Week one in Tuscany

A wonderful visit to Venice, Italy.

 Venice was beautiful and the beauty of the age of all the buildings and churches added to all its charm.

 We had a wonderful guide lead us through the city and reminded us of the sinking of this wonderful place. I learned that Venice was built on a marsh and that the water beneath the city is slowly seeping back and rising.

 And oh the gelato! So many flavors so little time!

 Mosaic floors of a Bascillica

Our visit to Venice

Once settled in the villa we began to do some exploring. One of our group planned the Venice trip and arranged for guide and found a wonderful hotel overlooking the canal. There were nine of us making this trip! We drove to a nearby town to catch a train to Florence to catch a fast speed train to Venice. We found using the train was far more reasonable than driving since parking was at a minimum in places where tourists enjoyed gathering.

On the water bus

 The water travel in Venice was shared by all size boats. We even saw one carrying someone's furniture during a move!

 The Gondolas were decorated on levels, some were ornate and others not so much.

Week One in Tuscany

Once we landed in Florence Italy and got shuttled to the Hertz Rental Location we got off the bus to an unexpected and lovely surprise. There were our friends from home! Our Utica connection, as we
began calling ourselves! Our flights didn't even leave from the same states and our connections were in different countries! If we tried, I'm sure we could never have planned meeting them at the rental place, and yet here we all were hauling our luggage around and trying to figure out how to get our cars! OK, so off we go in our three different cars, trying to follow each other to our Villa destination in Italy where the signage and language are all so confusing! But hey, we found each other, right? Well, within minutes all three cars were going in different directions!

I won't even try to describe the nightmare we experienced trying to find our Villa! Once we left the metropolitan area of Florence and entered the Pisa Providence and Tuscany rural area, we found no
one spoke English! And as you can tell from the pictures; the path led up and up and up. Our Villa Fattoria Poggioasciolo is situated on the side.... more like at the top of a Tuscan hill, a very very steep hill!!!!!

Week One in Tuscany

We flew from Miami on Air Berlin.....Big plane! I guess I'm not used to over seas flights! They offered beer and wine down the isles! Guess who had nice cold beer instead of soda or juice? Yep, Me!!!

This was a bar in the airport in Dueseldorf, Germany, where we had a five hour layover.

Tuscany

Well friends, I am so sorry I failed the blogging test!!! I had such great intentions of trying to journal my way through Tuscany, all while sharing it with you. The explanation is rather simple. The Villa
was very remote and the communication was spotty and very unreliable. It did allow me to post on
FB,( I'm not sure what that means ) but it would not allow me to post on this blog! Any how, I'm
going to "after the trip" journal for the next few weeks, so if you're still interested, I'd love it if you
joined me!!! Stay posted and this time I promise it will work!!!

Four more days!

Soon I'll be blogging from Europe and Bruce will be taking beautiful pictures to post as well. Finished my last little "Florida" painting for awhile. Switching from oils to acrylics in Italy. It just seemed easier not to have to deal with mineral spirits and the wait time for drying. I should be able to bring all my work back with me.

daily painting

Oil on 4x5 inch panel

I just finished another shell painting this morning. They seem to be going smoother, however I see that my compositions are looking a little lack luster so the next one shall be from an interesting angle or possibly magnified. I'm especially enjoying the star fish....maybe I need to find sea horse to paint!

More shells!

 I'm not sure if I feel like I've progressed but then I believe
there is much I like about moving along a warp speed compared to my 5 foot canvases.

 The painting with the star fish is by far my fav
so far. I do love my oils. It will be back to acrylics while in Europe and Plein-Air Painting!
My plan is to enjoy a well balanced daily routine of painting and eating!!!!!!!!!

Another little shell composition!

New Shell Daily Paintings

Underpainting

Finished Painting

Shell Series

Well, I've prepared four more 4x5s for painting. I love oils but I'm feeling a bit cramped by the
smallness of the surface. Also I'm finding shells to be rather static. My love for color wants to
play! I think I shall read more Carole Marine and try to get more inspired!!!

Finished!

Oil on wood 3"x4"

Taking care of last minute travel details. So happy my art supplies have arrived and that I'll be able to begin as soon as I arrive! Making chicken soup today and working on a "little" of shells. I'm trying to
do daily painting before I leave.

