Campaign for Italy 2007

I want to go to Italy next Spring. Claudine Hellmuth is teaching a workshop in Cortona, Italy, that looks like it would be an amazing experience. And everyone we talk to seems to be going to Italy this year. Maybe the Olympics sparked a trend? It seems like ever since I started trying to convince Scott that we should go, all of our friends have said, "we're going to Italy!"

Here's the thing I want to attend:

April 14th-21st, 2007 - Mixed Media workshops in Cortona Italy!!
Enjoy a week with Claudine, in the beautiful Tuscan village of Cortona, setting for the film, Under the Tuscan Sun. Prepare yourself for 4 course lunches and 5 course dinners with wine tastings, all while creating with a view of the landscape of Tuscany. Strolling through Cortona, you may happen upon intimate wall shrines decorated with everyday and religious items, often to the patron saint of the city. During this workshop you'll be making your own personal reliquaries or shrines that have personal meaning to you -- whether a tribute to a family member, pet, home, travel etc, anything that has special meaning to you. While working on our shrines we'll explore collage on many levels, from the basics like color and composition to more in-depth techniques like texture and surface enhancement. Our work together will be paced to allow for personal artistic discovery as well as studio time for working on our collage artworks, plus time to travel and explore the Tuscan countryside with artful day trips to Siena and the Nikki de Saint Phalle Tarot Gardens. Click here for more information!

And the Nikki de Saint Phalle Tarot Gardens is an interesting connection for us, since one of her largest art installations is in Escondido, right where we live. And it's one of my favorite places to be in the city. It's called Queen Califia's Magical Circle.












You can see more photos here and read some more about Nikki's relationship with the San Diego & the Escondido Arts Partnership here.