Not Just for Churches

Maybe it is needless to say this but I have been inside a lot of churches lately. That's where all the good medeival art is. I saw this flying death skull inside the church on Piazza del Popolo. The other comes from inside the Medicici library in Florence. It is famous for being designed by Michaelangelo and having a beautiful trick of the eye staircase. Also on the floor of the library, are these cow skulls. In marble. No flash photography please.

Go By Train!

At dinner one night, the person next to me said he really wasn't excited about train travel . No romanitc images of crossing the desert on rails, or cutting through the mountains carried along by an unimaginable engine.

We take the train every day here to get to Rome and to leave this city and visit others. Sometimes I stare out the window, sometimes I eat a snack and lots of times I draw the people around me.

There is a Reason They Loooooove Siena

More post card previews. I spent two nights in Seina, checking out more medeival art and getting lost. But I also spent a leisurely day wandering around the old city, stopping to draw. I took my time and make some of my favorite cards yet. Though I still have 35 to go.

Not Just Old Stuff

In Rome, in the Church of Santa Maria del Populo, there is a fantastic painting by Carravaggio depicting the crucifixion of St. Peter. It was drizzling and grey the day I went. People huddled around the image as if its stark lighting might offer warmth. Also in this church are two recent art works. I don't generally associate the Catholic Church with new artworks and I was surprised. Both were references to crucifixion. This one, above, is made of six metal spikes breaking through the canvas, dramtically lit. The work is credited to Giovanni Manfredini and is titled "VIVI" which is the pattern of the protrusions of spikes. He also had another piece which was more difficult to photograph that was untitled.


On a much lighter concept, I saw these paper sculptures in a store window while walking around Florence. I am bot sure what they were thinking as they rolled pages from a book and them stitched them together but I am sure I will be borrowing that idea.

Part 2

This is in the window of the pastry shop in Frascati. The frames are very simliar to the ones I made for my final project in papermaking. Except theirs are even and consistent. Boring.

Deja Vu

I went hiking a few weeks ago around Lago Albano, which is where the pope has his summer palace. It is a lake created by the eruption of a volcano. The hike was more of a walk and half the time we were walking on pavement or though some kind of local park. But the other half of the time, we were in the woods, not too far from the water's edge. I stopped to take this photo of a spot so beautiful I was ready to live there forever. Looking at it now, I realive it is almost excatly the same photo I took for my Intro to Photography class. Except that photo was a clever trick of cropping out Dalrymple Drive. Sorry LSU lakes, Italy is prettier.

Wish You Were Here

I got lost going from the center of Seina to the hostel. Twice. Last night I was trapped in a maze of apartments and dead end streets. I asked an italian police officer for help. I thought his directions were some sort of joke on me but finally I found the hostel. I also found these buildings, with bright colorful glass.

The next morning, I followed the windy, narrow road, with no pedestrian path, and found this lovely Tuscan scene: poppies and olive trees. I didn't get run over taking this photo either. Tonight I made peace with this town and walked all the way home from the old town. I passed this "beware of dogs" sign. On my way to dinner, I realzed that there is a bus stop right behind the hostel. So close and convenient. I am ready to return to Frascati.