Last day in Italy

June 13, the last day in Italy. I could have stayed in bed all day; fatigue and FM flare-up at all time high, but the flight home out of Florence was the next day so we needed to move ourselves in that direction. We had hoped to see some of Tuscany, but time ran out so Orvieto in the Umbria region would have to suffice. The village on the Rock, as it's often referred to met all of our expectations and more. It was market day and we arrived in time to wander through one at the north end of town, that is after we parked the car and walked and walked. I stopped quite often to photograph and try to gather some strength to carry on. It seems that when one is absorbed in the surroundings energy can be mustered. Whatever it was I was able to fully enjoy the village even if the day was near stifling. I can't imagine traveling any later in the summer as humid as it was starting to get. Happily there was a pharmacy in the square where the market was and I was able to get band aids, never travel without them! for the blisters that ended up taking over a month to heal once we were back home.

Orvieto might not have been as colorful if it weren't for the banners, colorful window displays and planters full of plants. Obviously the residents have a flair and playful side and take great pride in their village. We ate lunch, outdoors of course, sat in front of the duomo that refused to be photographed; the light was too bright and the design defies being photogenic and bought touch-stones at Yolanda's before heading back to the car. The village had literally rolled itself up tight, shops were closed, the market had disappeared and the locals must have all gone home, we felt like we were trespassing. Siesta time?

I had started reading books by Marlena de Blasi before the trip and read "The Lady in the Palazzo" at home in Umbria a few weeks afterwards. The book is about Orvieto. Had we been drawn to the village for the reason of experiencing it further through Marlena's words? We like to think so.

Leaving Orvieto we had a sense of completion to our trip. On to Florence for the night, but first we stopped a few hours out of Orvieto for a rest stop at an autogrill that nearly ruined the trip. We needed some water and while standing in a long line make even longer by a woman who seemed to be conducting all sorts of business that required a number of cashiers to assist the transaction suddenly the group of four behind us bolted. Why suddenly get out of line and yell at the one person remaining to follow, in Italian, but the meaning was clear. A few minutes later we knew what the rush to leave had been about. Roger's wallet was gone. Until you've had the experience of being robbed you can't even imagine the shock and instant mixed emotions that come flooding in. We decided to not bother reporting it, they were long gone, so we paid for the water with money I had, got to the car and pulled out the cell phone and immediately phoned the credit card company. The pick-pockets didn't get much in the way of money, we were down to a few bucks, but what they got took weeks to recover driver's license, Medicare Card, Insurance cards and on an on including the usual bits of info like appointments and a calendar with addresses and important dates in it. I had the passports, extra credit cards, and money in my purse that I always wore diagonally across my body. Good tip! We had make copies of everything we carried with us which made making the phone call to the credit card company very easy.

A couple of hours later we entered Florence and our last night. It wasn't easy dropping our despair over the theft, but seeing how there wasn't anything we could do about it and nothing major had been taken we had to let it go. We did laugh weeks later over what the fools didn't get!

They couldn't very far on what they discovered in the wallet.

Quote: We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. Kahlil Gibran.

#45 of 52 projects

It looks monsoonal outside, but the temp is still ridiculously high. 115 today with some humidity so it feels more like 120, or so the weather cast person informed us. I'm positive that I never wanted to know what temps this high felt like! It hurts, that's for sure. Every time the AC doesn't sound right I start to panic! We'd have to pack up and head west if the AC died, or the power went off.

Components: Altered photo, went for an aged look. Dyed fabric background, grey and red with some bleached muslin showing through. Machine stitched. Rust dyed cheesecloth.

This one is in honor of Christina's love of horses, one of many things we have in common.

Quotes: The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire. ~ Sharon Ralls Lemon

One reason why birds and horses are happy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses. Dale Carnegie

#44 and personal symbols

This piece started out life as a piece of white canvas cloth that was painted red with textile paints. Some time passed and a new rubber stamped circle design was repeatedly stamped on the fabric in blue ink. More time went by and a gold shiva paintstik was rubbed over a texture plate. Awful! Would machine stitch doodling help? A little. Would gold and silver paint stenciled through a fleur-de-lis motif make a difference? Most definitely. How about more gold paint dry brushed over the surface? And how about attaching the tapestry-looking piece to distressed lutradur? And so #44 came to life on the day that it hit 118 for the second time this summer.

This piece is for Caterina whose personal symbol is the fleur-de-lis. Be sure to go check out her blog to see her beautiful work.

My personal symbol is the horse. I can't remember a time when I wasn't moved by the sight of a magnificent horse so when I pulled the car over to the side of the road on Thursday to attempt to photograph these beauties I could have stood there all afternoon watching them. But the 114 degree temp forced me back to the car.

