First Week of Classes

A sight I see at least once a day.

This past week was my first week of classes.  After all of it I'm both excited and scared for the semester.  

On Monday I had my intermediate painting class.  Within 45 minutes there was a model and we were taking an entrance exam.  Pretty nerve racking, but I did well.  After reviewing the course syllabus though, I realized that this class wasn't for me.  So I talked to my professor and after showing her my work from last semester she bumped me up to the fourth level painting class: Advanced Conceptual Painting.  (I'll get more into that later)  I also had beginning Italian on Monday which was very easy.

Tuesday was tiring.  My day started with Stone and Marble sculpture.  My professor had us get familiar with the tools - hammer and chisel - by carving a concave into the surface of some marble.  After 5 minutes of pounding away I developed an overwhelming appreciation for stone sculpture and will never look at it the same.  It is serious hard work and I already know this class is going to take a lot of patience.  I also had my pastel techniques class on Tuesday.  I think I'm really going to like this class.  My instructor is a young artist originally from New York who is enthusiastic and really into art.  I think he will be a good source of motivation and knowledge. 

Wednesday was just Italian again and again it was easy.  

Thursday was a day.  I had my new painting class and we had an exam for this class.  This one was way harder though.  We had two models come in so we had to paint them and a metaphor of ourselves... in an hour!  Not fun.  I totally choked and for the first time, painted something I was embarrassed of.  It was a very humbling experience.  After some discussion and understanding what this course will be, I know this class is going to kick my butt.  It a lot of work, I need to stretch the way I think and I might just go mad, but when its over I think I will come out of it a much stronger artist in what an artist is now days.  

After my painting class I headed off to my cooking class where I am the only guy.  I got these judgmental looks from the girls as if I was in the class to pick up on them.  WRONG.  I'm excited to cook in this course and learn about nutrition and nutritious food preparation.  I made fresh pasta in class and let me tell you that a pasta roller is 10 times easier that rolling out the pasta with a rolling pin.  The other groups made the sauce for the pasta and a chocolate tart for dessert.  When we were done we ate. 

So after spending way more money than I ever have on art supplies I truly am a starving artist ready to start chipping away at my (what already seems like) never ending list of assignments.

A good weekend

I had a pretty good day yesterday.  I woke up and went on, what turned out to be, an adventure to Ikea.  I saw online that there was a free shuttle to Ikea, so I figured I would just see a giant Ikea bus.  Nope.  So I asked a man at the station in my horrible Italian how to get there.  He told me to take the #30 bus.  So I bought a ticket and after half an hour of waiting realized I was waiting in the wrong place.  I finally got on the bus and expected to see a giant Ikea wearhouse.  Nope.  I ended up riding the bus to the end of its route.  On the way back however I got a glimpse of Ikea in the distance and got off when I thought we were close to it. 

Anyway, long story short, I found Ikea, got some bedding and bathroom stuff and ....

A little olive tree.  I named it Olea.  Yeah, not very original, but I like the way it sounds.  Anyway, its nice to have a plant in my room again.  

After my Ikea trip, my friend Francesca and her boyfriend picked me up to explore the area outside of Florence.  They both live in neighboring towns and I got see them both.  First was Prato, where we went to a mall that reminded me of the ones in the States to pick up some items I needed.  Then we headed towards Francesca's town of Carmignano.  It is beautiful!

Here's the hills of Tuscany.  We had really weird weather yesterday and there was a blanket of ....something.  It wasn't smog or fog, it was just this blanket of humidity.  Anyway, it didn't make for the most comfortable outdoor experience, but it did make for a nice picture.  The hills are full of vineyards and olive tree orchards and Carmignano is known for their wine and oil.  

Close up shot of some olives.  They were everywhere!

After seeing the amazing sights (and a gelato break) we headed to dinner at this nice restaurant at the top of this hill near Francesca's house.  I was so excited because I haven't been to a restaurant since arriving and if you know me, you know I love food.  This place did not disappoint.  I had the Toscano antipasti which consisted of some prosciutto, salame, polenta and a couple crostini topped with different salsa.  It was just a plate of savory deliciousness.  For my pain dish I had Pizza Gorgonzola e Speck, which is just a pizza topped with gorgonzola and prosciutto.  The crust was perfectly crisp and tasted of a wood burning oven, while the cheese was full and rich and the ham was nice and salty.  Its a good thing food is a bit expensive here otherwise I would be in trouble with overeating.  We ended the meal with a caffe and headed home.  

