Brief update

well, we're in our last week of the trimester and i couldn't be happier that we're so close to being done. this long pose is a little more taxing than my last one and i'll be really glad when i step off the stand on friday afternoon. I will miss this studio a lot though, the people at Bandiera have a wonderful energy and i really enjoyed working for them and getting to know them.

I'm not sure what studio i'm working at next term, but i do know i've got a long pose at FAA in the mornings and a long pose at Angel Academy in the afternoons. I'm so happy with this... it'll mean much less running around town and a more consistent schedule. and word on the street is angel is pretty cool about letting you do seated poses... so that could be ideal. in any case, i've got next terms work all lined up and ready to go.

For the break I'm headed to Paris and Amsterdam! i'm really looking forward to this, i'll be traveling for about 10 days and then have a week to rest before work starts again. and i may or may not be moving in that time... we'll see.

Rome was wonderful, i'll post pictures... hopefully soon... and Florence is all decked out for christmas and looks lovely. there's lights everywhere and the streets are filled with people out shopping in the evenings. it's really nice.

i'll post again soon!

a little perspective

Charlie broke.

my beloved bike is out of commission for the time being and so i'm back to the pedestrian life. which is a little harder with my new routine. i made a map to show all the places i'm running around to

View Florence Academy of Art in a larger map

on my most hectic days i start at home (Green) and head towards Porta Romana (purple) at about 8:30 am. this takes 30 minutes of brisk walking or a 15 min bike ride. after my session there i head over to Bandiera (yellow) from 1-4 pm. this commute is about 30 min by bike or 45 min of intense speed walking. After Bandiera i stop off at home (around 15 min by bike and 30 walking) before heading to Jordan's studio (blue and only 10 min by bike) and i'm usually home by 9 pm on these long days. But that's just wednesday... the rest of the days are shorter and less scattered. In any case, i luckily got some new shoes (asics with war bottoms!) so the walking isn't so bad. hopefully i'll get charlie fixed soon..

Weekend in Venice

so... awhile ago i took a trip to Venice.... this trip was probably the best idea i've had since i got here.

I was on a bit of a time crunch, work ended at 4:00 pm on friday and i had to be back on the stand by 1:00pm on Monday. The train ride to Venice is about three hours, so i left Friday around 6:30 and got in around 9:30. if you're ever booking a train in Italy trenitalia.com is grand. you can purchase you ticket online and select the option to pick up your ticket at a kiosk at the station by using a confirmation number. this was wonderfully handy, i would be sure to double check that they have the Trenitalia kiosk at both the stations (there's a list of stations on the site) you'll be visiting... i had a mini panic attack when i realized i didn't see any of the kiosks when i arrived in Venice and was afraid i'd have to purchase another ticket or turn on the waterworks and beg. luckily my panic was waisted, with a little more looking i found the kiosk no problem.

anyway, i got there around 9:30 and walked out of the station into pouring rain and the banks of the main canal. i was so excited. it was so surreal realizing i was actually there... i got in line and purchased a weekend pass for the water busses called vaporettos and hopped on the #2 bus headed to the Rialto stop. the crowded bus and the rain kept my camera in its case for the time being, but i took plenty of pictures the next day to make up for it. i found my hostel easily and got checked in. I was so exhausted and wanted to get an early start so i went to bed a passed out almost immediately.

Saturday morning i got up early and went to the fish market and the produce markets near my hostel. i love fish markets... they're so interesting. there were octopus, eels, all sorts of fish, and i found a crate full of tiny little crabs that were still alive and crawling all over each other. The produce markets were lovely, i got a couple pears and had one for breakfast. i like the sense of community these open markets bring. this very necessary human interaction for the transfer of goods. back home i can go to a store any time of day, pick my own fruit and use a self checkout machine and avoid any human interaction whatsoever. here it's so much more interactive and involved. i really find this interesting in how it effects cultural development and perceptions of necessity and means of obtaining goods.

