Chapel at Cetamure

This is view of the alter inside the chapel...spectacular!

Centamura del Chianti

This is the view from the back of the old monastery where the winery and the bed and breakfast is located. There is a working garden in the back which they use for the cooking classes and for the meals of the guests. There is also a typical Renaissance maze like garden and a pool...

Fresco this...

Here is the demo from Fabrizio on fresco painting. This isn't his best work since he is sicker than a dog...but it's still friggin amazing! Next week I get to paint, so this week I'm doing some sketches at home to keep up my hand skills.

Phew...I'm having a huge moment of overwhelming gratitude to be here...who would have thought a girl from Hawaii and California would end up in Florence?

T and A

So here is a photo of my kick ass Teacher Assistants, Camilla and Jaime (kinda in the background).Camilla is doing the demo on gold leafing.

So this blogger program is a real pain in the ass to put in photos and not mess up the type completely...so frustrating that now maybe I'll just post short blogs with one photo...

Centamura del Chianti

We went on a field trip to Centamura, which is the site of a dig headed by Nancy de Grummond of Florida State University and the students of SACI last year got to work on it. This idealic setting is in the hills of the Chianti region on a functioning winery. This place is well…the things Italian dreams are made of. I’ll just post the link instead of giving a history lesson for those who want to read more. If I were to ever get married again, settle down dear friends, that isn’t in the master plan…this is a top contender for settings. They do cooking classes, and there is bed and breakfast here…

Our time there was spent looking at the exhibit but we also got a private tour of the grounds including the wine cellar…um….wow! I felt like I was back at home and I got a little homesick there…seeing the rolling green hills with grapes…anyways…I don’t miss it enough to come back but it did tug at a sweet spot for the Central Coast. We stopped by the gift store and I bought my first bottle of Italian wine, and what better place to do it.

I’ll have pictures when I have a chance to download them tonight…I’m still at school!

http://www.chiantistorico.com/en/history/cetamura.php

This one is long…

I haven’t had time to blog lately, the element of social conduct has taken up my free time. I think now that everyone is getting to know each other, we all seem to be making plans and hanging out more. On top of the school work, now I actually go out! I went to dinner with Cathy and it was my first real meal out. We went to dinner at one of the places in my piazza, actually it’s right next to my front door. We ordered a bruschetta, which was divine and 2 pizzas to split. One pizza had gorgonzola and pineapple and the other had spinach and sausage…oh yum! The next night was a gallery opening that we were invited too and I did my first paid haircut. In Florence that is a huge antique show every September and this gallery was previewing some of the pieces it was bringing to the show. There were works dating from the 1400’s up to the 1700’s. After getting Cathy and I lost, which was nice because I got to see some new sights we found the gallery. Everyone was dressed up, champagne was being served and it was just great. I realized that I will never look at art the same. I see the decay, the marks of intervention in some cases and I’m already beginning to assess the work. It doesn’t detract from seeing it, in fact it adds to the journey of th piece and I feel like the art and I share secrets now.

The haircut was for my friend Ariana, and I think she is in love with me now. She said that no one has ever given her the haircut she has asked for until now…not like she was asking for anything difficult, it’s only Posh for god sakes.

On Friday…I had my date with Giancarlo. He came from Rome for the day to take me out to lunch and just spend some time with me. I met him online about a year ago and we’ve kept in touch the whole time. He took me out to such a fantastic and expensive lunch. Apparently the Florentines are famous for a type of steak and since he hadn’t had one in years we found that yet another place right by apartment served it. It’s a tiny place callen Noe and it’s really charming. We had a primi piatta of carbonara but it also had artichokes in it which was a really nice touch,wine (of course) and the steak. When they set it in front of us I started to laugh. It’s a t-bone but the width is about twice what we serve on the Central Coast. It was cooked medium rare and it was really tender but I didn’t think it was better than what we have on California. I think as far as Europe goes it is probably insanely good but when you come from cow country it’s hard to top our meat. Since the steak was so incredibly expensive the owner sent over some grappa. For anyone who doesn’t know what it is…well…I can only compare it to Everclear. It is a white alcohol that is so strong…it makes tequila seem like milk. It was good but I don’t think I’ll be ordering it anytime soon. Neither he or I finished it, and we had to promptly head out to get some espresso. I think I’ve figured out why Italians drink espresso like water, you have to given all the heavy food they eat or you would just sleep your life away. It was such a good meal and we had a great time. He took the train back to Rome in the early evening...

