Wednesday, August 14, 2019

In the Tuscany hills, part 2


Today I'm once again joining Gill of Gibby Frogett Craftations this month's host at Art Journal Journey where her theme is Anything With Eyes.  Further, I'm joining More Mixed Media again with their monthly theme that includes something bright.  And because Try it on Tuesday's fortnightly theme is Wish You Were Here, I'm joining their challenge, too.

We are once again headed to the Tuscany hills.   This will be our fourth trip to Tuscany.  We have been to the coast, then we went inland where we visited the countryside and farms, and a few days ago, we visited the hills when we went to Sienna, a World Heritage City.

Today we are stopping in Montepulciano.

Our first destination is the Piazza Grande.  The beautiful monumental square known as Piazza Grande is the hub of social life in this city.  Piazza Grande sits at the highest point of the city and offers one of the very few flat expanses in this hill town known for its sloped streets.

This is a magnificent medieval village.

I got the idea to try to imitate my internet friend Jo's entry a few days ago where she outlined her image with tape.  This turned out to be a nightmare and it pales in comparison to Jo's beauty.  The tape is quite tiny and was a gift from my friend Chris.

Located in the middle of a sprawling meadow outside Montepulciano is the Church of the Madonna di San Biagio.

This Renaissance masterpiece is flanked by two towers made of travertine. 

The bell towers are flanked by a cross.  Only one bell tower was completed.

There are four equal wings, two of which can be seen in the picture.

Of course, while in Montepulciano, a centuries-old wine cellar would definitely be on the agenda.

A visit to this world famous cellar is a voyage in time and history.   It's definitely a chance to admire the enormous Slavonian oak barrels that are hundreds of years old and filled with award winning red wines.

Of course, James is pining for Ela, and truly wishing she had been able to accompany him on this trip.

He's definitely a long way from home (and seems to be floating off the page due to my careless positioning of him).

For this page, I began by spritzing my handmade shimmering mists on both sides of the substrate, which is 110 lb card stock.  It was my belief that if I sprayed both sides, the paper would flatten easier.  Sadly, it made it crinkle and warp even more than if I had only spritzed one side.  I made this side bright so it would qualify for More Mixed Media.

The images came from an offer to visit Tuscany.  I added washi tape around the edges of the images.  I computer generated the words and printed them on my laser printer.  I colored them using water soluble crayons.  I also printed a postcard back and cut it.  I used a Zig pen to write the words and address.  His "wish you were here" message qualifies it for Try it on Tuesday.  The man, who is unfortunately floating in the air, is a TH paper doll.  Because the man has eyes, he qualifies for Gill's theme at Art Journal Journey.

Thank you beyond belief for visiting today.  I also hope you will join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey as well as Try it on Tuesday and More Mixed Media, too.


21 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful page, That really is a lovely place, and their wine tastes great. Thanks for sharing, and have a great day, Valerie

Cath Wilson said...

What a wonderful place to visit. I love the history of Europe and the diverse terrain of Italy really appeals to me. So beautiful.
Right now anywhere sunny would look appealingl to me, lol. It's like the middle of Autumn here in NW England! A very fleeting summer for us this year.
Perhaps James is walking on air because he's having so much fun...despite missing Ela! Or maybe he sampled a little too much wine...
Thank you for joining us at Try it on Tuesday, Elisabeth.
Cath x

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Lovely travel art journal page Elizabeth. The buildings and landscape are beautiful. I like the soft background you created for this.

My name is Erika. said...

Yahoo for more splatters and for another trip to Tuscany. I like the addition of the man and postcard. They do personalize the page a lot. Hope you're not getting any of that nasty weather I saw on the news this morning. Hugs-Erika

My name is Erika. said...

Oh and once again I forgot to mention thanks for joining us at TIOT. I'm kind of in a rush this morning with another curriculum day at work ahead. But thanks for joining us at I do wish I was there! Hugs-Erika

Divers and Sundry said...

Tuscany is great, but it's your background I'm focused on :) I really do need to try this technique, maybe with the watercolors I have.

CJ Kennedy said...

Wonderful page. I like the background. Reminds me of wildflowers you might see while climbing those Tuscan hills.

Jeanie said...

Isn't the light there beautiful? I don't think I've ever seen a photograph of Tuscany with light that didn't dazzle. It's a wonderful page, Elizabeth.

Caterina Giglio said...

Hi Dr. E! I am so sorry you are having such a tough time viewing my video.. no one needs an account or anything else to view YT... So I copied the link, it should work, if not, just email me at Caterinagigliodigison@gmail and we will see what we can do, Ok? https://youtu.be/bcEwGIOvVmU

Caty said...

OOOhhh What a so so Gorgeous Art journal page Elizabeth !! I looove it, the background is wonderful, as always your hand made shimmering mists are so beautiful, love the colours you have chosen. The Tuscany may be a great place to visit. I like very much the washi tape around the photographs. Thanks so much for sharing.
I wish you a v ery nice afternoon,
Big hugssss, Caty

Meggymay said...

I hope James will be taKing a few gifts home to Ela from his trip to Tuscany. It is a fabulous page and all the scenic photos of the places to visit looked beautiful. Your backgrounds look lovely. Thank you for adding another great page to our theme at Try it on Tuesdays.
Yvonne xx

da tabbies o trout towne said...

this is a really nice page Elizabeth !! I like the photos of the church and wine cellar...the barrels must be HUGE in real life; or appear as if they are ☺☺ we hope that bleu and squiggles are great and stayin IN trouble ☺☺♥♥

Sandra Cox said...

So majestic. And James looks great.

Powdered Toast Man said...

lovely pictures.

Valerie-Jael said...

And thanks for joining us at More Mixed Media! Valerie

Gibby Frogett said...

Fabulous page for AJJ Elizabeth - love background and the addition of the post card especially - poor Jamie - although I wouldn't have minded accompanying him to those wine cellars :)
Gill x

Birgit said...

I bet it really does shimmer which works so well with the images of Tuscany. That is always the issue when using wate on paper because it never looks nice and straight after no matter what.

Mrs.B said...

Another wonderful page from Tuscany, love the images you used and I was pleased to see you include the wine cellar, one of my favourite reds!
Thanks again for sharing with us at TioT
Avril xx

Rike said...

It's a great idea to let James make this wonderful travel to Montepulciano AND to wrote Ela truly wishing she had been able to accompany him!
Again very interesting facts about this landscape and the centuries-old wine cellar. Oh, only one bell tower of the Church of the Madonna di San Biagio was completed. Montepulciano is really a magnificent medieval village!
Hugs, Rike

Words and Pictures said...

Beautiful photos, especially the first with that stunning scenery sprawled in the background behind the blushing walls of the town. Another wild and wonderful background, and I love the touch of the vintage chap with his postcard.
Alison x

pearshapedcrafting said...

I love the background Elizabeth - and I love the post card to Ela from James! This is another lovely page for Try It On Tuesday! Thank You! Hugs, Chrisxx