Ciao Ciao!
A recap of my time as an artist in residence at Villa Lena
Hello dear readers. Wow, have I missed writing here. It’s been over a month since I’ve sat down to write to you all, and I thank you for your patience as I allowed myself to be fully immersed in my residency time at Villa Lena, in the Tuscan hillsides of Italy.
Villa Lena Foundation hosts artists in residence from April-October. A group of 5-7 artists comes to live together and create side by side for a full month. There is a boutique hotel next to the villa on the same property, and there is a lot of cross collaboration that happens between the two with workshops, events, and installations. I am SO grateful to my friend Katie Barrie who attended the residency a couple of years ago and encouraged me to apply. This was my very first extended residency and I feel now that the bar has been placed very high!
I had little expectations before coming to Villa Lena. I had some intentions for my time, which mainly revolved around rest, pleasure and play. Allowing myself to not be in a production mode kind of mindset, but more of an expansive what is alive for me right now kind of vibe. The group of artists I was with included a ceramic artist, a sound artist, a filmmaker and a photographer. We also were fortunate enough to have 2 curators in residence to help support us, and also a yogi in residence who taught almost daily yoga classes to us and hotel guests. Villa Lena really encourages cross-collaboration between artists, and I remember thinking before coming, however will we all work together? We have such different practices! But that is the beauty of staying open to possibility and the endless creativity between artists.
I taught weekly watercolor and drawing classes throughout my time, and really enjoyed getting to meet people from all over the world staying at the hotel. My favorite part was getting to source our subject materials from the incredible flower and vegetable gardens on site. I also got to teach a workshop outside of the residency with the talented Emiko Davies at her beautiful natural wine bar. Emiko took us foraging for our painting subjects, and we enjoyed an incredible lunch she prepared after our painting time.
The first 2.5 weeks of the residency I was hit with a serious bladder infection that seemed to keep coming back, even after multiple rounds of antibiotics. Fortunately I finally healed up, but to be honest it was a real struggle. Being sick in a foreign country is ROUGH, and I learned a lot about my own capacity for resilience and also the need to lean on others for support, even if you just met those others and are feeling vulnerable about asking for help. I also learned a lot about listening to my body. She really wanted me to slooooowwwww down, and also stay in my sensitivity. Which meant every time I tried to drink multiple espressos and glasses of wine, my bladder would flare back up with inflammation telling me to take it easy on the caffeine and alcohol front.
My time was incredibly rich, so it’s hard to know how to write about it all to be honest. The highlights for sure were connecting with the land and connecting with the people. The most surprising part was that I barely picked up my paintbrush. I spend most of my normal days painting and the act is very much tied to how I make a living and how I am a ‘productive’ human being in the world. This time was supposed to be about rest and pleasure and while I do love painting, some other forms of creativity wanted to come forward instead, and I am so happy I listened.
Villa Lena sits up in the rolling green hills of Tuscany, just outside of a little town called Palaia. There are Etruscan ruins on site, with the most incredible olive groves, oak trees, mushrooms and mosses growing everywhere. The first day I arrived, I instantly fell in love with a wild mint growing all around called nepeta. In fact, this is the only subject muse that I started to paint in my time there. Nepeta has a layered musky and minty smell, almost like oregano, thyme and mint combined. It has beautiful little purple flowers that dot all along the craggy brown hillsides. I felt instantly that nepeta was a friend of mine that I came to connect with. Also on my first day, I found an incredible circle of oak trees, right next to the ancient ruins. In stepping into this perfect circle of trees, with one oak tree in the very center, I knew that it was a sacred space. I could feel the aliveness and the sense that ritual and ceremony were once held there. From that moment on, I went back to those oak trees every single day, multiple times a day. I’d sit on the wooden swing hanging between two of the oaks, and listen to the birds, feel the trees, and sing and dance. I was fully allowing my little girl/wise woman to be free. This became my creative process every single day. When it was time to go, I cried knowing that I couldn’t take this magical circle of trees with me. Tuscany feels so ancient. Human beings have been living there for a very long time. You often see seashells amongst the rock and soil because at one point those hills were under the ocean, many, many moons ago. The forests and mosses, chestnuts and mushrooms, all make it feel sort of like the original fairytale. There is a lot of imagination and a lot of peace and history that comes out of those hills.
Artistically, I ended up collaborating with Mahya (the sound artist from Berlin), and Eva (the filmmaker from New York). More to come on that project, but I’ll just share now that it ended up involving song, movement and those magical trees. It felt incredibly vulnerable and also very alive and true, and you know when that combination comes into being (vulnerability + aliveness + truth) that it shouldn’t be ignored or taken for granted.
I’m feeling so grateful and filled up with all of the inspiration, beauty and love. It feels like a deep contrast to what we are going through in the States right now with this being election week. And, it feels even more necessary to allow myself to stay in that joy and beauty and gratitude. Joy is a radical act in times of turmoil. Our love is our resistance. I feel that I was given this opportunity so that my resilience and ability to bring light even into the darkest of corners is fortified and strong moving forward.
Thank you for reading these first musings as I continue to digest the experience of the last five weeks. I will have so much more to share in the coming months, especially around my creative practices that have been growing and changing and shifting in new ways.
Announcements!
Holiday Markets: I’m coming back to the States next week and I will be in FULL holiday mode with a lot of in-person markets planned between this month and next. Please check out the list of dates and venues on my instagram here! I’m especially excited about kicking it all off with the Marshall Handmade Market down in North Carolina at Odonata Farms. As you all may know, Marshall got hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Helene and could really use all of our support right now. Supporting local makers and artists is such a beautiful way to do so.
Holiday order deadline: December 1st. Thank you for all of the 2025 illustrated calendar orders coming in!! My holiday elves have been fulfilling your orders back home, and will continue to do so until December 1st. After that, you can find me in person at the holiday markets, but otherwise online sales will be put on hold until the new year. Also, a reminder that if you are a paid subscriber to this newsletter, you have a 15% off code to my webshop that never expires! Contact me if you need the code again.
New Prints!: Next week is my birthday week (woo!) and in celebration I will be releasing a couple of new prints!! Including my panettone and birthday cake watercolors.
Workshops 2025: I’m currently putting together watercolor workshop offerings for 2025. If you would like to partner or collaborate together on a workshop, please reach out! My desire is to put together a spring time UK tour (hey Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales!) as well as offerings around the US. My watercolor classes have a particular focus on mindfulness, ritual and place. I aim to offer you guidance in my particular style of painting, but mostly desire to offer you the space to feel the peace and calm that naturally comes from being in the practice. I love partnering with florists, farmers, chefs, cooks, other makers, somatic practitioners and artists. If this feels aligned, I would love to see what we can create together.
Thank you all for following along as I come back to reality! I’ll be sharing more in the next couple of weeks about the organization I am donating 10% of calendar profits to, RVA Community Fridges.
You know I love giving recommendations, and I love even more to know that this one delivered in spades! Can't wait to hear more details about this transformative experience! xo
Thank you for sharing about your residency, it sounds like it was a very restorative time.