This is the Rialto Bridge

after the market i took the vaporetto to St. Mark's Square to see the St. Mark Basilica. luckily i was there early so i didn't have to wait in line too long. the building was so beautiful. the mosaics that decorated most surfaces on and inside of the building were so intricate, it was truly amazing. the basilica itself is free, but the tour of the museum upstairs is 4 euro. i decided it was worth it and really wasn't dissapointed. The original 4 bronze horses that stand on the top of that basilica (the ones Napoleon stole when he overtook the city) are displayed inside, replicas now stand atop the building. there were also lots of bits of the original mosaics on display here... they were amazing. the view from atop the building was also fabulous.

after i'd had my fill of the basilica I hopped back on the vapoiretto and on to la Biennale de Venezia. this show was so interesting and a very welcome change to the massive amounts of realist art i've encountered in the past few months. the Biennale is a world wide art event, artists from many countries have exhibitions throughout the city. there are two main locations, the Giardini and the Arsenale, where the majority of the exhibits are. i managed to make it through both of these with my afternoon and early eveing. there were far more exhibits than i could tell about in here but i've posted a few pictures on here and for a more complete photo experience i'll put a link to my facbook photo albums at the end of the post.

This exhibit was amazing... a dark room with these squares of gold thread reaching from ceiling to floor illuminated and glowing... it was so beautiful.





this is a 3-D map (much smaller than actual scale) of the inside of a cave system.

I loved this experience. it was so nice getting back around some modern art. after the exhibit closed I went to get a light dinner and experience the pub crawl. i got light bits of food stuffs here and there and tried a few types of wine. note: pub crawl wine is NOT high quality. but it was a nice evening out as a participant observer of the Venetian nightlife. it had been a long day so i ended up back at my hostel at a decent hour and got myself a good nights sleep.

the next morning was beautiful. i got up early and headed out. this happened to be the day that daylight savings time kicked in over here so i was out and about pretty early, it was sunday so the streets were deserted. i finally wandered by a cafe and decided to get some breakfast. as i walked into the cafe a guy sitting outside made a comment on how my feet must have been cold (i was in sandals) and i told him: yes, in fact they were. this was enough of a response to warrant him following me into the shop, insisting on buying my cappuccino and pastry and inviting me to sit with him outside. i started to resist but then decided to go with the flow. he ended up being a very kind man who owned a hostel right down the street (not the one i stayed at). we chatted for a good half hour and he told me about how crazy italian women can be, how business is good, but living in Venice isn't very interesting for him, and then he invited me to stay at his apartment next time i'm in town so that he could take me to dinner and show me the city. yes... all this is a simple half hour. though i've learned that if i talk to the men here for more than a minute i usually get these invitations to dinner as well as the invite to stay at their home. i'd have to say it was a severe understatement when people told me the men here were forward. in any case, he was kind and i enjoyed the chat.

after breakfast i headed on my way to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. this was phenomenal. the museum is inside of Peggy's home, and all the work was part of her private collection. there's little blurbs throughout the museum about what room you were in and what it was used for when peggy still lived there. the collection was inspiring. original works by Picasso, Duchamp, Braque, Pollock, Kindansky, Dali and so many more filled every room. photos weren't allowed inside the museum, but they were in the sculpture garden

Thomas Moore
This is Yoko Ono's installation, the wishing tree. you're supposed to write a wish and tie it to the branches... i loved this. it's in a little corner of the garden right next to where peggy's ashes are burried... right next to the ashes of all her pets.

overall this museum had so much energy to it. such a sense of movement and exploration... I got the audio guide tour and it was so informative, if you go i'd recommend this. it had amazing insight into some pieces i would have grazed over otherwise and gave a deeper meaning to the pieces i already knew. knowing a bit more about the history really helped put more meaning in these works that are already stunning. i loved this museum very much.

after this wonderfully refreshing experience i wandered the streets of Venice. ahhh... it was amazing. i happened upon a man playing this mandolin/guitar in a sunny little courtyard. i sat on some steps and listened to him play for a while. it was so beautiful. i had this amazing moment of realization of the extreme beauty in my life. and not just for the fact that i'm living a dream right now, but also for the people in my life whom i love so very much, the opportunities that i've been so lucky to have and so many things i couldn't even begin to write here. it was a wonderful experience.

wandering around the city was amazing. the endless shops, the amazing little canals and bridges, the light made everything warm and lovely. I stopped to get some gelato... it was wonderful. i got pistachio and chocolate chip. they were splendid.

