Snow In Florence

Beautiful, but a bit unexpected, snow comes to Florence just before the term is up.

Fiume Arno

Ponte alla Carraia

Piazza del Duomo

Piazza della Repubblica

Our studio space on Via del Moro stays warm, bright and welcoming. C'mon in!

Typical (?) View of Florence

From high atop a secret location- looking at Florence.

Successful Workshop- Thanks, Students!

We worked hard- really hard. Here you see students interviewing one another as preparation for an intensive drawing workshop based upon their experiences, thus far, in Florence (you can find the assignment further down on this blog).

Well, it's a little bit easier to focus on drawing in such a beautiful work space. Especially when there is cappuccino nearby...

But it wasn't all work... students take a break mid-critique.

And it wasn't all drawing- though the food IS so beautiful you feel inspired to draw it as well! My new friend, Giuseppe, gives the okey-dokey to some espresso.

And, let's face it, any country that promotes crazy Chihuahua Pirate graffiti is doing something very, very right!

Our Piazza

I can never explain the experience of living as an artist in Florence... but here is some of what I see.

This is the Piazza we walk through every day on our way home. Piazza Santissima Annunziata.
This is our Piazza in a print by Giuseppe Zocchi (1711-67). During the Renaissance Florentines left abandoned children on the steps to the right, of The Ospital degli Innocenti, designed by Brunelleschi around 1420

Now this man sits on the steps everyday. So do artists, drawing. And tourists and travelers. Gypsies and museum goers. Something different is always happening.

So much in one place.

~Jenna

Americans : We Are Taking Over

If you are somewhat interested in studying abroad, it's very likely you have asked students who have studied abroad about their experiences. I'm almost positive you heard many of the same responses. Typically you'll hear everything from "the best life decision I've made", to "I grew so much culturally, emotionally..", and even to "the wine is cheaper than the water". Now, being a student abroad for almost 2 months I can relate somewhat to those familiar phrases. However, not a single thing or experience I share with you on this blog will ever, remotely even begin to inform you of my life as an italian citizen. Every experience I shared with my peers has effected every single one of us uniquely. I can't tell you about what life is like as a student abroad but i can share helpful tips. Be open. Be bold. Be emotionally ready. You get out of this trip as much as you give. I hope my pictures speak more than I could about how life changes when you accept to fully integrate into another culture. Till then I salute you with a nice bottle of chianti wine in my hands and hope you consider this program.

la vita è bella

Deciding to come to Florence with the UConn Fine Arts program was the best decision I have ever made. This unfamiliar culture and way of living has opened my eyes to an entirely new side of me that I am ready to explore. Thus far, this life changing experience has been a great deal of fun and has had enormous opportunities for learning. Classes here are hands on and extremely enriching. I am meeting people everyday and traveling Europe with good friends, life is good.

figurati

When coming to Florence I could not even fathom at the time the world I would step into. After the initial shock, there was a period of getting used to what my surroundings are and what they would provide in the future. Being thrown into a culture that differs so much from everything you know has its pros and cons. The learning experiences have its ups and downs but in the end you really can see the difference in yourself from what you have learned. So far it has been a positive difference and one that I will be able to remember for a long time.

Drawing Workshop: "Self Portrait As a Florentine"

Greetings from Storrs! Using the exclamation point is designed to make Storrs look exciting, but it's nothing like what you are experiencing in Florence.

In preparation for our workshop together (10/25-28) I'm posting a copy of the project directive we'll be working from. Please read it over and get excited- I am!


Self Portrait as a Florentine.rtf

Life Abroad in Firenze

This past month in Florence has been an invaluably enriching experience. Becoming immersed in a culture not your own is not an easy task to take on, but the rewards you reap outweigh most any obstacle you might encounter on your journey. As someone who had previously never gone outside of North America, I find that every day brings something new and exciting. Whether it be trying a new food or taking weekend trips outside of the city, I can sincerely say that I am indeed having the "time of my life."

Photographing temple ruins in Pompeii

The street I live on.

Climbing Mt. Vesuvius with clouds directly overhead.

The island of Capri taken during the boat ride from our hostel.

Cotton candy vendor in Piazza Annunziata during The Festival of Paper Lanterns

The sheer beauty of my new home never ceases to captivate me. Even something as simple as walking the same path through the city everyday to class is an opportunity to discover some new building front or feature that you might have previously overlooked. This new change in scenery has opened my eyes to a new culture and way of living, and also has helped to re-evaluate my outlook on my own country.

The Need to Coalesce

Buildings looming, streets turning nothing is the same but a sense of false familiarity allows for function in its basic form. Life is perceivably gridded, sequenced, mapped, people flow in unison, patterned. they have a familiar rhythm a routine. We do not. We have stepped into the current and forced them around us, bending their lives to ours or is it us bending for them as our old routines slowly ware away. we have been handed an idea, loose parameters. We search for the lines, the our, the tangible, the stable. we come from individuality, self identity, revolt, rebellion and now we strive to coalesce. We need to know before we can think, to ground ourselves before we can move. We want to know the absolutes, the always, the expected so that we can start again to form our sense of identity within this grid, to diverge from this, or embrace it.

Ciao

Its been three weeks since we have all arrived in Florence, and it honestly feels like forever ago. I'm so happy of the people that I came with, we've all become a giant family. Classes are definitely different from UConn and the studio we draw in is beautiful. Its such a nice change from the Art Building in Storrs.

This past weekend the family (us art students and then some) all went down to Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento. It was one of the most amazing trips ever, and we all found it difficult to leave and come back to busy Florence. Traveling here is so cheap! We've all started planning new trips around Europe

Hannah in our drawing studio

Goofing around at Gino Capponi

Raymond and I climbed the Duomo. The view of all of Florence

Sorrento

our family in Pompeii!

Welcome to UConn Florence!

Greetings current, former and potential UConn Florence participants and friends! Here you'll find pictures, news and helpful links for the UConn Florence program. Studio Art and Art History offerings can be yours in one of the most historic and inspiring of European cities. What are you waiting for? Explore!