The fog is rolling in over the Calvi hills, bringing some cooler weather and exciting events to the Art Monastery both in Umbria and San Francisco!

Founders Christopher Fulling and Betsy McCall respectively are directing and performing in,  “How to Survive the Apocalypse: A Burning Opera“. Full of frequent Art Monastery collaborators like Phoebe Jevtovic Alexander and California Artistes, the run at Teatro Zinzanni promises to be a sold out extravaganza of countercultural song and dance at San Francisco’s Teatro Zinzanni. Get your tickets October 5-7 and 12-14 ONLY!
http://love.zinzanni.org/burningopera.htm

October and November in Calvi, meanwhile, bring the following exciting workshops…

Madrigals of Monteverdi
October 24…

There are many iconic things that let me know I’m back in Italy. It starts when the plane is landing at Fiumicino and I see the umbrella pines swaying in the wind. Then the madness begins as the flight crew announces that we’ll be de-boarding from both the front AND back doors of the plane. Chaos ensues as confused Americans struggle with this new concept while the seasoned travelers and Italians bolt for both exits at once. Then there are the STAIRS down from the giant Airbus we arrived on… and then a BUS to take us to the terminal. …

I’ve been wanting to post something for the last couple of days about the earthquake in Italy.  I just didn’t know what to say. Then this morning I received this poem from my friend, Amy Mancini, and it blew me away.

Good Friday

Lights shimmer off wet helmets, dripping.
The streets are quiet, save the splash of rain that repeatedly assaults the ground.
The water baptizes the fallen homes, the fallen families.
Our sorrow pours through the rain.

That’s all I want to say about the earthquake. Thanks Amy.

I’ve been thinking about how writing can be such a tough taskmaster and inspiration so elusive.

I heard an…

I always get from people– “oh I wish I had your job”…  said with longing.

It makes me bristle a little cuz it always seems like they think I’m on permanent vacation–sipping margaritas by the pool. And, tho I do enjoy a margarita now and then mostly I’m working and really hard.

But, this isn’t about what a hard worker I am. It’s about priorities and how I think there’s a difference between vacation and travel.  And how I think that some people value travel and other people, though they like a vacation now and then, value other things.

As all my friends…

MATTERS OF THE ART
is it just vanity?