Buongiorno! It is a lovely restful Sunday here in Venice and it has FINALLY cooled off some. This weekend was one of the few relaxing ones before it gets really busy. My friends and I went shopping today for a while, enjoying the summer “saldi” (sales) that are going on around town. Yesterday, we went biking around San Erasmo Island. This is one of my favorite things to do here! This little island is inhabited by farmers and rural folk mainly, and is mostly un-commercialized. It is a very nice respite from the streets of Venice. So, we went to the island yesterday and rented bikes to ride around for a few hours. (Mom, Monica, and James, it reminds me of the bike ride at that little island vacation we took that one time….) So relaxing! Last night was the big Redentore festival where Venetians celebrate the end of the plague back in the 1400’s ish. The Redentore is a church across the canal. To celebrate, the people build a mobile bridge across the canal for people to get across to go to the church. Supposedly, the people in this church back in the day prayed for the plague to end and God answered their prayers (I forget the specifics), so they have celebrated this ever since! It’s pretty much their 4th of July, with fireworks and all. Very fun!
This past week, we went to a lot of different exhibits around town and had artists come into the studio to share their work with us. It was quite exhausting and overwhelming because we were on the go so much of the time in 90* heat (which translates to feels like 125* at times in humidity with NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!!. Sometimes I wonder if Italy is still partially in the 3rd world. Which is crazy to think that they used to be the height of culture. And even crazier to think how comfortably American I am ☺
But, it has been nice to experience so much different artwork and get inspired by others’ passions and media.
We also had a party at the studio this week that was part of one of the girls’ project for the summer. She asked us to wear masks and be in a video (we don’t know why yet…), then we all brought pot luck food and hung out for a while.
The group this year is very fun! We have 22 as opposed to last year's 14, and no crazy people (well, yet....) For this summer's work, I have decided to do an installation sculpture instead of 2D work. I'm excited about my idea and what it will express (more later). I have gone to the Lido, the Venice Beach, 3 times to gather sticks!! Ha. It has been quite the adventure! You should see the looks I get from the Venetians... "crazy American!". I'm building a nest... here is one picture, but there are more that one of my friends took of me working on my facebook page. I'll do a post soon explaining it, but I need to let it develop more before I do that :)
Last weekend we went to a Palladian villa called Villa Pisani. It was so beautiful! It was a huge mansion with a long lake in front of it, frescoes and sculptures everywhere, marble covering everything! There was also a labyrinth! Very fun, but we definitely got lost :) Napoleon came in and took it over from the Italian owners during the war, but its still in tact because he thought it was so beautiful.
Oh, and how could I forget? Friday night we got to go to this huge MTV party at the Guggenheim museum here in Venice. It was a ton of fun! They had a
live DJ and dancing. Not usually my bag, but the museum set the stage! My camera died, so i dont have many pics, but some will pop up on fb.
Enjoy the pics! I'd love to hear from you, keep me updated!
Love.
http://venezia.2night.it/articoli/dancing/155888/mtv-brand-new-art-alla-guggenheim.html
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