Artist Statement:

Passages / Prints, Books and Drawings

I am an abstract artist in a city filled with realism.

I came to Firenze to experience, to learn, to see art and to make art.  I am on sabbatical from teaching at Cape Cod Community College in Massachusetts.  My goal in coming to Firenze is to study printmaking and book arts from a traditional western perspective and to integrate new ideas into my studio art classes.  I have been fortunate to have been invited to be an artist in residence for the fall 2008 semester at Santa Reparata International School of Art.   The studio I am working in is spacious, bright and airy. Print makers from all over the world have created art in this space. 

I came to Firenze with no preconceived ideas; rather, I purposely chose to come here with little in the way of art supplies or reference materials.  In that way I would remain open and respond to what I would see and experience.  

Finding connections

I am primarily an abstract artist, influenced by space, color, texture and shapes.  This is my language; this is how I express what I feel.   Firenze has been a full visual experience for me of warm colors, rich textures, fading surfaces and weathered stone.   The past is revealed in uneven layers and fragments of past civilizations.  The art of the past speaks.   There is beauty and grand architecture everywhere you turn.  I am struck by the scale of the large doors, the inviting passages and the shadowy allies; there are magnificent sculptures and carvings adorning the facades of buildings and stones echoing the past.  The arches encompass and surround. The doors enclose and protect.

The art of Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Botticelli, da Vinci,  Ghiberti and Giotto provide sacred spaces and stories of the past.  I am in awe as I walk up the stairway to the library designed by Michelangelo, or climb the winding stairway to the top of the Duomo.  I am surrounded by balance and harmony, classical proportions, symmetry and perspective which together forms a solid architectural cohesiveness.  As an abstract artist I have created prints which echo fragments of the past contrasted with aspects of the present. The prints are not of a particular place but rather a synthesis of observations.  They create their own architectural spaces of time and place and form a visual montage of my experience.   

Art represents the best virtues of mankind and inspires great hope within me.

I would like to thank Rebecca Olsen for arranging my residency, it has been an extraordinary experience to live in Florence for three months and to work in wonderful studio spaces.  A special thanks to Patricia Silva for her guidance and inspiration in making books and collaborative projects.  Thank you to Suzanna for her support and watching over me. Thank you also to Marta and Carolina for showing me around in the early days and making sure that the studio was set up for me. I could not have been as comfortable without their continued help. In addition thanks to Brahim for all of his help.  I would also like to thank the other students and faculty who gave friendship and encouragement during my residency. 

Entrance to my studio………

Taking all of Firenze home to Cape Cod

It was a daunting task to pack for three months; what to wear and what to take for making art. There were additional electronic needs; cameras, both video and still, computer and all of the assorted batteries, chargers, adapters and connectors.  In this regard, I had a lot of technical assistance from my children and husband.  In addition I asked Alyssa to label all the power cords so I would not get them mixed up.  This turned out to me a very helpful idea.

Along with packing clothes for all possible weather, I needed art some art supplies.  I did not take many art supplies, because I was looking forward to trying new inks and printmaking papers.  I was able to get pretty much anything I wanted at the two art supplie stores near my studio.  Salvini and Raggaci provided great choices in paper for book arts and printmaking.  In addtion there were many other specialized stores for book cloth , marbleized paper and what ever else I needed.  SRISA provided me with all the tools, inks and equipment that I needed.  I am in love with Mingani paper, and I am wondering how much it will cost me here.

I basically took a totally empty studio and completely filled it up.  That takes me to last week when I looked around trying to figure out how to get all of this stuff home.  I ended up building two large portfolios for my prints and purchasing a tube which was cut in half.  I bought  a lot of bubble wrap and tape and three large suitcases.  We borrowed a scale to stay within the alloted weight of 23 kilograms.

And then I made good friends with the shipper down the street.  Everthing arrived safely on the plane with us.  We were happy we paid the extra 18 euros for the shrink wrapping of two of the duffles.  Two more boxes are on their way.  Some things got left behind.

I wanted to take all of Italy back with me……..maybe we did.

Having spent the last three months surrounded by narrow streets, grand architecture, soring bell towers and dramatic Romanesque and Gothic arches ……….I have been enveloped by perspective.

For the past seven weeks I have enjoyed Firenze with my daughter Alyssa who has her own persective.   I think you will delight in her perspectives in her blog “The Aly”.

“The taxi will be her in five minutes to take us to the airport”

alyssa’s blog

I recently displayed some of my Prints, Books and Drawings at SRISA in a lovely space next to the photgraphy studio.  This gave me a chance to show the students and other faculty the work I had been doing up through November.  It also gave me a chance to see my work in a lovely bright space with high ceilings.

On a rainy night in December friends gather with us to celebrate an inspried time in a beautiful city.  And thanks to all of the family and friends who where there in spirit.

designed by Alyssa Ringler

Alyssa and I took a train to Todi Ponte Rio, the train had two small cars and we sat directly behind the conductor.  We were met at the train station by Sharri’s husband Piero who proudly gave us a tour of his beloved Umbria.  The Yellow House was at the end of a winding dirt road and the olive picking had begun. Sharri is a good friend of a dear friend of mine, and we were invited to spend the weekend to help with the olive harvest.  I believe they have about 150 trees in their orchard.  Of course we said yes, and we were delighted to find that conversation, and fine dining were part and parcel of olive picking.  Luckily we had lovely weather, a little chill in the morning, but great opportunities to take pictures and enjoy the view of the hills that surround their property.  On the second day, some light rain came in late in the day which forced us to quit a little early, but that was after we harvested eight large crates of various varieties of olives.  All the olive picking needed to be finished by the end of the week because they had an appoinment to have the olives pressed.  We enjoyed the comraderie with the other personal friends of Sharri and Piero. Of course we went home with two large cans of olive oil in payment for all of our hard work.  I am not sure, but I think we made out really well, great food, wonderful conversation and olive oil.  They are in the most “bella” location in Umbria.  If you want to pick olives next fall check out  www.umbriabella.com