Nasty weather

Am I the only one who wants to go hide from the crap weather. I can't afford California or Italia, so the living room will have to do. For now.

It's official. I've been published!

I received my free copy of 500 Plastic Jewelry Designs. My Jill Plays Jack brooch is featured as a large image. Yay!

Here Blog. Come here Blog. Good Blog!

Well, Rock the District was a wash this weekend. Even when the sun showed up, people were not willing to buy. They love my jewelry, but are too chicken to buy and wear. Oy.

I have an event in Brownsburg next weekend: Festival of the Arts. I hope the weather is beautiful and people come to shop!

Time to load Etsy up with jewels.

Cha-Ching!

It's been a year since we left for Italy. We miss it!

Some really great news...my library gig is now art teacher slash librarian! I am so excited my brain won't stop churning up ideas. I dug out all my art from the old days: ceramic pieces, drawings, paintings...I kept almost everything!

Caroline Mecklin retired and I was offered the position in addition to library. She collected tons of materials for the kids to use on projects. I am inheriting a maxed out art room and kiln! The students loved when I brought in my rubber stuff for a art and science demonstration. I'm stoked to share all the other art techniques with the students. We are going to study color theory and use it for op art, sand painting, printmaking, bookmaking, mobiles, still life, and all sorts of ceramics. I'd love to do some metalworking with them, but this will take some planning and prep. I am thinking about terracotta warriors, greek vessel painting, Cristo transformations, flip books, Seussish paintings, fibonacci op art, linoleum prints, .....

Ketchup

Well...between traveling and seeing and limited computer usage...I'm behind. 3 weeks or so. Lots to come...stay tuned.

Always on the Book Hunt

Museum shops and librieria stores had great selections...thanks to amazon and imcpl, I can aquire them cheap to free. I plan to share some of these with the HCC kids.

Being Lazy means Great Food

I love to cook - I'm not an expert, but if I know what's in the pantry and frig, I'll improvise. Our first evening in Florence, we chose to indulge at an osteria down the street. I found it mentioned in all 3 of our guide books. Real Naples pizza with muzzerella. The host/owner reminds me of an Italian pirate, just give him a parrot and an eye patch (see him in the background?) We picked bruschetta, pizza, and fusilli with ricotta and pomodoro sauce. Oh my! The whole meal was better than we encountered in Rome (which was fabulous!). The fusilli pasta was long strands of corkscrews and creamy with the ricotta. The wood fired pizza had puffed crust with thin center, covered in sausage and muzzerella. We went back our second week. Our pizza choice was Diavola - prosciutto, olives, and peperoni (peppers). Heaven. Though some BBQ chicken pizza sounds good, too. Like most stores and restaurants in Italy, it closes for August, so we'll try to visit several more times before then.

Nerbone in Central Market serves delicious cheap food up to workers, shoppers, and exhausted tourist. We wandered around the central market and decided their pasta looked scrumptious. Mom had rigatoni with boar meat sauce and I went for the parsley pesto farfalle. Both were superb.

Ahhhh! A Green Oasis

Florence is a city of brown, tan, and cream colored buildings, so when you spot plant life spot and smell the roses. The best gardens are fenced and sometimes charge a few euros. The Orto Botanic or the Giardino della Semplici originated as a formal garden for the Medici comprised of herbs for remedies. Currently, it's "not" being maintained by the University of Florence botantists. Hopefully, our 8 euros go towards the maintenance of the grounds.

This garden is the best portion of the Archeology Museum and guess what? It's off limits.

Haven't popped to the Boboli Garden, yet. It is the largest garden in Florence.

Ciao!

Architectural Details

Drab buildings made fabulous!

Mm Mm Good!

Chef Wehlacz Presents!

Grilled eggplant and veggies with hot pepper, parmigiana-reggiana, olives



Chilled farfalle in pesto with tomatoes, picante salami, olives, and parmigiana-reggiana
(this dish traveled with us to the Chianti region)

Orrechietta in a Pomodoro Sauce
with Zucchine and Peperoni (peppers) topped with fresh Mozzarella



Pasta with Peppers, Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Olives in Tomato Sauce with Parmigiana-Reggiana




Caprese Salad: Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, Mozzarella, and Olives with Prosciutto and Melon




Spaghetti with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic, Olive Oil, Hot Pepper Flakes, and Parmagiana-Reggiana

Ciao Bow Wow

Dogs in Italy are everywhere and they have funny dogalities. Most seem to be a bit mangy, dirty, and hot. Here are some of our favs so far:

This cutie was at the Roma train station on its way to Firenze, too. He was excited, couldn't sit still, and as you can see he didn't sit period. He was ready to go! He acted like he was going to sit, but laid on his belly. All sprawled out. See his little feets!