I had just come from DMV where I had an appointment to have my driver's license renewed and where I found out that a vital form was required before I can receive a new permanent driver's license, in the meantime it's pending! My right eye, the one that had an infection about 10 years and blew a hole in the center needs an explanation provided by an eye doctor. I was one step ahead of the game by seeing an eye doctor two months ago so I knew my left eye is perfect. I dropped the form off at the eye doctor's office and drove down a country road to visit the horses I had seen on the way to DMV. A car slowed down while I was climbing the hot sand to the barbed wire fence, I lost my footing a little when I turned around hoping that the car would continue on. Happily, it was a police car probably checking to see if I needed help, after all the car was off of the road. When I stumbled the horses started to bolt then stopped to see what I was up to; they had been eating so while they checked me out I was able to get some fairly decent shots. Yes, I'll be using horses in my work very soon.

In Native American culture the horse has long been honored as messenger, helper, and harbinger of spirit knowledge.

Quote: Who's gonna ride your wild horses? Who's gonna drown in your blue sea? --U2

#43 of 52 projects

Have you ever wondered why pears are the subject of so many art pieces? Could it be their shape, or color, or? I've been photographing some pears for a couple of days now and seemed to have joined those who use pears in their work. This grouping started out as a rubber stamp stamped onto freezer paper and cut out for a stencil. I very nearly tossed this piece in the trash, but then I remembered one of the rules, finish the piece . . .

Components: Shiva paintstiks for the pears and black wall hanging. Screen printed fabric for the third pear. Machine stitched, doodles, on canvas fabric. Dye-na-flow paint, ochre, to pull the piece together. Sort of a funky 4x6 inch piece.

Quote: In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow through your anger and your energy into something positive. Lee Iacocoa

#42 of 52 projects

The coat-of-arms for Florence, Italy is the Fleur-de-lis which is where I photographed this image.

Components: hand-dyed fabrics, red and a blue, a photo on ready to print fabric, and machine stitched.

This piece nearly didn't happen! Everything I've started for the last few days was a bust and I starting to fret until I remembered to not stress over this project, it's supposed to be fun!

Quote: If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it. George Burns

Pompeii

Some of my favorite images of Pompeii. I wasn't expecting such a photographically challenging and fascinating place. We bought a book about Pompeii in the gift shop on our way out of the "proper" front entrance where we grabbed a taxi to take us back to the smaller and less crowded back entrance. The book is filled with facts some of which are here: As usual, click on the photos to enlarge

Journal: On the morning of June 12th we left Postiano with the idea of stopping in Sorrento, but the ocean-side city didn't intrigue once we left the twisty mountain road and entered the crowded streets. On to Pompeii. Hm, industrial area and tenement looking apartments along the autostrada didn't make for a grand entrance to Pompeii, but we prevailed and ended up at the back entrance to the ruins. The men who enticed us into the parking lot couldn't have been nicer, "Be sure to use our restrooms before seeing the ruins, nothing over there, no shelter either so have lots of water, and if you're going to eat do it now. " Okay! We did all three and crossed the street to the uncrowded entrance where we were greeted by guides looking for willing tourists. We chose to see the ruins without a guide which might have been a mistake, but the fee was high and we were weary and decided we probably wouldn't make it through a tour, we were right! If it hadn't been so hot and dusty I could have photographed there for hours. When you hear that a city had been under ashes for centuries before excavation started you wouldn't expect to see such grandeur albeit in ruins still intact. Pompeii, isn't that a peculiar name for an Italian city, sounds Greek.

From there we ended up in a hotel recommended to us by the the gas station attendant who just happened to grow up in San Francisco. When his parents divorced he ended up in Italy where his father was from, the Umbria region, rather than in Turkey where his American mother decided to live. The hotel was perfectly situated right off of the autostrada and the dining room was still open. When fatigue robs you of most of your brain cells it's good to find accommodations easily!

Next, Orvieto, and one of a travelers worst nightmares, and the last night in Italy in magnificent Florence. Yes, I'm dragging the trip on as long as I can. The home front has been stressful so I'd prefer living, mentally, anywhere but where I am.

Quote: There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That's what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off of my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad. Garson Kanin

Give Away

So much for getting rid of the moire pattern on fabric! The photo looked okay until I went to post it; the wavy lines do not exist at all. I used an image of the rust/copper patina that was on the pan that I blogged about in the last entry and printed it onto fabric. The distressed background is lutradur sewn onto black fabric. After it was heat distressed I used Shiva Paint Stiks, acrylic paint, and foil for color. The 4x6 inch postcard was just received by its recipient so I can't count this one as one of my 52 projects.

