Between a Rock and a Really Cool Place

A great post by Pamela Simmons over at Durability + Design about John Carson's beautiful home in the Catskills. I was lucky enough to be invited last summer to check it out and I was able to get a few photos as well which Pam used in her article. Check it out, it's a great read about a true dream house that John and Sharon brought to life.

Clevelandtown

I recently moved in with a friend for the next few months while I work and finish up the Masters thesis at Kent State. I live only a mile from Lakewood park so I took advantage of a beautiful Monday and walked down to snap some photos. It's definitely sad to see the nice weather and sun beginning to run away, especially after the amazing summer I had, but I am ready to focus on writing and finishing school before heading back to Italy next summer to work!

Blog Slacking

I have so rudely forgotten to keep up with the blog posts so hopefully everyone has been keeping track via facebook or just bookmarking my picasa page. The last two weeks have been absolutely gorgeous....from Rome back to Florence to Venice back to Florence. Could not have asked for better weather right now. I also managed to stay away from a plague-like flu that took down half our group (including our professor) right before or during the Venice trip. Venice was absolutely amazing in so many different ways....check out the pictures. Got a bit homesick this week with some not so great news, but I miss you all who are close to me and can't wait to see your faces in a couple weeks in July. Ciao.

San Gimignano & Siena

Spent today traveling around the incredible sites of San Gimignano and Siena. I enjoyed San Gimignano more than I ever thought because it is breathtaking to walk around such a well preserved medieval Italian town. Siena was an overload of art and architecture and definitely was not there long enough to really appreciate it. I can not wait until we get to experience the Palio in a few weeks...

We have a day of rest before leaving early Monday morning for 3 days in Rome. Ciao.

Firenze | week 1

Finally back under the shadow of Brunelleschi's dome and it feels like I've never left. Heading to San Gimagno and Siena tomorrow morning for the first time so I am extremely excited. There is a lot of work to be done but there is no where else I'd rather find motivation than here in Tuscany...

Barcelona.

First two days in Barcelona. Gaudí.

The Present

Two days from now I will be on my way across the Atlantic: Pittsburgh to Charlotte to Madrid and eventually sometime around noon on Friday I will be arriving in Barcelona. Spending a few days in Spain before heading back to Florence for Dr. Medicus' program and some thesis research. I have a lot of work to get done this summer but there is nowhere else in the world I'd rather spend the next two months than Italy. Goodbye Ohio.

these days

"Beauty awakens the soul to act." - Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

Firenze sulla mente

Another semester in the books and one closer to that MA! A lot of work to be done before I can call myself a Master of Art History but all should be done by December. In one month I will be back under the shadow of Brunelleschi's dome and I couldn't be more excited. Trying to finalize travel plans which include finally making it to Spain which just raises the level of excitement. So stay tuned this summer for pictures, I'm going to go camera crazy since last time I was in Italia I had a 1 megapixel digital camera....

Ciao a tutti!

Window Loser

The office I work for decided to hold a competition for a window graphic in our conference room. Since this was the most creative thing they have asked us to do in the 2+ years of my time there I jumped right on the opportunity. I decided to incorporate the logo and play off the circular logo with a more dynamic background and bringing in a blue color to complement the orange. I dropped in a skyline of Cleveland, added our other offices and main design programs. Apparently I didn't have enough circles in my design, because I was not the winner. Oh well, it felt nice to be doing something creative around there for once.