Italy Tarot Tour

Last year was full of interesting encounters and travels around Italy. One of the best was this sojourn with a merry band of tarot travelers, tracing the history, symbolism, and art of Tarot where it was originally found/created, in northern Italy. I wrote about it last year before the actual trip here. And now, months after, I've finally come around completing the trailer below, with things you might expect to see/find on this tour.

Muse: 5 Key Steps

We had fun creating the materials and shooting parts of the video lecture for the upcoming Muse: A Video Portrait Workshop. Here are the 5 Key Steps - each of which will help you tell your muse video story in the best, easiest, and most enjoyable way. Class is starting soon, so join us if you haven't already and get started on your project here.

Muse: A Video Portrait Workshop

Excellent news! We are teaching our first online class over at Skillshare and its all about creating Video Portraits. Learn more about that here. It is a really exciting new project for us - me and Francesco. Something we're both crazy about doing (doing it half crazy too, in a good way). Hope you'll join and explore this new territory with us. Don't worry, we'll try and cover everything important in a memorable way, playing with the online/digital possibilities available today. ;)

Childhood Apples

Two beautiful Lithuanians spent some time with us in Rome and cooked up this delish dish from their childhood. I'll be writing down the accurate ingredients + process soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this heart-warming treat.

In other news, finishing a lot of video projects plus upcoming skillshare online class on creating video portraits here. Sign up and enjoy 15% off with code EUNOIA. Video trailer for that will be coming soon. :)

Unplugged in Monti: Sam Beeton

Treat yourself to some live music direct from Monti in Rome. If it weren't for Francesca Tesei, deejay-ing crafter architect, I wouldn't have found the Black Market and Manuele Minuz and spontaneously shoot bits of this talented folkabilly Sam Beeton. It happened almost overnight. Tonight he plays at the club for all yea Rome dwellers.

Everyone's the Same - Kaapin

Made this music video after nearly a year in the back burner. I was asked by two good friends from home, talented musicians, who formed this electronic duo called KaapiN to work on their song which I loved to pieces. Being often in the realm of music as player/performer/appreciator, it was obvious I would accept this proposal. It was just a matter of when and how, and with who.

Early 2012 I got acquainted with Lucia and Simone - two very talented theater actors/directors who then became great friends as they too have a son the same age as ours. We've discussed this collaboration earlier last year but never really had the time (as all new moms) and now since we are serendipitously here in Ancona for the first week of 2013 and with the great power of minds that come together to make things work - voila, we did it! I'm really happy even if its nothing like the original plan. Porto Nuovo and Monte Conero of Ancona as our playground worked just right. and of course, Lucia, sei veramente BRAVA!

If you are predisposed to new music, different kinds of sounds and art and the manner in which people express themselves in reckless abandon then feel free to check out KaapiN. I used to be in a band with one of them and we made some awesome stuff together. Very proud of these guys.

Lets just say we are off to a good start 2013.

Muse: La Tela

So I've finally completed the video for La Tela, our next door neighbor while we were living in Macerata for about a year (sometime last May). It is also a museum on artisan weaving and a handicrafts workshop! I know, I know.. It was one of the most amazing discoveries literally right outside our doorstep. I also wrote an article on them over at Poppytalk.

Muse: Stella Cerioni

 Stella is one of the first people we met when we moved to Pesaro. Through her, a whole different side of Italy opened up for me. She and her folk musician friends played at Gradara that beautiful night - a testament to the spiritedness of Italians (lucky that I get to see it intimately, ashamed I used to think that this heightened sense of communion and community was exclusive to where I am from).

Compared to most Italian women I've met, Stella holds conversations looking at you in the eye. Warm, open, a bit shy, curious, starry-eyed (Stella means star in Italian), I can tell her life is full of interesting stories and adventures waiting ahead of her. Here she spends some time sharing her music. I've only managed to capture some of our conversations because shes camera-shy but the little I took (with a baby in one arm. haha) tells the story of how she started playing the Organetto. Take a look at the video below.

Clandestine Mazurka at Gradara

One word: home. That night outside the castle walls of Gradara, we met with a mix of folk musicians, creatives, friends of a friend we made recently when we moved to Pesaro. I know its been eons since I last wrote on this blog and hardly mentioned anything at all about, well, anything at all. Its been a great big move and a hell of a month. But something about it, something about all this just feels a lot like home.

