Travel with fellow artists, family & friends! In addition to Non-participating guest options, did you know that other workshops are offered this same week! Enjoy the experience together while immersed in different topics! View calendar for details!
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Cortona "Island in the Sky"
Sharilyn Miller
Wire-Art Jewelry Adventure in Tuscany with jewelry designer, writer & workshop instructor Sharilyn Miller Cortona, Italy September 17-24, 2011
NOTE! Program will change for 2011! _______________________ Come and be inspired... by the medieval hilltop town of Cortona, Italy, and the Etruscan artists who once made this delightful area their home! We will spend an enchanting week together, exploring the heart of Tuscany with a side-trip to Florence, dining on delicious meals accompanied by fine wines, consuming as much gelato as we can hold, and making beautiful wire-art jewelry using time-tested techniques.
Join us for six intensive days of instruction on using sterling-silver wire and your favorite beads to fashion beautiful, durable jewelry that will be treasured and passed down to future generations. Students of all skill levels are invited to participate in this unique opportunity! We will start with the basics, and then quickly build upon these skills as we tackle more creative and challenging techniques: measuring and cutting wire properly, coiling, spiraling, hammering, and more. Once the fundamentals of wirework are mastered, participants will learn a variety of wire links for necklace and bracelet chains, several different styles of earrings, bangle bracelets, a classic fibula brooch, the Ethnic Coin Necklace with punched metal coins, and more (as time permits). Lovely Cortona will be our muse as we design and craft jewelry pieces that are as unique as our experience in Italy together.
All-inclusive* workshop includes: Escorted group travel Rome to Cortona **** September 4, 2010 Instruction in the classroom and on location Seven nights three-star accommodations in historic Cortona** (Private room & bath) Tuscan Cooking Class Local Etruscan Museum & Museo Diocesano All meals*** (Italian breakfast, lunch and dinner) Daily wine tasting opportunities Day shopping and sightseeing trip to Florence Day trip Arezzo antiques flea market A farewell wine tasting dinner
**Included with "Casa Betania" plans only. See details. ***Included with "Group Meal Plan" only. See details. ****Specific departure time only; to be announced *All-inclusive plans are Hotel plans A, C, E, G and Hostel plans I & K only. Air travel and ground transportation to/from Cortona is not included and is the responsibility of each participant. ___________________________________
Travel Tuscany & Umbria with Sharilyn! Optional three-day extension only US$979.00 per person!
Price includes: Accommodations; welcome wine reception; three dinners; daily outing transportation; selected site visits in Siena & Orvieto; a full-day Tuscan wine tour!
Wednesday 9/1 – Independent arrival to Cortona
-Arrival* and check-in at hotel
-7:00p Wine reception at hotel
-8:00p Dinner at hotel
Thursday 9/2 - Day trip to Siena -8:45a Depart Cortona for train station
-9:04a Depart Camucia for Siena. -Planned visits: Duomo, Baptistery & Crypt, Museum of the Duomo
-Sightseeing & shopping -Independent lunch
-4:59p Depart Siena -6:57p Arrive Camucia and taxi to hotel
-Independent lunch -3:50p Meet at tram and return to station
-4:20p Depart Orvieto station
-5:25p Arrive Camucia and taxi to hotel
*Arrival to Cortona and the hotel is the resposibility of each guest. We can provide info for travel by train or private driver from Rome or Florence.
NOTE: All times are approximate and subject to change
Siena
Orvieto's Duomo
Sharilyn Miller Videos on YouTube
About this workshop...
