ETSY SALE & NEW ART PRINTS!!!

I'm having a sale on the beads in my Etsy Shop: 15% to 20% OFF!

I've also begun listing my art prints. If you are interested in purchasing prints in a different size from what I've listed for sale currently, then just contact me and we can work it out. There are also other images on my website that you can contact me about ordering.

Hope you enjoy them and thanks for looking!

A Visit to the Toso Glass Collection

One day, while walking around Murano, I had the good luck to run into Arnoldo Toso who runs the Fratelli Toso Glass Factory on Murano. He invited me, Mike (my husband) and my friends who were with me, to come and look at his glass collection that is stored above his factory.

Arnoldo has been actively searching out art glass pieces that were made by his factory in the past and also those from other Muranese artists that he felt were important to have in his collection. He has found a lot of the pieces that he recovered in auctions that took place in different countries around Europe.

When you go to the Fratelli Toso factory, the plain entrance does not prepare you for the experience of getting to see the antique Toso glass collection. I am always dazzled by this collection of glass art and by the way that Arnoldo has it arranged. When you walk into the display area, your eyes are overwhelmed by so much fabulous glass art that is jammed together in loosely defined groups. There are tables filled with murrini vases, fabulous Venetian mirrors on the walls and outrageous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Many of the pieces are hundreds of years old, but they are generously mixed with groups of modern looking solid glass sculptures that were produced more recently, like in the 1950’s.

I have personally gotten to see this collection at least 3 times and each time Arnoldo adds a little more history to what I am looking at. The story he tells about how and for whom different projects got produced is a history lesson that is available only by word of mouth.

Seeing this collection of Muranese glass was one of the high points of my trip and I hope you enjoy the photos.

Trip to the Island of Burano

I took a side trip during my adventures in Venice/Murano, to have a fabulous lunch at the Black Cat Restaurant with friends on the island of Burano.

Burano is famous for its lace makers and fishermen and the amazing paint jobs on the houses of the town. Burano is one of the islands in the Venetian Lagoon that has a permanent population. The whole island is made up of buildings that look a lot alike except for the colors they are painted and it is this difference that makes visiting Burano such an artistic delight. Along with the fantastic paint jobs on all the houses, the inhabitants like to put pots of beautiful blooming flowers on their window sills, to add to the over all beauty of the island.

You have to take a boat from Murano to get to Burano that takes about 45 minutes, but the Sunday lunch I had at the Black Cat Restaurant was worth the boat ride. I have eaten at the Black Cat (called Trattoria al Gatto Nero da Ruggero in Italian) before in years past, but the meal I had during this trip to Burano was absolutely fabulous. Since the male population on Burano are fishermen, the seafood dishes at the Black Cat are as fresh as any I have had and very delicious.

I first got to know the Black Cat Restaurant when my husband and I had the opportunity to buy murrini directly from the Glass Master Mario Dei Rossi, who makes some of the finest glass murrinis in the world. Mr. Dei Rossi lives on the island of Burano in a house full of interesting art of many kinds. It is no longer possible to buy murrini directly from Mr. Dei Rossi, but you can see what is available and for sale on mostlyglass.com if you are interested in such things. I am posting a photo of one of Mario Dei Rossi’s murrini in this blog for all of those folks who have never seen one. They are artistically remarkable and highly collectible.

The lace made on Burano is very fine and unique, but is a dying art form because it is so time consuming to produce and younger generations of Burano women do not want to stay on Burano and make lace anymore. If you ever have the chance to make your way to Burano, buy some lace work there (I have myself) because it will be no more in the near future and be highly collectable.

If you have time when you visit Burano in the future, take the boat ride a little further through the lagoon and visit the island of Turcello. There is a very fine restaurant there and an old monastery with beautiful gardens, making for a quiet and pleasing side trip.

First Day in Venice and Murano

For those of you who don’t know, Venice and Murano, Italy are two island cities situated in the Venetian Lagoon that is located at the far northern end of the Adriatic Sea. They are built on a series of mud flat islands with canals running through them like highways and bridges to connect the neighborhoods. The energy of Venice and Murano is very different from the other cities I have visited while in Italy because there are only two ways to get around and they are by boat or by walking.



