Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Thanksgiving in Italy

Throughout the trip, I was only homesick a few times. Thanksgiving day was probably the worst, because it is such an American Holiday that nothing else can compare, or so I thought. As I've said before, the villa staff was absolutely amazing. Somehow they got wind of our holiday and that we all might be a little homesick, and the next thing we know, the biggest thanksgiving feast I have ever seen is being laid out at the gala: a 33lb. turkey, heaping bowls of potatoes, artichokes, chestnut stuffing, rolls, beans, etc. Rosella even searched and searched to find us cranberry sauce, in the end having to settle for fruit jams. This was such an amazing display of hospitality and friendship. I think we were all a little overcome with how wonderful the villa staff were. Later in the night, we were treated to Bibi reading from her book of poetry, which was absolutely beautiful. None of us had known that she was a poet, so it was a big surprise. Her poetry was just like her personality: loving and sweet. The gala overall was a huge success. Michaele had also made us some of his sangria with fresh fruit, which was delicious, as you can imagine. I will never forget the people at the villa, or the experiences that we shared.

Artist Statement


  •      Before coming to Italy, I never thought of myself as an artist, or thought that anything I created qualified as art. This trip has opened my eyes to many different aspects of art, from its history, to its influence on politics and religion, as well as its universal accessibility and power to move people. Being privileged to be a first hand viewer of these things has also made me feel as though I am more of an artist, as I feel that I understand a great deal more about art, and consequently understand more about how to create my own art.
         Art is impossible for me to concretely define. There are many different forms of art and many different opinions about what exactly must go into a piece in order for it to be deemed "art." Nature is often viewed as art, but some argue that because nature is not purposefully created by human hands, it is not art. Many images are created solely for commercial purposes, lacking an artist's feelings and design. Are these pieces, created solely for monetary gain, to be considered art? To me, the purpose and motivations behind any creation determine whether or not it should be considered an artistic piece.  Coming into this experience, I lacked any sort of information regarding the technical and historical aspects of art. Gaining this knowledge has helped me realize what I consider to be art, as well as how I construct my works, and what goes into them. As stated before, I believe that anything created with emotion and purpose is art. I have begun to understand what type of art I am good at, the things that I like to portray, and why those particular things are so important to me.
         While at the villa, we had the pleasure of hearing Don Kimes, an accomplished contemporary artist, discuss how art has affected his life, and how his works have changed throughout the years. During his presentation, he said something that rang true with me. Don has discovered through his years of artwork that, for him, a piece only reveals its meaning after it has been completed. Whenever I begin a piece, an idea or concept usually pops into my head, and the meanings behind it become clearer to me the longer I work on it, and continues to blossom after the piece is completed. Hearing Don Kimes discuss his creative process gave me more confidence in my own works, since I had previously believed the slow development of my creative process was due to inexperience or lack of training.

  •       Printmaking is something that I am completely new to, and something that has challenged me mentally and physically. The ideas that my piece focuses on, like so much of my art, are acceptance, happiness, and determining one's identity. I feel that I am not rooted in one place. I have two families in two different places, and a few close friends that I consider to be family. I feel that my identity has been determined by many places, people, and experiences. The Russian nesting dolls in the linoleum represent how I am comprised of many aspects; each one fitting together to create who I am. There are details in each "third" of the print (California, Montana, Italy) that symbolize people and things that I hold very dear, and that have influenced me in some way. Overall, I feel that this print shows a great deal of who I am. The content is intimate and sincere. The finished product is not at the level I would like it to be, and I plan on creating more prints and furthering my skills in this medium.

  •           I have found that, as with my print, most of my art has focused on the female figure and ideas of beauty, freedom, and acceptance. These are things that I have struggled with in the past, and continue to struggle with today. Creating tangible evidence of these conflicts and concepts provides a constructive and creative way to further explore and settle what is going on inside my head. As far as materials and mediums are concerned, I don't like to stick to one particular medium; I feel that is very limiting. I love vibrant colors and free moving shapes; I like to be messy and spontaneous when I create. I've always been told I am a free spirit, and I think that is very evident in the way that I work. I struggle with "drawing in the lines," as I like to call it, or being precise and drawing/painting neatly. Part of this is due to a medical condition that causes my hands to shake, and part of it is a lack of self control on my part, something that I will continue to develop as I progress with my art.
         Currently, I am interested in further working with charcoal, specifically developing better techniques of shading. I have become fascinated with the female form, after seeing the numerous ways it has been portrayed throughout the centuries, each being beautiful in its own way. Current definitions of beauty label women in extremely cruel and unrealistic ways, and put highly irrational limits and restrictions on what is considered beautiful. Throughout Italian history, women have been portrayed as large, small, heavy, thin, feminine, muscular, clothed, b=nude, etc., but each portrayal still manages to capture a pure form and expression of beauty, something that is missing in our society today, and something that affects many young women very negatively.