Saturday – Arrival in Cortona Sunday - Arezzo Antiques flea market -9:00- Day trip to Arezzo Giostra del Saracino (Joust of the Saracen) is on the first Sunday in September. This tournament has its origins in the early 16 C and commemorates Christian efforts to hold back the tide of Islam in the 14 C. A lively and colourful procession of costumed participants is followed by the main event in which eight costumed knights charge towards a wooden representation of the Saracen, aiming to hit the Saracen's shield with lances. The Saracen is mounted on a swivel so that part of the task of the knight has to avoid being struck back. Each pair of knights represents one of Arezzo's four rival districts and their supporters each occupy a side of the piazza. The winner receives a golden lance. Monday - Cortona -9:00-1:00p Morning Workshop features earring design and craft: ear hooks, post earrings, drops and dangles, hoops and triangles -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Workshop continues an intensive study of earring design, including the instructor’s favorites such as Gypsy Sticks, incorporating fine chains into earring design, chandelier earrings, and more, plus question and answer period Tuesday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Workshop featuring bangle bracelets with coiled bead wraps, a unique clasp, and design discussions plus question and answer period -3:00-5:30p Afternoon Workshop continues with Biker Chick Bangles, a fun way to incorporate coiled wire with small beads and found objects to make unique bracelets — no two are ever alike! Wednesday - Florence -Day trip to Florence with lunch provided. -6:00p Tuscan Cooking Class Thursday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Workshop focuses on a variety of different wire links and clasps that can be used in bracelets, anklets and necklaces, plus question and answer period -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Workshop features Twining Vines, the instructor’s own design that allows the artist to decorate the flat surfaces of beads with twisted, spiraled and shaped wire Friday - Cortona -9:00-1:00p The Ethnic Coin Necklace workshop incorporates several new techniques such as hammering coins and metal punching, riveting, making unique wire links, and large jump rings -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Workshop: Ethnic Coin Necklace continued; upon completing our necklaces, the workshop series ends with an opportunity to artificially age all of our jewelry pieces made throughout the week in a liver-of-sulfur solution, followed by polishing and finishing techniques Saturday – Departure Note: Toscana Americana reserves the right to alter this itinerary. All times are approximate.
Itinerary
Saturday – Arrival in Cortona -Arrival and Check-in in Cortona -7:30p Welcome to Cortona wine and chocolate tasting at La Saletta. -Evening dinner in Cortona at La Locanda nel Loggiato Sunday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -7:30p Wine tasting -8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona
Monday - Cortona -9:00-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -7:30p Wine tasting -Evening dinner in Cortona Tuesday - Florence -Day trip to Florence with lunch provided -8:00p Dinner in Cortona
Casa Betania proud partner of Toscana Americana Workshops since 2003
About Cortona
Cortona is one of the true jewels of the Tuscan “hill towns.” Cortona, which is often called the “City of Art,” has its origin as an Etruscan city that pre-dates Roman times with sections of its walls dating back some 2500 years. As is typical of Tuscan hill-towns, Cortona is a walled city that, for purposes of defense, was built atop a prominent geographical point. The stone buildings and streets not only have the romance, style, and charm that are particular to Tuscany, but also speak of the lives and times Cortona has witnessed. An encounter with Cortona is an encounter with music & art, with history and with spirituality. Getting to know this timeless city is a real rediscovery of our past. Cortona offers testimony to its history as well as an enchanting view of the landscape enclosed by Lake Trasimeno and the Apennine mountains.
Meet your hosts in Tuscany...
Angela Lucani was born and raised in Cortona and never tires of living within the walls of this vibrant Tuscan hilltown! She trained as an elementary school teacher and taught in various locals within Cortona from its mountain villages to the growing post-war part of Cortona known as Camucia. Angela has always been passionate about Tuscan cooking, which she began to learn at an early age aiding her mother in the kitchen. She maintains respect for local cooking traditions and recipes and shares that with Italians and foreign visitors through cooking classes conducted both in Italy and in America. She has extensive knowledge of Cortona's various areas, from the mountains to the fertile Val di Chiana, and continues to learn about its long and colorful history. She is also passionate about travel and enjoys learning about and experiencing customs, traditions and characteristics of other countries, cultures & people. Her travels destinations have included the United States, England, Egypt, South America, France, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Greece. She enjoys serving as a bridge between visitors to Tuscany and the local culture.
Patrick Mahoney (Miami University BA'80, MA'82) lives in Cortona where he continues a thirty-year career in the field of Arts & Entertainment producing events, workshops and tours and providing opportunities to share the Italy experience with travelers, artists and people who share his interests for foods, wine, art, culture. Patrick's passion is to conceive and realize various ways in which the human spirit can express and demonstrate its capacity to create. His ability to fearlessly think, conceive, and work "out of the box" has earned him the attention of artists & musicians, colleges & universities, public & private organizations, and business and industry. Patrick brings integrity and a unique vision to Toscana Americana and he is committed to realizing the opportunity for participants to create in an atmosphere of peace, joy, respect and mutual support. As a "slow traveler" and a supporter of "slow food" Mr. Mahoney rides trains, walks, lingers over lunch, dinner or a cup of espresso, stops to smell the roses and savors the sensory feast wherever he is!