Lake Michigan

Well, my dear friends from Wisconsin were here last night and brought me a wonderful gift from the beaches of Lake Michigan! A big beautiful bag of stones!!! A few years back, Bruce and I visited them at their lovely home and walked the shore near their house finding stones of all colors and shapes. I found myself becoming more and more obsessed with them! When we returned home that year I began designing jewelry, using these wonderful gifts from mother nature. I think one of the reasons I was so amazed, was because of the perfect spheres and ovals that the ocean-like lake created from years and years of tossing them around. Anyway, I included a ring I made back then in the picture of my new batch of stones. I feel a new burst of energy with all these little beauties at my finger tips. Stay tuned

Golden Gray Rainbow Mabe Pearl and Vintage Spoon Pendent on handmade chain

I am finally done!!! I think it came out quite well. I'm posting images of the process so that you can
see the visual steps to the finish line! Let me know your thoughts. As soon as I finished I tried it on and ran next door to my neighbor's (thank goodness she's used to my over excited outbursts!!) to show her and took her picture with it on!!! I'm thinking it would look lovely with a red dress. Formal or Casual this pendent works either way.

Deciding on the pattern to use for my chain

Adding the "raven fresh water pearls" and my hand made "S" closure

Etched back with "CAT" and "925"(the sterling silver hallmark)

My hand held etcher

Setting the Mabe with the bezel pusher. Final step.

Finally!

Chainmaille

I'm not a chainmaille artist but I do enjoy making my own chains for one of a kind pendents. It somehow feels right not to use commercial chains on a piece that is clearly "special". I'm hoping to get this Mabe Pearl Pendent and chain done this week.

Well, here I am again! Began my day with some great reading from a book by Carol Marine on Daily Painting. My artist friend, Gabby, gave it to me because we both share a love for her work. I am inspired and ready to get back on the painting train. I have one more metal piece to finish first. It's a Mabe Pearl. The following description of a Mabe Pearl came from a site on the internet called Kari Pearls and she describes it very well:

"Mabes are basically cultured blister pearls that have grown attached to the shell of the mollusk. The mollusks most commonly used to culture mabes are the Pinctada Maxima, Pteria penguin, or Pteria sterna.
For growing mabes a flat bottomed, plastic nucleus is glued inside the shell beneath the mantle tissue. This differs from spherical pearls in that most nuclei used for them are made from shells, although experiments with different nuclei have been and are being conducted.
Several different shapes can be used for the plastic nuclei. You may see rounds, as in these photos, drops, ovals, or hearts. I've even seen company logos coated with nacre and centuries ago the Chinese would glue on metal Buddhas which were then coated with nacre. The possibilities are almost endless.
After the plastic bead has been glued and the mollusk returned to the water, the mollusk then begins coating the nuclei with lustrous nacre, layer after layer of brilliant shine. After between eight and twelve months the mollusk is harvested. This amount of time has allowed about 1mm of nacre to coat the nuclei.
The blister pearl is cut off the shell, sometimes with a hollow drill, the plastic nuclei is removed and the hollow space filled with colored resin and sometimes a bead for added strength. The back is then covered with a mother of pearl backing."

                  Below are the parts of the pendent I will be putting together. I've cut a beautiful vintage spoon handle and soldered two large jump rings to attach a chainmaille (last thing to do) to and I measured, made the bezel for the pearl, and soldered it to the spoon. I actually used the underneath of the spoon, rather than the top. The top was curved and not as detailed as I liked so the backside seemed to be a better choice. To finish I will set the pearl and make the chain. The two small pearls will be part of the chain close to the pendent. I'll post the finished product in a few days.

Interested in anything you see on our blog?

  I'm not always sure about blogging and what is correct and what isn't but other than checking with my son, I just do it!!! If there is any piece here you are interested in on our blog, please let us know. We have the ability to take credit cards, pay pal, and of course checks. Email me at Forest@ntcnet.com or Face Book me (Cathy Thomas) and of course I have an Etsy shop as you can see, here. Love to read your comments as well if you'd like to ask or suggest, just click on "comment" below the image. I'll be checking in daily. Thank you to those of you taking time from your day to follow our blog.

Bruce's latest pottery