MANGIA??

In 1909, a photographer for National Geographic, named Wilhelm Von Gloeden, took this photograph called, "Sicilian Street Urchins". I found them to be fascinating because they looked far wiser (streetwise at least) than what seems to be their very young years. Worldly expressions on very young faces.




When I did an encaustic workshop last year, to try out some new techniques, I used these children as my inspiration.....to play around. I was prompted to mention playing around with this delicious medium after looking at what Judy Wise is doing. Wow. Check it out.



It is a medium for all of your senses.......hearing may not be in the mix, but the rest are. One of my favorite things to do is, every once in awhile. I take my hand and rub the bloom that may build up on the wax. It shines it right up and feels great. The bees wax also has a sweet smell.


I took this closeup, so that you can possibly see the textures and "build up" you can get. Plus you can attach just about anything with the wax.....I even used some gold leaf. I've seen artists create a sculpture where a painting was started.

Breakfast in Tuscany-


So, I also wondered, were those children hungry? My next post on Italy was certainly going to be about food. In a country that has "food" as it's mantra, I find it difficult to believe, but I'm sure it must be true. I could start a "heavy" conversation here about world hunger....food prices going up......farmers being paid more to grow bio-diesel source crops than food....but I won't..... now.

My second favorite Italian food......grapes hanging heavy on the vine, ready for picking, outside of Montepulciano.



"Leftovers, after the morning market at the Campo di Fiori in Rome-


Fall harvest, Italian style-


How come WE only get those little dried up packages........yum, fresh and unbelievably good!


Who can guess what this is? We sat next to a delightful couple from South Africa and Australia at a great restaurant in Venice. We all laughed hysterically all night. Their teeth were black.


My favorite dessert.......fragole piccolo...probably not spelled correctly.......means " little strawberries". Put a bit of gelato on top and ....out you go.......your waistline, that is.

Buon appetito!


I guess I was all over the place on this one......sometimes you've just gotta let it all spill out.

Coming next......flea market finds.

MANET WHO?-THE ARTFUL PICNIC

So....in which photo above, does it look like they are having a better time? You had better say the second, the one with the happy artists, holding up their wine glasses, having a glorious day together!!!


It's all thanks to this lovely lady above, Constance. She is truely one of the most beautiful spirits I have ever met. There is so much positive energy coming from this lady, you can feel it immediately.

She decided to get a few of us bloggers together, to celebrate the birthday of Susanna......and well....just get us together. I was so happy to meet all of these wonderful women! All accomplished in so many ways and absolutely a blast to be with. Constance, Susanna, Mo'a and Rena. Thank you so much for making the day so perfect.

So what are the ingredients of a great picnic? Well......have Constance make the frittata, beer bread, biscotti, soup...and probably more, that I am forgetting. Have Mo'a make the spinach salad and bring beautiful flowers. Rena makes the butternut squash soup...with a hint of spice.......Bring WINE!!! Have great party favors courtesy of the birthday girl..........and last but not least , SHARE YOUR ART! Constance, her beautiful handbags and Florilinas, Susanna, her photographic sketchbooks, like a dream and encaustic painting, beautiful color and texture. Mo'a brought her incredible Icelandic Santas. (Did you know there were 13 Santas in Iceland?) and Rena, an old friend of Susannas, is a writer. She discussed the novel she has written.




Lot's of great still life set ups!


Take lots of photos!


Play with the beautiful things around you!


Give the birthday girl a priceless gift!


At the end......feel full..........of LIFE. Thanks ladies!

FINESTRA-WINDOW

So pull up a seat, put your feet up and grab a glass of wine...or a spritz, as the Venetians would...that's Prosecco, Campari and a little orange liquor, that for the life of me I can't remember the name of.

