September 18th through October 2nd this fall I will be visiting the International Center for the Arts to work with and learn from four legends of the artist book and paper world, Helen Hiebert, Carol Barton, Amanda Degener, and Denise Carbone. We will make paper by hand, create objects from paper, sew bookbindings, and design pop-ups. This is the most exciting professional opportunity I’ve had since attending Penland School of Craft to study with Julie Chen. 

The International Center for the Arts, founded in 1994, is located in a small village in Italy called Monte Castello di Vibio (Monte Castello means Mountain Castle). The village dates back to the medieval 15th century and is in Umbria overlooking the Tiber Valley.

This bijou village has a population of just 1,536, which is exciting to me because I am not fond of crowded places. I will also visit the Fabriano Paper Mill which is near by, and Florence, my favorite city in Italy where the Statue of David and  the Birth of Venus painting both reside. I anticipate this to be a peaceful, creative, reflective time. The last time I was in Italy was about 13 years ago.