Venice was once a great trade and shipping port and grew very prosperous and showed its wealth by building gorgeous palaces along the many canals that worm their way through the city. Venice grew in a very organic manner and the streets are so confusing that it can be maddening finding your way through the city.

For my first day in Venice, I decided to walk the less traveled sections of the city with one of my beadmaking friends Nicole from Switzerland, who flew down to Venice to hang out with me for a few days. When you stay out of the tourist sections of Venice, you get a very different feel from the city. Many of the streets we were on had very few people on them because rather than huge groups of tourists clogging the narrow lanes, there was just a scattering of locals making their way home.



As we made our way through the sometimes tiny streets of Venice, we found humble, beautiful old neighborhood churches and stairways to boarded up buildings that are speckled with moss and plants that give it a dreamy, lost-in-time appearance.

Another charming thing that you find as you wander through these parts of Venice is all the small shrines to the Madonna and Child and different Catholic saints. You find these peppered all through Venice and Murano and in fact I saw them in all the Italian cities I visited. There are often fresh flowers placed at these tiny shrines, showing that the neighborhoods really care for these little treasures.



Our last stop on our way back to Murano was Vittorio Costantini’s shop where he makes the most outstanding lampworked fish, birds, sea creatures and bugs. Vittorio’s shop is only s few blocks from where you pick up the bus boat (vaperetto) to Murano.

Vittorio regaled us with huge glass beetles that looked real and many other beautiful glass art objects for which he is world famous. It is always a joy to visit with Vittorio and marvel at how much he gets done in the tiny space that is his showroom and work area. If you ever get the chance, by all means go see Vittorio and all his marvelous work.

Second Day in Florence

Our second day in Florence was devoted to seeing the huge and famous Duomo (church) that is one of the great historical glories of Florence and the tomb of the Medici family that is across the street from the Duomo. These two buildings represent the wealth and power that resided in Florence during the Renaissance. Florence is still an important city in Italy, but during the time that these buildings were constructed (the 14th and 15th century), Florence was a very powerful city-state and showed her prestige in the beautiful Duomo that she could afford to build. The church is so huge it makes you feel tiny and insignificant. There is no way to experience the whole building from the ground level which can only be viewed in its entirety from the air.

The Duomo is super eye candy and the carvings and sculptures go on and on around the building, while the inside of the Duomo is a little more subdued, except for the floors that are done in beautiful geometric patterns in black, white and grey marble.

The Medici Tomb across the street is a study in contrast to the Duomo. It is a relatively small, six sided, two story building that is made from black and white marble which makes it stand out from all the buildings that surround it. The most outstanding feature of the Medici Tomb is the famous set of golden doors that grace the side of the building that faces the Duomo. These golden doors are huge and outstanding and a must see for any art history buff. I have never seen anything like them and they are gorgeous.

Another feature on that side of the Arno River, where the Duomo and Tomb are located, is a huge public archway that comprises one side of Piazza della Repubblica. It is a grand structure and it gives the plaza an imposing presence.

After walking around Florence for two days looking at my feet so I didn’t trip on the uneven cobblestones and watching out for all the vehicles buzzing by my shoulders, I looked up on a wall not far from our Bed & Breakfast and I saw a graffiti dog on a wall that I had photographed when I was in Florence 3 years ago. I was stunned that this same strange graffiti dog was still on the 500 year old wall where some frisky young artist had placed it. I was so charmed by this graffiti dog 3 years ago, that I did a series of images based on it. I have included a photo of the graffiti dog from Florence in this blog.

After our day of sightseeing of the great monuments of Florence, we made our way back across the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio, which is better known as the Gold Bridge because it is covered from one end to the other with jewelry shops filled with gold jewelry and precious stones. We walked on until we reached the edges of the Pitti Palace grounds and found a wonderful wine bar where we could buy really good wine by the glass and finish our afternoon sipping Tuscany’s finest wines – yum!

