Posted on: March 7th, 2012
Firmly locked
Italians are notoriously good at defense – just look at all those walled cities up on the hilltops. Then there are the fences – many with a barking dog running the length of the property as you walk past. And then, the variety of doors, with locks and chains of all strengths and sizes.
I’ve long been interested in doors as the gateway to something else. It’s an easy metaphor to use – barriers to what lies beyond or within, thresholds worth crossing to discover new territories for exploring. Opening doors in my work has always been a challenge, but one to which I keep returning. Maybe that’s why this time in Italy the rich abundance of physical doors has captured my attention. I’ve been collecting lots of photos of doors, knockers and knobs. The next newsletter (coming soon), will have a handful more photos of doors and details. If you are not already subscribed, you can do so here.
In the meantime, I’ve posted some new collages on the Italy Sketches page which you can reach by clicking here. At some point I’ll make it easier to find. For the time being, though, I’m having too much fun playing with Venetian Stucco, a material I’ve recently discovered. It’s a great surface on which to draw; and working with it appears to have opened some new doors!
Posted on: February 28th, 2012
Print/Counter-Print at Rose Contemporary
March 2nd through April 13th, Rose Contemporary in Portland, Maine is hosting a show featuring the work of artists from Peregrine Press and Zea Mays Printmaking Studios as well as introducing Maine College of Art Printmaking Students. Although I am across the pond, I will have work included in this show from the series of work shown at left (though not this particular piece). The show will travel to Zea Mays in Florence, Massachusetts in April.
Opening reception: Friday March 2nd, from 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Free public lecture: “Growing a Sustainable Printmaking Community” by Liz Chaflin, founder of Zea Mays, Saturday March 3rd, 6:30 PM in the MECA Osher Lecture Hall. This talk is sponsored by the Kate Mahoney Memorial Fund of the Peregrine Press
Rose Contemporary
492 Congress Street
Portland, Maine
207.780.0700
Wednesday – Saturday, 1:00-6:00PM
www.rosecontemporary.com
Check it out if you are in the area!
Posted on: February 12th, 2012
We are stamped, sealed, and officially here
After another trip to the questura (police station), and two more sets of fingerprints, we received our official “papers” (actually something that resembles a fancy credit card that sparkles). We have finally been granted permission to stay. What a relief!
The weather, meanwhile, has been lousy: cold and windy and grey. We’ve been waiting for some real snow, which did finally come this week – outside of Foligno. In town it was never much more than a dusting. Even so they closed the schools for two days. Today we headed up into the hills and had a beautiful cross-country ski adventure in pristine and deep fluffy powder.
I’ve discovered some new materials with which to work, and in the cold grey days of winter have been getting a fair amount done in my studio. There’s a new page where I’ve posted some of the recent work you can find it by clicking here
Posted on: January 31st, 2012
Abbiamo fatto un piccolo giro in Toscana e Umbria*
*Ok, so we didn’t really go fishing, but we did go on a little road trip through Tuscany and Umbria this past weekend.
We have been meaning to get back to Lucca, where we spent 2 months in 1993, and up until now we just never made it. It was an interesting trip down memory lane. We also went back to Oriveto, where we’d only briefly been for a B.B. King concert, also in 1993. Between Orvieto and Lucca, we made stops in the Val d’Orcia in Pienza and Bagni di Vignoni; and on our way back to Foligno we stopped to revisit the Piero della Francesca in Arezzo, and spend a night on Lago Trasimeno.
Posted on: January 12th, 2012
Three Cheers for January Snow
I saw the snow from a distance right around the middle of December up on the mountain tops surrounding Foligno. It was magical. To my great delight I actually got to hear the crunch under my feet when we went to Colfiorito for a hike on the Epiphany, last week. It was a cold blustery day and it finally really felt like winter.
We did some traveling playing tour guides with visitors over the holidays – hit the usual suspects: the Giotto frescoes in Assisi, ruins in Rome, the Duomo in Florence (as well as the Capella Brancacci), among others. Now, I’m ready to get back to my own work!
Photos below from left to right: a modern ruin on a Roman wall; a detail in Assisi; and the Duomo in Firenze at dusk.
