Go Canada! (... But I'm off to Italy!)

Yes, I'm really off to Italy for an art adventure!  I'm so excited. This is the first page of the sketchbook I'll be taking with me on my trip.  I actually do have a birthmark in the shape of Italy on my calf. And, I've been told not once but twice by psychics that I have to go live there one day.  Not that I put much merit on a psychic reading, but in this case they happen to support my impulse quite nicely. 

Arte Ginestrelle in Monte Subasio invites artists to apply for a one month residency to work on a creative project. They host 5-8 artists at a time, all sharing space but doing their own thing. I applied and got accepted last fall for 2014, but didn't really know if I'd be able to make it work. Once I decided I really wanted to go, I wanted to go right now!  They said I could wait until May and stay for the whole month, or they could squeeze me in between other groups for two weeks in March.  Since 'wait' is not in my vocabulary in any language, I decided to take them up on the now idea.  I did a quick trip to the passport office for a renewal, bought a ticket with my points, went to the art store to load up on my fave supplies and now all that's left is the packing. I'd already been studying italian for a couple of months with Rosetta Stone.  Now I'm ready to take my new language skills for a test drive.  

My plan is to fill my sketchbook in Rome and Perugia, then once I'm tucked in up in Monte Subasio I'll transfer my sketches to linoleum, carve them and do some hand printing and painting there.  When I was booking,places to stay outside of the residency I stumbled on an opportunity to join in an international cultural exchange for my final week in Italy. It's on the amalfi coast; a place I've always dreamed of going to paint.  I love it when a dream comes together like that.  

Andiamo!