definitely an answer for spreading awareness and creating unity!! I am SOOO excited to share the love of God with the people of this group!!! I will undoubtedly get to know them very well, as there are not more than 30 of us—you have NO idea how excited I am for that!! ; )
I know that God will use this opportunity to challenge me and grow me in exponential ways this semester, and goodness Am I UP for the challenge!! I am SO excited to share more as I get further connected into specific initiatives, etc. To quote Bari, “With Art we can change the world!!”
Many blessings and much love!!
Mollie
1/23/09
Castello del Trebbio, Chianti
Hello, on this lazy, drizzly day...I just got back from Chianti, and it was beautiful!!!
The weather held up for us the entire time, only becoming drizzly once we arrived back in florence shortly before 3 pm.
Driving from urban Florence into rural Chianti, Tuscany, we were surrounded by rolling, mountainous hills and tiny clusters of colorful, stucco homes of various burnt-red-colored tiled roofs. Although the day was overcast and cold, the weather created a georgeous blanket of light fog that covered the landscape and captured clouds along the base of the hills. God magnificance is so evidently manifest within the natural environment!
We twisted and winded our way up the hilly countryside (trying really hard not to get carsick
= P) and finally reached our destination: Il Castello del Trebbio, an ancient castle set high upon a hillside decorated with rows and rows of olive trees.
This castle is over 900 years old, and has been owned by prestigious names throughout history. Built by the Pazzi family in the 12th century, the castle was built as a fortress and served this purpose for a number of centuries. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, spurred from a lethal rivalry of power, the Pazzi family was 'overcome' (or killed off) and ownership of the castle fell into the hands of the powerful Medici. The current family bought it in 1968 and put 15 years into restoring it, remaining mindful and respectful of its history. They make their own Chianti wine, and produce their own, unique, authentic extra virgin olive oil, grown from over 10,000 olive trees scattered across their land!
We received a tour of the inside of the castle (we were unable to take pictures inside, due to the fact that they were the personal quarters of the family--who live there all year round!) and the tour guide provided us with background on how the family came to pass down ownership of the castle and vineyard through the generations. The rooms were magnificent!! The living room, adjacent to the main entranceway displays an original Raphael, "Madonna of the Garden"!!
Next, we got a tour of the wine cellars, and were told all about the process of picking, making, and aging wine. Towards the end of the tour, the guide discussed the process and unique Trebbio technique of making olive oil. They pick their olives early in the season, in October, reducing the acidity, getting less yeild, yet the most pure olive oil in the region.
Finally, we were led into a (slightly warmer) dining room, and were served authentic Tuscan cuisine; bread with olive oil, bruscetta, bowtie pasta with fresh olives, tomatoes and cheese, and a toasty-warm bread, tomato, and mushroom stew. It was phenomenal!! During our lunch we had a wine tasting -- of two Chianti wines; one lighter wine, aged for 6 months, and the other aged for 3 years in a barrel and 3 years in a bottle. I felt truly Italian! = ) It was a wonderful, authentic Tuscan experience!!
A presto!
Mollie
The weather held up for us the entire time, only becoming drizzly once we arrived back in florence shortly before 3 pm.
Driving from urban Florence into rural Chianti, Tuscany, we were surrounded by rolling, mountainous hills and tiny clusters of colorful, stucco homes of various burnt-red-colored tiled roofs. Although the day was overcast and cold, the weather created a georgeous blanket of light fog that covered the landscape and captured clouds along the base of the hills. God magnificance is so evidently manifest within the natural environment!
We twisted and winded our way up the hilly countryside (trying really hard not to get carsick
= P) and finally reached our destination: Il Castello del Trebbio, an ancient castle set high upon a hillside decorated with rows and rows of olive trees.
This castle is over 900 years old, and has been owned by prestigious names throughout history. Built by the Pazzi family in the 12th century, the castle was built as a fortress and served this purpose for a number of centuries. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, spurred from a lethal rivalry of power, the Pazzi family was 'overcome' (or killed off) and ownership of the castle fell into the hands of the powerful Medici. The current family bought it in 1968 and put 15 years into restoring it, remaining mindful and respectful of its history. They make their own Chianti wine, and produce their own, unique, authentic extra virgin olive oil, grown from over 10,000 olive trees scattered across their land!
