Days 6-8: It is safe to say that my life has been changed

These past six days have been nothing short of life changing.
In particular the first of these six days, during the time spent out in Massa Marittima, Tuscany.  Not even the famous cities of Rome and Florence compare to what I experienced from two artists we met out on the Tuscan landscape.

Massa Marittima is a quaint, small, hillside town which used to be a popular mining town.  I don't quite remember what it was exactly what they mined, but the hills in this area were and still are fairly rich with iron, copper, mercury and lead.  When the mines were closed many people left the city, and now it is much quieter and simple.  Because it is a hillside town there are lots of elevation changes and we all certainly became a little more fit from walking up and down the numerous switchbacks and steep streets.  It had the cramped and confined feeling of most Italian cities though and being here reminded me of a quieter, less busy Rome.  There were no street vendors, no people trying to sell you sunglasses, roses, gimmicky toys, purses, paintings or prints on every street, and people would actually say hello as you passed them on the street.  I think I would take that over the city life any day.  Call it heresy, but with each days we spend in Florence I like it less and less.  Sure there are grander buildings, richer history and more to do, but that is not what I'm about.  There are a lot of things I don't like about Florence and most have to do with the tourism, but I won't dwell on those or bring down your opinion or expectations of this gorgeous city.  I just prefer the simpler, slower, kinder life.  I am too polite to ever live in the city.

But what really makes me love Massa are the people.  While we didn't really get to know many people in Massa, the ones we did meet were kind to us, and the artists we met were incredibly moving, each in their own way.  These two individuals which changed my life there were Marco Zeno and Rodolfo Lacquaniti.  Rodolfo is the one who moved me the most, and I am still processing and contemplating on what I experienced, so when I have finally comprehended what happened and can organize my thoughts I will share them with you all.

Marco is an incredibly happy individual who loves to share his happiness with those around him, in particular the ones who want to listen and learn.  He is a sculptor of clay and wood as well as a painter.  Listening to him describe his art and what it means to sculpt was moving in itself.  He explained concepts that might have been summed up in one word, such as passion, understanding, sharing and love, but chose instead to describe them artistically and in detail with many words, really explaining what those concepts meant to him.  He was a beautiful combination of insight, wisdom, happiness and fun.  He explained what it was to mold clay, how it is an extension of one's self, as all art is, but also showed us this fact.  He really showed me how to mold clay with feeling, not just technique.  He showed me how to let go of the perfectionist I am and be free and simply have fun with the clay.  There was no pressure to be perfect but to complete the work.  He said that this was the lesson he taught to children who first touch the clay, and some of us there were touching clay for the first time in our lives.  He would encourage us to create and idea and then create that in the clay, and he was so happy to help each and every one of us with our works and give us pointers and make us laugh.  He was so incredibly happy to talk about his passion, share it with us, and guide us along our own works, and it was evident in everything he said and did.

I found it a bit strange though, that while he went around to every single one of us and asked us what we were doing, what we needed help on and gave us assistance, when it came to mine he would look at me and basically just "check up" on me.  He didn't ask me what I was doing, I never had to explain my idea, and I wasn't looking for ways to improve my piece, he simply would walk by and give me a questioning thumb up as if you say "you good?"  I would smile and nod, and he would go onto the next person.  I don't mean to say that he didn't want to help me, or that my piece was so bad that it never got around to the detail stage, or that I am somehow special and he seemed to think I knew what I was doing; it's none of these things.  I was having my own experience working with the clay and was reflecting on how he viewed his art and art in general.  To be dirtying my hands with the clay and being free from worrying about its perfection was liberating in itself for me, and I think he seemed to know that.  I didn't really have an idea, because I was simply happy to be free forming art without the pressure that I put on myself for no reason.  That was what he taught me and showed me how to live out, and that was all I needed.

The moving part though was how he was showing me how to be who I really want to be.  And even more personally, exactly how I used to be when I was so incredibly happy with my life.  Please, Mom, Dad and my whole family, do not think that I am not grateful for everything that you have made possible for me, because you all are the reason I am where I am today and you are the reason I am in Italy now and had the opportunity to meet these beautiful people, but the past few years at college I have let go a lot of who I was and let lesser important things dominate my life.  I work hard in my classes and my jobs, and that is important, but every other moment outside of what responsibilities I have has not been spent being who I want to be.  Things which are lesser, distracting, worthless, unproductive, and I wonder why I am unhappy so often.  I find it ironic now, that I created a grumpy-faced man, as art being an extension of oneself, and didn't even consider it at the time.  Perhaps that person is no longer a part of me now.  Marco took me back to my roots of who I was and who I have been struggling to be for some time.  That is what moved me the most, was the liberating and self-realizing factor, I think.  He showed me his perspective of art, and in it I saw the old me and the me I want to be.  Rodolfo did this as well, but his work and the journey that he took us hit home in this respect, but went much further and encompassed things much greater than myself.

But aside from all the mushy stuff, everyone loved Marco.  He was a performer, truly he was.  He knew how to make us all laugh and to make us all feel confident in our works, and by the end of the time we had to sculpt we did a mini showcase sort of thing and everyone got to have their work held up to the light and admired.  I got lots of photos of everyone's work, so you will get to see all that we created that day.  He and his family fed us a fantastic Italian lunch and he was happy to share his food, wine and beer with us all, and we listened to his stories all through a happy and fun lunch.  We have officially invited him to Jacksonville, so when that happens in the future I will be sure to see him again and perhaps put on a grand meal that could hope to rival the one he shared with us.

Marco Zeno, an amazing, beautiful person, with an amazing and beautiful family.  They have a son, who was only a few months old I believe when we were there.  That child is going to have the greatest childhood in the history of childhoods, ever.  Like, we were all jealous of that baby, and we all wanted to just be adopted by his family.  Again, family I love you all very much and would never do that.  

I know I am very far behind, but just know it is because I am very busy and don't want to miss a thing with everybody here.  My instagram, twitter and flickr are more up to date, so follow those for more updated information.  I will write on Florence and all we have done here soon, but now I have to work on photography.  That's the one that is for a grade, so I gotta get to it.

Miss you all back home, I wish some of you could be here with me to see what I see, meet who I've met, and experience what I have.  If everyone could, the world would be a much better place.

Buonanotte a tutti!