(for the ladies, he has dark curly hair, green eyes, about 5’10”, thin build and speaks 4 languages…a good time to be envious of me)

Today is Sunday (probably posting this on Monday) and I went out for a few things and came back with a few clothing necessities and…2 pairs of boots! I had planned on buying one pair for the winter, and to wear in Ireland so my feet don’t get cold but today I was just feeling it. Actually the owner gave me shit load off the second pair and I couldn’t pass them up. So instead of buying a bike to ride to school, I now have boots to carry me there. I am rationalizing it with I walk so much that good shoes are practical and necessary. So now I only have to do 6 more haircuts here to cover the expense…sooooo worth it!

I was thinking that I should buy a few movies dubbed in Italian that I already

know the words to and today I stumbled onto a movie channels. Shazzzam….I’ve now seen Charlie's Angels and I’m watching Transformers. Anyone that knows me well, knows how often I’ve watched Transformers. It’s funny hearing the voices when I know it’s so far from the actor’s real voice, and I wonder if the jokes really translate. So I guess my tv won’t be changing channels much since I do think it will helpful…

Not much time for fun photos these days, but here is one from my school work....the frame I've been working on.

Madonna and Child

I got permission to post a few photos of the painting. It's like having your cherry popped all over again!

There is no specific date but we are guessing around 15oo and the restoration on this began Jan. 2009. I got to work on the foot of the baby and in an hour I finished about the size of a quarter. This is

the final stage of restoration on this piece so I was feeling pretty good about getting to touch it. Funny...didn't feel nervous at all. I was excited but maybe it's because I had just finished plastering a really old frame. Who knows...Because it's a private work we can make it all look like no damage was ever done...

It's me!

I thought I'd shoot something on the Mac in Photobooth for everyone...me in the library 4 hours into studying...Don't I look smarter?

The Lil bastard...

I finally got my box! I had to give my lil bastard of a box a hug because I went through so much to get this...not to mention how much dinero it cost Teri to send it! I know the picture is dark...but I didn't care I just wanted to rip it open.

I can't tell you how glad I was to see some of the things in that box...green tea. I've been buying some alleged green tea here but it's not even close to green tea, after steeping it looks yellow. So I got a whole divine bag of it, and splenda and like a genius I packed just about everything in ziplocs so I got some of those too. No ziploc bags here and as my family and friends can attest, I am a HUGE fan.

And my art supplies...which have proved to be a nice distraction from my homework so far. I actually had to come to the library at school to get away from them. Oh...I will pet them later. I took all day off yesterday from homework because I haven't actually had one c

omplete day off. I used the time to clean the house, organize all my box stuff and buy some much needed gadgets for the house. I really needed a reading light for next to the bed and I found one that will double as a clip light for photos if I need one. I ended up spending close to 45 minutes in the lighting store just for 4 things. You have to love Italy and the ways of it. I bought a travel alarm and when I got done paying for it he set it, even the alarm for me. How cute is that. He didn't care that someone was waiting...I even got a little tiny discount. Anyways...it was a fun shop with insanely great lighting options. I'm trying to avoid Ikea...as much as I love it I know I'll convince myself I need all sorts of things I really don't need. I might have to go right before Richard comes because having a house guest is a really good rational on getting a few new things....like decent pillows and a bath mat.

I hope everyone that reads this (and the people that don't) are well...happy...and at least enjoying my blog a little...

School work

I can share what we do in class that isn’t public or state work but simulations. I think I missed my opportunity to take a quick shot today of my first real live retouching on a painting, and plaster work on a super old frame. I don’t have details for either because I think they are private works our instructor is using to train us on.

Every thing we do is reversible because that is the common practice in Italy…especially Florence and it’s called “Restauro”. Very different techniques and ethical guidelines here in Italy but today because it was on a private piece, and I did a form of visual integration so the places that have been “wounded” look exactly like the places that are ancient. It was so amazing…I was actually painting on something created 2 hundred years ago. Me! Can you believe it, and it’s only week 2.

But back to the school work because that I have photos of.