As i wandered i popped into different shops and found various things to snag my attention. one of the most interesting was this display of instruments from 1500's-1800's. it was amazing! you weren't supposed to take photos but i got a few... they're a bit blurry though...

These instruments were so beautiful. the woodwork on some of them was so impressive. i only wish i could hear the music that these were build to play... this was such a gem of an exhibit.

I wandered back to St. Marks to see it in the sun this time, it was stunning. the square is lined with shops and restaurants where musicians preform on four string quartets, pigeons were flying everywhere and beggars wandered the crowds. it was so interesting being in such a historic place and having the juxtaposition of kitschy tourism next to these beautiful buildings... but i think i'm finding that everywhere i go here.

After a few hours of exploring town i took the water bus back to the station and got some cookies and apple chips to snack on on the way home. it was dark on my ride home and i got some good reading time, which was nice. I made it home in one piece without any problems, it really was a wonderful weekend, i just wish i'd remembered to get a picture of myself there....

this city was stunning. after i returned to Florence i got ahold of a documentary that told the history of venice, which is fascinating. I didn't really do my homework before i came here, but i'd highly recommend poking around the city's history before a visit. it makes it that much more interesting.

the buildings are beautiful and seeing them rest in the milky green water is unlike anything else i've ever seen. there's a sense of history and decay intertwined with every inch of this place, it was mesmerizing and reminded me of all the beauty there is in the world. all in all: a perfect weekend.

Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Couscous

I made this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful. it was extremely simple and didn't have any bizarre ingredients (it calls for sun dried tomato vinaigrette but they give you the recipe for that too.) from start to the time i was eating was probably about 30 min, but that's partially because it was a new recipe and i was trying to calculate different measurements from cups to liters because my only measuring cup is a half liter. i ended up eyeballing most of it anyway.

i also used water instead of chicken broth. i used all the vinaigrette i made but like i said i was eyeballing it so i'm not sure just how much that was. if you want a fast easy dinner, this is a grand one. click on the link or i copied the directions to this post.

Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Couscous

Simple and quick couscous is flavored with sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, and basil. Using 5-minute couscous makes this fast and easy. This dish may be served hot or at room temperature. Use store-bought vinaigrette or make your own.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon dried garlic powder
• 1 package (10 ounces) 5-minute plain couscous
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (preferably oil-packed), drained and diced
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions (scallions), tops included
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 2 Tablespoons sun-dried tomato vinaigrette (store-bought or homemade - recipe link below)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat chicken broth to boiling and stir in garlic powder.

Place couscous in a large heat-proof bowl. Stir in garlic chicken broth, cover, and let steam for 5 minutes until tender. Fluff with a fork and gently stir in sun-dried tomatoes, green onions,basil, and sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Fluff again with a fork and serve hot or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Recipe

Vinaigrettes are simple to make. This salad dressing gets pizzazz from balsamic and red wine vinegarsalong with sun-dried tomatoes.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 sun-dried tomato halves
• 1-1/2 Tablespooons balsamic vinegar
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon fresh basil leaves, minced

Preparation:

In a saucepan simmer the sun-dried tomatoes in 2 inches of water for 3 minutes, or until they are tender, drain them, and mince them.

In a bowl wisk together the tomatoes, the vinegars, and the garlic paste. Add the olive oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the vinaigrette until it is emulsified. Stir in the basil.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

End of the Pose

Well, it's been awhile and i'm in the process of creating a wonderful venice post, but here's an update:

we're finishing up week 6 (the last week!) of my first long pose. I'm all set to begin a new 6 week pose at a different Florence Academy campus called Bandiera. I've meet some of the students i'll be working with and they're grand, i'm really excited to move over there. the pose at Porta Romana is finishing up well and wasn't nearly as bad as i was expecting, I'm a little tired, but that could be the 30+ hours a week i'm working for the school as well as with artist on their own projects. I started yet another pose with a man named Jordan Sokol, he used to teach for the school and now spends all his time painting. he's really talented and i'm looking forward to seeing how this painting ends up.

it's getting cold here. cold and damp. i'm not going to lie, i don't like it one bit. we turned our heat on though and it's nice to be able to dry clothes on the radiator and to feel warm when i'm going to bed at night. we've been bouncing back and forth between rainy and sunny days and the rain gods are smiling on me and managing to stop the downpours when i need to ride my bike somewhere.... most of the time anyway...

work has been keeping me very busy, i'm still trying to squeeze in some play when i can. before it got too cold i would stop at Boboli Gardens to read for a while before or after work, I'm hoping to make it to the Bargello Museum this weekend, and maybe if i play my cards right i'll make it to the science museum as well. i also found time last weekend to make it to a halloween party (I was Cynthia Gregory... the only american to be named Prima Ballerina) and visit some friends in the country for a bon fire. it was a grand weekend.