This furry guy was chilling in the Piazza Ciompi markets.

Arrividerci Roma

Our third and final full day in Roma, we fit in sites we still hadn't seen Circus Maximus, Boca della Verita, Tiber River, Piazza Navona with the 4 Rivers Fountain, Pantheon, Capuchin Crypt (monks bones used for decor), Piazza Popolo, Pincio Gardens (brilliant view of the city).

A City onto its Own

The Vatican Museums, Etruscan Gold Wreaths, Bramante's Spiral, Swiss Guards, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain made 2 pooped ladies. We had some great pasta and pizza at a sidestreet trattoria. Mom saw Colin Firth (who lives in Italy). We convinced a father and daughter to try the food at our trattoria. We snail walked to the Metro and back to the hotel to plan our last day.

Ancient Roma

Our first morning, we had our free breakfast at Fondi bar...one croissant and one espresso or one hot chocolata. We bought a metro ticket apiece and headed to the Colosseum. I knew this had to be our first stop, because it is so dramatic to step out of the metro and tada the Colosseum!

We purchased the Roma Pass. The BEST deal ever for exploring Roma. At only 20 euros apiece, it gave us entry into almost every museum/site (Colosseum, Forum, Palatine, Capitoline M.,...) AND it came with the 11 euro/3 day metro ticket.

After the Colosseum, we walked to the Forum and used our Roma Pass to look at what remains from the temples, churches, and shops. During a rest, we met some lovely New Zealanders who wanted to know about the Pantheon (they were thinking of the Greek Parthenon).

We climbed to Piazza del Campidoglio (designed by Michelangelo) and visited the Capitoline Museums (famous for the HUGE fragments of Constantine and Roman Copy of Dying Gaul, and She-Wolf with Romulus and Remus)

We wrapped up the day with a walk past the white cake like monument to Victor Emmanuel and Trajan's Column.

An Evening in Roma

Heat. I remember my first trip to Italy and how hot it was and how we were drenched in sweat. And I remember the weekend in Rome was hotter than everywhere else I traveled. Hotter than Hell would describe it perfecto! The money might have changed but the weather hasn't.

One of my mother's best qualities is she can befriend almost anyone, anywhere immediately. When I was younger, it embarrassed me and now I wish I could be that bold. The young Italian woman on the express train to Rome from the airport said that it was usually breezy in Rome, and it confused her why there wasn't one today.

In the train station, I followed the crowd to the uscita (exit), alas it was the wrong one and so we had to wind around to get to our hotel. Mom complained about the filth, but I reminded her this was typical in Italy. They run ads on the metro to remind people to throw trash away, but between the millions of tourists and complacent natives...Hotel Milazzo was cheap for Rome 280 euros for 4 nights (in $ that's ~420). OUCH!

Our first night out, we strolled around looking for a reasonable priced eatery...A girl persuaded us to check out her restaurant. It was very modern decorated with pink lighting and black furniture and had good food! We ordered Pizza con Funghi and Insalate Mista. The salad had tons of fresh tomatoes and corn on bitter greens.

On the walk back through the train station, a crazy scary gypsy lady made eyes for mom's purse, so we bolted around her. The noise and din from the streets and station and no air conditioning made sleeping interesting.

Somebody's going Someplace

Wow! Packing was crazy, because I was trying finish jewelry for a museum shop and get my supplies to take to Italy ready. Weighing suitcases on a bathroom scale was quite a scene. Amy is staying home to tend to the animals and garden and find a job, so she hung out at the airport til close to boarding time. She and I are both stoked for mom to see the world - one country at a one. The trip to Newark was a cinch, but the flight to Rome was delayed almost 2 hours! So our dinner was more of breakfast...nothing like chicken and salad and 1am....mmmmmm.

Girls Play Games

I'm thrilled about my new pieces for the Girls Play Games Exhibit at Facere. I transformed a jump rope into a belt, jacks into a brooch, and cup and ball toy into a ring. They all feature my rubber process/materials and sterling silver.