We received a tour of the inside of the castle (we were unable to take pictures inside, due to the fact that they were the personal quarters of the family--who live there all year round!) and the tour guide provided us with background on how the family came to pass down ownership of the castle and vineyard through the generations. The rooms were magnificent!! The living room, adjacent to the main entranceway displays an original Raphael, "Madonna of the Garden"!!
Next, we got a tour of the wine cellars, and were told all about the process of picking, making, and aging wine. Towards the end of the tour, the guide discussed the process and unique Trebbio technique of making olive oil. They pick their olives early in the season, in October, reducing the acidity, getting less yeild, yet the most pure olive oil in the region.
Finally, we were led into a (slightly warmer) dining room, and were served authentic Tuscan cuisine; bread with olive oil, bruscetta, bowtie pasta with fresh olives, tomatoes and cheese, and a toasty-warm bread, tomato, and mushroom stew. It was phenomenal!! During our lunch we had a wine tasting -- of two Chianti wines; one lighter wine, aged for 6 months, and the other aged for 3 years in a barrel and 3 years in a bottle. I felt truly Italian! = ) It was a wonderful, authentic Tuscan experience!!
A presto!
Mollie
1/22/09
Buona sera! Good evening!
I thought I would give a little update and let you know that my pictures from the previous weekend trip to Pisa and Lucca are finally posted on my Shutterfly webpage. As an overview, I am taking Oil Painting and Fresco M/W and Art History: Michelangelo to Bernini T/Th. My Italian course is all four days of the week –my professor for that class is funny, but also very challenging. I feel like I am learning a lot, but at the same time not nearly enough. Here’s an update on my other classes thus far:
Oil Painting
I have been working on my first couple of compositions for oil painting. We are required to work with black and white on canvas, being tested and stretched in our skills of proportion, tone, and composition. We are assigned to work both in the studio, from a still life, and at home, from a black and white photograph. In the studio, I am working on a still life of a dragon, and at home I am working from a photograph of eyes. It has been a challenge to get acquainted with this new medium, which I have had no previous experience with whatsoever.
Working with oil paints is rather fun, and much more like drawing than I had originally anticipated. I am continually discovering new ways of working with the brushes and experimenting with different consistencies of oils. This class is definitely a challenge to my patience! I have to wait, sometimes days, between each layer of paint to allow the oil to dry enough where it won’t wipe away or smear. I must also be very careful with how I use my brushes and blend color so as to not smear or wipe away previously applied shades of color. I have found detail work to be especially difficult, but it is a challenge that I am willing and excited to meet! I am interested to see how my style and skill evolve as I become more comfortable and experiences with the art of oil painting.
The Art of Buon Fresco
In Fresco class we have gone through some of the historical background of Fresco painting, have been introduced to the chemical and technical process of creating Fresco, and have been given the materials we will be working with.
Creating Fresco:
Materials: Trowel, brushes and powdered paint (white, green, yellow, black, orange)
Chemical process of creating the mortar for Fresco that occurs when the lime and sand are combined and then slowly exposed to oxygen:
C2CO3 + 900 C => C2O + CO2
C2O + H2O => C2(OH)2 (or lime) when applied to plaster
C2(OH)2 – H2O + CO2 => C2O3
So, in essence, the above reaction is describing the chemical process of that is necessary to create the base for creating a Fresco. What is needed initially is Limestone, or calcium carbonate. This substance is converted to lime through a process of heating. Next, water is added to the lime and mixed with sand to create plaster, or mortar (which is what we do manually), applied to a surface, and then allowed to dry slightly. This is the surface that the artist uses to paint his or her Fresco. As you can see from the final reaction, once the pigment is applied, and the surface dries, the mortar turns back to the chemical composition of limestone.
As the mortar (Lime + sand + water) dries, the water escapes from the inner layers of the surface and the pigment in sucked into the surface. Once the mortar hardens, the pigment is permanently embedded within the surface and cannot be washed away by water, as any other method of painting is subject to. This process is what makes Fresco painting so unique and long lasting, making it possible for us to view works of art created centuries ago!
