ABOUT CITTADELLA (2)

 La Cittadella dei Sibillini has been our creativiy retreat for some eight years now. Although I'd first discovered it 25 years ago when I had decided to escape from Tuscany to a far off land on the other side of the Peninsula;...... Le Marche. 

    the restaurant at Cittadella

I'd made some new best friends and one weekend they invited me to join them for lunch at a secret venue in the Sibillini mountains, andto go walking there in the forests. But also to go to a country restaurant called Cittadella, and to meet the owner Silvio, whose guest house nestles in the valley, beneath the majestic Mount Vettore. As well as the Hobbit like restaurant, there was a wine cellar, stocked with an astonishing variet of wines and our host  invited us to join him for a lunch (which drifted into an extended aperitifs hour or more); a long afternoon of celebration about nothing in particular, except maybe it was simply of life itself, perched as we were on a mountainside, some 1,800 metres in the sky.

    Morning Ci Kung, by the pool

And I was smitten....

..........By the beauty of the landscape.

By tales of its fascinating history; of the Piceni tribes who lived here; a people whose origin has never been traced but whose art and culture was breathlessly beautiful

   Gong session with Giovanni

And they in turn conquered by those bullies, the Romans, who built cities and towns across the countryside as far north as the ancient Greek City of Ancona.

By the stories of fairies and witches who still abound here, and to realise that the ancient Nature Religions are still thiving here to this day

And then the seductive charm of Cittadella itself, of its enigmatic owner Silvio, who in his mild way, embodies the very essence of this part of the Apenines; the rivers, the forests, the mountains and their bubbling streams. As if they are embedded in his DNA.

  Art café

Writing this, I am reminded of what the American artist and teacher, Robert Henri, wrote to his students some 130 years ago, that 'The objective isn't just to make art, but rather to be in that state of mind where art becomes inevitable

   Morning get together

And yes, Cittadella is a state of mind. To excercise early of a morning by the side of the pool; to do Tai Chi and Chi Kung beneath Mt Vettore in the crystal clean air. To open our senses to the wind and the boundless sky, to the awakening sounds of nature, the birdsong chorus. And later, after breakfsat, walking in the forest; cupping our hands into a mountain stream and splashing our faces; to say good morning to life, to Mother Nature.

 Time to rest and contemplate

And indeed, this is where creativity finds us

It flows through us

And we experience the urge to create beyond ourselves, to make images, to make forest art, to write poetry, music; and to laugh together at our good fortune to be here, at this time, at this place.

To give life back to life,

Michael

For further information or questions about Michael's workshops, go to his website www.michaeledridgestudio.com

Or you can mail him on micermice@gmail.com

And for this week's GUARDIAN write up on Le Marche, read this

art/4;lAND ART UPDATE

I wrote this a few days back in my previous blog

'But we are no longer children and the experience is different for us. It is deeper and longer lasting, It is as if it is something which we cannot summon, but one which arrives as a gift, as if it is in a message brought to us by a bird or a totem animal. I have had many of such experiences, but now is not the time to write about them;  I will in my next blog'

And here it is. This just popped up from the ether two days ago, as if by chance...It's a reel

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4DiFwOoNqv/?igsh=Mjljams2aTB5dHFr

I have had the good fortune of meeting and being taught by a Shaman in the States and this brings back memories, stories to tell.

Sometime.

But here's a poem in the meantime from my poet friend Colin Pink

My mountain workshops in summer are open for booking now and you can read about them on my site , which is in Italian and English.

They are based at Cittadella, in the Sibillni National Park of Le Marche in Italy; an area steeped in history and blessed by nature. It's an artist's refuge, a place to rediscover yourselves with painting, poetry, walking in the wild and making land art by the gushing mountain streams, TaiChi and Ci Kung too of a morning before breakfast

Contact Michael at micermice@gmail.com

 

Art/4; land art

 

    the Fiastra river

Art/4;Nature;

Land art

Yesterday morning found us four artists at the river of Fiastra, which flows past the Abbey of the same name. And flowing it was, at a noisy and phenomenal rate after the heavy rains of the last weekend. We groped our way through thickets and brier and had to jump down into a steep ditch and into mud to get near to the river edge

We never ever plan exactly what we are going to do on our fortnightly excursions into the wild, but we always come prepared with paints and colours and paper, inks, pens, you name it, just in case.

