Traveling
"Can't be late if you don't have a timetable
Can't get lost if you don't have a destination."
Colin Stafford-Johnson
Colin Stafford-Johnson
On a plane going to an airport I've never been
to, in a country I've never visited, with a language I don't really know, to
catch another plane to another country, to find a bus to meet a ride to a
facility for an artist's residency. What
was I thinking! But as one instructor
told me if you aren't uncomfortable then you aren't learning. I'm about as uncomfortable as I've ever been
so I'm ripe for learning. I’m on my way to an artist residency and have no idea
what to expect except that I selected one that allowed me do just one week in
length, at La Macina di San Cresci,
to try it out and also coincide with a workshop afterward in Florence that I’d
already signed up to attend.
But, where to start on this journey? There's been a minor seismic crisis of
confidence and focus in my art related goals since I decided the crowd funding
project called the Art of Food wasn't going to work out – it consumed my life
for eight months and then cancelled for lack of confirmation of commitment by a
partnering group. Now, is food even
still my focus? Do I concentrate on egg
tempera or oil as my medium? Do I paint
still life, landscapes or are there already enough of those or do I have a
passion at all? What do I do when I get
to my first residency?? I'm beginning to
panic a bit that I won't know what to paint or will be so overwhelmed I can't
focus on painting at all. On the first flight I sat next to another artist with
a similar problem. We both decided that it's time to explore and just see what
happens. Serendipity?
After skipping over a few time zones it's
actually the next day of my travels, but I haven't slept and instead have gone
directly into travel mode. The airline delayed my checked bag containing all my
painting supplies that were the whole purpose of this trip for an additional
security check. My carry-on bags contained mostly clothes and more importantly
this iPad and my cameras. But I'm still
tethered to the world of technology as my lost luggage included all chargers so
this blog will only last so long. The
age of being wireless is a misnomer - it's only as good as it lasts without all
the wires. Now, with all our technology, we’re really only pretending.
So here I am in the 10th century church
of Le Pieve di San Cresci (pieve was
a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without
baptisteries depended), known as one of the most important Romanesque
structures in the region of Chianti, Italy, situated just outside of
Montefioralle, above the town of Greve in Chianti. After a shuttle bus from the airport into the
Florence bus station, and a bus ride to Greve, I’m now somewhat settled in and
Demetria has given me a tour of the facility.
She'll come back to collect me to drive into the town of Greve In
Chianti to make a stop at the market for some food. No, this isn't a hotel. Artists are on their own for cooking and
eating. The residency philosophy is ‘freedom’ – freedom to do your own
thing. This will become important later.
But getting too far ahead of myself. Greve in Chianti is a small town about an
hour south of Florence (towns in Tuscany, at least in this area, are referred to as the
town name and then In Chianti) and is actually in the
heart of Chianti and Tuscany wine country and this is wine harvesting season.
The church and adjoining buildings have been restored by Demetria, an
architect, and her husband Duccio, a designer, under the auspices and approvals
of the national registry (similar to our historical commissions). Part is their home, part is still owned by
the Catholic Church (and although still sacred is no longer an operating church
and, with approval of the church may be used for artistic exhibitions and
performances) and the rest is La Macini
di San Cresci that runs as an artist residency program listed with ResArtis and the Alliance
of Artist Communities.
Adjacent to the church and Mimma's and Duccio's
home is the Artist's House where the artists live in two separate buildings. Each
artist’s room is a sizable private room with sitting area, bed, and study area,
two shared bathrooms, the main living room, and, in the building I’m in, a
well-equipped communal kitchen. Another
connected building on the other side of the facility contains the studios, but
was originally used for the olive and wine presses. These are still there and meticulously
restored - amazingly impressive since the olive press is about a two-ton mill
stone and very large. The wine press and
original wooden vats take up two rooms.
In the center of all of this is an interior
courtyard garden, open to the sky, and onto which my room overlooks. Bird song
fills all the rooms.
All of this is set on the side of a hill
overlooking a valley of vineyards and olive groves for miles in all directions,
farms and a collection of very old and beautiful villas, a huge fig tree in
Mimma's and Duccio's private gardens that makes the one I try to grow in my
garden at home puny by comparison.
