And the Countdown Begins: Day 106

I submitted my final screenplay adaptation on Sunday morning, did my final review for painting on Tuesday, and took my final exam for Italian on Wednesday. All I have left is a final on Monday for my Film Genres class! Since I don't have much to study for, I've been enjoying my last few days in Rome. In the afternoon after my Italian final, I went shopping for some leather for gifts and visited the Villa Borghese for probably the last time.

The Spanish Steps in full bloom

The view of Piazza di Popolo from the Borghese Gardens

Today, I finally went to St. Peters Basilica with two friends; we left at 7:30 to beat the crowds, and didn't leave until about 11:00. I had a moment where I realized how much I actually did learn in my Italian class when I had to ask where to buy tickets for the dome! The communication was still shaky, but I was proud of myself!

After going through security, we bought tickets to go up to the top of the dome. WARNING: If you get claustrophobic, this may not be the best idea. And if you have asthma, bring your inhaler. There are 500 steps to climb, although there’s a lift to climb, and the closer you get to the top, the more narrow, cureved, tops-turvy, and spiraly the stairs become. Not to mention the heavy smell of hundreds of sweaty people.

Nonetheless, there was a phenomenal view of the city from all angles at the very top of the dome, and an awesome view of the inside of the Basilica.  It was actually kind of nice to have waited until one of my last few days in Rome because I was actually able to recognize landmarks from the top of the dome, and was definitely able to appreciate the beauty and size of the Basilica more than I would have three months ago.

The inside of the Basilica from behind the grate on our way up to the top of the dome.

The amazing mosaic work that encompasses the entire inside of the dome. The "oil paintings" in the Basilica were also replaced with mosaics so they wouldn't get damaged in the humidity.

The narrow stair case...

View from the top... we made it!

When the Pope comes out, this entire circle is PACKED with people... it's quite a site to see

The outside of the Sistine Chapel. The chimney's are really hard to see, but they are there!

A crest in the gardens

The dome, which was designed by Michelangelo

This is apparently the height of a 7-story building and was built centered over where the tomb of St. Peter's originally was found, which is two feet to the left (I believe) of where it lies today

There are plaques on the floor marking where other churches end compared to this one. Yes, we get it, it's massive. 

The Pieta, which means Pity. This was done by Michelangelo, and is the only piece that he signed, supposedly because he overheard some people praising another sculptor for the work so he reacted by carving his name into the sash across Mary.  This is the sculpture that some crazy guy ran into the Basilica and started chipping away at Mary's nose until someone finally stopped him, so there is now a layer of bullet proof glass protecting it!

The ceiling of the dome. The red and blue blur in the very center is a portrayal of God. 

The Bernini dove stained glass window above the chair of St. Peter. If you don't know the story, Peter was supposedly the first Bishop of Rome, and having been sent by Jesus, he was crucified for his attempt to preach to the Pagan's in Rome, and was thought to have been killed at a spot marked by a mosaic of the scene on the left side of the Basilica, but now is believed to have been killed much closer to where my campus is!

We walked around for a while after that and got some pastry’s at a bakery in Camp dei Fiori. I definitely need to go back there to pick up the rest of my gifts!

When I got back home to make lunch, I checked my email and got really nervous when I saw one from my Screenwriting professor. Even though I took the class for credit/no credit, I have probably learned more in class than in most other classes I have taken, mostly because it directly affects my career and is something I am passionate about. I ended up earning an A in the class – woohoo!! – and an A on my final script! He had told us in class that rarely does he give lower than a B- and rarely does he give higher than an A-, so I am really proud of that!

