Artnotes: Shhhhh

 

Stimigliano View from House     Laurie Fox Pessemier    Acrylic/canvas   12 x 18 "  30 x 45cm  475.00

“Carlo’s making a movie at the church,” Gianfranco said on Monday morning.  We walked by to check it out.  Carl asked if we wanted to be extras, and perhaps imprudently, we said “YES”.   Carl says filming is just all about being quiet and waiting.   The rest of the morning was spent sitting in the church at the “funeral” of an Italian guy… The deceased comes back from the dead to deliver a soliloquy.   We ask him if seeing himself dead is troubling.   Oh, no, Italo tells us, in fact if you dream of your own funeral, it means you will live a long life.

Small Altar   Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/wood  13  x 5.5"  33 X  14cm  190.00

Carl has a film school in Rome, and he and his wife, Carmen, just bought a house here in Stimigliano.  His students are up here making a movie, much simpler than filming in Rome.  They are the most delightful group of people we’ve run across in a long time – from three continents, to boot.

San Bernadino   Laurie Fox Pessemier    Acrylic/cardboard      11 x 9"  . 27.5 x 22cm   150.00

It was a tough role for me – we were in the front row of the church, and we were supposed to look grief-stricken.  I hope I never have a reason to really look grief-stricken, because I am too much of a Pollyanna.   I almost always see the bright side. Both Blair and I hadn’t spent this much time in a church for a while, and we examined all the details.   There are different saints here, like San  Bernadino (all I can think of is Route 66), Cosmos and Damien;  some the labels were too far away to identify.  I painted San Bernadino in here one cold day a couple of years ago.

Photo in the Church

We have a guest from Seattle, who fortunately chose that day to sleep in – when we finished up, we dashed to Farfa, and the Trattoria da Lupi, where I had the best bean and pasta dish EVER.  We also found a table in our antique merchant’s workshop, which might allow us a mini remodel here in Stimigliano.

Waiting for a Fish   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  10 x 20"   25 x 50cm  475.00

We finished up our roles, outside of the church on Wednesday.  Our guest took the opportunity to make her own movie of the process.  Everything worked out.  Shhhh.

Matchboxes for our winter fair on 1 December.

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INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402

Artnotes: The Biggest Fish

 

23 November 2024  Stmigliano, RI ITALIA Tevere  Blair Pessemier    Acrylic/canvas   14 x 20 "  35 x 50cm  490.00  We’ve been walking, walking, walking this week – Berlino misses his terrain in Roccamalatina, so we’ve tried to make up it to him with several outdoor forays per day.   Our collective favorite is the “Tevere Point”, which takes us along the Tiber, behind the railroad station at Poggio Mirteto.   Choose your shoes      Laurie Fox Pessemier The walk is about a kilometer each way, with mirror-like images of hills, trees and castles reflected in  the river.  It puts me in the mind of picture-puzzles – you know, those classic natural scenes with barely distinguishable fall tones. Dogs    Laurie Fox Pessemier      Berlino saw his mistress from the shelter, “Pasqualina and Friends” twice there this week, walking her own dog and some of the shelter’s inmates.   Berlino loves (almost all) other dogs, and there are always a few along the path. Moon Rise  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  15  x 22"   38 x 57cm   490.00 There are a good share of fishermen lounged along the banks, too.  One such fellow lives with his wife in a hidden house right across from edge of the water.  He has four dogs, and passel of chickens, all hidden behind chicken wire and corrugated metal fencing.  This we know as we exchange greetings.  How’s the fishin’? Blair enquires.  He motions for us to follow and shows us a 20+ pound carp he’s caught.  In fact, this isn’t a particularly large one, as they can grow to as much as 90 pounds.   It is the desired fish for a Central European Christmas dinner, and I suspect he may have some of that heritage. Photo of man with carp We are quite happy to be back in Stimigliano – we’ve been commiserating with neighbors and getting ready for the fair – I think of it as a Christmas fair, but it hasn’t been sanctioned as such (there is lots of politics in these little towns, I am glad to be included, in any case).   I am addicted to making these holiday ornaments, and make a couple a day. I made a slightly larger head of Berlino, backed by a golden retriever.     I can see myself getting bigger and bigger pieces of cardboard to paint on:  a whale.  Merman       Laurie Fox Pessemier    Acrylic/paper     9 x 13.5"  23 x 33cm  90.00 Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: The One that Got Away

 

Dugout Torrington Twisters    Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   24 x 20 "  60 x 50cm  695.00

One of the wonderful things that happens with painting is that someone sees your work, and connects.  It’s a legacy of sorts.   This week one of the Torrington Twisters saw a painting we did when we followed the baseball team in 2005 and contacted me.  How wonderful.  (write me and I'll send you a pdf of the book)

Baseball Ornaments by Blair (Laurie working on others)

It made me think of how one of the players said, “What could be better than playing baseball all summer? My friends, they’re all working, but me, I am just playing ball.”   When I read those lines now, I think about how I was so lucky to be painting pictures all summer.  And it continues.