The manual process is as follows:
Saturate the textured surface with water and allow it to soak in prior to applying the mortar, or the base layer for Fresco. Mix two parts lime to two parts sand, creating the mortar. Apply the mortar to the surface in a light, fluid motion. It is important to be sure not to press down with the trowel because it will squeeze out the moisture and the mortar will dry out and not adhere to the surface. Let the mortar dry.
Next, Prepare a cartoon, or a sketch of the image, on a sheet of vellum, or tracing paper. Poke pinholes in the opposite side of the cartoon, following the traced lines. Create a synopia, or ‘sepia print,’ of the cartoon on the dried mortar. Secure the cartoon (rough side up) onto the tile and pat with compacted red-powder-dust. The dust transfers through the holes in the cartoon onto the surface, creating a pointillist outline. Then, trace the outline with a damp brush, to gain more of a holistic perspective on the look of the composition prior to transferring the cartoon onto the Fresco surface, and have the opportunity to make changes to the cartoon, if necessary.
The next step is to mix one part lime to one part sand, creating the second Fresco layer, called the intonico. This mixture is applied solely to sections that can be completed in the allotted time of two to three hours. The mortar is slowed to dry enough so that the brush does not penetrate the surface, and then the synopia is, once again, applied to the surface, in the same manner as previously discussed.
The ‘cut of the day’ is where the artist decides to end the painting. This decision has to be made carefully; because when the mortar is ‘cut’ a subtle line is visible. The mortar is ‘cut’ with a palate knife, which follows the border of the image at an angle, to make application of the next day’s mortar smooth and crisp.
Our first assignment is to work from an existing image in Fresco, and create our own image on a tile. We have gotten as far as creating the synopia on the base mortar, and have prepared the top layer of mortar for beginning our Fresco painting on Monday. I have found Fresco to be a very long, complex process that is very meticulous and does not permit mistakes. This class is definitely a test of patience and perseverance. I am excited to continue on with this process and, in turn, gain a deeper perspective on the artistic process behind the frescos that decorate the walls, ceilings, and buildings of Florence and Italy!
Michelangelo’s David
Today I went to see Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell' Accademia!!
Upon entering the Accademia (which, sadly did not allow photographs) there were a handful of unfinished sculptures done by Michelangelo for Pope Julius’s tomb (which also went unfinished). These were SO remarkable and emotion-filled, even in their unfinished state. These figures are known as ‘prigione,’ prisoners or slaves. They seem to be either in the process of becoming engulfed by the marble or breaking out of it. They are idealized and powerful, effectively illustrating the skill and imagination of Michelangelo, as well as the incredible task of creating sculpted art. It was a wonderful, eye-opening thought process to have churning in my head while approaching The David.
David is breathtaking!!! He towers at 516 cm in height in marble magnificence. This Biblical figure took Michelangelo a mere two years to complete, being commissioned for the Opera della Duomo. It is amazing to see such incredible beauty and perfection of the idealized human form –sculpted out of one piece of marble!! What a feat of accomplishment—truly illustrating Michelangelo’s skill and expertise and placing him in a place of high prominence as a sculpture artist.
David is depicted in a unique manner—still deliberated by many—but I believe that it is in the moments prior to his victory over the Philistine giant, Goliath. 1 Samuel is such an important book to read prior to seeing The David, in order to gain perspective on the context of the situation. I am SO glad that I had read it through! It gave me much more depth into interpreting the emotion and expression in David’s body language, musculature, and above all, eyes. It is so incredible to watch the expression of his emotion change as you walk around the statue. Standing at an angle to his face, David seems to be wearing a serene expression of determination and thoughtful contemplation. As you continue around to a frontal view his expression turns to worrisome anger. Finally when you come to direct view of his eyes, it seems that he holds all of these emotions, and then some—all within his fixed gaze; fear, worry, anger, intimidation, boldness, conviction, strength, agility, uncertainty, yet confidence— all encompassing the weight of his impending act of heroism, motivated, directed, strengthened and upheld by the direction and will of God. The plaque next to the statue doesn’t go into the Biblical context of this act and certainly doesn’t attribute David’s strength of character and heart to God, who indeed is the true source of David’s will to act. Knowing the intimate relationship between David and God, and the unyielding faith, trust, and reliance in God’s ability to provide allows you to see so much more into this masterpiece than just ‘a guy from the Bible with a nice body.’ I feel so blessed to be able to have viewed The David in this way, and I only wish more people could have the will or desire to understand the expression of the Spirit within this work. The David is all and more of what people claim it to be!!
