Italian Rhythms in the Rocky Mountains
The Rockies are home to me.
Everyone keeps asking me what was my most favourite moment of my trip to Europe. I honestly cannot pick one and simply reply “I had a favorite moment from each day”. I was fortunate to see many of my bucket list items on this trip; a second time to the Sistine Chapel (seriously what artist has the good fortune to see this twice in a lifetime?), Michelangelo’s statue of David, DaVinci’s Last Supper, my first VanGogh original paintings and Monet’s Garden. Isn’t that an impressive list? At the end of the trip, Heather asked me if I saw everything I wanted to and while there is always more to see, I was able to emphatically answer “Yes! And so much more!”. How blessed am I? Right now I want to write about the less obvious highlights; the moments that will stay with me forever, the moments that do not show up in the Facebook feed because the photo only means something to me. Like this one:
Yes, those are my heart covered satin pajamas, my cat socks and my orange linen pants blowing gently in the Tuscan wind with the olive trees and vineyards in the background. Is this not a stunning moment in my life? I was there. I was briefly there and now I sit in my studio at my laptop with the autumn sun streaming across my desk while I type this. The yellow leaves on the lilacs are almost all blown to the ground while the cadmium yellow larch needles still proudly cling to their branches. I know in Tuscany the olives have been picked but what color do the olive leaves turn in fall? I am trying to converge the two worlds in my mind. The trip has impacted me deeply and I feel that I am a different person after the sixteen day excursion but now I try to adapt to work and life here with the Italian rhythms still coursing through my blood.
I am thinking about all the people I met but didn’t really meet. Italians have this unusual way of connecting with people. I will not forget the bus driver who assisted me on and off the bus. Yes, he was a good looking Italian man, but for that split second as he settled back into the driver’s seat and pulled away from the curb, he gave me a wink and a wave. While I’ve been winked at before in my life, this was a real moment shared between two people. And then he was gone.
The same thing happened when I came out of the Raphael Room in the Vatican Museum. I saw what I came to see and I had a sudden panic to get away from the crowds. As we began darting amongst the crushing weight of humanity to get to the exit, I saw a young security guard sitting on a chair with a desolate look on his face. I cannot imagine having a job sitting watching 30 000 people come and go from that place every single day. I made eye contact with him, I gave him 2 thumbs up and beamed a big smile after my art encounter with Rapheal and Michelangelo. He smiled back and returned with a thumbs up. I hope that moment reminded him why he is doing such important work, so that people like me can be inspired.
And Claudia was an unexpected highlight with her beautiful smile welcoming us all to her beautiful home! That day on our way home from Voltarra, Vic pulled off the road and drove down a long winding driveway. The sign announcing “wine for sale” had caught his eye. He stepped out of the car to purchase some wine, while we sat watching children playing with their dogs in the garden. Vic excitedly came back to the car empty handed and announced that we were going for a wine tasting and “is that ok?”. We were all out of the car so fast! The ancient farmhouse was in the family for generations and had a stunning view of the Tuscan hills looking towards Voltarra. When we reached the garden, the children had disappeared, the dogs were in their fenced yard and we met Claudia. It didn’t take much to communicate with her even though she did not speak English and we had broken Italian. Vic did most of the translating but somehow the words were not important. The wine was so smooth and delicious. We only bought three bottles and soon regretted we didn’t buy a case! She gave us a tour of where the wine was made. We saw their pet turtles and a cage full of budgie birds. As we were leaving, Claudia’s husband Teddy arrived and greeted us like we had known each other for years. We drove away very happy and have more memories that we will never forget.
Some of my favorite moments were sitting back with that famous Tuscan Sun shining on my face in the late afternoon with the long shadows cast narrowly behind me and my entire future spread out in front of me. The coming days would be filled with iconic sunsets, thunder and lightening, eating and drinking and so much more art. There were many sweet dogs to pet. There were so many unexpected beautiful moments that when people ask me what was my favorite moment from the trip these are highlighted in my mind’s eye.
I wrote this note last week and did not get a chance to send it out. I was feeling truly lost as I have been longing for that Italian connection since returning home to Canada. It is now Monday afternoon and I am sitting here typing with my cat Tina sprawled across my desk with her head resting on a pile of books. It is snowing. The lilac leaves have fallen but the mountain ash tree across the street is still vibrant red with snow gently outlining each branch. I spent this past weekend in Calgary visiting the JEH Macdonald exhibit. Yes, more art was calling to me and it did not disappoint. On the drive there, I saw many mountains that I have put onto canvases and the memories flooded my mind from all the previous trips I’ve made over the Radium pass in the past 30 years. My paintings are an outline of my history. Ah, I am beginning to once again feel grounded. At the art gallery, I met my Mastrius students that I teach online and my artist friend Lynette. None of us had ever met in person and that human connection is powerful and full of emotions, especially when art is the link. I will write more on that in my next letter. Just know that I am now incorporating the Italian part of me with the Canadian part of me and it feels good. Grateful for the memories…and excited to make more.
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Keep in touch and thanks for being here.
Caprice
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