The first is our terra cotta pots we are using to test out glues and get acquainted with the ceramic reconstruction. The next few are what we are doing in painting restoration and conservation. We are doing a step-by-step process of the old way to prepare and paint on panel. I choose to work on the guy version because there is more painting involved, and in the end he does get a little gold leaf. The last photo is of a fresco painting, done by a student last year, which I proceeded to apply glue and throw charcoal all over to mimic dirt. I get to clean it now and do research about possible artist and time period. I’m thinking a figure from the last supper but I’ve yet to completely figure it out. This is the on-site class so eventually we will be out working on location with Fabrizio or Daniella doing really work next semester, who are both fresco restoration specialists. I was pretty relieved to have a break from doing the class in all Italian (sure the translator helps but it’s a LOT to take in) when Daniella showed up. She is Irish and Spanish and speaks perfect Italian but her English is an Irish accent. It is heelarious…and she is pretty funny too.

All in all I’ve gone through half of a 140 page notebook in 7 classes and that isn’t counting the digital notes we get. I spent most of Sunday reading and napping and I don’t think I even left the apartment.

This week does seem easier even though the information is just as intense. We are all trying to figure out where the weird hunger comes from. It seems that quite a few of us are going through it. We are losing weight and eating regularly. I’m pretty sure brain activity doesn’t really burn calories but you wouldn’t have guessed it by the way our bodies are reacting. Fortunately it comes and goes in some strange 3 day cycle. It’s probably the walking but it still doesn’t add up considering now we sit all day in class most days.

Today I was actually helping Camilla talk to other students because they are under the impression I speak Italian. It is mostly I can understand them, not speak it so now she comes and asks me to explain what she is saying in Italian. I’m not really sure how I understand so much, but I think it’s my Spanish background. The words are really similar and it’s all in context. I do think I have more fine art experience, okay just experience in general and it’s helping tremendously. Besides, Camilla is adorable little rough and tumble Florentine who talks as much with her hands as her mouth. Not hard to understand that!

Well this turned into a long entry…hope I didn’t send anyone to Snoozeville with the school stuff. I can’t help it because it’s so friggin kick ass for me to be a part of…I love it!

(footnote: since I wrote this last night I was able to get some photos of the painting I worked on. I'll just post the section eventually so I don't end up in some Italian jail.)

Bus me...

It's week 2 and now I feel like I'm used to the pace of things. We all seem to be settling into a groove of sorts. We went to a lab where all the conservation tools are sold, some copyrighted compounds are made and we met the chemist that will be guiding us starting in January. Who knew that all my hairdresser chemistry and basics from Hancock would apply so easily to conservation.

Oh...and I got on an Italian bus for the first time today...crammed in like sardines and at one point Roberta (the head of the department) yelled out, "watch your bags". Apparently she was watching some guy try to pick pocket someone stranger on the bus. It really made the whole trip that much more "authentic" for me...I love it!

A little photo for the ladies...nothing like a nice piece of Italian marble...

Photos from class

So here is the first peek into my class work and mates. It is all about simulation right now, for learning and assessment of our skills. We went from putting together terra cotta pots to mixing rabbit glue and gypsum to create our own gesso in on class. This is my little panel that I will now have to shave down with a scalpel to create an even surface for painting, and then apply paint to match the techniques on the strips. I guess for most this is probably a little boring but I thought I’d show it anyways. Some people in my class are art history majors so although they have taken art classes it might not be their strong point. So it’s about separating the group into sections so when the real work comes they putus in place we will succeed.

This is Catherine and Alicia. Catherine was one of the first people I met at school and we have one class together. We tend to hang out a lot because our schedules mesh and we kind of have the same attitude about studying. I’ll try and get more photos of the group of 10 soon, but Alicia is one that is in all my classes.

I’ve spend the whole weekend, including Friday, studying and reading and trying to brush up on my art history timeline. This weekend I’m reading a book by D’Andrea Cennini called the “Craftsman’s Handbook” (Libro dell’Arte) which was first translated into English in 1844. And I’m going to skim through, “Objects…Reluctant Witnesses To The Past” by Chris Caple. That is on top of the required reading which I just finished.

The library at school is an amazing collection of art books of every kind. I think I could spend a year in there and not have even scratched the surface. Although we have internet at school which I’ve gotten on a few time, the mosquitoes there are hungry and ferocious. I got 5 bites today just answering a few emails.

So I had to trot, actually I couldn't get there fast enough, over to the Farmacia and get loaded up on spray and anti itch cream. I think I’ve suffered long enough…their itch cream here by the way is way better. I think it’s because just about everything is over the counter so you don’t need to mess with the weak products here. I could have bought one with a mild steroid in it! I guess everything has to eat including the mosquitoes.

Official end of my first week of school

I did it...

