September 27 - October 3, 2009
Good News and More Good News! I feel great and thank you all for your thoughtful notes while I was giving my back a rest. The other good news is that two weeks ago I received an invitation from Kristin Steiner to lead a workshop in Italy in 2009. I knew that the last thing I wanted to do was travel to Italy and spend all my time locked away in a studio, so when this invitation arrived I was very excited because Kristi and her husband Bill approach their "travel to learn" Adventures in Italy in an entirely different manner. The day's intinerary is planned so that we can experience Italy and take impressions back to the studio to inspire our journaling.
After much discussion and planning, I invite you to join me on an adventure in Italy for The Journal as Reliquary. During our studio time we will transform a book into an illuminated manuscript and journal of our experiences. We will EXHUME the richly layered history of Orvieto, EXPLORING her medieval Etruscan influences, gothic architecture, and Renaissance art. Each day's EXPERIENCES will inform the work we do. This workshop retreat is experiential, as well as process and project oriented. At the end of the week, you will travel to your next destination with a host of new and exciting art processes, an appreciation for Orvieto's Art & Architecture, and a beautiful memento. My workshop adventure is entitled, The Journal as Reliquary. By definition, the journal is both a relic and a reliquary.
"The pearls were split; some lost, some stolen, and some as relics kept. ~ Tennyson"
Reliquary - (Rel"i*qua*ry) [LL. reliquiarium, reliquiare: cf. F. reliquaire.] A depositary, such as a journal.
Relic - (Rel"i*c) Something that has survived the passage of time. An object kept for its association with the past; a memento. That which remains; a remnant. Anything preserved in remembrance. An antiquity that has survived from the distant past. Something of sentimental value, such as memories of a journey.
ITINERARY: September 27 - October 3, 2009
BREAKFAST: served at Lodovico from 8 - 9 ) The nuns put everything out at 8:00 am. This allows most everyone to eat, visit a bit and still get to the studio (or tours) by 9:00.
LUNCH (siesta): 1 - 3 PM
DINNER: Varies according to tours and activities planned
10:00 PM Return to Lodovico each evening by 10 PM
ITINERARY:
Sunday: Check in
6:30 - 7 PM: Meet in courtyard, introductions, group dinner in Orvieto
Monday:
Breakfast
9-9:15 Introduction to Lodovico by Bill & Kristi
9:15 Studio Session: (Orientation and RELIQUARIOS: Gilding, collage and layering techniques)
1 - 3 Lunch
3 - 4 Etruscan Influences: Cave tour
4 - 5:30 Citta Slow Introduction to Italian culture, Guided Walking Tour & Wine Tasting, then we break for Dinner. (I will post more on local artisans, art supplies available, etc. in subsequent posts)
STUDIO ACTIVITIES: We will use gilding and collage techniques to create our Orvieto cover story, then divide our journals into historical chapters (Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance). Demonstrations: I will also demonstrate Specters and Calligraphica, two mysterious techniques for blending handwritten entries onto the pages of an altered book style journal.
Tuesday:
Breakfast
9 - 1 Guided Architectural Tour with a focus on Orvieto's Medieval and Gothic influences (San Giovenale, Sant'Agostino, St. Andrews)
1 - 3 Lunch
3 - 6 Studio Session (ARCHITETTURA: Layering techniques)
7:30 Dinner
STUDIO ACTIVITIES: In the morning we will enjoy a guided architectural walking tour of Orvieto, taking note of the exquisite details of her pre-Romanesque churches, Byzantine carvings, and Gothic portals. In our journals we will begin the process of creating layered architectural compositions.
Wednesday:
Breakfast
9 - 10:30 Guided Tour of the Orvieto Duomo and Capella Nuova
10:30 - 1 Studio Session (ANGELI e DEMONI: Continue work on architectural compositions, incorporating imagery influenced by the art and architecture of the Duomo.