These are the comments he left on my script:

EXCELLENT JOB, ELIZA, A PLEASURE TO READ. THE ONLY NOTE I HAVE REALLY IS REGARDING THE NEED TO PUT IN THE TRANSLATOR’S DIALOGUE AND BE CLEAR WITH WHO SPEAKS GREEK WHEN, AS I NOTED IN THE SCRIPT ALONG THE WAY. YOU HANDLED HOLMES, WATSON, MYCROFT AND VICTORIAN LONDON VERY WELL, YOU BORROWED FROM HOLMES’ STORIES TO INCLUDE ELEMENTS THAT ARE QUINTESSENTIAL HOLMES, YOUR TIMING WAS VERY GOOD, FORMAT JUST RIGHT, NO GLARING ERRORS, AND THE STORY PLAYS SMOOTHLY. A FUN READ, WELL DONE.

This is the best feedback I have gotten back all semester, so that just shows how much I have improved! 

And then I started packing... 5 days to go people.

Observation of the Day: Don’t make me leave. I wonder what would happen if I just “missed my flight”…

ART: Day 104

So today I had my final review for my Painting Techniques Class. I had to turn in a five page paper on a contemporary artist in which I analyzed two of her works and explained why I felt her work reflected mine; I chose an amazing Canadian artist named Malinda Prud’homme. Check out her art and the meaning behind it – its truly beautiful and I relate to it on so many levels.

I also had to turn in my final project, which had to be Roman themed, or as Professor Ennis put it, “have a little Roman flavor.” I didn’t have a lot of time to complete it, so I decided to go with my own kitchy tourist impression of a really beautiful painting I saw in the Santa Maria Maggiore the first few weeks I was here. It actually turned out better than I expected for stepping so far out of my comfort zone.

This was my inspiration from the Santa Maria Maggiore

And this is my final project I painted in maybe 4 hours total...

And now, here are the rest of my paintings that I have worked on throughout the entire semester and a little explanation of each one:

This was the first painting I did - Professor Ennis looked at my sketch book, saw this eye, and asked me to do it on a larger sheet of paper. So I did, but then she told me to paint the background black after I had suggested painting eyelashes on it. I was skeptical at first, but it turned out pretty well.

Painting number two: After a long day walking around the historical center of Rome at the beginning of the semester, we had hangrily picked a random touristy restaurant where we ate in the basement and had a very strange experience. There was s black sequence curtain downstairs that I became obsessed with, so I decided to paint it. Then Ennis had me modify the background and I spent at least three weeks trying to make the background look okay. While I still really don't like the background, I think the drape turned out very well. 

Painting number three: I love yoga and I love sunsets, so I thought, why not paint them together? I used a picture I found on Google for this one. I really enjoyed blending the sky, but the water was definitely more challenging. that shadows weren't too difficult since they were mostly black... 

Painting number four: I adore roses, and I usually end up painting a rose if I'm in a painting class, so here we are! However, as I have mentioned before, I am not entirely comfortable painting with acrylics because it is harder to blend and be hyper-realistic like I prefer, so I decided to step out of my comfort zone and use larger brush strokes that aren't blended as well as they can be. An alternative version to that story is it was almost half-way through the semester and I needed to get more paintings done quickly and this technique allowed me to paint much faster. I decided to use black and white because I love black and white and they are easier to blend because you are only dealing with two colors rather than three or four. At first, I painted the background pink, but it washed the rose out and added nothing, so I painted it a dark red, which actually made the rose really stand out. What I love about this painting is that it's sort of an inverse rose, and I was able to paint this with only references to pictures of roses! Professor Ennis loved this painting because I was challenging myself, so she encouraged me to paint a still life of fruit she had set out in an abstract style. 

Side not - my professor was asking each of us if we were willing to donate one of our paintings to a children's hospital for a new project she had started, so I chose to donate my rose!

Here is the result... it is by no means finished, nor will it ever be. There are things I like about it, but mostly there are things I don't like. However, I painted this with the technique of dabbing my paint brush rather than stroking it, which is what allowed me to do my next painting, which I am actually very proud of. 

Painting number six: I traveled to Ireland over Spring Break, and while I was in Galway, I took an amazing picture of this huge wave (that almost killed Kasey) at the Worm Hole on Inismore, the big Aran Island. I decided to paint it because I found it beautiful in its landscape, power, and even near lack of color. I have never been particularly talented at painting landscape, but I am pleased with how this one turned out!

