Blossoming Seoul: Lessons from Venice: Day 7

Today was our last full day in Venice and I was glad to have something to focus on that would keep my mind off of the impending good-byes. I had an area about the size of an index card to finish on my mosaic piece and I was tired. Entering the studio on that last morning with the sun streaming in the windows was a little surreal--I could hardly believe our week was just about finished. I worked slowly and carefully, trying to savor the last hours in the mosaic studio.

Our final morning in the studio.

Astrid and Monika discuss options for creating a gleaming gold sun behind Astrid's eagle.

My progress as of lunchtime.

I also made sure to stop for a few minutes to capture some video that shows what we spent our week doing. I wish I could rotate the picture so you see them right-side-up, but you'll still be able to see what's happening. This is mom placing tiles on her second piece. The best part of the video is the background noise...and mom talking to herself (yep, we all talked to our mosaic pieces as we worked--Lucia chatted with her piece in German!).

The video below is our maestra cutting tiles and helping Astrid start the the background to her piece using six different colors of blue tiles to create a color gradient. It amazed me how fast she places the tiles and how easily she works with the hammer and hardie to cut pieces of tile to just the right shape.

Midway through the morning the ladies who sit in the adjoining room cutting tiles came over to see what we had made. They looked, murmured, smiled, and nodded as they stopped by each workstation. I wondered how many different and unique pieces they saw pass through this place in a year's time. One of the younger girls approached with Antonella and they conversed over my piece in Italian. I looked up and said to her, "I'm the slow one," to confirm what I imagined Antonella had just told her. I was pretty surprised when Antonella replied, "No, it's perfect." In the final hours of the week I was finally receiving the affirmation and sense of connection I had been hoping for. I could have hugged that woman! I'm not sure why, but thinking back on this experience two weeks after the fact makes me want to cry. When I look at the piece that I invested so many hours in, and can certainly find faults with, I have to agree...for my first mosaic piece it is perfect. I wouldn't have traded a second of the experience of creating something beautiful in one of the most incredible places I have ever had the privilege of traveling for anything in the world. Today revealed one of the best lessons of the week...no matter where I visit in this world, I will now approach the people and my surroundings as a student ready to be taught and molded! I will accept the lessons offered up by a place and its people as they are, allow emotions to follow, and give myself permission to be changed by the experiences I have.

Mom and I decided to spend our final lunch break walking the neighborhood with no particular destination in mind. I looked for sun drenched windows and doorways to photograph, buildings to admire, and locals to watch--it was glorious. It's hard to believe, but in less than one week I really fell in love with that little neighborhood. Everytime I emerged from Sotoportorego de Vei Dei and saw the canal in front of me I felt a sense of wonder.

I wonder what is beyond this window.

That is a sight that never got old.

Savoring my last full day in Venice.

At about 4:30pm I put the final pieces in place, stood up, and did a little happy dance...it was finished! We put the piece up on the easel and stood back to take a look from far away. A quick critique picked out a few pieces that looked out of place, but they were an easy fix. At that point, Antonella started awarding our completion certificates in what felt like a graduation ceremony. Each of us took a turn getting our picture taken with our certificate and our fantastic maestra. It was a proud, but also a sad moment. I think mom and I both teared up when we realized that this was indeed the end of our week and we were about to start saying good-bye to the fabulous people we had spent so many wonderful, creative hours with. Here are the finished pieces from our Master of Mosaic course:

Me, Antonella, and my finished piece.

Mom and her first finished piece!

Lucia and her first finished piece (she made 3)!

Astrid and her almost finished eagle (see tomorrow's post for the completed mosaic).

Monika and her stunning piece using all gold tiles. She made amazing borders for the piece too.

This is what my work station looked like after I put the final pieces in my project. Total chaos!

March Mosaic Masters! Monika, me, mom, Lucia, and Astrid

That night all five of us went out into the neighborhood for a quick bite. Lucia with her uncanny knowledge of this city walked us through the Jewish ghetto to a cute little restaurant where we sat outside, chatted, and enjoyed drinks and sandwiches. Astrid, mom, and I still had some work to do so the three of us headed back to the studio for one last late night gathering. While mom finished the background on her second piece, I worked on cleaning up my workspace and gathering some extra tiles just in case I had any casualties on the way home.

Mom's second finished piece! I have to take a little credit for the design:).

This photo doesn't really do this piece justice--it glows in the sunlight.

Sometime before midnight I said good-night to the workshop and returned to the room to pack my suitcase.