But as soon as we'd reached the river bed, whatever intentions we might have had, dissolved and were washed down stream, because..

We were instantly making land art, on our knees, scabbling about, collecting twigs, leaves, stones, branches, wild flowers; whatever we came across to.... well, it's hard to say really, because, .....because, we had become totally absorbed. No ideas coming from our heads, (but from who knows where ?); as if it were the river, or the trees guiding our hands.

We lost track of time and some auto instinct had me look at my watch and low and behold we were minutes away from a lunch I'd booked at a local pub and we were hungry.

Food before art I always say, so I zoomed off to secure our table and the others followed rapidly as if by magic, arriving just minutes after me. Mysterious that, because they'd been miles behind.

So there you have it.

We discovered something new in our creative lives. Land art takes you into a realm, a state of mind perhaps, or even no mind, which feels good, which feels peaceful and which washed away the monkey chatter in our brains, as swiftly as a crashing river.

We've done this in our childhood, we remember all these innocent things from when we were kids; sand castles on the beach, collecting shells and driftwood, making love promises on trees and daisy chains for our first love when we are young, gathering blackberries and mushrooms and making little boats out of twigs and leaves to float our wishes to a magic kingdom in our imaginations, blowing dandeline wishes into the sky.

But we are no longer children and the experience is different for us. It is deeper and longer lasting, It is as if it is something which we cannot summon, but one which arrives as a gift, as if it is in a message brought to us by a bird or a totem animal. I have had many of such experiences, but now is not the time to write about them;  I will in my next blog

If you don't mind waiting ;0)

And we will meet again......... by the river!

Best wishes,

Michael

You can contact Michael for more about his art/nature/workshops in Italy here

or contact him at micermice@gmail.com

It's Imbolc

 Good morning!

It's the first of February, my favourite day. It's Imbolc, the ancient celtic festival which celebrates the return of the light; an auspicious day to launch my new website, waving it fondly on its way.
I've squashed everything into it, everything I think, feel and do; my art, my workshops in Italy, my on2one sessions here too, my blogs and, a new feature, my Podcasts.
And I'm throwing in a new painting from my Forest series, just for good measure, It's about light and water, as you will no doubt imagine.
Happy Imbolc, and here's the website; michaeleldridgestudio.com
Michael

The things you do for art. ART/4 sensorial day 3

 At  Smerillo late December 

Smerillo is a little town close to Amandola where we once lived. In altitude it is nearly 900 metres and it is renowned for its chestnut festivals and  for its spectacular views across the entire spectrum of Le Marche.

So, what are we doing wedged inside this crack in the mountain side you might wonder?

Well, it was supposed to be one of our art sensorial days (we being our little art group ART/4;nature)

Every three weeks or so we venture out into forests, mountains, rivers etc and simply absorb nature, its air, its trees and bushes, ite light and its sounds. And this was one of those days.

Not quite so though

Because it was cold, not 9C as it was when I left home but barely 3C with a strenghtening easterly wind.

And the whole town was closed; not a bar open and another human being in sight except  a pixie like gentleman who assured us that indeed Wednesday wasn't the day to visit; everything closed, except a huge restaurant which was to open at 12,30. We booked lunch for later and went exploring.

Now I must explain that Smerillo has a distinctly ex Hippy feel about it; that  'Where have all the Hippies gone' sort of feeling, with those lingering and faded colours still discernable here and there on closed bars and pubs (just one) too, with elfic names. You know what I mean.

                                  This is not an Elf but me with a new best tabby cat friend

The Elf like lovely young girl at the empty restaurant told us that the equally famous ring around Smerillo walk had been closed off, because it was dangerous after recent storms, but she winked and said go for it anyway there's nobody around to stop you

We did, and got a third of the way around and began to think it was an elfik trick.