This was the inspiration-photo

So after that, I finally started painting what I am really passionate about: human faces, particularly eyes. It just happens to be a coincidence that I ended up painting two self-portraits of sorts.

This is my favorite painting I did all semester. These are my eyes that I painted from one of my senior pictures. I find eyes incredibly beautiful and fascinating to paint because that is where almost all of the emotion of the person is captured. Nothing was particularly easy about this, but the most difficult part of painting any eye is getting the reflection right. I'm not sure if I got it quite right, but I didn't have time to keep re-painting all semester, so I left it like this. I got a lot of comments about this one at the Art Exhibit, and I even saw some girls taking a picture of the eyes looking at them - it was hilarious!

So for my next painting I had another picture of my eyes that I wanted to do, also a senior picture. At first, I was only going to paint one eye on one canvas, but then I got an idea that I have always had an interest in doing and painted two other canvases from the same picture. Keep this in mind when you look at them, I painted them all very quickly (each canvas in under 10 hours) so there are still many things that need to be fixed about them - especially the mouth.

Here is the progression of the first eye that I painted:

And here is the final product!

So next, I decided to paint the other eye on a separate canvas. This was a challenge because I was painting them at two separate times, and I didn't even have this one with me when I painted the second, so the colors are slightly off. 

The differences: I like the skin tone better in the second one, but I like the eyebrow better in the first one (I spent more time on the individual hairs). However, the eyelashes in this one are much more realistic because I clumped them together like real eyelashes do after a classmate suggested to. The reflections in the irises were, as usual, extremely hard to paint, so the eyes might not be looking in the same direction exactly. Also, the shape of this eye is a little longer, or more stretched out, than the other. 

Finally, I painted the bottom of my nose and mouth on my last canvas. I did this in about four hours, so it's not actually done, and there are a lot of things I need to fi, but it's a good start. 

Now to put it all together...

A little weird maybe, but not too bad. I think if I had more time to spend on it they would have looked even better! But I actually think they all look much better together than they do separately!

I enjoyed my painting class a lot this semester, and can really see some improvement in my skills. I can't wait to start using my oils again and paint portraits for people!

Observation of the Day: Who am I kidding, I will never have time to paint. I will try to make time this summer because it is one of my favorite hobbies, but my passion for making short films and doing leadership stuff will always come first (after my job so I can pay bills), so I probably won't have much time... That's why I took the class here!

Would you like your stress scrambled or sunny-side up?: Day 100

As the days are winding down to the end of the semester, I have been scrambling to finish projects and study for exams, as almost every college student can relate to. This past week, I had an oral exam for Italian, a group presentation on Femininity and Gender Roles in Horror Films for Film Genres, a Cultural Video Project for Italian, and a peer critique for Painting.

The group presentation actually went really well to my knowledge, and I enjoyed our topic, specifically the decade and two movies I discussed: 1990’s horror, focusing on The Silence of the Lambs and Scream. The oral exam, however, did not go as well as I thought and my partner (my roommate Paige) and I felt we got a little jipped because we were the only pair that she didn’t have any notes for. I’m not too concerned about the grade because I have done well on everything else, but it’s still a little frustrating when a professor gives you a grade and can’t even tell you why when you ask them. We did get an A on the Cultural Video Project though! 

Next week my 30 page adaptation of The Adventures of the Greek Interpreter for Adapting Literature to the Screen is due on Monday, my final portfolio review and two more paintings are due on Tuesday, and my final exam for Italian is due. I will also (fingers crossed) finally be shooting the short film project that myself and a three other people had started working on after spring break.

And then it’s my last weekend, my last exam on Monday, and I wave bye bye to Rome from my 6 AM flight on Tuesday, May 12^th.

