GREVE IN CHIANTI, ITALY – Two summers ago I was accepted into an artist-in-residence program in Greve in Chianti, Italy. I was ecstatic to pursue one of my projects to help build my portfolio and repertoire as a professional artist. While in college, my design track made it harder to study abroad. I also didn’t quite like the idea of paying an extra semester just to catch up. While after college and I won a major international award and I was propelled into the art world. I learned about different ways to carry out your projects through programs, workshops and artist residencies. I never realized that I could still pursue my dream of working abroad outside of college; the residency in Italy helped me fulfill that dream and spent 6-9 months freelancing realizing that dream.
The residency was in Greve in Chianti called, La Macina di san Cresci. I stayed there for a month, carrying out my project, which was related to native flora in the Tuscan hills. I have fond memories of roaming the Tuscan hills foraging edible and non-edible plants and herbs to be used in my project. The building was a renovation project done by two artists themselves; who are now the directors of the residency. With support from the town to turn it into a public communal area the artist-duo began accepting artists to live there. The building was built in 900 AD and had a church and a parish’s house, which was converted into the artist’s residence house.
A typical day: my afternoons where filled with long hot, sweltering walks through the Tuscan hills looking at plant specimens that I could use in my project. I then brought them back to the studio, which had an equipped darkroom – perfect for my artwork. My evenings were filled with photo making, wine and cheese and relaxing. Previous to this trip I stopped in London to visit a family member who took me to a science exhibit at the museum of science where I picked up a book on scientific photography. My evenings were spent reading that book, gaining inspiration and ideas.
During the weekends, I made trips into Florence, which was only an hour away. Taking the public transit and riding through the Tuscan hills was quite an inspiring experience in of itself. The locals said, that one of the best, most, inexpensive things to do there was to ride the bus through the different towns. In Florence, I stopped by the Orto Botanical to identify the plants I had been seeing in the hills. A part of my project was plant identification as my final portfolio pieces were named after the plant used. Through this project, I gained a deep connection to nature and the environment of my surroundings. Those who travel to Tuscany probably encounter these plants through cooking classes.
While there, I learned about the Slow culture, which is a protest movement of the fast-paced world of the United States and other parts of the world. In Italy, the Italians enjoy taking time out of their day (siesta) to slow down, relax and converse. The artist-in-residence center promoted an activity, called the Slow Movie Contest where directors and filmmakers would submit movies on the slow culture. I highly recommend taking the time to slow travel – spending 3+ weeks in one location to learn about the culture, make connections and friends and to establish a relationship to the country. You also gain a deeper retrospection of a certain culture by spending time within it. I definitely feel, if everyone had the opportunity to travel and spend time within a culture, I feel the world would be a different place.
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