I'm hoping to visit Rome later this month, but i might forgo that and save up for a bigger trip over christmas... we'll see. more goals for the weekend are to find a good coat and some boots. i did NOT bring adequate footwear to this country and for my health's sake, it's time to find some warm shoes.

i'll try to post about Venice soon.

week 4

This week is 4 of 6 on my long pose at the Florence Academy.

so far so good.

most of my mornings are spent working at either the sculpture studio (with a sculptor named Lori) or in one of the students studio at Porta Romana (with Sean and Theresa, this is the reclining pose... it's beautiful!!!! i'll try to get some photos of the paintings). my afternoons are the standing pose and evenings are free for now.... Yesterday a man who used to teach at the FAA came in and asked me to pose for him as well, and the students in the first year studio, Casine, are trying to hire me for a weekend pose when i'm not doing extra work with Lori, Sean, or Theresa.

work is plentiful and i couldn't be more grateful. I talked with the model coordinator at the FAA and she told me she wanted to schedule me to work for them as long as i'm in the country, which was also wonderful news. job security is quite nice and it's wonderful working on long term projects. it looks as if i'll be working between 25-35 hours every week, which is nice, exhausting, but nice.

i was talking to adam on friday, telling him all about work and such, when he reminded me, "all work and no play makes nessa a dull boy".... which is true. and that's why i'm going to Venice this weekend. I'm leaving after class on friday, it's only a 3 hour train ride, and i'll come back sunday evening. just enough time to check out La Bennale di Venezia, take the water bus through the city, sample the food and hopefully pop into a museum or two. if any of you have been to Venice and have any advice on places to go, I'd love the input.

in the spirit of avoiding being a dull boy I've also been getting out and exploring the town. Friday i found a health food store that was as wonderfully overpriced as the ones in the states are. i did find some miso soup mix, tofu, and splendid herbal teas. yesterday i stopped in at a music store and played the guitars for a little while... i noticed a new poster for Taylor guitars on the wall and found 6 boxes nearby who's contents could only be the glory of a Taylor... sadly they weren't unpacked yet so i couldn't play them... i'll have to go back. i miss my guitar.

I've also discovered the beauty of Cappuccino. before my morning sessions at Porta Romana i go to the little cafe down the street, stand at the bar and sip my delightful drink while i watch the people go through their morning routines. Interestingly enough there are unspoken rules about cappuccino , like you don't drink them after 11 am unless you want to oust yourself as a tourist.... go figure. I've yet to discuss with a local how these rules developed, but i'd love to get an insiders view on the coffee society in italy.

I've also (although these are from a while ago) had the opportunity to visit the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. it was amazing. I've no idea how he made the stone look so smooth, so life like. he carved the hands so you can see the veins, the torso looks so lifelike... it's really phenomenal. there is currently an exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's less controversial work being displayed in part of the Accademia. it was a wonderful exhibit, his skill with the photographic craft is amazing, and some of the images were so moving. I had mixed feelings about the exhibit as it continued out into the gallery and was displayed next to Michelangelo's "prisoners" the unfinished statues that line the hallway leading to David. David himself was flanked by 4 mapplethorpe photos. i understand the comparison of beauty in the human figure, but it wasn't my favorite display. the two together felt too harsh a contrast. I admired both sets of work, but i think they're both stronger standing alone. overall it was a great afternoon at the Accademia.