Because you know, Elves can invisibilise themeslves (and others) at whim,

Bur we continued bravely on, slipping and sliding as we approached the also equally famous gola ahead (see above)

The thing about Smerillo, is that it's unusual

All the little hilltop towns hereabouts are also similarly so, each in their own particular way.

And our lives, as artists; are equally unusual and would we have it any other way? So it follows, doesn't it that we hate so called normality and avoid it in every way and every day possible. 

We yearn for a world  where the confines of conformity and the cultural herding and indoctrination of 

mankind abates and is unravelled.

So, you see, our monthly art trips, into mountains and forests, serve as a sort of deconditioning, to put us back into that state of being where art and creativity become its natural outcome.

To quote Robert Henri 'The objective isn't just to make art, it is to arrive in that state where art becomes inevitable'

I'll  leave you with a forest painting from our previous art adventure

Buon Anno,

Michael

Should you wish to can contact me, to get information about my art workshops in Italy, or about my work, you'll find me via my new website, michaeleldridgestudio.com

ART, the senses, the forest

Our little  group of art friends is made up of enthusiasts who work with various forms of expression and who find their main inspiration from deep contact with nature.

                                    Judy Offord

                                  Judy Offord

On Wednesday last, we met at the Abbey of Fiastra,  and we trekked to the forest on a gorgeous day of dappled light which splashed through the trees, pushed along by a hesitant wind

Duncan Campbell

              

'Those who know, do not speak. Those who speak, do not know

It's a Chinese saying that comes in handy when silence and listening are essential and in the forest everyone seeks out a place which has caught their attention and then,simply, we absorb our surroundings; this by firstly doing a breathing exercise for a while and then to begin to sketch and make memory marks, whilst at the same time naturally breathing in the aromatherapy of phytoncides (essences) from the trees and vegetation.(You know we absorb these immmediately into our bloodstreams, into our bodies and into our brains). Then, don't ask me how, but somehow those ever persistent thoughts diminish and we are afforded the experience of pure presence. 

And then our art just happens as if by magic

Art; the desire to create, which comes naturally; not forced from the mind, but simply flowing into the mind

                                                 

                                    Michael Eldridge

                                            

                            
                           micermice@gmail.com

                                           michaeleldridgestudio.com

La Cascada da Forcella, arte e natura (IT)

 

Cascada da Forcella l'ho scoperta solo di recente quando Claudia ed io stavamo cercando un luogo dove trascorrere una giornata sensoriale in questa parte montuosa delle Marche. Una giornata sensoriale? Sì, uno in cui osiamo semplicemente aprire i nostri cinque sensi al mondo, in particolare alla Natura.

Tutto inizia prima della colazione nel nostro centro di Cittadella; Tail Ci, Ci Kung, la bolla magica e i rondoni che ci bombardano con la loro curiosità. Vedi, più tardi nella foresta, in un posto come La Cascada dove ci siamo solo noi, pesci e farfalle, ci sistemiamo tra le rocce e le radici degli alberi

Chi sa non parla, chi parla non sa! Queste istruzioni al gruppo hanno ricevuto sguardi perplessi, ma ho spiegato che era solo un gioco a cui stavamo giocando (e dopo tutto, non era forse Einsein a dire: "L'unico modo che impariamo è attraverso il gioco!"). sedevamo distanti gli uni dagli altri e respiravamo profondamente per dieci minuti per assorbire le essenze degli alberi nei nostri corpi, quindi disegnavamo in silenzio per un'ora o due, aprendo i nostri sensi in completo assorbimento.

Siamo tornati a Cittadella a metà pomeriggio per rivedere i nostri schizzi e selezionarne uno o due da trasformare in dipinti. Sono sicuro che tutti voi avete avuto l'esperienza di entrare in quello stato di creatività in cui create oltre voi stessi e quando vi risvegliate alla cosiddetta realtà, vi meravigliate di ciò che è stato prodotto.

Alla fine del giorno successivo abbiamo realizzato un enorme dipinto da regalare a Silvio, il proprietario di Cittadella.

Lo facciamo ad ogni visita e ora ha una bella collezione

È stato divertente

                    "L'unico modo in cui impariamo veramente è attraverso il gioc

                     Albert Einstein

 Michael Eldridge