This week marked the official start of classes for us ACM students. We have been taking intensive Italian since we got here, but that has now tapered off to a normal style class and we have picked up three more classes in addition to Italian. I am currently enrolled in a class with Professor Josepine Mariotti (Jodie) called Patrons and Artists in Renaissance Florence, a class with the visiting professor, Steven Sacks from Cornell College called Esotericism and Art: Imagination and Landscape in the Florentine Renaissance, and finally the ever popular drawing class at Cecil Studios.
Luigi is still my professor for Italian and he keeps it light and fun and interesting. Lately he's been hung up on pumpkin pie because he likes it a lot, but they don't have that here in Italy apparently. He asks Megan daily "What is that think I like? That thing with the zucca?"
Class with Jodie is super cool. We are knee deep in learning about the Medici (and it was in her class that I had to wear the skirt of shame on Tuesday because my shorts were too short) Her class almost never meets in the class room, we are almost always on cite looking at wall fresco's or buildings. On Thursday we got to go to San Marco's, and see a lot of fresco work by Fra Angelico (works that I recognize! Another shout out to Ms. Belich and high school AP Art History!)
Esotericism is a tough class I'm not going to lie. Its a hard subject to study because it is very ambiguous and as much as Professor Sack's says its not a philosophy class it totally is. Mixed heavily with religion. The readings are very dense and dry (and Professor Sacks full on admits to this) but they are interesting and they have really good points if you take the time to break them down. Professor Sacks is also a ball of energy. He's super quiet when the group goes on tours but when you get in him in the class room or if he has something to talk about, away he goes. He's the kind of Professor who just likes to challenge you, or tell you know, or attempt to force you into a whole in the corner just so he can make you think and teach you to from an argument. (This is where I take a moment to shout out to Mr. Mateske, Mr. Young, Mr. Schenck, Joci, Tim Moore, John Kaminski, Mr. Aloha, and every other people who ripped me to shreds in APPSE and taught me to think and argue accurately and fact based on my feet.) He's also my professor who looks like our family friend John Ash and he says funny things like "Okay friends. Lets go break into some synagogues). Needless to say this class keeps me on my toes :)
Which brings us to drawing classes at Cecil Studios. http://www.charlescecilstudios.com/
This is where I am learning to draw. I came to Italy in hopes of learning from Italians who could judge my work in Italian so I wouldn't know what they were saying. Turns out my teachers, Tom and George, are British, so I know full well what they are saying. And let me say they are so nice, they make me want to cry sometimes. They are incredibly patient and positive (and super duper young! Tom just finished up a commission for a portrait of a British Court Justice. He's maybe 30.) The studio its self is really pretty and historic and super cool to learn at. I have to keep a sketch book and we are working on life size figure drawing with pencils and later we'll be working with charcoal off casts.
And in other news, I signed up to take a cooking course too! One of the host mom's of two other students (Jori and Marit) runs cooking classes for American students and she is opening classes up to ACM students which is super cool. We'll have 4 classes over the course of Saturdays in November where we will learn about Italian cuisine and diet, and how to make a full Italian meal (ALL the courses). And I'll get a cook book in the end :)
And that is about it- that is about all we have been up too. Its been a busy week to say the least with classes actually starting. It blows my mind that already I've been here in Italy for over a month, a week ago I was in Venice, and in less than two weeks I'm going to get to see my parents who are coming over for my fall break and my friend Sam who is currently studying abroad in Jordan. Time is absolutely flying and as much as I wish it would slow down a bit for me to catch my breath, I keep looking forward to the next great adventure (which is generally what I'm going to eat for dinner.)
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