Walk in the Woods Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 24"
Figure in Niche Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 14 x 9.5"
Renaissance Garden Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 28 x 22"
Tivoli Gardens
There comes a time I just have to get out of the house and
see something INSPIRING. Today, Saturday, we drove an hour from our house in
Stimigliano to the Tivoli Gardens at the Villa d’Este. It was a beautiful day with full sun, and up
at Tivoli it was a brisk 60 degrees.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Tivoli gardens, they
were built during the second half of the 16th century . The Villa is very lovely, but it is the
grounds which are outstanding. They are
the perfect example of the Renaissance Garden, and “the fame and glory of the
Villa d'Este was above all established by its extraordinary system of
fountains; fifty-one fountains and nymphaeums, 398 spouts, 364 water jets, 64
waterfalls, and 220 basins, fed by 875 meters of canals, channels and cascades,
and all working entirely by the force of gravity, without pumps.” (Wikipedia)
You really can’t believe how incredible it all is.
I had been there 15 years ago, in May. Blair was with me and he had also been there
in 1973. We were both amazed how
differently we felt this time, even though the place was just the same. We’re
evolving. It evokes thoughts of our necks
getting longer and our fingers getting long and pointy for texting.
We went to a wedding Saturday night, online. The wedding party, in New York, was a
Hungarian/Nutmegger combination (Connecticut, for those not from there) with
friends literally all over the globe. We
all participated, the 20 physical people at the ceremony and us 20 or so
connected. It was just wonderful, as
weddings are: people spoke of the bride
and groom, bringing new qualities to light and reinforcing just how wonderful
your friends really are. It made me want
to travel through the airwaves and hug them in person. I am sure that is coming.
Our neighbor, who managed our lights in the studio, moved
and the new people cut off our electricity.
It seemed an unfortunate development because today I was forced to paint
just outside the door. In fact, a most
remarkable man came by and chatted me up – this fellow was 99 years old and had
worked for Doctors without Borders. His
territory was Indian reservations in Alabama and Louisiana, USA. I caught my breath as he said that; we agreed
it was a dire situation. Eventually another
neighbor came by to make sure I was ok. “He’s
99,” I told Carlo. He raised his eyebrows.
