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!
Cortona "Island in the Sky"
Meet Nancy R Wolfe
Visual Journaling in Tuscany with Artist/Instructor Nancy Wolfe Cortona, Italy April 21-28, 2010
Join us for an incredible week of creating art and enjoying life in Cortona!
See Cortona video
Collage Nancy Wolfe
This workshop was originally created for Eastern Michigan University students by painter, poet and educator Nancy Wolfe, from Ann Arbor, Mich.
The workshop is designed to open new paths to communicate experiences, and encourage self-expression through imagery. The vehicle by which each student records these experiences is what Nancy calls the “Visual Journal.” A variety of themes, exercises and materials are introduced each day to encourage students to explore their intuitive natures. Students will work with sound, color, memory, poetry, and music in focused assignments and exercises that help to expand creative thinking – emphasizing process over product. Group discussions assist in formulating a direction, which may produce a variety of expressions in various media. Students will come away with a completed portfolio or visual journal full of ideas and information.
Collage Nancy Wolfe
Accordian Book
Nancy R Wolfe
Blind contour drawing
You will learn...
-How to develop a personal visual vocabulary
-Creativity exercises designed to encourage various types of learners to take creative risks
-Techniques for experimenting with content and narrative
(The drawing at right is a blind-contour drawing done without looking down at the drawing pad.)
Activities include... “responding to the ordinary/extraordinary”
-Listening to sounds that surround us
-Teabags as a brush and beginning of “storytelling”
-Taking rubbings of our environment and turning them into geometricabstract collages.
-Airport art: what you do while you wait…doodling with line and value.
-Composing music from a poem: from a collaborative poem to color symbolism to individual musical composition. -Memory: shared stories, and how to “journal” the past.
"Venice"
During our time together in Tuscany, we use the process of making art through observation, listening inside and outward, touching materials, both man-made and earthbound, and taking time to form these connections into a visual ‘journal’. (I use the term ‘journal’ very broadly). With Cortona as our home, we will look and listen to sound, touch, poetry, myth, music, memory and nonsense. I will introduce techniques including experimental drawing, blind contour and contour drawing, and value studies. This is a “scrap box” approach that includes materials of your choosing such as sketching, writing, collage, mixed media, painting, photography, computer graphics, found objects … What can you expect from our week together?Whether a beginner or an established artist, this is a place to find your own voice, take risks, use your imagination, and share ideas with each other as you further develop your own visual vocabulary. Read more about this workshop below...
All-inclusive w/ private room/bath & Group Meal Plan...$2849.00 per person! $2749.00 per person double occupancy w/ Group Meal Plan! Special Non-participant rates
All-inclusive * workshop includes: Escorted group travel from Rome to Cortona September April 21, 2010**** Five days of instruction in the classroom and on location Seven nights three-star accommodations in historic Cortona** (Private room & bath) Local museums and events All meals*** (Italian breakfast, lunch and dinner) Daily wine tasting opportunities Day trip to Florence A farewell wine tasting dinner
**Included with "Hotel" plans only, see details ***Included with "Group Meal Plans" only, see details *All-inclusive plans are Hotel plans A, E, G only. ****Escorted Group Travel departs Rome's Fiumicino airport by train at 11:30am and then departs Rome's Termini Station by train at 1:02pm only. Early morning arrival in Rome on April 21, 2010 or at least one day earlier. Departure from Cortona is the responsibility of each participant. Air travel is the responsibility of each participant. Florence (FLR) and Rome (FCO) the suggested arrival and departure airports in Italy.
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.
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"Mike's Steel Table"
Nancy and artists
Hotel Oasi Neaumann proud partner of Toscana Americana Workshops since 2003
Visit Hotel Oasi Neumann online
About this workshop...
Wednesday Arrival and welcome to Cortona Thursday Welcome – for this first morning together we will share something you brought with you: a favorite poem, an artwork, a recipe, a journal, a song, a photograph…. We will be doing some hands on exercises inside and outside the studio, In the afternoon, we will take a short walk outdoors, stopping now and then to listen to sounds, taking notes both visual and written, and then responding to them using different visual media back in the studio. We end the session with “the sound of music”. Friday A dialog with stone – while taking a walk around local sites, we will do rubbings and mark-making, visual notes of all the wonderful, varied surfaces we find!We’ll look at the material quality of the surfaces, its outside influences: has it been scarred or damaged or prematurely aged? What exists below the surface? What does it remind you of? When we return to the studio, we will continue our artwork with a visual and narrative response to what we’ve just experienced! Saturday A day trip to Florence: we will experience the sights and sounds of Florence, including a visit to an art supply shop and a visit to some of the famous landmarks. Sunday During the morning, we’ll concentrate on our response to Florence.After lunch we’ll start our own adventure into color and light: its symbolism, and its emotional impact. Monday In the morning we’ll take a walk (or some can catch a ride) to the top of the hill to listen to chanting.Later, we’ll join together to work on an experimental and collaborative adventure into poetry. Tuesday Today, we take the opportunity to continue and finish our artwork ending with sharing our journals and observations of the week. A salute to all who shared this path!
Wednesday Departure day
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Itinerary
Wednesday – Arrival in Cortona -Arrival and Check-in in Cortona -7:00p Welcome to Cortona wine and chocolate tasting at La Saletta. -8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona at La Locanda nel Loggiato Thursday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch Hotel Osai -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -7:30p Wine tasting -Evening dinner in Cortona Friday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch Hotel Osai -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -7:30p Wine tasting -8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona Saturday - Florence -Day trip to Florence with lunch provided -7:30p Wine tasting -8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona
Sunday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch Hotel Osai -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -7:30p Wine tasting -8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona Monday - Cortona -9:00a-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch Hotel Osai -3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -7:30p Wine tasting -8:00p Evening dinner in Cortona Tuesday - Cortona -9:00-1:00p Morning Session -1:00p Lunch at La Loccanda nel Loggiatto 3:00-7:00p Afternoon Session -8:00p Farewell Wine Tasting Dinner in Cortona at Osteria del Teatro
Wednesday – Departure -Morning Check-out and departure from Cortona or we can help you plan an extended stay!
Note: Toscana Americana reserves the right to alter this itinerary. All times are approximate
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Supply List...what to bring...
Materials list for Visual Journal Workshop If you have any questions, please EMAIL nwolfe@emich.edu or call 734-668-0404. Some suggestions for your kit: the choice(s) are yours to make. (Many former students have said “you can never bring enough!” Many former students have also worked with simplicity and one media.) Supplies for two-dimensional work: A journal, blank pages (spiral-bound preferred or your choice). I suggest that the journal paper should handle ink or water-based materials. I suggest 8 x10 inches or larger. I have also used a Sumi accordion style journal with 46 pages. It is 5 x 7 inches. I’m in the process of finding a supplier, if anyone is interest in purchasing one. Working on other materials is an alternative. Or If you like hand-made journals, bring individual sheets of paper of your choice. If you’re using water-based mediums make sure that the paper can handle it. If you are working on computer or photography, or mediums that are not two-dimensional, you will still want a small journal for note-taking and exercises. Suggestions for materials for collage on paper: Scissors or exacto knife, acrylic gel or Mod Podge® for collage and inexpensive brush for application, glue stick, ruler. (If you don’t use gel, please bring two glue sticks.) Your choice of various papers, different surfaces you like, i.e. vellum, tissue, stationary, Japanese paper, origami paper, watercolor or printmaking paper, newspaper, maps, grids, cloth, small objects. stencils, string, buttons, yarns, metal pieces, and screen, etc. Suggestions for drawing/painting: I recommend a small set of either Prismacolor pencils, Watercolor pencils and/or pastel pencils. If you’re new to art and want to use acrylic paint, please bring a small set of basic acrylic paints (red, yellow, blue, and white) and inexpensive brushes. This is true of gouache or watercolor paints.
Sharpie extra fine point or other permanent pen, Pencil, hb or 2b, and 4b is recommended and a kneaded eraser. Remember: Any materials you want to work with, please bring. Personal supplies to bring: A cd or audiotape of favorite music. A copy of your favorite prose, poem or some words that you relate to, plus anything you might have written.
If you keep a journal bring it. A few photographs of yourself past and present (if available) and/or other photos that you care about. (If working in collage, make some b/w copies of the photos).
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!