Some bits:

1. Pesaro is awesome. In a month's time I've made more friends and connections than the two years I spent everywhere else (mostly between Ancona and Macerata - which I thought seemed worlds apart. I guess Pesaro is a whole leap outside the galaxy)
2. Earthquakes. The first big earthquake hit the area of Ferrara and made quite a mess. That area has never been considered a "seismic" zone but then just around the same day the first solar eclipse of year occured, there was the earthquake and a big nightmare woke me in the middle of the night only to be followed by another disturbing dream. An energy dive that came rising back up in the following days. Oh, and two more earthquakes followed. One early this morning near Rimini.
3. Claire. An English woman traveller is spending the summer with us to learn Italian and help watch over the little one - such luck and wow, big thank you Claire for coming to join our family even for just a short time.
4. Travelling alone with Adamo. I did it! It can be done! I've had some hesitation before due to the language and the sheer difficulty of Italian public transportation but will-power and shamelessness can really get the work done.
5. Growing pile of things to do. Slowly getting back my rhythm.

Thats all for now. Home and family - two things that go hand in hand. Both tracing its roots all the way back in time and space, finding at the very core that we're all deeply connected.

Project Greece Trailer

They say strike while the iron is hot. This is not the case with Project Greece. We embarked on this journey more than one year ago with lots of big ideas and bold risks but nothing came out as expected. In fact, a whole lot of other things happened instead. I got pregnant, changed plans (Fra decided to take his masters in political science and mananged to finish in one year - cum laude. such wondrous things happen when you have a child) therefore this project has been on hold for quite some time but now, more than year and new direction after, its finally coming towards its completion.

And you know, it was not easy. Its always easier and faster to complete work when you get at it immediately until its done. Prolonged waiting and the long passage of time only makes it more laborious. An unfinished project is like an open wound. Any creative feels this. Like an unfinished song, a poem written halfway, a half-painted canvas collecting dust, a dream half-realized. Of course, nobody has to feel obligated towards their creations (unless the creation is a living being - thats your little buddha with a whip. haha). I don't believe in having things/projects "own" me but I do believe in completion and its completely natural. In nature - everything in a cycle, in flow. Sometimes its best to let things remain incomplete (like things that you don't believe in anymore) but other things, other things that keep calling and calling - those big scary things we feel we're too small to do, thats part of what we're here for.

So, anyway. Without further BLAH, Here is the trailer. The website will be up soon, stay tuned! The music is by a very talented friend of mine, Pedja Milosavljevic, the most awesome Serbian-Balkan-RawChef I've ever known. Seriouslly, thanks for this track (I wish I recorded my vocals with it but perhaps another time. heee).

Slow Sunday: Arsy-Versy

Suddenly its the end of the week. Before we head over to next week heres a sweet short film about a mother and her son. Its truthful, real, unexpected - it made me smile, laugh and maybe, almost, cry (inside). umm.. hard to talk about it without giving away the story so maybe i'll just hold that for later. let me know what you think.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Ever wondered how this meme started? Out of nowhere posters and cards and shirts and mugs and totes galore played with it in many variations. And after a quick google search I found theres even a Keep-Calm-o-matic. Madness? Maybe. What makes this WWII poster sooo... visually successful? The simplicity? Helvetica? (I think Helvetica. ok, also simplicity. ok maybe something else - coded hypnotic message?)

Check out this short:

Muse: Librare

This week we have the tall and magnificent Stefania of Librare whom I've known for some time, admired from afar. Shes monolithic (taller than me or my tall hub) yet approachable with a quirky yet sophisticated style. Its my first attempt at an interview (my Italian still needs a LOT of work) but trying to film these encounters has been fun so far..

More vignettes to follow in the coming days.. Wish you a good week ahead!

Inspired

Don't have much to say other than I'm really bursting with ideas at the moment. Excited, giddy, high - yep.
Thank you Aya for sharing this excellent music video.