Staying in Florence

After the peace and quiet of Siena, arriving at the train station in Florence can be a bit of a shock to the system. I know that I started my trip in Rome which has its share of wild traffic to dodge as you walk the city, but the traffic in Florence makes you feel like you have a target on your back.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Florence a lot, but there is something scary about the way you have to be really careful walking in Florence or you will get run over. It is crazy in the core of Old Florence. There are so many motorcycles buzzing down the narrow streets that you are always in danger of being squashed by one. There are also a wild assortment of cars, bicycles and trucks (and I mean huge trucks) that crowd the tiny ancient streets going about their daily business.

Going to the Uffizi Museum was tops on my list as a must see and the location of the Bed & Breakfast that was home base while in Florence was only 3 blocks away from the museum. The Bed & Breakfast was also only a half a block from the River Arno that runs through the middle of Florence and I had to walk along the river to get to the museum. This allowed me to take many beautiful photos of the Arno, with the beautiful old buildings that make up the old center of Florence reflecting in its slow dark green water. I also got the added treat of a lighting and thunder storm with its wildly clouded sky, to take photos of the city. The rain came down so hard that anyone on the street without an umbrella had to hide in covered windows or under the over hang of a building. While waiting out one of the heavier downpours, my friend Deonne and I met a local teenage girl who jumped off her bicycle and hid in a covered window space with us. She had this wild looking silver wire ring on her finger and Deonne asked where she got it and she told us she saw it in a toilet and pulled it out. Deonne and I said, "wow, what a great story," and I have included a photo of the girl with her silver wire ring.

Going to the Uffizi was a rare treat and very much worth doing because it is the biggest collection of Renaissance Art in the world. Every building and the plaza around the Uffizi is super eye candy also. A copy of Michelangelo’s “Dave” is in the Piazza Uffizi, along with a whole bunch of other great sculptures and it is kind of nice to see these large sculptures outside rather than inside the museum because you need to see them far away as well as close up.

After the Uffizi Museum, it was off to find cappuccinos and some great food and Florence has a lot of both. My next post will be about the huge Duomo (church) that Florence is famous for that is across the street from the tomb of the Medici family.

The Hill Town of Siena

After four days in Rome seeing the museums, famous sites and shopping, we headed for the best preserved medieval town in Italy – Siena. Gasoline is very expensive in Europe, so taking the train is the logical mode of travel for the next leg of the journey. It was necessary to take two different trains to get to Siena and the first one out of Rome was one of the regular large trains that I have taken before when in Italy. The surprise came when a tiny two car train pulled up at the station in Grosseto, to take us on to Siena. It was an interesting ride along the Italian coast and up into the hill country,

When the travel books say that Siena is a well preserved medieval town, they mean it! I booked rooms in a 17th century monastery that has been converted into a very nice little hotel and though there is no elevator, the view from my room of the surrounding countryside is breathtaking.

Rome was noisy and cosmopolitan and Siena is quiet and quaintly stunning with cool, crisp air. I was giddy with delight as my friend Deonne and I walked the streets of Siena to view the architecture and look in the shops. The medieval architecture of this town seems to cling to the shape of the hills it is built on and rises 3 to 4 stories high giving the narrow, very clean streets a canyon like feel. Siena, Italy is drop dead gorgeous and a must see destination if you have the time.





Our first day of walking around turned out to be on a Sunday when a lot of shops were closed, but we managed to find a restaurant open for lunch that had really good local style food. The owner was a cute old man who took a liking to us and started bringing us all kinds of treats and wine to sample before we ordered. Siena is known for its fine local cuisine and I have to agree that it is very delicious.

One of the photos I have included with is post is of a street shrine to the Virgin Mary, which is a common sight in Italian towns and cities that I find very charming. I have also included a photo of me with the owner of the restaurant that was so wonderful. I could hardly understand a word of his Italian, but it didn’t seem to matter because he was really fun.




Tomorrow we are in search of the art treasures and shopping that Siena has to offer and of course the food – yummy stuff.