I also went to a museum called La Specola. it was AMAZING! the first 12 rooms or so are filled with more taxidermy animals than you can imagine. they had an extinct Tasmanian Tiger and a hippo that used to be a pet of the royal family... it used to live in Boboli gardens. this particular hippo was stuffed around 300 years ago... so it's not the most stelar job, but it's still pretty impressive. they had everything from lions to zebras, birds of every size from every continent(penguins, hummingbirds, ostrich, pheasant....), gorillas and orangutans, and even dolphins. it was a phenomenal collection. but even more interesting... were the next 9 rooms which are stuffed to the brim with wax models of cadavers. they were crated to help medical students study the human body. sadly pictures were strictly forbiden so i don't have any to share, but if you click on the link above (click on the word La Specola) it'll take you to some. there were full bodies, close ups on hands, feet, head... everywhere... they were so intricate, it reminded my of my anatomy class... minus the smell of phenol, which was a bonus. in any case, it was great fun, if you're in Florence and want something a little different from the Uffizi, this is definitely a step off the beaten path. not for the squeamish, but i highly recommend it.

overall things are going well, it's gotten quite cold here though and country wide heaters aren't supposed to be turned on until November 1st in the name of energy conservation. so... we're bundling up. it's actually nice going to work cause they have space heaters blowing on me... sometimes i'm warmer there than in my bedroom. ha. in any case, venice is coming up, i'll be sure to post about it soon.

Sunday at the Uffizi

Today I took my second trip to the Uffizi museum of art. It's a really wonderful collection and i'm glad that i have to time to revisit it and take my time with the work there. My first visit was a bit rushed seeing as it was about 40 minutes before they closed up for the evening, but i made it through the first wing on that trip. so this time i breezed through the annunciations, crucifixes, and madonnas that almost the entire wing is made up of and explored the second wing fairly thoroughly.

The history in that building is simply amazing... looking at these works that were created between 1200-1600 strikes me with awe... realizing how many people dedicated their lives to creating these paintings, how much control the church had over what was created, and the amazing quality of some of the pieces. I was surprised at how dark some of the original paintings actually are, specifically the Sacrifice of Isaac and Rembrandt's self portrait. they were both much darker than the images i found online, the were still mesmerizing though.

The art was amazing, but so were the people at the museum. I sat and watched the people walking by for a good 30 or 40 minutes. i shared a bench with 11 strangers... i just stayed and watched and they cycled through. I chatted with a lady who was visiting with her husband, they are celebrating their 25 year anniversary by taking a bike tour down the coast between Pisa and Rome.... amazing. watching the onlookers was quite interesting, but my favorite person was one of the guards who was sitting in one of the smaller rooms. he was amazing.

he must have been late 60's early 70's. his pants were too short, and the hems were just frayed edges of the fabric. he wasn't wearing socks and his shoes were scuffed and tattered. his Uffizi uniform jacket was a few sizes too large. he had thinning salt and pepper hair, more pepper than salt. and an amazing mustache. he had a stack of newspapers next to him, one in hand, and i couldn't tell if he was actually reading it or just doodling in the margins. he was so aloof. the other guards look bored or chat with each other or have a book or watch the patrons, but he was alone in his own world. he looked so tired. i sat and watched him, he would yawn and rub his eyes with aged work worn fingers. take off his glasses and glance about looking as if he wondered if he could go home yet. he was so self contained, so ambiguous, so self assured. i loved watching him, he was so interesting. of all the masterpieces i saw today, i wish most i could have taken a picture of him... he was an enigma. i loved finding him.

aside from the guards, Here's some of what i saw today.... they don't allow photography inside the museum so i got these all off the internet.

Botticelli,

Birth of Venus:

Allegory of Spring

Da Vinci,

Annunciation:

Francesca,

Duke and Duchess of Urbino:

Michelangelo,

Holy Family:

Raphael,

Madonna of the Goldfinch:

Titian,

Venus of Urbino:

Parmigianino,

Venus with the Long Neck:

Caravaggio,

Abraham Sacrificing Isaac

Medusa

Artemisia,

Judith Beheading Holofernes:

Rembrandt,

Self Portrait:

It was amazing to see these pieces is real life. having studied them in my art history classes in school it was fulfilling to finally see them in person. the difference between the energy and emotion in the work is amazing. it's also a little mind blowing how certain paintings will stand out in a room. the artists given Master status definitely have a more powerful presence in their work, i'm excited to go back and revisit these and study them some more. I'm so honored to be able to experience this place and these beautiful works of art.