I had a fantastic first week of school. I'm exhausted in such a good way, all the fascinating stuff and I do feel so good about my choice of schools. The head of my department is so amazing as well as everyone she has hired to guide us through this intense amount of information in such a short time. She said that by the time we are done, we should be clocking in about 400 hours of practical time which is twice the time in a US program.

I have the same group of about 10 people in my classes and we are getting to know each other very well in the first week. Today was conservation law and business and we had a guy not even make it through the whole first day! It was pretty intense, but he didn't seem to fit in anyway.

So I'm at school late trying to catch up on my online stuff...I guess I'll be back here tomorrow for some research and more homework...

I hope that everyone that graciously reads my blog is well and happy...

More school which is why I’m here

The days are packed with class and the I had my first lecture in Italian today. The instructor lectured in full Italian and our other TA translated. It was beyond challenging but she did a great job and we were all getting much better at understanding him as it went on. I was going to take Italian Survival on Monday and Wednesday nights but right now I’m too exhausted to make it. I think my time is better served learning the Italian that I need for my career at this point. 8 months of listening to this instructor and I might be fluent in Italian Art Speak!

I’ve got a bit of homework to do so I’m going to be brief…

Today was Graduate Seminar and we had a bit of a lecture about environmental factors of restoration in respects to outdoor monuments and then went for a 2 hours walk around the city. I thought my head was going to explode with interesting information…it was thrilling to understand the inner workings of restoration and how it impacts the viewer. Roberta (head of the department) actually used a phrase I said when I first got here…that Florence is a bit like Disneyland. I start laughing because now I have some facts to back it up. I got to understand how bronze aged and what it should look like so that I can tell the difference between a fake and the real deal. Why some are cleaned and some are left…it’s a hot bed of controversy to say the least….

I went into a convent where the school has been working for 10 years on a project and got to see (right up close and personal) a wood panel piece from the 1400’s…recently restored and ready to move today to it’s new home. I think I’m going to be working on some of the other pieces scattered throughout the convent next semester…yeah for me!

Wow…I’m actually looking forward to doing my homework and going back over my notes…and I have to write a one page on my study proposal…this is still more fantastic than I imagined…

Day one of class...

Today was Conservation of Archaelogical Objects, basically a 9-4 class with a break for lunch. I'll just go straight to the best part, I get to work on really old stuff! There are 4 potential projects that we as students will have a chance of working on...Cetamura which is a Etruscan village site (it's artifacts will be cleaned for display), Bosco le Pici another Etruscian burial site dating at around 8 century BCE, Cerrete di Sestano 6th century BCE and Picenian Tombs 6th century BCE. All are ongoing projects with the Italian government that our school is helping restore and conserve in conjunction with other agencies.

Today we did a simulation practice of terracota pots that were broken up and thrown on the table to reassemble. I love puzzles and of course I thought of Teri's mosaic mania because boy would she love this stuff!

We will be cataloging and shooting photos each step of the way as we clean, restore and conserve the pieces and at the end of term will be handing in our written reports of documentation. For the next month we practice on non valuable objects and from the orientation today we start on the real thing as early as October!

I got the very briefest of info on the painting restoration class and apparently we will be restoring an actual fresco that has been dismantled!

I am sooooo excited!!!! I actually get to touch things that only a few humans on the planet have touched...or will ever touch again once it's all restored...the unfortunate part for anyone reading my blogs is that will not be any photos. All the projects are under strict copyright laws of both the US and Italian governments and we had to sign some forms of confidentiality. So maybe when I get home I can do a little slide show night...

wow...I still can't believe at moments like this that I'm actually here doing it...

SACI gardens

A quick glimpse at school…here is a photo of the garden in the center of the main building at school. I found out that most if not all my classes will be there this term so I’m hoping to enjoy and Skype from there.

Again…I have loads of new photos on Flickr….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88651552@N00/

The hike to San Miniato Al Monte

After I left the church I started across the river and up the hill towards the fake David. I took my time winding around the city towards my destination and found some wonderful little treasures.

Like all churches here this on had a long and illustrious history dating back to 783AD. It took the better part of the day, since I tend to move in slow motion compared to many when I have a camera in my hand.

This church has the most breathtaking view of the entire city…the perfect vantage point really. The inside is traditional in the sense of having the large main chamber but the small spaces off the sides and down below are even more incredible. I went below to see the solemn and beautiful crypt and it was the first time in weeks that I had complete and total silence. I sat there for at least 15 minutes just drinking it in. The flicker of the candles and cold of the marble were very comforting after the scorching heat that has laid across Florence for weeks.