Shoes Made for Walking

I got my new shoes in the mail! Yeah! I spent mucho time researching which shoes to buy. I wanted a pair that I couldn't wait to put on every morning to go exploring, hiking, walking in Firenze. I planned to buy athletic shoes, but i tried on some sandals by Keen and was amazed by the way the made me feel. Ubercomfy!

Room with a View

After a small snafu with our first Firenze apartment, we visited Vacation Rentals By Owner and found this beautiful room with a view.

It is few minutes walk from Santa Croce Cathedral and is situated in a very Florentine aristocratic part of town; that is to say, where "real Florentines" (a rarity in fact! ) still live...

Farewell

Judy VanValer passed away this year after battling cancer. Judy was compassionate, generous, and understanding. She wasn't my first or my last art instructor, but definitely my favorite. She appreciated my quirks and understood how to challenge my talent.

You will be missed and remembered fondly.

Love,
Jennifer

Penny Pinching

Okay, I admit it. I'm HORRIBLE at saving money. Sometimes, I think my bank account has worn a hole like the pocket in my much loved pants. With the Italy trip around the corner, I spend my time trying not to eat out extra and buy things not needed. Even a field trip to the Indy Zoo is 6 bucks I can't afford. The stupid dollar is getting worse everywhere.

6 days of school left! I have tons to do still for my exhibition and prepare the library for Greats Spirits Camp. I have to do library notices and awards - along with spending the remaining library money. Wahoo, more books! Ugh, more work! At least, I'm shopping with someone else's money.

A Riot

I LOVE to laugh. My latest laughfest centered on the new brit comedy (the best kind) Death at a Funeral featuring Matthew Macfadyn (Pride and Prejudice) and Peter Dinklage. The funeral for a beloved husband and father explodes into a circus, when a mysterious stranger shines a new light on the deceased.

I also recommend these brit comedies along the same lines:

Undertaking Betty - fall in love with your childhood sweetheart (even if he's the undertaker)
Keeping Mum - family + ? = death
Greenfingers - prisoner turned gardener

Going to Italy!

Wahoo! I'm going to Italy...again! I am tagging along with my mother, Cheri Anderson. She applied and received a Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship to study bookmaking at Santa Reparata in Florence. We're looking for an affordable apartment since our stay is five weeks. While she's in her class, I'll do my downsized art thing, read, people watch. I am taking my alabaster I originally bought in San Gimignano and exotic woods to carve.

Giving In

I'm giving in to the pressure of blogging. I've lots to share...I love sharing to the point of overkill. Its been two years since my grad thesis show. Wish I had access to the equipment and mentors, course my hamsters give great advice.

I'm on ETSY selling my jewelry as thegirlwithacurl. ETSY is addictive. I have 105 hearts and 1 sale + 1 local sale and been on the front page once! Wahoo! Check it out. If you're in Indianapolis, we can meet up, which saves you cash on postage.

I passed up applying for the few teaching jobs. I need more work to show them. I am working on three pieces for Gail M. Brown's Girls Play Games invitational exhibition at Facere Jewelry Gallery. She invited 8 jewelry artists to explore the title theme.

So for now, I'm still at Holy Cross Central Elementary spreading my love of books with the kids. I do love this job! Every day there is child who says something great about reading: loving it when they didn't before, wanting to stay after school just to read, buying they're own copies of books I'd lent to them (then buying others that just plain sounded good!), or they start asking questions about the ideas in books (when they use to just shrug and grimace), or repetitively ask to come to the library...a 4th grader student just popped in to tell he'd finish his book...it was a 400 pager and I'd only checked it out a day ago...wow! it's amazing! Plus I get to catch up on my reading during middle school classes. I learned quickly kids only read when you read.


I remember my reading habits when I was their age - I read pee wee scouts, dark is rising series, - and how it dwindled in high school. I was fortunate to be in the middle and high school alpha class (back when they had them), because we read the good stuff like Tale of 2 Cities (the only dickens I really like). I didn't pick up reading for fun until the summer after I graduated from IU. I took the summer off and picked up harry potter for the first time...and fell in love with reading all over again. Of course, I inherited this passion. Thanks mom and dad! My sister was a different story. We couldn't keep her out of a book and still can't. She read the Bronte sisters in middle school. I was jealous, but I had art projects to keep me busy.