Give Away! On Sept. 18th I will celebrate one of those Big-0 birthdays. Frankly, I'm surprised that I'm this old plus, I never thought I'd make it this far! Health issues have tried to take over my life since I was a kid. Art and reading have saved me from wallowing too much. I can't imagine a life without either one.

So, if you leave a comment between this post and Sept. 18th you'll be entered for my next Give Away. I'm in the midst of creating the pieces for the last Give Away and hope to have them in the mail soon. Perhaps you'll share what your favorite book-of-the-moment is.

Quote: To unpathed waters, undreamed shores. William Shakespeare

Surprises!

Look what greeted me yesterday in the bottom of a tray? I had rusted some copper squares. I will be doing something with the photos I took and the gorgeous rusted squares. Wish I could paint an abstract as well as nature gifted me with; course if it weren't for the vinegar this wouldn't have existed.

R. and I have date-night on Thursdays and usually go out to dinner but once-in-awhile a change is nice. I can't remember the last time I sat in a theater to see a movie, Netflix is great! but we couldn't resist seeing "Julie & Julia." For eons, it seems, that I have been fascinated by Julia's life and how she helped shape the interest of cuisine in this country. Without people like her where would we be? I'm a huge fan of dining on excellent food. The movie was very enjoyable, just wish more time had been spent with Julia than Julie, but it is Julie's story after all. I found the original blog that Julie started in 2002, her newest blog is on blogspot under her name Julie Powell. It'll take me a long time to get through the first blog, but so far it's been a fun read. I took a look at J. Powell's book at the bookstore last week and think that I'll enjoy the blog rather than reading the book.

I have read "My life in France" by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. She and her husband were a great team.

Quotes: "Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." "The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." "Life itself is the proper binge." "Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours work for two minutes enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet." Julia Child

#40 & #41 of 52 projects

The white muslin that the photos are printed on is whiter in "real life." Color balance in cameras along with getting a moire pattern off of the fabric that doesn't exist in "real life" can be such a bother. But I'm not going for photo perfection when I post these on the blog; that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

#40 was photographed in Orvieto, Italy. I haven't posted the Orvieto photos yet but suffice it to say that the village exceeded our expectations and I would return there in an instant. It's a day trip from Florence where we didn't spend enough time.

Components: hand-dyed muslin, photo printed on prepared for printing muslin. scraps of blue dyed fabric and machine stitching. I like the serendipitous imperfections of these pieces; they remind me of the richly aged buildings in Italy.

#41, Positano, Italy, photographed on the long walk into the village.

Components: hand-dyed fabric, photo printed on prepared for inkjet printing muslin, distressed lutradur sewn onto scrap of fabric, machine stitching.

Learned: that having a stash of hand dyed fabrics is as great as I thought it would be! Can't wait to be able to dye fabric again; no relief from the brutal temps yet, though, a drop from 113 to 100 was very nice! I've never experimented a lot with printing onto fabric and now that I've done a few pieces I will be stocking up on Bubble Jet Set. I also know for certain that I love doing a series of images or approaches and could continue with the Laundry Day series for awhile, but then I wouldn't be following one of my guidelines for the 52 projects. Experiment!

Later: I'm not in the mood, too many stresses lately, to redo this post, but I wish I had waited to read lesson #2 of a digital photography class that I'm taking. Go to my other blog to see what I learned today, August 11th post. I'm excited about the possibility of improving how I photograph my art pieces. White balance built into a camera is a good thing!
http://g-photosi.blogspot.com/

Quote: our waking hours form the text of our lives, our dreams, the commentary. Anonymous

Positano, Italy

The road from Amalfi to Positano zigzags more than any road I've ever been on; it's exhausting and we thought about shouting, "We survived the Amalfi Coast!" The middle photo on the left is one of the better shots I got of the twisty road. A lot of the terrain looks like the top left photo. The first sighting of Positano is thrilling; the road barrier is visible in the foreground of the middle right photo.

I've mentioned "the walk" we took from the parking garage down, down, down, into town earlier so I won't repeat that. On one of the curves we came across the scene in the upper left. Amazingly enough I was able to also photograph it from the hotel balcony, gotta love a zoom lens! Middle right, on either side of the dome is a smidgen of the beach. (click on photos to enlarge)

Street scenes photographed from the car. (yes, I did make a duplicate of one of the photographs. I used it in my journal layout.)

Upper left, stairs from one street level to another street, or you can drive. Two more laundry scenes. Middle left, taken from the car. Middle right, directly across from the hotel. Bottom left, mosaics on a wall and pavement just before the beach where the dome is in a photo in the second montage above. Bottom right, cactus growing out of a small pot, two stories high. It must love the climate.

