A Casa

Home again. There is always a reentry I must go through when returning from the US to Italy. An adjustment of sorts. Language changes, weather changes, food changes, hour changes, you get the picture. I have no idea if this happens to others who share their lives between two different countries...but a metamorphosis of sorts must occur with me to get back on track.

I had a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, trips, food, wine, art, a card game or two. I saw those I had not seen in many moons and shared lots of laughs and even a cry. To be a little melodramatic...it was filled with every emotion possible...and I loved every minute of it. To say that the trip was not long enough is an understatement, but then again, it is always like this...better for it to be too short than too long in my book.
Nephew Big Al is continuing to grow and now walk and even talk...is a one year old supposed to do this? My sister and her husband hosted our Christmas to perfection with family meal traditions and "Flo stockings"...thanks you two. I traveled around the Carolinas searching for mountains and snow...as you all may know, it was not all that hard to find. I rang in the new year with crostini, rose spumante, and a dance party. I swam with sharks and brightly colored things...or at least I had the sensation. I braved the cold for my special Laura Fair reception at one of my favorite places on the Savannah River, the Morris Museum of Art. I was so happy to see old friends and new faces and to meet some amazing children...I should say teenagers...who blew me away with their confidence and grace (and even called me ma'am!) I fell down...twice to be exact, in the treacherous ice storm of 2011 in Atlanta...and nervously drove through it to make client meetings. All worth it as good things are coming down the line amici...I am beyond happy with the results and will update you on new product soon. Now I am back to it...refreshed and revived with ideas and inspiration...of course some walks through the countryside did not hurt either.

Buon anno di nuovo a tutti...happy new year again to all of you. May you see all your dreams come true in 2011. I think it will happen...starting to feel it already...

Morris Museum of Art

I am so happy to tell you all about something really special. I have been meaning to mention it for a while now, but my holiday goodness got in the way. Now that the new year has begun, it is time to get back into the swing of things.

This Sunday, January 9, 2011 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm, the Morris Museum of Art will be hosting a "Meet the Artist" for me at the museum in downtown Augusta, Georgia. This is especially touching to me, as I have loved the museum since in opened its doors in the early 1990's, and even contemplated working there right out of school. It hosts a stunning art collection specifically dedicated to Southern Art and Artists of the United States...isn't that great? I hope that anyone who will be in the area will come by to see me...and I will be sure to update here with pictures soon after the event. Thank you again to Kelly Catlett and the entire Morris crew...I am beyond appreciative for this opportunity!

Buon Anno

Happy New Year, Buon Anno a tutti...I hope that all of you had a very festive holiday! Just in time to assist me in my battle with writing 2011 instead of 2010, here is a little peek at our new Laura Fair Perpetual Calendars with matching Month and Day Patterned Glass Magnets debuting for January 2011! They are made of antiqued metal and come in a box set in two coordinating colors. Shown above is the celery green version, and there is also one in turquoise blue! Cannot wait to get my hands on one so I can get my studio life organized...

On my way to the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings market again where Lone Elm Studios will be selling these, along with all the other items in our Laura Fair collection, in their showroom in Building 2 #1363B. So, if you are attending the Atlanta market...be sure to stop by. Better yet, let me know so I can meet you there!

Scuola

As the snow slowly falls here, I cannot help but think of the happiness my little bambini from scuola are experiencing right now. I bet they are bursting at the seams to get outside and play. It reminds me that I have yet to tell you, I have been teaching at the local elementary school! My friend, Mariangela, kindly asked if I would be available to come to her 4th grade class every so often to talk about art...in English. This got my head spinning, of course, and based on my Chic Girls collection of paintings on canvas, we came up with a program that involves Art, Anatomy, Literature, and English. I now go to the school every two weeks or so to give a little of my time, and hope that the students get a little out of it!

We started out the class with anatomy and parts of the human body in English accompanied with how to draw a face complete with practice drawings of the head, neck, shoulders, and rounding out with the face and hair. The excitement was contagious that first day. The smiles were so big, I wanted to take them all home with me.

