While arranging bins of art supplies I came across my sketchbook from a semester in Florence, Italy, and it proved to be an amusing trip down memory lane. Italy was a game changer for me. There was the expected exposure to amaaaaazing art, and I was able to experiment with sculpture and printmaking, but living in a foreign country ended up helping me in ways I’d never thought of when planning a study abroad.
I went alone, through a program hosted by another college, and with no connection to the social circle I knew. Reasonably apprehensive about not knowing anyone, I wasn’t prepared for what truly being on my own in Italy would give me. A thicker skin, for one, and a greater ability to be comfortable going solo. I learned to travel alone, how to navigate situations without assistance, and in an ironic turn in the latter part of my stay, made a friend whom I still hold dear to this day.
But the largest lesson of all was learning I’ve got a lot to learn. About everything. Life in Italy opened my mind to broader experiences. Back then, this thrilled me and also filled me with sense of dread.
Living at my familiar campus with professors whose expectations I understood, and my creative habits in place, I’d lulled myself into believing I possessed a proper sense of how far I’d come, especially with art. I was so wrong.
Italy showed me MORE. From experiences such as gloved observation of original Old Master sketches in a museum attic, to simple admiration of the incredible work produced by students at my Florence-based school, I had to acknowledge how much more I had to learn. I’d like to say it excited me, but inside, I just felt left behind.
Flipping through my quick sketches from that trip made me smile. Honestly, nothing has really changed. There’s still much to explore and experience, and to improve upon, both in life and with my art, so the difference lies with my perspective. Post-Italy me was anxious about my creative process and direction. Two-plus decades later me is eager and thankful. Not any more certain about my path, but a lot more okay with acknowledging I don’t know where it will go.