Upper left, me. Upper right, the bougainvillea encrusted hotel, our room was in the middle on the top floor. Middle left, view from the balcony. Remaining photos are of the restaurant and view from it of the village at night. Our table was right next to the road. I can still hear the cars and vespas passing us by while we dined under the stars. Heavenly! Next, Pompeii.

Quote: Don't waste an ounce of thought on something not worthy of your attention. Sally Huss

#39 of 52 projects and Give Away.

Knowing myself as I do if I hadn't completed the journal before starting more experiments with fabric I'd never return to it. Oh how I've been yearning to work with this photo. This one is my favorite of the laundry series photos and was photographed in Tarquinia, Italy in an alley.

Components: hand dyed muslin, scraps from the white pieces #37 & #38, photo printed onto prepared for printing muslin. 5x7 inches with loose threads.

Give Away Announcement: I lost the list of names which meant that I needed to go back over the comments left up to July 31. Stacy said that two names should be chosen so she pulled out of her hat Penny, whose address I have and Julie, whose address I need. Can't say when or what I'll mail, but it should be in the next few weeks. I will be doing another Give Away next month in celebration of my birthday.

Quote: The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Alan Watts

Fini and Amalfi

The spiral bound travel journal is finally finished! Not only did I cull through over 1500 photos, but I went online and looked up historical facts to add to the journal and that ended up side tracking me for days on end. Oddly enough, I usually enjoy discovering facts after a trip rather than prior to it. Maybe I prefer my initial response to a place and not have my head filled with details. whatever the reason the trip that started on June 4th has now come to a nice conclusion and I can start using some of the photos in my work. The two spreads above are indicative of what the interior of the journal looks like.

Almalfi! Oh my, was I really there? A plate of Ravioli so good that I didn't want to finish it. We sat at the corner table with a view of the Mediterranean and village. (below left is a shot of the deck and the corner table.) The cathedral. No, I didn't walk up the stairs.

The village.

More favorite photos.

Above left bottom is the exit tunnel out of Amalfi. Doesn't look like much does it? We nearly went through it rather than make a left turn into the parking area.

From here we went to Positano.

An interview

I haven't posted inspiring links in ages. Being that mom has Alzheimer's anything that Ami is a part of is of interest to me. An interview is here. Her blog is here.

Thanks so much for all of the comments about my DisCo piece. I've decided to leave it alone and call it finished!

DisCo project Reveal

I had great hopes when I put some bundles into the compost bin to further disintegrate, but they didn't cooperate. I've never known paper to not break down or stain. The photos in this piece cooperated quite well and were set aside from the first bundles. At least the corrugated cardboard was coaxed into doing a nice job of decaying in the compost bin. Rather than despairing about what didn't happen I took the few pieces of decayed items and started playing with some ideas. I haven't thrown paint on a canvas in months and the need to do was overwhelming.

Layers and layers of texture and paint became the substrate for the few decayed pieces that I know I would have never considered using if Seth hadn't dreamed up this group collaborative. Everyone needs a challenge once-in-awhile and this definitely challenged me. I have a feeling that this 11x14 inch piece is a work-in-progress, maybe the photos need to be worked into the piece by toning down the edges? But for now it'll do.

Quote: Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.

Lanston Hughes

#38 of 52 projects

In 2000 I was enamored with antique photos most likely because I was working on a memory book after my fathers death that year; my aunt sent me a box of old photos, plus, that was around the time the use of cabinet photos in altered work was the "in thing." I've never been "in" so it's not surprising that my love affair with the collection I built up died fast. This piece seemed to scream for a focal point so I got out the container of metal ephemera and viola!

Components: pellon interfacing, tissue paper, cheesecloth, perle cotton stitched on, loose threads needle punched on, image on metal, buttons.

Okay, the answer about the image on the metal metal piece is: An altered image, done in PhotoShop Elements was printed onto a transparency and run through a xyron machine, cut out and adhered to metal which in this case is a seltzer water can that was heat distressed. The transparency image is too shiny and raw so it was sprayed with matte spray. The metal piece sewn onto the left of the photo was painted with gesso and blotted off. Nice to have pieces of metal just waiting to be used! (Years ago I played around with ways of applying images onto metal and came up with this approach rather than doing a transfer; gel medium or other types of transfers I tried rarely were successful. When I ran across the ones I did years ago I was blown away by how good they still look.)
PS. my good friend D. just asked me a question about matte spray on the transparency. I wrote an article for a now defunct Zine about Faux Tintypes and this was one of the examples, so yes, this is a great way to create faux tintypes. So much for memory!


