The last week

Lacey's yellow umbrella, heading to studio through the rain.


Boats outside the rowing club beneath our studio.


La Fenice! A few of us went to see a concert, a young pianist who gave us three encores. Though there was a fire in the theater in 1996, it has been fully restored and shines with gold. It is an incredible space, much smaller than I imagined it would be.







Drawing of Fondamente dei Furlani, on which I would walk every day on my way to and from home.


The campo near our house.



We were lucky enough to have a green space outside our living room window, a rarity in Venice. When there are gardens they are often private like this, cut off from the public realm, and in our case unused except for a healthy population of cats (Garden Kitties).





Our herb collection.





A colorful canal near our house.


Me, Jamuna and Rachel standing outside one of our favorite gelatto stores, Mela Verde, waiting for our gondola ride.


Gondola ride! Though this is arguably the most popular tourist activity in Venice, and hence some of us resisted it at first, it ranked up there with one of the most amazing experiences I had in the city. Being low on the water and moving in such a slow, quiet way suddenly makes the whole city of Venice make sense: doors and garages open up onto the canal, boats line the walls, and villas face the narrow waterways in such a way that you could never experience from the pedestrian walks. The gondoliers are artists in the way that they maneuver their boats through narrow spaces, pushing off the walls with their feet and calling out around the corners to avoid collisions and to each other in greeting. I felt so content floating along on the water, I would have done it again several times if I'd had the time.



















We climbed up the Campanelli in Piazzo San Marco to get a glimpse of the city from above. To go from being close to the water to soaring high above the city was really cool, and though I'd been in the tower of San Giorgio across the canal it was amazing to look down onto San Marco because it really is so majestic and the space so massive.


Scott and Lacey.












The glass school in Murano where we had a show of our work.



My master plan for a park on Sacca San Mattia, and a couple drawings and a section below.















Ben getting lessons on glass blowing from our host, the president of all things glass in Murano.



Sunset over the city on our way to our final dinner on the Giudecca.


Lacey and I on the Vaporetto.


Giant glowing orbs in the courtyard of the restaurant.



Architects, minus Pete who had already left for Greece. (John, Josh, and Nate).


Drawing at Ca' d'Oro, where they had an exhibition of Dutch paintings and drawings along with some of the best collection of Venetian art in the city.





Courtyard in the museum.





Balcony overlooking the Grand Canal.




Rialto Bridge.



Well, I'm writing this final post from Minneapolis, where I arrived safe and utterly exhausted two days ago. These photos are a collage of my last week in Venice, a flurry of tourist activities and museum visits, our final dinner and an opening at the glass school in Murano of our final projects. It's tough to wrap up two months of living with any kind of conclusion; it was an incredible and rich time, and I am happy to be home.

Two days

Looking down onto the dome of San Giorgio, Venice across the water at sunset.


Looking southwest toward the cloisters of San Giorgio, the Giudecca in the background.

View east toward the marina on San Giorgio, the Biennale gardens and S. Elena where I go running, and the Lido in the distant background.





Inside San Giorgio.


River in Vicenza; I loved the grasses in the water, they captured the movement.


Villa Rotunda.


View of the lawn from the steps.


This was one of the first truly hot days we've had, so we spread out under the trees to take in the smell of flowers and feel the grass on our feet. I like this picture because it looks like a moving still life, and because being there made me feel like I was lounging on the grass in the movie 'Much Ado About Nothing;' I think it was mostly that we were gazing at a villa, and that I was wearing white.


Looking down what was once the original entry point, now walled off.


Inside the Olympic Theater: I finally understand the images in my history book of the three doors. I'm continually amazed, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised, at how much more incredible all these sites are in person than in pictures.



From stage to ceiling.




These pictures are of two separate days last week, the first few from my trip up the San Giorgio bell tower in Venice, the second group from our visit to Vicenza on Wednesday. It's amazing to get up above the city, a feeling I've also had in Minneapolis, climbing the witch's tower. In flat places you just don't get that perspective, and it's so comforting to see everything spread out before you, like you can make sense of it all finally. This is especially satisfying in a place like Venice, where it is nearly impossible to clearly imagine a bird's eye view of your journey through the city.

I'm facing the final week here, feeling completely caught up in my studio project yet also realizing my time here is drawing to a close. There is a lot that I still would like to see, so hopefully I can pack it in the few days after our final presentations on Thursday. Time to get back to work.