For the month of April, I will be living in Orvieto, Italy, working with a local artist. I have a relative who lives in Orvieto with her husband and his children. She is an established artist, who I will work with to refine my own techniques and produce architecture studies and a small series of paintings, as well as assist her with her work while she is restoring the original decorative elements like wall murals in my cousin’s apartment. I hope to advance my artistic capabilities by taking myself outside of my normal environment, and putting myself in an ancient Italian city that will surround me with creative inspiration and culture and will enable access to an established artist who can mentor and challenge me to refine my technique.
Some steps I have already taken to put my project into action are that my parents and I have finalized the budget they will give me. I have connected with the local artist – Viera – to schedule meetings and what materials she has for me there already. We have an apartment for the month of April that is a five-minute walk from my cousin (that she has already checked out to make sure it is safe). Finally, I have been taking online Italian lessons to learn some of the basics of the language.
The three bucks I will fill through this project are experience, creativity, and service. Experience wise – I will be in a different country surrounded by beautiful art and architecture, and be able to work with an artist who can help me improve my paintings, as well as give me the opportunity to work with her on some of her art. In addition, being in Italy gives me opportunities to connect with the culture and people, neither of which I have really interacted with before. Creativity wise – I will be refining my art with Viera and producing physical architecture studies and both acrylic and watercolor pieces I can bring home to present at the end of senior project. In addition, I will have the opportunity to work on refurbishing my cousin’s apartment. At the end of the trip, I want to have produced at least one medium acrylic painting, a series of watercolors, and a series of architecture studies. Because that is a product-based project, both my ability to get the paintings done in a more timely manner and whether or not my actual skill increased over the trip is how I plan to measure my success. Service wise – I am going to reach out to Ellen and also see once I arrive if there are service opportunities that i can participate in while in orvieto. Whether or not that is possible in the two remaining weeks of senior project once I am home I am going to volunteer with the Hoboken Homeless Shelter and the Jersey City Animal Shelter.
Finally, I’m a creature of habit – I am most comfortable when I’m surrounded by where, what and who I know – it makes me feel safe. This experience will put me in a city I have never been in before, where I don’t know the language, and where the vast majority of my interactions will be with people I don’t know. By pushing myself to be “uncomfortable”, and enlisting the guidance of a local artist, I believe I can open myself up to a higher level of creative potential.