Artnotes: Make it Myself

 

Misty Fall Morning  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 12x 20"  30 x 50cm  490.00 This was a week of holidays in Italy.  The final one, 4 November, is the  rather obscure National Unity and Armed Forces Day… an Italian holiday since 1919 which commemorates the victory in World War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy.  Italy’s unification was complete with the armistice of Villa Giusti, which awarded the south Tyrole (where German is still spoken) and Trieste, among other northeastern locales, to Italy.  (Wikipedia) Italy, the country, is still a conglomeration of city-states and regions – it allows for every area to have its own interesting bits.   We enjoy this immensely as we visit beautiful and sometimes odd ball attractions. Adrift  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas   20 x 16"  50 x 40cm   490.00 When our friends from the DC area were here, we visited the Palazzo Te in Mantua. It fills both categories of beautiful and odd.  It was built by the Gonzaga family during the Renaissance.  It is classic, symmetrical architecture, never my favorite but easy on the eyes from both the gardens and within.  The interiors are adorned with wonderful frescoes, not the least of which is the room of the Giants.  The Giants are carousing on the walls, giving the impression they could tumble on top of you: arresting. The giant images of the Giants cover the walls and the ceiling in a continuous effect, punctuated by images of architecture and clouds.   While we were there the Palazzo was having a show of drawings and examples of tableware from the period.   The drawings were worthy of their own frames; the actual pieces were massive and astounding.  My favorite was a pair of tongs in the form of a very large duck/duck bill.  I wished they were available in the gift shop.  I guess I’ll just have to make it myself. Stack of Tea Cups  Laurie Pessemier  Acrylic/crayon/paper  17 x 25"   41 x 63cm 250.00 We’ve turned on the heat here at Il Casone – the plumber came by to show us how to turn it on by flipping the switch he told us never to touch.  Last night the temperature dropped to 43 degrees.  Berlino is waiting for more sun before he goes out.  Balugani View     Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas 16 x 20"  40 x 50cm  490.00 We have another friend here this weekend – we’ve been walking and admiring the beautiful colors.   We made the decision this week to restart our Sunday salon, beginning next week.   We hope you will join us.