Observation of the Day: As my favorite band understands, the TimeFlies. But this semester really has been Worth It. Also, side-note, my phone shuffled to Home by Michael Bublè the other day and I actually started tearing up, because unlike the song, I don’t want to go home. I want to see my friends and family, but them coming here would be ideal.

The Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Day 93-95

Maybe not quite that old, but a few thousand years feels ancient enough to me. 

Athens, Greece. I heard from everyone that has ever been to Greece that it is an incredibly dirty city – well, none of them were wrong. It’s so disappointing to think about how this ancient place has suffered through so much economic turmoil in recent history, but it is still such a fascinating place!

An actual pile of trash right by our hostel

Once we had landed, we took the metro about 45 minutes into Athens, but on the fault of my own, we got off one stop too early. With the aid of a McDonald’s wifi, we found our way to our hostel by foot, and were able to check in around 10 AM.

We got gyros for lunch, which are a famous meal in Greece that consists of pita bread, shaved pork or chicken, and other toppings kind of like an Americanized Mexican taco. It cost one euro and 50 cents at a place called Joy’s.

Following some relatively inaccurate directions given to us by the receptionist at our hostel, we asked around and were able to find the inter-city bus we were looking for to go to Sounion and see the Temple of Poseidon. We had a whole hour to kill before the bus departed, so we decided to drag our tired selves through a park nearby that turned out to be full of really shady looking people and possibly a dead dog. So obviously we left and just waited at the bus stop.

The incredibly creepy park

After a nap and nearly a two hour bus ride, we made it to the incredible Temple of Poseidon. Otherwise known as the Sanctuary of Poseidon, the temple rests on the southern most point of Attica and was built in 444 BC. It was first referenced to in the Odyssey, and it lies about 500 meters away from the Sanctuary of Athena. 

View from the Temple of Poseidon

The Temple of Poseidon

There were so many beautiful flowers there! Which also mean a lot of bees..

Sounion apparently has one of the top 10 best sunsets in the world, but unfortunately it was cloudy and we could only watch it from the bus.

It was still incredible and way better than these pictures can depict. 

We devoted our second and last day in Athens to the Acropolis, which was a lot bigger than we expected. It was absolutely jaw dropping to be surrounded by such immensely ancient structures. We spent our entire morning  exploring the ruins, including the infamous Parthenon, until I ripped my leggings and had to go find some replacement pants. Luckily, there were a lot of shops nearby and I found some loose black cotton pants at this store that I can only describe as “hipster”.

The teatro still had seats in it!

A renovated teatro that still hosts events

The Parthenon

The Parthenon again

And again. 

Amazing view of Athens

The Temple of Erechthieon

The museum where I ripped my leggings...

The Temple of Hephaestos

We all had soulvaki for lunch and then proceeded with our exploration, ending in the massive Acropolis Museum. We were all completely exhausted from very little sleep and various sicknesses, so the rest of our late afternoon and evening was spent sitting in a café, the National Park, walking around the Acropolis, and eating a meat platter for dinner at a restaurant with a phenomenal view of the top of the Acropolis lit up for the night.

The Temple of Zeus (I think)

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

The National Park Entrance

The Athens security at the Airport was very interesting, and although it seemed inefficient at times, we got through it really quickly and had a smooth flight home.

Observation of the Day: It sucks to be sick anywhere, it just sucks a little less in Greece. I had a pretty bad cold the week before, and it only got worse over the weekend in Athens, but I still had a great time. My ears are already sensitive, but when I’m sick and a plane is descending, the last twenty minutes of the flight feels like sharp knives in my ears. To add to my struggles, they got plugged up and took the rest of the day to clear up, while my eyes were leaking some goopy junk and making my contacts so blurry I could see worse with them than without them. I’m sure you’re thanking me for this image right now, so you’re welcome. But the real reason I’m describing this is to say that there are times in your life when you can’t slow down for anything because you might miss out on a once in a life time experience. The next time I get sick though, let me tell you, I will be lying in bed watching Netflix all day. All day.  (For those of you who watch New Girl, just picture Schmidt saying that last line).