I am so glad I chose art as a profession.  I will never be as rich as Jeff Bezos, or even someone who works in the Post Office, but I have had an incredible life, painting.  I have an Associates Degree in Art, and a Bachelor’s in Art History (and an unfulfilled MBA – that was a terrible experience) – I’ve been an art librarian, and art teacher and an artist.  I got to enjoy my entire “working” life, and I still do.  The person that contacted me on Instagram coaches a college level baseball team/workshop in New York.  He is still at baseball, like us, still at art.

Persimmon Still Life      Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper 20 x 28"   50 x 70cm  350.00

We went out to lunch this week with a former architecture classmate of Blair’s.  They talked about their favorite projects, who else in the class did great stuff.  It’s apparent that number of architectural “finanancial” successes from their school is limited. But it is similarly clear an overwhelming number love architecture and are really happy.   Blair and I, too, see the romance in things other people don’t.   It really isn’t about filling up the gas tank on your yacht; it’s about sitting by the river.

Fish Ornaments on a Rod   Laurie Fox Pessemier

I found a big bunch of old fishing poles at the “rigattiere” (second hand dealer) on Friday.  There’s a good half dozen, some bamboo, others plastic or fiberglass – they are so beautiful!  I think of how many summer days they spent by the Tiber river and the stories they heard.   Did you hear about the one that got away?

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INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Domino

 

Dominoes on a Red Field     Laurie Fox Pessemier    Acrylic/canvas   12 x 12 "  30 x 30cm  475.00

The elephant in the room is just too hard to ignore this week.  We are heartbroken at the outcome of the US presidential election.   I am clearly out of pace with how the majority of Americans think; it is better that I live abroad.   If you are thinking of moving to Europe (the last vestige of freedom we would be happy to share with you the pros and cons we’ve experienced.  We might even rent out a room or two to aspiring expats.

3 Elephants     Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/wood  20  x 6"  9"  50 X  15cm  290.00

I was lucky to have painted on Monday – dominoes.  I found a box in a junk store over the weekend, and got them for just 3 euros.

Playing Dominoes     Laurie Fox Pessemier    Acrylic/wood     13.5  x  4.5"  . 35 x 12cm   150.00

Dominoes were actually first played in Italy and France.  A French soldier brought them to England, where they really caught on and traveled the world.   Dominoes are sometimes called “bones”, after the material they were originally created from.   These dominoes are cheap black balsa wood with white spots.

Domino     Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas board  3.5 x 6"   9 x 15cm  75.00   (the three domino pictures together 590.00)

I love the word, domino, and the sound of the game.   Black and white, clickety-snap, matching, blocking, building a labyrinth of tiles.  First one to get rid of all of their tiles says “domino” and gets the remaining points (dots on other people’s tiles).

Tree Ornaments (we use them on our Maypole, too) by Blair Pessemier

We’re keeping up ornament production for our Christmas fair in Stimigliano.  Blair’s hopped on the bandwagon, too, and we’ve hung some on our Maypole up here in Rocca Malatina.   Maybe I’ll make some dangling dominoes.

The Cards We're Dealt     Laurie Fox Pessemier    Acrylic/canvas   12  x 12"  .30  x 30 cm  475.00

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INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Daydream

 

Carthiginian Vessel   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas panel     9.5 x 12"  24 x 30cm  375.00

A man sat at the bar at the Camera Café coffee shop on Thursday.  I didn’t recognize him, but we really don’t know everyone who lives in our greater community of Guiglia.  He had a coffee, and was gazing across the restaurant.  He was DAYDREAMING!   Youth in Glistening Apparel (Maypole)  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  39.5 x 25.5"  100 x 65cm  750.00 Now, that’s a word, a concept nobody considers anymore:  daydreaming.   Everyone else in the café was conspicuously on their cellphones, or else engaged in conversation, and even many of those chatterers were on the cellphone, simultaneously.  To be caught in a daydream seems like to be found out, that you’re not really a serious person, or without friends (you know, those 3,9k friends on facebook?), but for me daydreaming is such a joy.  I still do it sometimes, when I am out walking Berlino, or ironing, or hanging out clothes.   I find myself seeking tasks that allow my mind to wander.  Of course, daydreaming could be a sign of mental decline, although babies and children seem to be its biggest advocates, and their minds are growing. Happy Fish   Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x 12"  30 x 30cm    375.00 It has finally stopped raining in Italy, at least for the time being.  There is mud and puddles, and our Wifi transmitter, which hasn’t worked for more than a week, is sitting in a telephone box up to its ears in mud.   At least we know the problem, even if we’re number 52 on the list for the repair.   Anyway, I am thinking how much I’d like to get off of social media, and might limit the time I spend on it in 2025.  I like to be in touch with all of you, but deleting ads and creepy messages is clearly not worthwhile (someone wrote 5 paragraphs to tell me what a wretch I am).  It’s that time of year when I am considering resolutions, and new plans.  Well, I’s better get through Christmas first. The Steadfast Tin Soldier (and his ballerina) I love making Christmas ornaments – although they aren’t terribly holiday-ish.  I sit at the table and they take on a life of their own.   They seem to be increasing in size as well as quantity and I feel a large abstract figure coming on.  I dream about new projects every day. Sign up for Artnotes by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8PM; NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM