The World Laurie Pessemier Acrylic/oil pastel/paper 17.5 x 24 " 44 x 61cm 250.00
I am writing this on my 69th birthday, 28 December – that terrible date between Christmas and New Years when nobody wants to come to another party, eat another meal, celebrate anything (and SOME people are actually working). I feel like Charlie Brown – invite lots of people and nobody comes. When I was 8 or 9 years old, my mother gave me a “half” birthday party on 28 June, instead of 28 December: everyone came, I received real gifts (my regular birthday was an example of re-gifting before its time), and we played outdoors.
View from our Studio Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 13 x 16 " 33 x 41cm 490.00
Blair and I decided to celebrate with a trip to a museum show. We drove to Imola, a small city in the province of Bologna. I have only been there for art exhibits, and this one might have been the best. "Tranche de Vie" was the work of a team of ceramicists, Bertozzi & Casoni. This is a part of the world where ceramics matters, from terra cotta to porcelain. Faenza, nearby, well, is where Faenza comes from. Majolica is Italian (Sicilian), too; .the best Terra Cotta sculpture comes from Bologna. This work by Bertozzi and Casoni was clearly on the porcelain spectrum, with paper thin examples: eggshells, for instance – a giant pile with eggs inside. The work was funny: we saw a full sized Blessed Virgin Mary pushing a lawn mower through a bed of tulips (each leaf delicately described) with the Baby Jesus crawling behind. And I found it interesting that the work was the collaborative effort of two people.
If my non-birthday wasn’t humbling enough, we finally drove to the Questura to pick up our visa, which we were told would be ready on the 20 December. We’ve been constantly checking in, to no avail, so took matters into our own hands, with a personal visit. Upon arrival at 11 AM there was a small line, outside the grounds. It turned out that the place was closed from 18 December until 8 January. We were obviously not the only dupes, but it was really discouraging. We’ll find something fun to do in Northern Italy until our papers are ready.
Chinese Food on Christmas Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/oil pastel/paper 9 x 12" 25 x 30cm 150.00
We are planning a winter foray to paint at Pompeii, if we can get authorization to do that for a month. Drawings, paintings, writings are our goal, that we might make a show and a book. If that doesn’t work out, we are thinking about Spoleto or San Sepulcro, although both are considerable cooler climes.
I originally begin this email as a New Year’s inspiration, but it took on a life of its own. Maybe one of my New Years bywords should be: HUMBLE. Pride cometh before the fall.