It’s 5:45 and I just got back from a ‘Chocolate Fest’ going on in La Palazzo de Santa Croce. There are about twenty tents set up featuring every kind of chocolate creation imaginable!! Melissa and I got a $2 E small cup of hot chocolate –which was amazing, but SUPER rich!! It was basically melted pure, authentic chocolate –bitter but completely wonderful!! The cup was only about two inches deep, but I could only finish ¾ of it before I got a sugar headache –which I still have, but it’s worth it!! = ) Chocolate is a wonderful lift to the spirit!! I also bought some chocolate covered almonds—which I will be savoring like gold because I was surprised by the price—but it is authentic, real chocolate—and I’m only in Italy once, right!? ; ) haha.
Tomorrow morning I head off to Chianti with a group from the Institute and two of my roommates, Sarah and Catherine. We will spend the day touring the serene Tuscan landscape, strolling through lush vineyards, and enjoying true, authentic, Italian cuisine! Saturday, I will be spending the day in Sienna and enjoy a guided tour including Church of San Domenico, Cathedral, Piazza Del Campo, and Palazzo Pubblico. We will then depart to San Gimignano and receive a guided tour including Collegiata and see frescos by Barna da Siena and visit Church of Sant’Agostino.
I am SO excited!! Pray for beautiful weather!!
Well, Ciao for now!!
Mollie
Oil Painting
I have been working on my first couple of compositions for oil painting. We are required to work with black and white on canvas, being tested and stretched in our skills of proportion, tone, and composition. We are assigned to work both in the studio, from a still life, and at home, from a black and white photograph. In the studio, I am working on a still life of a dragon, and at home I am working from a photograph of eyes. It has been a challenge to get acquainted with this new medium, which I have had no previous experience with whatsoever.
Working with oil paints is rather fun, and much more like drawing than I had originally anticipated. I am continually discovering new ways of working with the brushes and experimenting with different consistencies of oils. This class is definitely a challenge to my patience! I have to wait, sometimes days, between each layer of paint to allow the oil to dry enough where it won’t wipe away or smear. I must also be very careful with how I use my brushes and blend color so as to not smear or wipe away previously applied shades of color. I have found detail work to be especially difficult, but it is a challenge that I am willing and excited to meet! I am interested to see how my style and skill evolve as I become more comfortable and experiences with the art of oil painting.
The Art of Buon Fresco
In Fresco class we have gone through some of the historical background of Fresco painting, have been introduced to the chemical and technical process of creating Fresco, and have been given the materials we will be working with.
Creating Fresco:
Materials: Trowel, brushes and powdered paint (white, green, yellow, black, orange)
Chemical process of creating the mortar for Fresco that occurs when the lime and sand are combined and then slowly exposed to oxygen:
C2CO3 + 900 C => C2O + CO2
C2O + H2O => C2(OH)2 (or lime) when applied to plaster
C2(OH)2 – H2O + CO2 => C2O3
So, in essence, the above reaction is describing the chemical process of that is necessary to create the base for creating a Fresco. What is needed initially is Limestone, or calcium carbonate. This substance is converted to lime through a process of heating. Next, water is added to the lime and mixed with sand to create plaster, or mortar (which is what we do manually), applied to a surface, and then allowed to dry slightly. This is the surface that the artist uses to paint his or her Fresco. As you can see from the final reaction, once the pigment is applied, and the surface dries, the mortar turns back to the chemical composition of limestone.
As the mortar (Lime + sand + water) dries, the water escapes from the inner layers of the surface and the pigment in sucked into the surface. Once the mortar hardens, the pigment is permanently embedded within the surface and cannot be washed away by water, as any other method of painting is subject to. This process is what makes Fresco painting so unique and long lasting, making it possible for us to view works of art created centuries ago!
