Month: September 2010

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Day 14 and 15 Verona

We decided to leave Venice early in the morning instead of at night so we could spend a bit more time in Verona. We took the water bus to the station, changed our train reservation and were on our way to Verona. The train ride was around 1.5 hrs. long.

Once in Verona we walked to the old part of town where our hotel was located. After checking in we went to the arena, a massive Roman amphitheatre from the 1st century AD. Here is where wild animals once made a meal of gladiators, but today the entertainment in the arena is a bit friendlier. The venue is used for concerts, operas and ballet. Sadly nothing was playing that night, but we did enjoy walking around in the arena and we enjoyed the great view from the top.

We took a stroll down the traffic-free Via Mazzini, which is paved with pink-tinged local limestone embedded with ammonite fossils. Just absolutely beautiful! We spent the rest of the day walking around town and ended the night watching the worldcup final at a wonderful restaurant on the Piazza delle Erbe. Just a wonderful night with great soccer, interesting people watching, incredible food and wine.

After sleeping in a bit on our last day in Italy we walked to the Casa di Giulietta “Juliet’s House”, the 13th century home of the Shakespearean heroine. The courtyard walls were plastered with multilingual notes left by lovers from all over the world. From there we walked to the river, went across the medieval Ponte Scaligero, had some lunch and did some shopping on the Via Mazzini. We had a bit of time left before we had to catch our train to Switzerland so we walked around the city some more and stumbled across a great little store that was carrying lots of designer fashion from previous seasons. I found a trench coat that I had fallen in love with while watching a runway show a few seasons ago. The funny thing is that I went to Italy and I ended up buying Dsquared2. Here is a bit about Dsquared2 in case you aren’t familiar with these fabulous designers:

Canadian twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten have been in the international fashion business since 1984. After attending the Parsons School of Design they moved to Italy, launching a succession of runway shows that have captured attention for their combination of fashion, music and theatre. The mix of irreverent Canadian wit and refined Italian tailoring are the foundation of their philosophy. “BORN IN CANADA, LIVING IN LONDON, MADE IN ITALY”. I still can’t believe that I am the proud owner of an incredible Dsquared2 trench coat. Looks like Fall is here, so I will be able to finally wear it!

We were sad that our time in Italy had come to an end, but I was also super excited about seeing my family. The closer we were getting to Switzerland the more nervous I was getting. It had been almost 7 months since I had seen them. As soon as the train stopped in Brig, I jumped out and ran into my brother’s and A’s arms. I was so happy to see them.

Come back to read and see pictures of our time in Switzerland!

Ciao!

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A few new paintings

I thought I would share some of my newest work in form of paintings. I thought I was coming to an end with my prairies series but the paintings just keep coming. I guess it’s just a sign that I am not done. The first two of the paintings are being exhibited within the auxiliary gallery at cre8ery. You can visit the gallery Monday to Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m. and Monday and Thursday night from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. I hope you enjoy!

Ciao!

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Day 13 from Firenze to Venezia

I got up early so I could take another quick walk around Florence before we had to leave for Venice. I found it hard to leave this beautiful city! I will be back – I promise! Once we got to Venice we took a waterbus to our hotel, taking us out of the Canal Grande to the Laguna Veneta. We had some lunch sitting on a patio on the lagoon and then I packed my film and my digital camera and we started walking through the maze of small streets of Venice. I have been to Venice many times before. Most of the time while I was in Fine Arts. I would take a night train from Switzerland to Venice, spend the day taking pictures and then take the night train back home again. Venice is a really inspiring city visually. We walked through the Cannaregio area to the Canal Grande and followed it to the Piazza San Marco with the beautiful Basilica San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). The breathtaking Byzantine Basilica (San Marco) looks like a picture from a fairytale. It was constructed in such an ornate matter to be a fitting resting place for St Mark and also as a sign of the Venetian Republic’s power. One of the basilica’s highlights is the stunning Western Facade with a succession of domes, columns, arched and spires, interspersed with marble statues, screens and glittering mosaics. Just out of this world!

We spent a big part of the afternoon at the Guggenheim museum. Peggy Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Peggy’s father was of Swiss-German Jewish origin, and her mother Jewish, German, and Dutch. By the early 1960s, Peggy Guggenheim had stopped collecting art and began to concentrate on presenting what she already owned. She loaned out her collection to museums throughout Europe and America. Eventually, she decided to donate her large home and her collection to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation on her death. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of the most important museums in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. Pieces in her collection embrace Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Peggy lived in Venice until her death. She was laid to rest in the garden of her home, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni (Inside the Peggy Guggenheim Museum).

We spent the evening walking around to see different sites such as the Campo Santa Margherita, the Rialto Bridge and looking at beautiful Murano glass. We ended the night with a long water bus ride that took us from the Canal Grande to the Laguna Veneta, all the way around to the Canale di Fusina and the Canale della Giudecca back to Piazza San Marco. We walked around the Piazza, listened to an outdoor concert for a while and then started our walk across the city with another gelato in hand. Another great day in Italy!

Ciao!

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Wave Artists’ Studio Tour

I had missed the first of the two dates for the Wave Artists’ Studio Tour due to our trip to Europe. I was very excited about going for a drive and checking out some local artists’ studios. We had a bit of a late start and didn’t leave the city until after 2:00 p.m. but at least we would get to hit a few studios on our way up to Gimli. Our first stop was Tim Schouten‘s studio close to Petersfield. I had seen Tim do a presentation on encaustic painting at the WAG earlier this year and totally fell in love with this ancient medium and his work. I was very excited to see his studio and was not disappointed. His property and office space are really wonderful and I am hoping to participate in one of his workshops in the future. I would love to explore encaustic painting. I really love the texture and depth that this medium gives paintings. From there we went on to visit the H.RogueRaiders Studio Gallery in Winnipeg Beach. 5 female artists are part of this studio all drawing from their European cultural heritage. I got to meet Helma Rogge Rehders, one of the founders of the Wave studio tour. I even ran into Jolanta Sokalska with whom I share my studio space at cre8ery with. We drove on to Gimli where we visited two more studios. We started out with Suzanne Barrow’s studio, who’s prairie skies were very inspiring. It was nice to see another artist being inspired by the prairie sky and to see her interpretation. From there we went to the Mermaid’s Kiss Gallery and I totally fell in love with the limited editions photography of Linda Vermeulen. Just beautiful treatments on these photographs. My favorites are “Don’t look back” and “The Darkening”. Our last stop was the Gimli Art Club/Gallery. We ended our day with having dinner on a picnic table on the beach. Listening to the waves and feeling the wind in our hair. It was a wonderful day and it was a pleasure meeting some fellow local artists.

Ciao!