Yesterday was really nice and gave a me a better idea of Italian culture.  Women sit outside in the courtyard on Saturday afternoons and just chat.  One can see their cousin walking down the street in a small town.  A meal is meant to be savored and enjoyed over conversation, not trudged through in front of a screen.  It was great to see Italian life.

Ok, changing topics, here is a short list of things I like and dislike:

like:  gelato

dislike: mosquitos

like: Nutella

dislike: Sarah Palin

like: beautiful Tuscany

( I know its uneven, but I wanted to end on a good note)

Anyway, I like those things because it makes me happy and satisfies my senses.  I dislike those things because they are annoying and have no purpose.  Ok ok, thats a bit harsh... the purpose of mosquitos is to feed other creatures.  Haha, but really, since hearing and reading about Palin and listening to her speech, she has become one of my least favorite people.  

If you have a chance, check out this site (thanks Kristen for the link) : http://www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm

You might want to read this too: Enviornmantalists can't Corral Palin

It is disturbing how she thinks and very scary to image her as someone with power, especially as Vice President.

Imagine this

TMI Warning: You may visualize something involuntarily if you read the following paragraph. 

Apparently the use of bidets are more common than I thought in Italy.  Today, nature called and there was no TP in sight and then looking over at the bidet it dawned on me that there was reason for this.  So, I had my first bidet session.  And now on to better images.

As promised, here a few pics.  This first one is my room.  I took it a bit early as now there a calendar on my wall.  I think it really pull the room together.  

Anyway, its a pretty good room.  Simple, green and brown, and it has a really cool window.  I like it!

Here is the living room.  This is the first thing you see when you enter the apartment.  Not sure how much time Im going to spend in here.  If I can't get internet to work in my room, I'm thinking I'll spend a good amount.  

So today was pretty good.  I found a supermarket about 10 minutes away from my place and bought a pillow there.  I'm trying not to use the supermarket as much, but I'm wait till my Italian is a little stronger so I can communicate with the mom and pops of the smaller shops.  Anyway, I'm stoked on the pillow.  Later in the day I hiked up to the Piazelle Michelangelo and saw this:
Amazing!  Its one of those things where you are sweating and climbing up these ridiculous stairs and cursing even starting the trip.  You keep looking back and think "Ok, its cool, but not worth it."  BUT, when you get to the top, turn left and take about 15 steps, all of a sudden you see this and forget how you got there.  I can't believe I've been walking around in this for the last week.  
Here I am with the Duomo on my shoulder.  Boo for pictures of me in Europe by myself.  I wish my pumpkin sweetie poo muffin cakes was here with me.  Ok, thats not really what I call Casey, but the thought is still the same.  

I GOT A PLACE!

After a week that’s felt like a month and a day that’s felt like a week I have finally got a place to unpack.  It’s a single after all near the Piazza Santo Spirito.  My room is a bed, a chest of drawers, a closed, a table with a chair and a side table – perfect and everything I need!  I can’t wait to make it my own. 

My roommates are pretty cool too!  I’ve met two out of three.  Peppe is a design student who’s really into reggae.  The designs he’s done on the computer are pretty cool and he recording some of his own songs in his room.  The other, Eugenio, is a language student who is a nice, outgoing, happy guy and really good at the guitar.  They are both the same age as me (1985 represent!) and both seem to be really into music. 

So for now I am going to unpack and get settled.  I think I’m going to like it here.

-pictures to come!

Getting close to unhomelessness

Last night I decided that I wanted to live in the Piazza Santo Spirito.  It is a cool piazza with restaurants and young, hip people.  There is a stage for live music at one end where a jazz band was playing last night and a big screen for movies at the other end.  In between is a fountain and tables for people to enjoy a drink and conversation.  

SO, I went to see an apartment today for a double room.  Not my ideal but I figure its better to share a room and have the experience I want than to have a single and not have fun.  I only met one guy at this apartment, but he seemed mellow and nice and I'm assuming the rest can't be too far from that.  

Tomorrow I will see another apartment in the piazza, again a double.  This one is a bit cheaper so it just depends on the people at this point.  Anyway, hopefully I will be sleeping in a bed I can call mine tomorrow night with one, rather than 4, other person.    Wish me luck!

Italian word for the entry: vivere - to live

I'm in Firenze!