The manual process is as follows:
Saturate the textured surface with water and allow it to soak in prior to applying the mortar, or the base layer for Fresco. Mix two parts lime to two parts sand, creating the mortar. Apply the mortar to the surface in a light, fluid motion. It is important to be sure not to press down with the trowel because it will squeeze out the moisture and the mortar will dry out and not adhere to the surface. Let the mortar dry.
Next, Prepare a cartoon, or a sketch of the image, on a sheet of vellum, or tracing paper. Poke pinholes in the opposite side of the cartoon, following the traced lines. Create a synopia, or ‘sepia print,’ of the cartoon on the dried mortar. Secure the cartoon (rough side up) onto the tile and pat with compacted red-powder-dust. The dust transfers through the holes in the cartoon onto the surface, creating a pointillist outline. Then, trace the outline with a damp brush, to gain more of a holistic perspective on the look of the composition prior to transferring the cartoon onto the Fresco surface, and have the opportunity to make changes to the cartoon, if necessary.
The next step is to mix one part lime to one part sand, creating the second Fresco layer, called the intonico. This mixture is applied solely to sections that can be completed in the allotted time of two to three hours. The mortar is slowed to dry enough so that the brush does not penetrate the surface, and then the synopia is, once again, applied to the surface, in the same manner as previously discussed.
The ‘cut of the day’ is where the artist decides to end the painting. This decision has to be made carefully; because when the mortar is ‘cut’ a subtle line is visible. The mortar is ‘cut’ with a palate knife, which follows the border of the image at an angle, to make application of the next day’s mortar smooth and crisp.
Our first assignment is to work from an existing image in Fresco, and create our own image on a tile. We have gotten as far as creating the synopia on the base mortar, and have prepared the top layer of mortar for beginning our Fresco painting on Monday. I have found Fresco to be a very long, complex process that is very meticulous and does not permit mistakes. This class is definitely a test of patience and perseverance. I am excited to continue on with this process and, in turn, gain a deeper perspective on the artistic process behind the frescos that decorate the walls, ceilings, and buildings of Florence and Italy!
Michelangelo’s David
Today I went to see Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell' Accademia!!
Upon entering the Accademia (which, sadly did not allow photographs) there were a handful of unfinished sculptures done by Michelangelo for Pope Julius’s tomb (which also went unfinished). These were SO remarkable and emotion-filled, even in their unfinished state. These figures are known as ‘prigione,’ prisoners or slaves. They seem to be either in the process of becoming engulfed by the marble or breaking out of it. They are idealized and powerful, effectively illustrating the skill and imagination of Michelangelo, as well as the incredible task of creating sculpted art. It was a wonderful, eye-opening thought process to have churning in my head while approaching The David.
David is breathtaking!!! He towers at 516 cm in height in marble magnificence. This Biblical figure took Michelangelo a mere two years to complete, being commissioned for the Opera della Duomo. It is amazing to see such incredible beauty and perfection of the idealized human form –sculpted out of one piece of marble!! What a feat of accomplishment—truly illustrating Michelangelo’s skill and expertise and placing him in a place of high prominence as a sculpture artist.
David is depicted in a unique manner—still deliberated by many—but I believe that it is in the moments prior to his victory over the Philistine giant, Goliath. 1 Samuel is such an important book to read prior to seeing The David, in order to gain perspective on the context of the situation. I am SO glad that I had read it through! It gave me much more depth into interpreting the emotion and expression in David’s body language, musculature, and above all, eyes. It is so incredible to watch the expression of his emotion change as you walk around the statue. Standing at an angle to his face, David seems to be wearing a serene expression of determination and thoughtful contemplation. As you continue around to a frontal view his expression turns to worrisome anger. Finally when you come to direct view of his eyes, it seems that he holds all of these emotions, and then some—all within his fixed gaze; fear, worry, anger, intimidation, boldness, conviction, strength, agility, uncertainty, yet confidence— all encompassing the weight of his impending act of heroism, motivated, directed, strengthened and upheld by the direction and will of God. The plaque next to the statue doesn’t go into the Biblical context of this act and certainly doesn’t attribute David’s strength of character and heart to God, who indeed is the true source of David’s will to act. Knowing the intimate relationship between David and God, and the unyielding faith, trust, and reliance in God’s ability to provide allows you to see so much more into this masterpiece than just ‘a guy from the Bible with a nice body.’ I feel so blessed to be able to have viewed The David in this way, and I only wish more people could have the will or desire to understand the expression of the Spirit within this work. The David is all and more of what people claim it to be!!
