day three..

I'm done with day three!! Yay!

Today went pretty well. At least, I feel good about it. If I get in or not, I'm proud of what I did today, for the most part. It was kinda different for me, so... good!

The test today was to paint according to a theme given by the examiners. We were given a hand out with a rendering of the facade of the Florence airport. It has one, very large window and two mirrors on either side in panels. Our goal was to create a design that would be appropriate to place on the panels and window. This particular exam has been used in the past as a two-day project, back when the exams were more like 10 days long instead of 4. So, there was a lot to do and little time to do it in. They made it clear that they wanted a smaller painted "sketch" of the full design, and a larger detailed painting of a part of the design. If we could do more, great, but mostly just try and get at least the basics done. I don't think anyone did more than just those two requirements.

I decided to paint a symbol of hope for the travelers. I don't know if it was successful, but I think it turned out okay :)

This is the bozetto (small painting sketch) of my concept. I spent most of my time on it, which I shouldn't have. I'm not upset with my decision to be so detailed in it. I feel that the design wouldn't have been as effective had i done only a larger version of the window or the panels.

Anyway, here it is. The middle would be stained glass and the two side panels are painted.

Here is the detail of the center. I think it turned out more "wedding" than "toga" but everyone said it looks fine.. hahah...


And here is the left side panel detail. I had less than an hour to do this painting...
For putting it together at the last possible moment, I think it was okay.

So that's that. :) Tomorrow is the fourth and final day. Can't believe it's almost over.

day two..

Today's exam was a free-expression painting exam. Basically, we got to paint whatever we wanted. I was very stressed about this yesterday because I had no idea what to paint and even my practice paintings were turning out pretty bad. Well sometime last night, I decided to paint the key necklace my dad gave me before I left. I did a few sketches to get an idea of the composition and went to bed around midnight...

This morning I woke up right when I wanted to (yay me!), got ready, and had some tea, which my roommate had made for us. Once we arrived at the Accademia, got checked in, settled in, I felt okay about it. Although that feeling fluxuated a few times through-out the day, mostly, I felt good.

The end result? Well, I've done better and I've done worse. Part of me is glad that I will never see it again. (except for the pictures I took of course.. ;) Well, whatever. Day two is over. Hooray.

Here's what I turned in:

And here's how I felt about it:

No matter how I think it turned out, I did it. That's what matters. The hardest day is over.

Bring on Day Three. I'm ready.

day one..

So this morning I almost didn't make it to the exam. I woke up and it was 25 mins before they were supposed to start the sign-in at 8:25. Luckily, I live very close to the Accademia, so I made it with time to spare. And, in true Italian style, everything was disorganized and the last of us didn't get placed in an exam room until 10:30. It was a little frustrating only because we didn't get more time to work because they started us later. Bummer.

So we got in there, all ready to paint, and the instructor casually mentions that we should strongly consider drawing the still life and *maybe* painting it *if* we have time. Well, none of us were expecting to draw today. Luckily, I had my pencils with me, and others brought their drawing stuff. So we drew.

I feel good about what my end result was.. although, I still think I could have done better. Whatever. Day one is over and I'm excited.


Here's what I turned in:


And this is how happy I was to have it over with....



No exam tomorrow. They decided there were too many "studenti stragnieri" (foreign students), so we have to come on friday, instead, for the drawing of the figure. I'm bummed out, but I'll take it as an opportunity to prepare even more. :)

Okai. Basta? Si, bene.

Exams tomorrow and I posted pictures

Yep. Tomorrow starts the first of four days of art exams at the Accademia di Belli Arti. I can't believe it came up so fast. I was expecting it to be later, in October, but then I guess it is practically October now (or as John would say... ROCKtober.. ;) I'm not exactly nervous about getting into the Accademia, but my nerves are a little edgy. The anticipation is killer. I know I'm going to have fun with it, I just want it to happen already!! :)

I uploaded some pictures onto Flickr so you can see some of the things I've seen so far. I have some more from the trip the school took to Siena a week ago, but I will get those up next time.
For now, here is the link to my pictures:

www.flickr.com/photos/susanallen


Enjoy!

Ciao from Italy!!

So it’s been about three weeks and I’m sure some of you are wondering, “what’s going on??” Well, the internet has been somewhat tricky since I’ve arrived (not to mention expensive!), but my landlord is trying to install wireless for the apartment, so hopefully we will be up and running in the next few days! ☺

A lot has happened since I’ve been here, so I’ll try to touch on the bigger, more important details…














I have a great apartment in the center of town with three great roommates: Sincere, Becca, and Courtney (that's them in the picture with our first dinner in our apartment.) We went to IKEA (pronounced here, “ee-key-ah”) and decorated the apt a bit. It feels more lived in now, although I think it will still be a while before I actually feel like it’s home.

We are very close to the Duomo (the main cathedral in Florence), so the streets around our apartment are very historical and extremely touristy. We don’t mind too much, though. It just means we don’t have to go far for anything – especially the best gelato in town at “Perche No!” ☺

I’ve already done a tiny bit of traveling with some friends. Last weekend we went to a part of Tuscany known as Chianti where they make - you guessed it - chianti. There was an awesome little festival in a town called Greve with lots of people and the region’s finest wines. The weather was perfect and we all had an awesome time.

This Friday, the whole school is headed to Sienna for a tour of the countryside and the Duomo there. The floors of the cathedral are carved and they keep them covered most of the year. Luckily, right now is the one time of year they uncover them, so we will be fortunate enough to see them for ourselves! After Sienna, we will head to Machiavelli’s home near by, have a tour and then eat dinner at or near his home. Needless to say, we are all very, very excited.

I have homework to do right now… but a little bit later I’m gonna try to get all my pictures
uploaded onto a photo-site like flickr or something. Meanwhile I've included a few pictures in this blog so you can see some of the stuff I've been up to. :) I promise to post more regularly.. thanks for your patience☺

okay... ciao!