I got rather distracted from my blog series featuring MOMENTUM my 50@50 series - Ukrainian matters were far more pressing: by now my fund raising efforts will be being used were they are best needed. Your support was amazing.
Italy distracts me too, but always in a good way. I see more colour there. I wear more colour there. I feel freer, lighter, energetic. Is it the light? The people? The food? The charming villages, cities and vistas? The simple pace of life?
Some of these pieces are still available to purchase from my website : Centro Storico and more
Really life should be much more complex there, I get by with my Italian, but I'm no where near as able as I would like to be, so there's a communication complication...no, in fact it's a communication challenge rather than a complication, one I revel in! My Italian language doesn't need to be grammatically perfect in order to enjoy time with friends and celebrate all that Italian life has to offer. Communication is a creative challenge, with a bit of lateral thinking I can phase sentences using words I know, I can play charades, use hand signals and have fun whilst making myself understood.
Same is true for drawing - it doesn't need to be picture perfect to give you the essence and atmosphere of a setting, you can play with it and enjoy!
Sitting and drawing in any of the local villages usually attracts attention and offers up more opportunities to practice my lingo....and it's a lot easier to relax when settling down to draw as the weather is so favourable :-) Now 2019 was a very good tanning year!!!
Possibly one of my favourite pieces of the MOMENTUM collection is Warm Village [above] It's not for sale, I'm keeping it because I love it so much. The warmth in the title and in the colour of the piece, has, unconsciously described our welcome in Abruzzo - our acceptance into the community, we couldn't wish for more.
I worked from this piece when I was in the Makers Studio with Janome & Just Hands TV and I created a further study of Warm Village, imaginatively named Village Study!
If you fancy joining me in Italy there are still a few places available on my Stitch Summer School in September [June is FULL] Have a look at the details and give me a call if you need to chat anything through :-)