It’s 5:45 and I just got back from a ‘Chocolate Fest’ going on in La Palazzo de Santa Croce. There are about twenty tents set up featuring every kind of chocolate creation imaginable!! Melissa and I got a $2 E small cup of hot chocolate –which was amazing, but SUPER rich!! It was basically melted pure, authentic chocolate –bitter but completely wonderful!! The cup was only about two inches deep, but I could only finish ¾ of it before I got a sugar headache –which I still have, but it’s worth it!! = ) Chocolate is a wonderful lift to the spirit!! I also bought some chocolate covered almonds—which I will be savoring like gold because I was surprised by the price—but it is authentic, real chocolate—and I’m only in Italy once, right!? ; ) haha.
Tomorrow morning I head off to Chianti with a group from the Institute and two of my roommates, Sarah and Catherine. We will spend the day touring the serene Tuscan landscape, strolling through lush vineyards, and enjoying true, authentic, Italian cuisine! Saturday, I will be spending the day in Sienna and enjoy a guided tour including Church of San Domenico, Cathedral, Piazza Del Campo, and Palazzo Pubblico. We will then depart to San Gimignano and receive a guided tour including Collegiata and see frescos by Barna da Siena and visit Church of Sant’Agostino.
I am SO excited!! Pray for beautiful weather!!
Well, Ciao for now!!
Mollie
1/17/09
01/16/2009 Excursion to Pisa and Luca, and the most extraordinary dinner EVER!!!
The Greatest Day Yet!!
Visit to Pisa and Luca + the most wonderful meal EVER!!
We took a 1 hour bus ride to Pisa, where we were ‘tourists’ and took many pictures by the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The drive there way breathtaking, and I felt my cares slip away into peace and calm as the urban landscape slowly disappeared and was replaced by the hills, valleys and lush greenery of rural Tuscany. After visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa, we toured the aged Duomo/Cathedral, Baptistry, and Graveyard located adjacent to the Tower. Spiritually speaking, the three buildings were to symbolize Birth, Life and Death. They were breathtaking!!!
We ate a brief lunch with a handful of new friends before getting back on the bus for a half-hour ride to Lucca, the food consisting of phenomenal (and cheap!) Margherita and mushroom pizza. Encased within tall, stone walls, Lucca was a quiet little city, devoid of tourists and, seemingly, people in general. Having been used to the bustling, active streets of Florence, Lucca seemed nearly deserted. One thing that surprised me about the city was its incredible attention to cleanliness. I have never before seen (cobblestone) streets so immaculately clean!! We got a brief tour of the three main Churches of Lucca, and then were ‘surprised’ (forewarned) about our opportunity to ride bikes around the perimeter or the city!! What a gorgeous day!! The sun was shining, and people were walking, running, biking, and jogging along the pathways as we made our way around the two mile circle. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon!!
This evening, my roommates Melissa, Lauren, Sarah and I went out to dinner with a couple of our new friends, Domenica and Jackie. We went to a quaint little restaurant, “Cantinone: Enoteca Del Chianti Classico,” located near both of our apartments. It was tucked beneath the ground, so we had to walk down tiny stairs to reach the entrance. Brick arches ceilings welcomed us in to a warm, inviting, candlelit atmosphere. We were about to experience True Authentic Italian Service!!!
We ended up having a Multi-course meal lasting 3 hours (for only $20 E—it’s a bit pricy, but just WAIT till you hear what we got)!!