Quote: So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains And we never even know we have the key.
Lyrics from Already Gone, performed by the Eagles for their 1974 On the Border album

Roma, second day continued

Part one is posted below.
Helicopters were circling overhead most of the morning and we were quietly informed that Khadafi was in Rome and security was tight. Okay, maybe not a good day to be a tourist. Supposedly, the first horticulture planned garden was established at the top of the Palatine; in the same spot a garden is maintained.

The statues, columns, and ruins were amazing, but the view from the top of the surrounding area, photos below, blew everyone away! About the Palatine is here:

We needed a taxi back to the hotel; the heat and fatigue overwhelmed us. We believe that we got the only taxi drive who didn't know how to find the Colosseum Hotel, uphill, about 1.5 miles away. He drove in circles and stopped at intersections to ask anyone passing by. Was it an act? We don't know, but he left us off uphill from the hotel that was that way. That way proved to not be the exact direction but we did finally get there. The hotel manager gave us detailed instructions and a map to the autostrada heading south to the Amalfi coast and more adventure.

Quote: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Henry David Thoreau

Roma, Italy

June 10, Wednesday. More of glorious Roma awaited us so we packed up, checked out and put the luggage in the car still parked near the hotel. The hotel breakfast the day before wasn't grand enough for us to show up before the buffet closed. We did stop at a pizzeria across from the Colosseum for pizza and iced espresso. It turned out that this particular place was the pit stop for tour buses who stocked up on bottle water, used the restrooms, and lined up to cross the street. Our sidewalk table was used as a depository for kids or tired tourists.

We had decided to take a tour, if we could find one that wasn't too full. A 20-ish guy talked us into one that was about ready to begin. They look for English speaking people who don't want to stand

in long lines. This particular guy was from NJ and was spending the summer in Italy. He worked for a few hours a day and the rest of the time was enjoying Rome. Our Italian guide was good and even though I don't remember much of what he said the historical aura that permeates the crumbling Colosseum remains with me. It must have been one smelly place when gladiators or animals were kept below the arena.

Go here for more info:

We missed a little of the second half of the tour to the Palatine; I needed a WC and by the time I walked the .5 mile to and .5 mile back and walked uphill where a dusty hill met us, well, I never got the gist of the ruins. The group that was on this part of the tour was twice the size of the previous one. Photos above, the middle and bottom photos were taken at the Palatine. (continued)

#36 and #37 of 52 projects

First off, thanks for the lovely comments! Much appreciated. Secondly, the Give-away deadline is July 31, leave a comment. And third, I finally worked on two pieces for the 52 projects. I haven't made fabric paper in quite awhile and for some reason whites, ivory, and cream

intrigued me.
Components: pellon, tissue paper, cheesecloth, glue, gesso, and machine stitched. How did I get the stained effect? From not using a clean piece of freezer paper. A mixture of white glue and water was used to adhere the tissue paper and cheesecloth to the pellon, thus lifting some color from the freezer paper and staining the pellon. Click image to enlarge, 5x7 inch pieces.

Quote: If you pray for rain, it is only common sense to carry an umbrella. Ernest Wilson.

Digging Deeper!

Seth, Altered Page, continued this exciting blog collaborative for Round #2 of Buried Treasures .

This piece was first posted on Feb. 9th and can be seen here. It's 6x6 inches and remains on exhibit on my gallery wall.

But, even if that's a favorite piece it's the 52 projects that started out as weekly ones that I treasure. When the project is done in Sept, celebrating my birthday, I'll have 52 mini quilts; that's a lot to celebrate in itself. I should be on week 45, but if you go to my PictureTrail site here, you'll notice that the last one posted is number #35. Yep, I'm running late, but the travel journal comes first. My favorites are #27 and #32.

Note: anyone who posts a comment before July 30th will be entered for a give-away as posted on July 3rd and the 11th.

Quote: you couldn't ask for better circumstances than you are in to learn the things you need to learn. Sally Huss

Roma, part 2A

I hate it when posts are out of order. This one follows the one below so you might want to read that one first.

Photos: Lost-in-Rome. The two in the middle are, left, building detail across from the restaurant and the horse is on a fountain in Piazza Navona.

So, wandering around Lost-in-Roma, or Rome, is mind-boggling. Everywhere you look is something to savor, but, when ones feet hurt and the stomach is empty a chair is the only thing on the mind. The eyes of a restaurant hawker, my term for those who stand outside of establishments trying to draw you in, met mine, he nodded toward a table, I nodded in agreement and was heading for my chair when R. said, "How does this place look." "The lady has already had her mind set." Not only was Ziro Ciro the perfect outdoor restaurant to people watch and observe shop owners closing up for the day but the food still has us talking! Who knew that a plate of gnocchi and a plate of sausage could be so delicious that we nearly cried over the last bites? They do have the best tomato sauce in the world in Italy and the sausage is a house speciality and was served grilled with lemon slices. We now have our sausage with lemon juice, but nothing compares to the flavor of that sausage.