I took my slippas off to touch the “carpet of marble” directly and feel the old…feel the sense of the place that so many ancients have walked.

Haec Est Porta Coeli….”This is the gate of heaven” taken from Genesis 28:17 is inscribed on the threshold of the “holy portal”.

So I’m humbled right before the first day of class to think that maybe someday I can clean, restore and preserve such a rich part of history.

Santuario SS. Annunziata

Behind the Academia is a church of unbounded beauty. I was lucky enough to arrive as mass just started and went in to participate and gaze in complete wonder. Because mass was going on I didn’t take many pictures, but I will go back when I can to document…it is one of the most amazingly ornate churches I have ever seen and during mass they had all the candles lit. The images and ornate décor only speak to about the devotion of a flock and the depth of their commitment to Spirit. To be an artist that finds commission in religious art…kind of hard to imagine now when so much sarcasm exists. Don’t get me wrong, I do fully understand all that was at work and is at work now when creating something like that…but you can’t overlook the painstaking process and artistic eloquence.

It was a deeply moving experience given my Catholic history. When I got divorced the first time and realized that the church at that point would…well…turn it’s back on me in the ways of ritual I turned my back on the Church. All religious groupings are comprised of the failing of humanity and no religion is immune. So my faith turned outside of ritual and went directly towards that which so many call God.

Over the years, the reading, the learning and the path of forgiveness, I’ve come to terms with all of it. In that church I did however relive the pain of being denied the thing that was so essential as I grew up. I don’t know if there will ever be a place for me in the Catholic religion in the traditional sense but I do know that a certain peace has been made. I’ve come to understand that God is not something outside but only found within, in the very form of being human we must find our own divinity.

As I was leaving a woman passed me and she gave me a little wave. I was shocked to say the least since that isn’t really what I expected and I smiled and nodded at her. She must have turned around and come after me because I felt her hand lightly touch my arm. I turned towards her and she handed me a little religious charm she had gotten out of her coin purse. In Italian she said, “Go with God” and she had such kindness in her mannerism I was again moved to tears. I walked out feeling like the thing between the Catholic Church and I had finally come full circle.

So when someone says that God or Life works in mysterious ways….try to be less shortsighted in our humanness and rest in a faith from within.

aaahhh...real internet

I'm at school right now and I have real internet! I feel compelled to use the word...joyful!

Orientation...

Why is it that almost all orientations are exactly the same...boring? I think they hand you all that paperwork to make it all look official in some capacity. Why then put us through the painstaking process of going over every little section? I'm thinking everyone in the room can read right?

The up side is that I got to meet Nick, my SACI facebook pal after 4 months of writing back and forth about our degree and are we doing the right thing. And I also met Katherine who is a post bacc studio art major.

I found out there are 10 people in my discipline and that we might get to help restore a scuplture that is in one of the main government buildings here in Firenze. Fingers crossed on that!

So I'm back to school at 6pm for the meet and greet social where I can try like hell not to be annoyed at all the semester abroad students. There is a definite difference between the post bacc students and EVERYONE else...

Spare time art

Of course I’ve been taking oodles of photos and in this luxury of time I’ve been editing and posting some on Flickr. I plan on making a bit of a slide show out of them every few months, a collection of sorts…so sit tight, they will be available at some point.

Since I haven’t gotten the box with my treasured art supplies in it…painting and drawing have not been a focus…all photography all day. I’m doing some experimental work in Lightroom and Photoshop so at least I get my fix somehow. I’m also kinda enjoying the video option but boy….I’m not very good at it! I will get better I’m sure over time but I think with only having some really basic programs I might not get too terribly creative with it. The last time I was in school I had 2 jobs and 3 kids…so I think this time I might actually be able to stay creative outside of school and take advantage of my unique surroundings.

Big Mac This

As tradition dictates, I had Mc Donalds. Each big trip Teri and I would eat at one American fast food place in other parts of the world. In Thailand it was a KFC...and here I am in Italy and I ate at Mc Donalds near the train station. Amazingly it tasted exactly like any other Mickey D's had the same gut bomb effect as well. I had a big mac, fries and a Coke zero...sat in the window and was amazed at how busy it was. Granted I was across the street from the train station but geez, it was way busier than any of ours and much more expensive given the conversion rate. I kinda used it to signal the end of my vacation...