Lessons from Venice: Day 4

It's the second day of our mosaic class and our best laid plans have been thrown out the window.  I have come to grips with the fact that in order to finish my mosaic piece two things must happen...1) I'm going to be spending a heck of a lot of hours in the studio after class ends for the day, which means much less sightseeing will take place than anticipated, and 2) I am going to have to compromise with myself and make a smaller piece than I had hoped.  Surprisingly, I am fine with both of these things because I want to take home a finished piece AND because I am really enjoying the mosaic class (more than I actually imagined).


My teacher still reminds me often that I need to work faster, but I decided that since I'm still a learner it's best to take my time and make something I will be proud of and enjoy.  Astrid, my new friend who sits at the work station behind me, is also working slowly and steadily on her eagle design.  Somehow Mirta and Antonella learn that she is from Bern, Switzerland and that people from Bern have a reputation for being slow at everything (talking, thinking, driving...you get the picture).  Near the end of the day, Antonella jokes to Mirta that since I work so slowly I must also be from Bern.  I laugh, but know that she is probably not really joking.  Sometimes I feel like humor gets lost in translation, and I really love to laugh--even if it is at myself.  


Today during our lunch break we joined Astrid and Lucia at the kosher restaurant down the canal from where we are staying.  The conversation was interesting and happened in strange bits--English, English, German, German, German, English.  It was sometimes a bit difficult to follow, but strangely entertaining.  This gave us an opportunity to learn more about these two ladies, including their artistic experiences.  I begin to understand further that mom and I truly are beginners in an intermediate/advanced level class, but our classmates do not begrudge our presence, rather they make helpful suggestions, give tips, and answer questions.  


From today on I felt that we are quite a cohesive little group and I really enjoy the time spent with these interesting women.  My progress is still slow, but I reached a point where I can begin adding leaves to my first trees.  Antonella showed me a new way to cut and place tiles that is much less structured than the tree trunks and background tiles.  I ask her if it is supposed to be random...she answers, "I'll show you random."  I loved it!  Finally, freedom again!  My progress started to pick up a bit and I am becoming a little more comfortable using the hammer and hardie. Oh, I also get to start incorporating GOLD tiles into my piece.  There's something exciting about cutting a pile of gold tiles!  Mom has also finished forming the flowers in her cross and gets to start using gold tiles too.  I comment on how many gold tiles they decide to integrate into the piece...Antonella answers, "I like gold" with a huge smile on her face.

My mosaic with the first batch of leaves added.  Still lots of work to be done!

My attempt at keeping straight the multitude of colors needed for my mosaic.

As the end of our class time approaches, mom and I decided to take a trip down the canal to search for a mask shop I read about in our Rick Steves' travel guide.  Riding a vaporetto down the Grand Canal is really something special because the city starts to reveal itself to you.  I snapped a ton of pictures as we rode, became a little disoriented (I'll reference this as another case of being directionally challenged), and got us off at the wrong stop.  Oops!  Well, this mistake gave us a chance to walk by the Rialto bridge and see where the Rialto Market is located.  

At the start of our ride down the Grand Canal.

There's something mesmerizing about the way the light reflects off of the buildings and the canals.  The city seems to glow in the late afternoon.

A row of gondolas.

The only form of transportation in this city--boat!  Notice the good looking Italian man driving:).

There are a finite number of bridges crossing the Grand Canal so the traghetto provides another option.

At the site of the Rialto Market (not very exciting in the evening).

The Rialto Bridge, one of the oldest and most well known in Venice.

 A much better view at night!

I'm sure this next bit is going to shock you, but we never did find the mask shop.  Even after getting back on the vaporetto, finding and disembarking at the correct stop, and attempting to use a street map to figure out where we were going.  Again I learned the "ask for help" lesson, but I opted for pride and frustration until a very sweet older gentleman pointed us in a semi understandable direction.  At the time, I felt like our excursion was a waste of precious time, but thinking about it now reminds of something very important...I am so blessed to have a really good mom (and a good dad) who support me in all of my crazy adventures!


I decided to pull out my iPod during the latter part of the day to help me focus on the task at hand and try to block out the symphony of noises going on around me (glass being cut, chatter in Italian and German, glass breaking, the singing furnace men) so I can potentially work faster.  Before leaving Seoul for Italy I heard one of my fellow teachers perform at a cafe fundraiser--she has an incredible voice.  One of the songs she chose is by a Canadian artist named Jann Arden and is called "Good Mother".  I've always been one of those people who is affected by music and certain songs seem to speak to me...this was one of them and it was on constant play as I worked on my mosaic piece.  Don't you think it is fitting for a memorable adventure spent with my mom?  Here it is:

It amazed me how quickly the evening hours in the studio flew by!  We arrived back at Orsoni around 8pm and before we knew it the clock was turning 1am.  Later I'll tell you why these were some of the most fun and memorable times of the trip!  Here's a picture of what I accomplished by the end of the night.

Hope is building that I might actually finish my piece by the end of Friday!