Also my good friend, talented photographer, stylist, fashionista to the Nth level - Plhong (same friend who requested my last/first PS tutorial) is now for hire. :)

Tutorial: Twilight and Sunset

Here it is! As requested by my good friend Plhong, a step by step tutorial on how I created the images from this blog entry. I managed to get to step 13 of the picture tutorial but was getting exhausted after that so *light-bulb moment* decided to do a screencast. ERRRR.. check it out here:

BYEE.. hahaha.. my little one was just sitting beside me while I was doing the whole thing - GURRGLING. :)

Anyway, you can view it fullscreen so you see all the itty-bitty details or pause between steps so you can follow at your own pace. I've also included the picture tutorial (up to step 13 only) that you can view if you read on down. Oh, this is also intended for intermediate Photoshop users. If your a beginner, there are hundreds of free tutorials online or you can check out some awesome tutorials specifically for bloggers here at Pugly Pixel (we share the same name too! shes awesome. that means I'm awesome. no, shes awesome.)

And sure I'd really LOVE to see what you come up with using this technique. The lighting and photos may vary so you can be flexible and play with all of the color-adjustments (precision is not important as long as you have the look you want in mind). For this project I was really just thinking about the contrast of red and blue hues and the whimsy of twilight.

2nd day of Yoga. feeling rusty

Word of warning, personal bits coming in a few..
I suppose its the cold and being indoors for too long thats making me come face to face with myself and all of those things we'd rather brush off, hoping it'll take care of itself. After giving birth I've gone through a total life change (as do all new parents, mothers). I've never felt so much love for another human being and so much responsibility at the same time - its almost scary. No words can fully describe its beauty. Yes, many challenges yet many surprises and new discoveries too.

So, where were we? That thing I'd been brushing off? Its me. I feel like I've been neglecting myself.

To be honest, its actually been nice not having to put on makeup or care much about the way I look for the last couple of months. I'm less self-conscious and thats a load off my mind and allows me to perform other things like work and being a mom with ease. My baby guru teaches me to live in the moment all the time - every wail, every diaper change, every giggle, each of his wriggly toes mesmerizing me and putting my mind off silly things like getting a haircut. He helps me focus on what matters. That being said, I think I matter and lately I've been feeling a bit lost, a bit elsewhere, waiting to come back to earth and inhabit my body once again.

Alison, an expat like me, wonderful being living in Tuscany, had this 30 days 2 change 1 thing program and I've been wanting to participate but couldn't nail down that one thing (I had several things in mind). I finally decided that doing yoga everyday for 30 days would do me good. Why? Its me making time with my body, giving it back some love and respect, and just being quiet with myself without judgement - peace is the word, I think. :) Its my 2nd day today and boy do I feel rusty.
A very quick report here.

And if anyone shares this dream of living sustainably in an open-mind/heart community, you'll be pleased to find out that it exists in reality. My friends in the Philippines are making it happen. Take a look and share your thoughts/dreams if you like.

Semplicemente Famiglia (Simply Family)

Its not everyday we meet big families especially in this age when its more practical and convenient to be childless (as is the case for many Italians), or have just one child and work - OR stay single for a veerry long time and live with your parents while at it. Gone are the days of the stay-at-home mama hen, cooking something rustic and special for her army of children. Or perhaps not? In Cagliari, Sardegna we meet up with a mom of 5 children. During our short stay she talks to us about raising her kids, what its like and some of the challenges of trying to be more self-sustaining.

View the video here:

To learn more about their association Semplicemente Famiglia, look into their website here:

http://www.semplicementefamiglia.org/

It was such a pleasure meeting Daniela and her family.. As a new mom, meeting her was like seeing a beacon of hope - that I wasn't alone and that being bestowed the responsibility of a parent may be scary yet priceless. I'm so thankful for her and her family's openess and generosity. Hope to see them again when we come back ;)

The Glass Eye Maker

A nice break from work is looking into other people's work. How nutty to imagine doing one single thing, master it and work it for 30 years. Its so atopic at this age that anyone left doing this kind of monk-like vocation stand like true gems against the mass of changelings. I'm not saying they should be worshipped, just admired even from afar. At least, allow their life testament to disturb you enough to consider other possibilities. Note to self.

Now lets get back to The Blind Assassin.

dream my dears, dream

looking forward to next weekkkk...zz

The Splots Project

(reposting from The Splots Project blog)