Welcome to StudioRoma 2010!

Recruitment has begun for the Fall 2010 semester in Rome. We hope you can be a part of it! Please contact Cynthia Vardhan @222-3292 or Anita Dawson at adawson@ccad.edu for more information or attend one of the information sessions this semester: 

Thursday, October 8, 11-12:15

Wednesday, November 11, 3:15-4:15

in the Crane Center Multipurpose Room, 1st fl.

Ciao Roma

So we all head off back state side tomorrow. I really do not want to go home just yet. I still feel like there is still so much more to explore and find here in Rome.

The past couple of weeks we all have just been trying to go everywhere. All the places we will never see again. Twins, Julie and I went to Trestevere one last time, we went and said goodbye to the Pantheon, and just enjoyed nice walks around Rome.

Stopped by the school and said our farewells to Davide; who is always on facebook even though he claims to hate it.

Wed. we had our final exam, my team, team Roma won, Katie, Heather, Julie and I raced like crazy through all of Rome to accomplish our hunt that we had to do. Had riddles in Italian that we had to solve and figure out what they spelled to figure out what locations we had to go to, take a picture and then try to get get back to school before the other team.

After we raced back to the school, we showed our pictures and were glad that we won and Davide awarded us LdM t-shirt! It was pretty nice, we were not thinkin' we would get anything like that. We were really excited and happy about it! ^_^

Update!

Well its that time of year again. The leafs are finally starting to change color here in great Roma. Fall weather has started and its almost all to soon that we will have to return state side again. Rome; for me, is a home away from home. It holds many characteristics that I only seem to find in the South. The atmosphere is just so homely, its very comforting for me, and I can honestly say that I could easly make Rome a permanent home for myself.

We have been really busy here since the trip to Umbria. We have traveled to Florence and had much fun while we were there. I found that I love wild boar to eat, and its just simply amazing tasting. Florence is vastly different from Rome and maybe it was because it truly wasn't sunny in Florence while we were there, but I found Rome to be the better city. So much art was in Florence! I went on a total art overload! x.x I found I am more attracted to Botticelli, Filippo Lippi, Menling and so many more!

We went into the Vatican Museum and there was even more art there! I saw my first, Francis Bacon in person, an artist who I have loved since middle school, as well as a Salvidor Dali, another artist who peaked my interest while I was in high school. It truly made my day!

We also had a mini Halloween party at our Roman apartment, which meant we raided the closet here were we found many cool things! Like the green hat in the picture below; which i am totally keeping! We found christmas decoration as well and went around listening to Halloween music; such as Thriller by Micheal Jackson, then watching Dan Cook on Youtube; we would not survive with out youtube here! We found many more treasures in the closet as well, its was over all very fun!


We went to another museum after class one day, and they had several more Carrivaggio's inside of it! We've seen atleast 10 of his works! So much art! It was interesting to see the difference of early Carrivaggio to what we know of him such as in Calling of St. Matthew( which we saw with in the first week or two of being here). I also managed to pick up a lil small gift set for my friend Stacy, a small spiral book that came with a pencil and eraser, kinda silly but it has a picture of one of Carrivaggio's early works on it and I just couldn't say no! X.x

Ciao,
Shannon!

yo...

so, we now have less than 3 weeks left here in Rome, and we are all sad and happy about that. it's sad cuz our time here has really flown, and now as we get down to the last few days, we're really going to try to cram it in with homework assignments, classes at the LdM, site presentations, on-sight drawing, and of course, shopping. but at the same time, i think we all miss home quite a bit. we're all missing boyfriends and pets, and, the comfort of our own homes and not having to be really responsible for anyone but ourselves.

but with all that said and done, Ms. Dawson had commented to us the other day that "we haven't blogged in a while", so here i am, succeeding in procrastinating from my homework, blogging.