Hi all!  I am finally in Florence.  After two years of planning this thing and waiting I am finally in Italy.  I got here two days ago on the 27th and ran into some trouble with my luggage.  It got stuck in Munich and didn't arrive until yesterday.  But I can't really complain about anything.  My time here has been really cool.  I've been apartment hunting with a few leads and also taking time to enjoy the city.  Heres the Ponte Vecchio at dusk.

Truly amazing.  The sunsets here are out of this world.  There are so many colors!  I wanted to paint it but realized that putting that range of color on canvas would look ridiculous.  Only in real life can it look as beautiful as it should. 

Today was the first day that I got to explore without an agenda.  I spent the morning drawing the Duomo and some sculptures in the Uffizi.  It was really nice to get back in my sketchbook.  The art in the public here is amazing.  It is so easy to just pass it by, but if you take a few minutes to look at the work and realize that it is over five centuries old and you develop a fuller appreciation for it.  

Here is the fake David in the Palazzo Uffizi.  I will for sure see the real one soon!  I think this is where the original one was first placed however.  

And here is the Duomo with a suspicious tourist.  The Duomo is really cool because it was a hugely progressive engineering design at the time that took over 170 years to complete.  Cambio, the one who designed it, and even Giotto, who took over the project later and was well known for his Scrovegni Chapel, didn't get the see the finished Duomo.   I still can't believe that I went from studying this last semester to walking past it every day.  

Italian word of the entry: Affittasi - for rent

Summer Recap

As much as I thought I was going to be diligent about updating this thing, I seem to have failed at regularity.  In any case, here is what I've been up to this summer.  

After finishing my mural at Trader Joe's I did smaller sign paintings.  They threw some pretty interesting projects my way and it turned out to be great experience.  I got to use a whole bunch of mediums including acrylic on plastic, soft pastels, acrylic, and pray paint on foam board, paint pens and the usual pen on paper. 

Here's a sign that I was pretty stoked about.  This one is a plastic insert to the egg case.  Originally it was just white with the words "Fresh Eggs" in a boring font.  We ended up turning the whole top of the egg case into a sign. 

I finished at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago and since then have been painting, packing and moving out of Stockton.

A few weekends ago I was helping Casey move into her new place in San Rafael.  I was in charge of making the book case look cool.  I think I accomplished that with the help of a furry baby animal. 

Here's a painting I did for the June art walk.  This was my first oil on canvas painting since the end of school.  It was really nice getting back into it and I did this one pretty fast.  It didn't sell at the art walk, but I think it was a blessing in disguise.  I'm donating it to my friend Joyce's organization, EducateOne.  It'll be on auction this Friday.  If you're around you should go to the event in Berkeley.  

Oh right...  The Newark house had a BBQ/ reunion.  It was a bunch of fun and they welcomed us with their own hospitality.  Here's a picture that somewhat sums up the dynamic of the house.  We had a giant sleep over and most of us hung out for a bit the next morning. 

The following day was the Download Festival.  Casey and I ended up missing Tapes n' Tapes, but we soon forgot about it when Yeasayer came on.  

Their set was brilliant.  The amazing band with a new and different sound created another new sound while keeping their sweet vibe.  They had us bobbing out heads and dancing the whole time.  I can't wait for their next album.  

So, I just left Stockton last weekend.  I was all ready for the move when my car realized I was leaving her and decided to throw the towel in, 6 days before my departure.  It was a pretty big blow to my moral and pocket, but I decided the only practical option was to donate her.  

This is one of the saddest pictures I have taken.  Goodbye Sharona, I had fun.  At least my carbon footprint has decreased by 80%.

My good friend Lexi commissioned me to do a couple paintings for her and Bobby for their new pad.  They wanted a feeling of Hawaii.  Here's the two...

This one reminds me of my childhood, having grown up on the east side of Oahu.  Its Chinaman's hat (I can fill you in on the tall tale if you need some background for the name) with Rabbit Island in the distance.  It's a 30 x 40 in. oil on canvas.  

Here is the second one.  This is the largest oil painting I've done - 36 x 48 in.  At first I wasn't sure about this one, but after spending some time with it I now love it.  I think it was just not my usual subject matter, but I really like the way it turned out.

Now I am in San Rafael with Casey.  I just finished a painting for my buddy Richmond, but that picture won't be posted until he gets it this weekend.   This past weekend we went on a little outdoor adventure in Roy's Redwoods. 

Flash!