Days 78, 79, 80 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

            Monday morning, my entire program had to wake up early to help take down the art show.  Most of the art pieces were going to be shipped back through the program, but mine was too big to fit in the crates.  Therefore, I was responsible for sending home all my paintings on my own (lucky me).  I did not think it was possible, but with the help of Chloe, I was able to lug my (HUGE) painting all the way back up to our school building…it took awhile to accomplish this.  I then used my afternoon to finish my final book project, which needed its last finishing touches.  I am really excited with how it turned out: it is a VERY fat book, with lots of pages, beautiful stitched binding, and collaged covers and pages, expressing my themes of memory and history.  In the afternoon, we were all looking forward to a massive studio walkthrough, where my entire program would wander through everyone’s studio space to see everyone’s art pieces because the vast majority of our artwork was not in the art show.  Even Luca, the photography teacher’s fiver-year-old son, exhibited his artwork.  It was so much fun to see what everyone was up to these last few months.  I had never even been inside the ceramics studio and the metals workshop.  Once again, I was completely amazed at my colleagues’ abilities.  Meanwhile, the weather outside was being especially dramatic.  The sky overhead was exceptionally bright and sunny, but in the distant landscape, you could see rain falling from heavy clouds and shiny streaks of lightning every few minutes.  It was quite a sight to see. 

            On Tuesday, my art ed class was meeting my art ed teacher, Erin, to eat a potluck lunch together at her apartment in town.  Besides the fact that Erin is my favorite faculty in the program, I was excited to see what Cortonian apartments looked like inside.  Her apartment was ADORABLE!  Although, if you are a few inches taller than me, you would bump your head on the ceiling.  After climbing three flights of narrow stairs, we entered into the quaintest little kitchen I have EVER seen that leads to a small terrace that overlooks a beautiful view complete with endless terracotta rooftops.  And that is not even the best part.  The best part: Erin had previously agreed to let me use her kitchen and oven to BAKE dessert for our lunch.  Oh yes.  I have not baked in three months, and I could not have been more excited.  Someone else brought the flour, sugar, and eggs.  I brought a left over giant chocolate Easter egg (to brake up into chocolate chip pieces) and peanut butter.  Without measuring anything, I mixed everything together and formed a gigantic chocolate chip peanut butter cookie cake creation on Erin’s baking sheet that I stuck into the oven.  Because her oven was in Celsius, I estimated how hot it should be.  We ate our lunch together on her terrace.  The menu: pasta with fresh tomato sauce, grilled vegetables, arugula and strawberry salad, fresh fruit, iced tea, and of course my cookie for dessert.  (The cookie disappeared in less than three minutes!  I was really proud).  It was definitely the loveliest lunch.  We all left very happy.  Later in the afternoon, I had my final critique for book making, which went very well.  After that, I accomplished one of my dreaded tasks: taking my paintings off their frames and rolling them up together and then wrapping them in plastic and tape to be shipped home.   I actually thought I did a pretty good job!  When Jeanette was helping me carry the large roll of paintings down the hall into town to be fedexed, it felt like we were carrying a body because the roll of paintings was as tall as me, and weighed at least as much as I did.  My paintings are now in the mail, so keep an eye out for them! 

            Wednesday was completely open to do anything.  Jeanette and I were craving to see Fra Angelico’s “Annunciation” painting that we studied endlessly in art history.  The actual painting was commissioned for a church in Cortona during the fifteenth century, although now it is displayed in a museum in town.  It was so nice to see this artwork in person.  We met Chloe in town to eat lunch a little while later.  In the afternoon, I went on a huge walk, during which I was almost kidnapped by an old Italian man who was driving by.  Initially, he stopped his car and asked if I needed a ride somewhere.  I said no, I was on a walk.  Several minutes later, as I was continuing on my walk, I noticed that he was standing in front of a gated property waiting for me.  He asked if I was a UGA art student, and after I explained that indeed I was a painter, he INSISTED that I come and see a view from his yard, because I simply MUST come back and paint it.  I decided that it would not hurt anyone to go and see this view, which was very nice.  Then, he insisted once again that I come inside his house because he wanted to talk to me.  He asked about the kind of art I do, and then started reading my PALM, telling me that I have some sort of big problem in the future.  He then started telling me about his own life story, asking me questions as well.  After awhile, the whole ordeal started feeling a little creepy, because this old man was just a bit TOO nice and did not intend me leaving.  Eventually I just started walking away, explaining that I had to get to class, and that no I did NOT want him to drive me back to Cortona.  The entire situation was completely weird.  The rest of my walk, I did not talk to any more strangers and I picked beautiful flowers on the way back to Cortona.  I do think I can get enough of the beauty Cortona has to offer.