i would like to share a pic that i took in St. Peter's square a couple weeks ago when me and a few others went out for a night-time stroll. night time photography is really hard, even when you have a really nice camera, and this is one of the pics that i took that just came out wonderfully.

the bad thing about Rome, or, any high-tourist spot is that there's a lot of opportunity for a lot of cliche'-shots. i've really been looking around, above and beyond the cliche', and have been photographing a lot of random things that you normally wouldn't think of. like, if i hadn't stated earlier, that this was shot at St. Peter's, well, viewers probably would've dismissed this as "just another shot in an unknown place".

but these are actually lamp post located in the square. i just love this shot.

the other day we were given a free day, and around 3 or so Rachael and Renee had invited me to go "out for a stroll" with them, and we just walked aimlessly for a while, but landed at the top of the Spanish Steps right at sunset. it was breath-takingly beautiful. i only wish i had my really good camera for this shot, but being how i was the only one who thought to bring their camera, well, i was grateful for the fact that i even got a shot.

to be honest, i'm not sure if that's St. Peter's dome in the background. it was just soo perfect up there at the time! it was like a dream!

speaking of Rachael and Renee, before we hit the Spanish Steps we were at the edge of the Borghese Gardens, where it overlooks Piazza del Popolo, and that over-look point just has an amazing view as well. i had convinced the twins to get a shot of them sitting on the overlook. well, you really can't tell where they are, but it's a great shot of the two of them nonetheless! i actually got this shot soley for their mom's sake! but i enjoyed it too!

Working hard in Rome

We are well into the second half of the semester and the students are working on their art history papers and art projects. But one element that we have every week is site presentations. When we go to see important works of art or architecture the student who has been assigned that piece will give us the key information that we should know as we look at it or just before or after. One of these pictures shows Heather presenting information on Carravaggio. Another shows us relaxing in the garden next to the Borghese Museum where we saw Berninis, Raphaels, Carravaggios, etc. Whew, it's hard work wading through all the excess art and beauty that is Rome.

We are all feeling very much at home here. Everyone especially likes the open air food markets where you can by parmesiano, or buffalo mozzarella, sweet Sicilian grapes or wild boar sausage.

The students have, after much research, found the best gelato shop in Rome. The reward? Gelato!  

Things You Don't See Every Day

Well, there are certainly many things here in Italy that you really don't see everyday.  Some really great things in fact.  For example, you walk to a window in a museum, and there's beautiful little view of Rome out the window.  Or you're walking in the country, and there's the cutest little pig roaming around with shaggy dogs and purring kitties.  And the pig just oinks and oinks, hoping you have food.  Or when the Italians offer you a wonderful breakfast full of sugar, which resembles an Elephant Ear from a carnival.  But no, they just ask you to please have some more "pizza".  

I keep finding these great little things here in Italy that just don't seem to be real.  I look up at the sky and see these beautiful clear brilliant blue skies and just laugh.  I always thought those Italian Renaissance painters over-exaggerated those brilliant blues.  But in fact, they are real. 

Well, we have been on a lot of adventures lately.  We've been on a nature walk in Abruzzo.  We've roamed the beautiful little town of Orvieto.  And we've tasted wine and olive oil and stuffed ourselves with a huge multi-course meal in Umbria.  And of course, we've been visiting all the best museums here in Rome:  the Capitoline and the Borghese Gallery.  We saw some gorgeous Caravaggios and Titians, Raphael, Bernini sculptures, etc.  The art amazes me.  We also visited a wonderful Bellini show.  

With all these exciting things comes even more - we're going to Florence and Sienna this Thursday! 

Of course, with all this traveling around, we're bound to get bored.  So what do we art students do?  That's right.  We make value scales.  What can I say, Rome brings out the best in us. :)

Umbria~!!

Are you guys sick of all the Umbria blogs yet? Well too bad, it was such a good time for all of us.

-There were cats and dogs EVERYWHERE and even a pig, just roming around freely. Here is my sister holding one of the cats. XD