The waiter pointed in the direction of Piazza Navona, "two blocks that way, go right, and there you are." I'm absolutely certain that Italians are clueless when it comes to "there you are." About a mile plus we finally did enter the Piazza. Too bad that it was dark, but on the other hand, I think that it was more romantic. Portraitists were putting away their easels for the night; this was the first time we'd seen artists at work. There were numerous restaurants surrounding the square and the lighting on the fountains and buildings glowed. Of course we'd walked off the dinner so we allowed a "hawker" to sit us at a table near a fountain. Dessert of chocolate truffle ice cream was slowly eaten while we watched the night-life. This was a Piazza where people in neighboring apartments brought their kids to ride bikes and play. The sounds echoed through the Piazza.

Happily, there was a taxi stand just outside of the Piazza and twenty minutes after climbing in one we were back at Hotel Colosseum purring over the day.

Quote: Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting." –- Robert Thomas Allen

Roma, part 2

Still June 9th. The exception to "never having expectations about something" was the Sistine Chapel. I was going to see Michelangelo's extraordinary universally known piece, The Creation of Adam. I pretty much wrote about this on the first post waay down below. In hindsight, we should have taken a tour, or at the very least gotten another audio tour, or carried the guidebook with us in order to know what in blazes we were looking at! Lots of room in the Vatican Museum leading up the grand finale of the Sistine Chapel. After St. Peters nothing quite measured up, though, the Sistine Chapel was amazing once we got over the shock of how tiny the famous painting is. The numerous museums were over-crowded and some of them took hallways or stairs to get to; just felt too disorganized.

Photos above: in route to the Sistine, which is a mile walk from St. Peters even though it's directly next door. The upper left is the close route to Sistine, but pedestrians aren't allowed.
Actually, the angel is out of place, we saw that later that day. The bottom two photos were taken out of an open window in one of the museums.


The bottom left and right photos were taken in the room just outside of the Sistine on our way out. The statues were photographed somewhere before the Sistine, and the window is a duplicate of one below; I used 2 copies for a page layout.

Some of these have already been posted. The angels, upper left, are in the room just beyond the Sistine Chapel and I'm pretty sure that the foot is too. Our feet, on the other hand were waaay before the Sistine as was the self-portrait and the Fleur de lis.

Overwhelmed and not knowing what to do we headed back to the tour bus pick-up spot and were informed when we boarded that this was the last run, so wherever we got off we'd have to find our way back home. Okay. We got off near the Spanish Steps of which we didn't find, but it's also "the shopping district" for those with oodles of money and who love to shop. We kept walking and photographing and hoped we were going in the direction of Piazza Navona, which I understand is in the movie "Angels and Demons." (continued, only because I forgot to add the next batch of photos!)

Photos: A diptych of a round building. A sign that intrigued me, Replay. And PSE'd photos of Piazza Navona.

Roma!

Monday, June 8th, after Tarquinia. The approach to Rome was serene with Villas perched on rolling hills and some industry here and there and then bam! We were plunged into a whirlpool of confusion. Which road to get of off the autostrada, oops, looks like we didn't make a good choice! We're stuck in traffic at 6pm and the map is absolutely no help nor are the road signs. Everyone knows where they're going except us which must be similar to how mom feels every day when she wakes up, like she's been planted in some strange land without the brain cells or problem-solving skills to figure it out. But, we don't have Alzheimer's so surely we can figure out what to do. Keep driving is about the best answer until we end up somewhere. The "newer Rome" didn't excite us enough to turn into one of the many hotels. As usual we ended up exactly where we mean to to be, this time in the heart of Ancient Roma, tho, it took almost an hour before that happened.

We circled one block chock full of hotels until we were dizzy, no parking, and ended up blocks away where a few spaces were available. Of course the walk was uphill and being that I was completely out of breath all I could do was point down an alley. Three star hotel looks good enough to me. Yes, they had a room for two nights and parking is available in front, most of it requires feeding a machine. Collecting the car wasn't easy, one-way streets, congested traffic, and what was the name of the alley? We parked the car on the opposite side of the hotel and the manager said, "You're lucky, you found a space that is free." We didn't move the car again until we left Roma.

The upper two photos are: the view out of the hotel room, not the best, but the room was quiet being that it was off the main streets. Notice the satellite dishes and roof-top gardens, that is when you click on the photos to enlarge. The upper right photo is the restaurant we ate at; the only disappointing meal on the trip.

