A Tuscan Residency

A Tuscan Residency. April 2009

I had planned the residency at La Meridiana (http://www.lameridiana.fi.) since the Portland, Oregon (200?) NCECA conference where I had met Claudia Bruhin (the administrator). On our initial drive through Italy in February we had stopped at La Meridiana for a few days to confirm residency dates and identify housing. Initially, the residency was to be six weeks in length and include a project with Pietro Maddalena (the resident artist) where he works with a group of High School kids and I would work with elementary children doing my whistle project. Prior to our departure, I received and email from Claudia that the building the project takes place had been designated for restoration so Pietro was cancelling till next year. Still the residency portion was still available.

Having had an Italian residency experience in Deruta, I came to La Meridiana (located near Certaldo) with expectations but also comparisons from Deruta. Like the differences between the provinces of Umbria and Tuscany, so are the differences between Scuola d’Arte Ceramica “Romano Ranieri” (http://www.schoolofceramics.org/) in Deruta and La Meridiana (http://www.lameridiana.it) in Tuscany.

After a rainy (fairly cold) weekend, I arrived in studio where Pietro provided a space in the corner of the community studio, a block of stoneware and a block of raku clay and a nod of approval for a creative endeavor. He was off to his private studio located on the other side of the farmhouse or to attend to the various chores of maintaining the property.

I have continued to explore the landfillart.com project in various clay bodies, made several simple pots with those same varieties and a couple of “rasta whistles” just for good measure. I usually arrive early in studio after a brisk mile walk along the country road overlooking the fog filled valleys of the rolling Tuscan hills. Pietro is usually the first to greet me in the studio and the other days I asked if he had a set of letter punches because I traditionally stamp my name of initial on the bottom of my pots. Pietro asked how I choose initial or name and I replied it was probably just of matter of whim. Because there were no letter stamps, I had the option to scribe my name with my favorite tool, the wooden vegetable skewer, and hence have been scribing same poems or thought of the day (often in Italian) on the bottom of the bowls.

During the second week of my reisidency at La Meridiana, a porcleian paperclay workshop began begin taught by Luca (last name). There were seven participants from various locations in the world with all speaking English in which the instructions were given. I was able to observe the process from my “residency corner” and also use the paperclay to make one mold for my landfillart.com project. It was enjoyable have a group of artist-students milling around the studio and re-captured the spirit of the Deruta studio.