Variety of Appetizers:
Blended Spinach-cheese dish
Grilled zucchini and egg plant
Bruschetta
Fresh Ham and Salami slices
Course 1:
Phenomenal vegetable, white bean soup
Gnocchi topped with truffle sauce
Course 2:
Pork with Asiago slices
Marinated Chicken with pearl spices
Seasoned Potatoes
Dessert:
Tiramisu
Lemon Jella shots
3 bottles of phenomenal white wine
EXCELLENT service and HOSPITALITY (the chef Michael, ‘mike,’ got to know us / and us him, and he bought us all ROSES from the venders that came walking through the restaurant)
The GREATEST DAY YET!!! = )
As a side note, I have really enjoyed my classes thus far, and I am excited to learn more about the history, culture, and art of Italia!! On Thursday, In my art history class: Michelangelo to Bernini, we toured the Casa Buonarroti—the museum, library, and archive that houses the earliest found works of the famous Michelangelo Buonarroti. It was quite incredible to see such astonishing artwork, especially his first marble sculptures and reliefs, done at such a young age. What a prodigy!! I am excited to delve further into the genius of Michelangelo as we learn, observe and experience his life and works.
Arrivederci!!
Mollie
Visit to Pisa and Luca + the most wonderful meal EVER!!
We took a 1 hour bus ride to Pisa, where we were ‘tourists’ and took many pictures by the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The drive there way breathtaking, and I felt my cares slip away into peace and calm as the urban landscape slowly disappeared and was replaced by the hills, valleys and lush greenery of rural Tuscany. After visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa, we toured the aged Duomo/Cathedral, Baptistry, and Graveyard located adjacent to the Tower. Spiritually speaking, the three buildings were to symbolize Birth, Life and Death. They were breathtaking!!!
We ate a brief lunch with a handful of new friends before getting back on the bus for a half-hour ride to Lucca, the food consisting of phenomenal (and cheap!) Margherita and mushroom pizza. Encased within tall, stone walls, Lucca was a quiet little city, devoid of tourists and, seemingly, people in general. Having been used to the bustling, active streets of Florence, Lucca seemed nearly deserted. One thing that surprised me about the city was its incredible attention to cleanliness. I have never before seen (cobblestone) streets so immaculately clean!! We got a brief tour of the three main Churches of Lucca, and then were ‘surprised’ (forewarned) about our opportunity to ride bikes around the perimeter or the city!! What a gorgeous day!! The sun was shining, and people were walking, running, biking, and jogging along the pathways as we made our way around the two mile circle. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon!!
This evening, my roommates Melissa, Lauren, Sarah and I went out to dinner with a couple of our new friends, Domenica and Jackie. We went to a quaint little restaurant, “Cantinone: Enoteca Del Chianti Classico,” located near both of our apartments. It was tucked beneath the ground, so we had to walk down tiny stairs to reach the entrance. Brick arches ceilings welcomed us in to a warm, inviting, candlelit atmosphere. We were about to experience True Authentic Italian Service!!!
We ended up having a Multi-course meal lasting 3 hours (for only $20 E—it’s a bit pricy, but just WAIT till you hear what we got)!!
Variety of Appetizers:
Blended Spinach-cheese dish
Grilled zucchini and egg plant
Bruschetta
Fresh Ham and Salami slices
Course 1:
Phenomenal vegetable, white bean soup
Gnocchi topped with truffle sauce
Course 2:
Pork with Asiago slices
Marinated Chicken with pearl spices
Seasoned Potatoes
Dessert:
Tiramisu
Lemon Jella shots
3 bottles of phenomenal white wine
EXCELLENT service and HOSPITALITY (the chef Michael, ‘mike,’ got to know us / and us him, and he bought us all ROSES from the venders that came walking through the restaurant)
The GREATEST DAY YET!!! = )
As a side note, I have really enjoyed my classes thus far, and I am excited to learn more about the history, culture, and art of Italia!! On Thursday, In my art history class: Michelangelo to Bernini, we toured the Casa Buonarroti—the museum, library, and archive that houses the earliest found works of the famous Michelangelo Buonarroti. It was quite incredible to see such astonishing artwork, especially his first marble sculptures and reliefs, done at such a young age. What a prodigy!! I am excited to delve further into the genius of Michelangelo as we learn, observe and experience his life and works.
Arrivederci!!
Mollie
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