My trip was wonderful. Trying to figure out what to post is more difficult than I would have imagined, so I decided to go with a theme. WINDOWS. I saw so many amazing sights both looking INTO and OUT of windows in Italy . I found the following info in the dictionary-

Word History: The source of our word window is a vivid metaphor. Window comes to us from the Scandinavian invaders and settlers of England in the early Middle Ages. Although we have no record of the exact word they gave us, it was related to Old Norse vindauga, "window," a compound made up of vindr, "wind," and auga, "eye," reflecting the fact that at one time windows contained no glass. The metaphor "wind eye" is of a type beloved by Norse and Old English poets and is called a kenning; other examples include oar-steed for "ship" and whale-road for "sea." Recently we have restored to the 800-year-old word window a touch of its poetic heritage, using it figuratively in such phrases as launch window, weather window, and window of opportunity or vulnerability.

Let's do a little "window shopping" and browsing, if you will.............


Sigh....... looking out from the "Bridge of Sighs" at the Doges Palace in Venice, so called because when prisoners were sent to the prison, this was the last bit of light they would see. They would "sigh"....... or curse I suppose.



Looking up at the windows of a home.


A window at the Palazzo Fortuny in Venice where I saw an incredible art show. Check it out here. What you see hanging next to the window, covers the entire front of the building. Woven tin cans. Not only does it look fabulous, when the wind blows it makes a beautiful sound. I also saw an incredible exhibit of John Singer Sargents paintings and drawings from his time in Venice, at the suggestion of fellow blogger Robyn, who does some beautiful watercolors of her own. Sargent somehow captures the essence of this incredible city without making it look like a cliche.


Peeking into the window of a jazz bar around the corner from our hotel. P.S. I hope none of you know that man :-)....pretty colors, huh? I felt an immediate need to run out and buy some new underwear.


The beauty that can only come from something old and weathered. A patina that would be difficult to duplicate........it would be fun to try, though.



Moving on to window shopping.........




....a necklace that would not be my style to wear, but oh so beautiful!



Looking up at the front doorway to the Duomo in Sienna. I can't possibly do this building the justice it deserves.



Moving on to Cortona and a beautiful gem of a B and B called Poggio Sole. It's run by a lovely young woman named Benedetta and her family. We had the BEST dinner and BREAKFAST of our entire trip here.

The windows are small at these countryside homes , originally designed to keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. But....OH THE VIEW!!




Inside Benedettas kitchen you see the Tuscan countryside on one side and a beautiful little faux window on the other.



Early morning view out of the bathroom window.




May I also point out that there are MAJOR improvements in soundproofing. Outside of our hotel in Rome, which was around the corner from the lively Campo Di Fiori area, we heard NOTHING when the windows were closed.


I truely could go on forever......but back to the real world I go.

I leave you with a view out of the taxi window on the way to Rome airport. See the rainbow? It was FULL!!! I'm thinking it means I'll return.

More later........

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE

From HERE.....

....To THERE


"We live in a world full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if we only seek them with our eyes open." -Nehru

Yes, my blogging friends, I am off on another adventure this week. I feel so very blessed. The oil painting at the top, is one that I did years ago , of some Philadelphia rooftops. That is where my adventure will begin. I will let you guess from the other images where I am headed. It should not be too difficult.

Below you will find just a few of the reasons that I love this place so much.

No brainer here.


....and here.



My only scheduled stop...an incredible THRIFT STORE.


......and a FLEA MARKET.



" I HAVEN'T BEEN EVERYWHERE, BUT IT"S ON MY LIST." -Susan Sontag


May the sun shine down on you while I am gone. Ciao for now! (I'll be stopping at an internet cafe occasionally).

EAT,PRAY, LOVE, CREATE

So...the other day my friend Paula and I decided to have an "art" day. We've done that many times before. We work together on a current project each of us is involved in and offer each other feedback, chat about life and eat. I was working on my current altered book round robin project. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to show photos......so I am offering up my palate as my creative piece. Sorry!

Paula, who is a multi media artist (check out her website here) was working on a Ketubah for her brother, who is getting married. I googled the definition of a Ketubah .... The ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract between the husband and wife. It may
be printed; more often, it is hand written in beautiful calligraphy
and illuminated by a sofer, or scribe. Much of the traditional Aramaic
text is over 2,000 years old, and the present form was fixed in the
eighth or ninth century. The ketubah formalizes the groom's commitment
to protect and care for the bride. The ketubah has two signatures from
close friends or respected teachers as formal witnesses to his
commitment.