June 9, Tuesday. Hotel Colosseum was, yep, not too far from the Colosseum where we had decided to get on a tour bus. (The remaining 4 photos above are in route to the Colosseum and buildings near it. We found the sign for the tour bus pick-up and waited and waited and then I thought, Hm, shouldn't there be people lined up, shouldn't there be someone taking money, shouldn't there be? I took the brochure from R. and started to find answers. Seems we were at the vacation pick-up spot, not the daily one that is way over on the other side of the Colosseum! Long walk and of course we got there in time to see the tour bus pull away. Next one is in an hour! But, wait, there is another tour bus company that goes to the same places. Seats galore!

Suddenly it was imperative that we go to Vatican City even though we'd discussed staying on the bus for it's entire route rather than get off at various stops; the purchase of a day pass allows one to get on and off. Did I mention that Rome had blown me away the night before? After dinner we walked quite awhile, I love balmy evenings when people are out until very late. The night life in large cities would be the only reason I'd consider living in one, nope, not a good enough reason. Near the restaurant there were ruins, churches, old building,s and statues all lit up and if fatigue hadn't overpowered us we probably wouldn't have walked back uphill to the hotel at 11pm

Vatican City! (Last week I re-read Dale Brown's "Angels and Demons" mostly because it was set in Vatican City and Rome and because I couldn't remember the story! One of the main characters, Vittoria responded to the question, "Do you believe in God?" "Science tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. And my heart tells me I am not meant to." That about sums it up for me.) I never have expectations when I go somewhere, that way I'm not disappointed so I wasn't expecting the emotions I felt as we approached St. Peters and stood in the square surrounded by Bernini's columns. Awe? No, more powerful than that. The line to go through security wasn't too long and once through that we got audio tours and ended up in the line for the grottoes. Rather than write a history lesson go here to read more about St. Peters.

Photos: left, taken from the steps of St. Peters looking out on the square and beyond. The dome. Middle left, the Pope's High Alter. Swiss guard guarding the entrance to the Pope's lair, and if we'd known that one can approach a guard to get tickets to Wednesday morning seating when the Pope speaks, well, it would have been a nice memento. Bottom left, a pope in the grotto. Columns in the square.

Inside St. Peter's is vast, spine tingling, the art!, jaw dropping, the art!, dripping with history, too dark for photography, and did I mention the art? We spent more time there than we imagined we would in what seemed like acres of splendor! When we stumbled back outside we discovered that it was drizzling. Food sounded good and up the street we found a pizzeria with very few tables available. A waitress picked up someones back-pack from a chair, separated two tables and plopped menus on the table. "sit!" Okay! I don't think I would have been pleased to return to my table and find my back-pack on the ground, the gal who was sitting there took it in stride. "Hi." when we returned the "hi" I think that the three of us were thrilled that the waitress had commanded we sit there. Diane was from Sarasota, FL, traveling alone, about 40'ish and after 14 days in Italy was going home the next day. She'd been to Venice so we shared experiences, Tuscany, we were still hopeful about having that experience, Cinque Terr, we'd done that, and Portofino. The pizza wasn't great, but the wine and company was outstanding.

The sky had cleared up and we were off to the Sistine Chapel. (to be continued)

This quote is perfect for Roma! Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries." -- René Descartes

Tarquinia, Italy, continued

June 8, Monday, in route to Rome. We couldn't figure out how to get off of the road taking us to Rome in order to visit a hill village so we did the only thing we could do, took an off-ramp to Tarquinia where it seemed that visitors were welcome. It's one of those towns that built up around the ancient ruins; the mixture of Etruscan and post war was a bit unsettling. We settled for the ancient village and scouted for parking. A square where two of the photos above were shot, left and bottom, offered spaces. We braved a dark entrance into a restaurant and realized that we were the only English speaking people in the place. Where were the throngs of tourists that the guidebook cautioned, "the partly walled village is overrun with fellow visitors."

Info about Tarquinia is here:

Lunch was excellent! We ordered, by pointing to our choices, two different pasta dishes. Little did I know that one of the more humorous adventures was about to take place all because I was in need of a bathroom. It would help if signs are written in English, but then we don't help visitors to our country, and it would also be a good thing to not leave a key in the doorknob.
I turned it. I washed up and tried to tidy my hair and I guess that I'd spent a little too long in the bathroom; suddenly there was knocking on the door. I turned the key, it didn't unlock and then it hit me. I was locked in! The two waitresses on the other side of the door tried to get me to
understand them, language barrier at its best. At least they knew I was locked in and it wasn't until one of them shoved a napkin under the door that I realized that they needed the key. Ah! I dropped the key and after some fumbling with the lock I was free. The three of us burst out laughing, language barrier gone, and hugged! Roger missed the excitement but he was aware that something was amiss but had no idea that I was in the midst of it.