1 - 3 Picnic Lunch at Lodovico
3 - 4 Studio Session (work toward completing architectural compositions)
4 Cooking Lesson (Pasta-making lesson which results in our dinner)
STUDIO ACTIVITIES: A guided tour of the Duomo's Gothic architecture; bas relief and bronze sculptures on the facade, Maitani's portals, Emilio Greco's bronze doors, and the Renaissance frescoes of Luca Signorelli, will inspire further layering of our in-progress architectural compositions.
Thursday:
Breakfast
9:15 - 10:30 Weekly Marketplace (shop for group picnic lunch to be held at Lodovico)
10:30 - 1 Studio Session (VERDIGRIS: Surface treatments for the final layer of our architectural constructions)
1 - 3 Picnic Lunch at Lodovico
3:30 Palazzo Vineyard tour and wine tasting. "Things at Palazzone are so full of Italian hospitality. It is hard to know exactly when we might return. We just let Giovanni talk and pour and we soak in every morsel of the landscape and the history. We'll get back well in time for dinner. Perhaps we will even see the sun setting, casting its amber glow on the golden mosaics of the Duomo. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
Dinner
STUDIO ACTIVITIES: In the studio we will tie together all the elements or our in-progress architectural compositions, working with oil pastels and stamped textural elements.
Friday:
Breakfast
9 am - 1 Studio session (VENI VIDI VINO: Incorporating photo transfers from wine country)
1 - 3 Pizzeria Lunch
3 - 6 Studio session (tie up loose ends)
6:30 Bring journals to the enoteca (wine bar) to drink some vino and share
STUDIO ACTIVITIES: Working with photos of the surrounding valley, we will create a watercolored landscape of our day in wine country. (After a demonstration of the photo transfer technique in the morning, participants will be free to stay in the studio, or wander Orvieto, take in any last minute shopping, etc.)
Saturday:
Breakfast
Depart Orvieto
A few notes from Kristi on Lodovico, B&B and studio space are situated at the same site: "We have stayed there 6 times over the past 5 years and have found it to really be like a HOME. It is run by 3 nuns who do not wear habits. This huge old building once was a very active convent, then a school for young girls, and now is living a very new life. For the past 3 years or so, the convent has been reinventing itself as a Bed and Breakfast hotel. The rooms have been fully remodeled, are very modern, clean and well looked after.The bathrooms are impeccable, with towels replaced once during the week. What I love about the rooms is their simplicity. Each usually has a charming piece or two of antique furniture....like an old wardrobe or desk. It feels like you are in an Italian home, with cherished belongings around you. Most every room has a wonderful view of either the valley below or the courtyard. There are two elevators if students need them, internet availability in one of the studios, and the most inviting courtyard and garden. It is one of the things our past participants have raved about the most. They love it and really find it hard to leave."
AND on the evening stroll or PASSEGGIATA,
"About evening strollings, sippings and dinings. Yes...evening is such a wonderful time in Italy. Starting around 6:00 or so, village folks come out from everywhere to participate in the passeggiata....the evening walk. Grandmothers link arms with granddaughters, small children chase and play, young mothers push baby carriages. Everyone comes out to visit and to be seen. It is the most fun to grab a table at an outdoor cafe and watch the whole thing unfold. We love doing this, sipping an aperitif or a cold beer and just people watching for an hour or so before dinner.
There are several wine shops that offer tastings throughout the day and into the evening as well. We also have 2 favorite wine bars to suggest - one is the enoteca where we will meet with our journals on Saturday and it is fun and available most evenings. They do a good job of discussing their large
selection of wines.
About dining...yes, we can suggest many of our favorite places. Some take reservations and we have their numbers. We both have phones that work in Orvieto and would be happy to make reservations. You may very well spy places in your own wandering that intrigue you. We can advise wherever possible. In all the years we've been going to Orvieto, we have yet to eat everywhere. So much good food, so little time!"
COST: Six nights' stay in Orvieto (breakfast included), plus all Daily Tours listed above and the Reliquaries Workshop is $2395.00, with the Companion Tour being $1795.