The next session happened to fall on Thanksgiving, so I decided, still with anatomy as our theme, that we would use our hands and feet to make turkeys! They were so happy to get a little messy with paint and brushes and learn a bit about an American tradition.

Then we moved onto the big stuff...the main part of our project...the self portrait. We took pictures of each child and challenged them to draw themselves based on the photo. Look at how great they are doing...I am so proud! We will be continuing throughout the school year with painting and storytelling and I cannot wait to see what they will do next! Don't worry, I will be sure to share the finished product with you.

To round out our last class of 2010...we read Twas the Night Before Christmas in English and then sang every verse of Jingle Bells. As the bell rang, 15 little Italians ran out of class chanting "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"...it really doesn't get much better than that.

Festeggiare

We have been celebrating around here. Anyone who knows me knows I am out of my head for birthdays. Well, at least for MY birthday! As far back as I can remember, I have celebrated not only the day, but usually the week, and sometimes even the entire month of December. Yes, I exaggerate and I don't care who knows it!

This past week continued my tradition of exploiting my birthday and now a year passing of our health issues...so we celebrated...tanto...troppo! We began the week with a day trip to the province of Asti to attend the Fiera del Bue Grasso...the festival of the fat ox. Seven of us piled in and drove up through the snow to Northern Italy. What a gorgeous trip...we wound through the coast roads of Toscana and Liguria to end up in Piemonte.

Even though the sun hid from us the entire day, the colors of the architecture and landscape contrasted brilliantly against the snow and fog. We ate and drank amongst the locals at the Sagra del Bollito, a feast of strange and wonderful delicacies. Can you imagine, the menu included, among other things, a version of raw tartar of ox (which most ate like a hamburger), crowns and innards of a rooster, and boiled tongue and head of the ox served with salsa verde. I bravely ate everything...cannot say I enjoyed it all, but I sure am proud of myself for being adventurous.

We continued the week taking time for languid walks through the woods and fields with the puppies, attending a gift regalo expo, decorating the live Christmas tree, pizza with friends (because it is not a celebration without pizza!), a delicious Italo-Americano dinner in a beautiful home high on a hill, and the icing on the celebration cake...a surprise birthday dinner party at a Mexican restaurant. Yes people, you can take the girl out of America and drop her in Italy, but please don't mess with her love of Mexican.

Grazie mille to all of my lovely friends here in Italy and from afar that contributed to this year's festeggiamenti. What a week...I so cannot wait until next year...I am already planning. Gosh, I am a lucky lucky girl to have all I do and all of you in my life.

Olio Nuovo

For almost an entire month, I have been in an olive oil induced haze...yes, we picked olives this year.

With the help of many friends, I have laid out nets under at least 200 trees, moved ladders to and fro, hand scraped more olives from their branches than I want to count,

emptied crate upon crate of olives into bags,

made exactly 3 trips to the frantoio, olive oil mill, for pressing,

bottled and labeled specialness for friends, and ate a boat load of fire toasted bruschetta with just a hint of garlic, salt, and a drenching of electric green oil.

I have to say, it certainly was not as much as I have done in years past, but it was still a bit of work. However, the reward is incomparable. Tuscan olive oil, yes I am biased, especially when it is freshly picked and pressed has to be the best in the world. It has an almost harsh spiciness in the back of your mouth that makes you eager for more. I drizzle it on salads, soups, veggies, of course bread, anything I can really. In fact, over the past month I cannot tell you how many times I have uttered the words...excuse me while I wipe the olive oil off my chin...

Cento

100, cento, I have posted here 100 times...hard for me to believe I have had that much to say, and that even though I have slowed down, you all are still reading. I appreciate it and thank you so much for the constant support. This past weekend we said ciao to October, I thought I would leave you with the memories of the month. Still one of my absolute favorites I have to say again. If you are thinking of planning a trip to Tuscany...make it in October...just a few reasons why:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into the trees. The winds will blow their freshness into you...while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~ John Muir