Buongiorno! It’s been almost a month since my first class teaching in Italy and I’m just now getting the chance to process this great experience. I joked with my students that our week together was so filled with collage and art and experiences that covering it could take me through the rest of the year in blog posts.
It’s hard to separate our class time from our explorations of the Medieval town we were in, Citta della Pieve, set high upon a Tuscan hill. Class, town, our Renaissance art-filled field trips—they just seemed to flow from one to the other quite seamlessly.
For instance, in the photo above, student Carol Wheeler, poses with her Tuscan Sun portrait which sports a stylish Italian mustache and sun rays that include fabrics we dyed saffron yellow (from saffron crocuses) on day one. While walking around this town that was built a thousand years ago, Carol (and a few other students) discovered a boutique just a few doors up the street from our classroom—Carol now sports a sweet Italian cloche—it’s burgundy color complementing the deep reds of her artwork.
After spending a week of fabric collage in a small town that breathes history and art, it becomes apparent how one thing affects and influences and merges into another. You just need to slow down enough to take it in and appreciate it. And that I’m told, is the Italian way.
I would love to share everything about the week with you, but for your own sake, I’ve condensed my thoughts into two parts, two blog posts—first this week, the class itself—my bellissimo students and their fantastica collage work.
Second post next week, the favolosa daily experiences (often involving Prosecco and food) that Strada Toscana owner, Pamela Haack (in center of our class circle above), organized for us. Our outings revolved around this town of Citta della Pieve that she loves, and the people who live here. Salute.
On the map above, “Hotel Vannucci” is the lodging, a short walk to “you are here,” our classroom. Photo lower left, is the large Renaissance villa that now houses the classroom, lower right, waiting to be filled with color and creative energy.
See more photos of Citta della Pieve in this “Dispatch” post.
A Week of Fabric Collage in Italy Begins
This class included two sets of sisters—plus my sis Heidi, who traveled with me. Carol and Connie, above, kept their eyes open for souvenir scarves that could be auditioned as sun backgrounds, and found some. I knew that Italy doesn’t have the sort of quilting fabrics as the US does, but they do have scarves. I placed my class sample sun onto a scarf to show the possibilities of an Italian cloth background as a finishing touch for an Italian sun.
Meet My Students and Their Bel Sole (Beautiful Sun) Portraits
This particular class was set up so much differently than most all my other classes in that it was about both fabric collage and location, and each day was shared between the two. Having a set project such as a sun portrait to work on works great in this situation of class time concentrated in the morning one day and afternoon in the next. After years of teaching classes such as this where everyone begins with the same design, it still delights me how individually and uniquely each fabric collage image develops.
As you scroll through the in-progress photos below (beginning with the second sister pair, Cathy and Mary Jo), note the choices that each person has made on fabric patterns and color, and how the portrait evolves accordingly. Watch as a personality develops. As I was selecting the photos for this post, the eyes and eyebrows of each and every portrait drew me in—they’re really coming to life.
Click on any of the photos below to see them larger and to scroll through each gallery in sequence.
Cathy Holmes
Mary Jo Heyne
Kay Davidson
Katie Mackay
Jackie Dalley
Nancy Bonkowski
Pam Shaw
Karen Garrett
Pamela Munro
Cheri Artz
Terre Tuzzolino
Carol Wheeler
Connie McGrew
Next Week’s Blog Post
Join me as I look back on our side-trips and activities that added so much to the overall experience of fabric collage in Italy—beginning with the magic of small purple crocuses creating a knock-your-socks-off yellow dye. Followed by our lunch of saffron infused appertivos, cooked for us by saffron grower, Alessandro (pictured far right below).
Next Year’s Return to Citta della Pieve with Strada Toscana
I will be returning to teach at this wonderful location next year in October of 2026. For more information about that trip or to register, please visit this link.
How delightful! Amazing amount accomplished during fairly short class times. How wonderful to get to explore the area while you were also enjoying your friendships and the learning experience!