Traditionally, a ketubah is a legal lien on the husband's property
which he gives his wife-to-be in the case of his death or their
divorce, to ensure her maintenance and well-being. There are some
options that a woman can negotiate. In traditional Judaism, the
ketubah is signed by the man, read under the chupah, and given
immediately to the woman. The ketubah belongs to the woman.

In the liberal movements, the text of the Ketubah has been modified to
be more egalitarian, and provide equal protection for both husband and
wife. Some Ketubahs also include language to address the issue of
husbands that refuse to provide a get, or bill of divorce, when
requested by the wife.

There is another way to view the Ketubah: think of it as the first
prenuptual contract!

Here is her "almost finished" (she has to frame it) creative accomplishment to our day. I think it's beautiful!


On another note.....


Recently, Philadelphia Magazine had a tiny little mention of the fact that Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love....one of my favorite books...if you have not read it pick it up now. I've read it 3 times!! ) and her husband had opened an imports wearhouse in Frenchtown, New Jersey about 45 minutes from where I live called "Two Buttons" . I had promised my mother that we would have an outing. She wanted to go to New Hope, which is not far from Frenchtown. So off we went....so if you have read the book, Felipe, her Brazilian "boyfriend, now husband...whose real name happens to be Jose (pronounced Joe-say) was there running things. Needless to say I was thrilled. He was delightful to both my mother and myself. We were the only ones there and we spent some time looking over all of the goodies.

While I was there, "Liz" called . She had him GIVE me a set of those beads you see above that are on the cover. I also made a purchase that I love. The faces that you see below were painted by Wayan , an artist in the village where they lived in Bali. It is a box that, depending on what side you are looking at, has a different expression. He also made and painted the puppet below.

TIME FLIES

This quote was just one of the many that were written on a daily basis when I was at "the ranch" a few weeks ago, on blackboard type mosaic sculptures around the property. I just loved it. There are so many of us that just live it to the fullest. Not a second wasted. Not even in our dreams or thoughts or imaginations.

I've been feeling very strongly today that I wish I had grown up with parents that were educated. My father had only reached 6th grade and then had to go to trade school. He was born in 1902...that's what happened when the family needed money. My mother, 8th grade and then to work. She is now 93. ........yes, they were OLD when I was born.....:-). Therefore, when I was in school, I had to fend for myself in many ways and tended to not be inclined nor encouraged to study (in my early years). Anyway, I read so many of your blogs and am so in awe of how most of you compose your posts. The writing is so well thought out and inspirational in so many ways. English was a subject that was frightening to me. Words do not come easily. Blogging has become an extraordinary learning experience .


Bear with me while I figure out a more dramatic and creative approach to the written language.


Here you will find the Shechtman family. My maiden name. Helen, little Karen and Louis (or Louie, as most people called him). This photo was taken in the spring of 1955.....yikes!!! .....on a stroll down the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was "proper" to get dressed up in those days to go strolling. Now you see just about any form of dress...mostly the kind of clothing that you see in the "don'ts" section of a fashion magazine. I was just at a beach near this spot this past holiday weekend, so I know this for a fact..........LOT'S of "don'ts".

The photo inspired me to do something creative. I decided to go the ceramic route and rolled out a slab, used slips (a type of underglaze that is matte) to paint my interpretation of the photo and added a textured clay frame and fired it in my kiln.



The following two photos I just found of my mother. My cousins got together last week because one of them is putting a family tree, of sorts, together and we were all sharing old pictures. These were new to me. My mother was not particularly interested in talking about them either. She insisted that it wasn't for Halloween. More family secrets? Oye! She is 15 in the first and the next was in 1933.

I decided to share these for the benefit of my friend Constance at Rochambeau.
See Constance, you are not the only one with a costumed family!!!



So what are you waiting for? Go grab your life by the lapels and GO!