Dear Family & Friends,
One last report from Italy,,,,, for a while.
Monday we took a small boat ride to an island off the coast from Venice called Murano. This island is known for one thing, it’s artist glass manufacturing and artwork. Those of you that know us know that my wife Bonnie is an amazing glass artist so I am sure this was one of the high points of the trip.
We went from glass gallery to glass gallery looking at different styles of glass art. We also got to go several glass studios and actually watch how they make these masterpieces..
Blown glass is an usual form of art in that the artist that gets the credit but does very little of the work and I am not sure even how much design work he does. He gives the craftsmen his basic ideas and concepts and they interpret them and make the actual art adding some of their own ideas. Seems like they should be getting more credit for the works.
There is a special type of glass for mosaics called SMALTE and is made on this island. Bonnie was so excited to find the source and stock up on materials for her future masterpieces…
I enjoyed seeing the island and artwork but for me the real joy of the day was seeing my wife enjoy herself so much doing something she has such a passion for and is so good at… Good day.
A few thoughts about Venice now that I have been there.. First I of love the Italian style and passion for everything they do. No matter how trivial a part of life it is it is done with style!
The city of Venice is almost unreal. It looks like a movie set. When you look around and EVERYTHING is old and from another time it is hard to imagine you are standing in the 21st century in a living, functioning city.
As a car and motorcycle guy through and through I was surprised how much I enjoyed being in a city with NOTHING that rolls or moves other than walking or boats. It really makes a city far more livable and comfortable. It was nice knowing we could walk anywhere and everywhere…
I was talking to one young woman on the island of Murano about life there. She loved it. She was born and raised in Venice, which seemed unbelievable and married and moved to Murano. She extolled how wonderful family life was there.. She had children as young as 7 and never had to worry about them! They all roamed free all over the island in complete safety. They couldn’t get lost, everyone knew them, and they certainly couldn’t be kidnapped from the island because every boat operator knew them. You realize this is how people are meant to live.. Something in modern life in the USA has become so alienating and we pay for it in the breakdown of family values, ties and social structure that raises secure happy people…
One last observation.. I have always been told how rude the French are but have not really experienced it when in France…. In Italy, especially in these tourist towns god help you if you get in the way of a local. They will shove you out of the way, walk over you, or yell something in Italian that I am glad I do not understand..
Tuesday we boarded our cruise ship and to be honest after a week of solid site seeing and walking I am going to be glad for a couple of days at sea for some rest and relaxation..
My next report will be from Greece, I can hardly wait!
Jason
“Creative writer unrestrained by Daniel Webster”
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| Watching how it is actually made in a Murano glass studio.. |
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| I don't think Bonnie could be enjoying herself more... :) |
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| Forming liquid glass into a leaf... amazing. |
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| The art "CRITIC" |
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| Here is the piece I wanted, beautiful glass parrots.. all the beauty, none of the mess of a real bird... |
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| Glass shops and art everywhere.!! |
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| These are names of some of the glass studios that have been on this island for centuries making artistic glass. |
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| OK I know this is tasteless, but since it is art from Murano I felt I should share it....If this artwork is based on reality then Italian men should be pretty proud of themselves..... ;) |
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| Bonnie in her element,,, |
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| You can find ANYTHING made in glass on this island.. |
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| The hand made wooden boats are gorgeous!! If you live in Venice or the outlying islands you don't drive a Ferrari or a Porsche, you own one of these... |
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| Look at the date on this studio's sign. Did I mention they have been doing glass here for a while?? |
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| Even goofy glass art... |
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