Photos directly above: left top, crumbling section of a ruin. Right top, my feet parked in a marked parking space. Middle left, clothes drying down a side street. Right middle, same clothes drying photographed in a safety mirror for blind corners. Bottom left. sign on a shop. And the last one, decorative paving in the square.

The village is mostly grey stone and not colorful which could be why I worked harder to get interesting photos. I think that some of the images that I got in Tarquinia will afford themselves to other mediums, fabric, paper, etc. When we returned to the car we were puzzled by interest in the fountain. People would stop their cars, dump out water from their plastic bottles and fill them with water from the fountain, the same fountain that was in the post a few days ago with the pigeons perching on it and in the left photo above. Others would slurp directly from the flowing water, and a few shop keepers filled watering cans for their plants. Miracle water? Nope, not taking a chance even if it is the cure!

Quote: "Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversations." -- Elizabeth Drew

Sunday Musings

Last week was full of interesting episodes including filling up the tank with phantom gas! The pump said that the tank was full, but the gauge in the car, yes, it works, said otherwise. Why is it that the person you need to talk to is never available or, that you can't reach anyone by phone? Perhaps message loops were invented to make you feel that something can be done when in reality they wear you down until you give up and take whatever has been dished out. "We're sorry that you're experiencing a problem, please press #3 to hear the options."

One thing I know for certain is that I've got to start taking better care of my mental state or I'll end up in bed for days on end fighting an infection. Caregivers need diversion from care giving in order to stay healthy; I thought that my art work was that diversion. But, I think that it's better to take a mental break than an active one that might wear me down to the point of exhaustion.

While working on the never-ending travel journal I ran across a photo of a paper artist whose generosity blew me away. (click on photo to enlarge. Front and back journal covers, bundle of paper and the artist who looked away when I took this photo.) Amalfi was once known for it's paper industry and when I saw a pulp mixer in the back of the shop I nearly swooned! Real paper making, not the blender type that I do. I wanted to run my fingers through the wet pulp in the vat. I must have looked like a crazed person wandering around the shop fingering journals, notepaper, cards, and bundles of paper, but the artist must also have sensed a kindred spirit. When we made a purchase of 3 journals, 2 for gifts, she added a bundle of 5x7 inch paper to the bag, "for you." The paper is perfect, something I've never achieved, and I imagine that it will remain bundled for years. That memory stopped the crazed mental state I was in last week and opened the door for peace to enter. When did the peace that I was going to work on this year leave? (Note: we watched a few customers making purchases and she didn't add anything to their bags.)

Yes, art heals!!

Quote: One good idea deserves another. Keep thinking. Sally Husss

Summer Heat

I'm told that it's 115 degrees outside today which is reason enough to photograph from inside of the house. Grape vines growing toward the pergola; afternoon sunlight with blurred mountains in the background. We have glimpses of the mountain range behind our house, the best views are now blocked due to the growth of the neighbors trees.

I'm itching to get back to working with fabric and continuing the 52 projects that has been derailed for nearly two months now. SOON!

Quote: Happiness hides behind every difficulty, waiting to be discovered. Sally Huss

Buried Treasure

Another Seth treasure from Altered Page. Post a Buried Treasure from your blog.

So, after reading most of my blog starting in 2005 I was struck with how often my posts have been way too personal, but of late that's changed which is a good thing. I nearly deleted most of the older posts that have nothing to do with art work, but my life is what it is and not every event is creative; I won't apologize for the ramblings.

The original post is below. A full-frame photo was posted in 2007, Sept. 9th, Sunday musings. I've lost track of the photo, sadly.

Why did I choose this particular post? I ran across this piece earlier in the week while searching for rubber stamps to use in the travel journal and realized that this tiny 5x7 inch mixed media (isn't there a better term to use?) was the turning point in my work. It was the first abstract that pleased me and nearly two years later I can still remember the feeling I had when I finished it. Whatever that myterious thing is be it following my muse, being in the zone, or perhaps it's allowing the "what if" mode to flow I realized that if I just show up ready for the ride something exciting will happen.

-------------------Original post: I've been working on this 5x7 inch piece off-and-on for months. I'm finally happy with the textures and color palette. The starting point for most of my current pieces is text torn from books that I glue vertically onto a surface; I have a lutradur, lace, and cheesecloth piece in the works that also has the addition of text. During a recent culling of magazine clippings I noticed my fascination with vertical lines - what's with that? Why not explore it? The difficulty with this piece was figuring how to apply paint in vertical lines without hard edges. I wanted the result to look like paint had been dripped on without actually dripping the paint; why do answers appear at 3am? The second goal for this piece was incorporating the cast clay face into the piece rather than "on" the piece.

Thanks Seth! Browsing through my blog was an eye-opener! More art!