Come on a journey with me to discover Italy, inspiration from travel (even when you can’t), and the rocket!
Italy, inspiration, and the rocket
Casperia is a walled town of medieval villas perched high on an Italian hilltop. This tiny town is a ‘no-go’ for cars; a place that inspired several of my early landscape quilts and thread paintings, and it’s the town where I was almost killed by a rocket.
I don’t know what made me choose Casperia for the first stop on my Italian jaunt. I guess I just wanted to go somewhere different.
Why not Rome?
…because everyone goes first to Rome or Venice or Milan or Pompeii or Capri or the Cinque Terre or the leaning-tower-thingy. I was due to meet a friend in Rome two weeks later and go to all those places, anyway.
No, Casperia, it was. I wanted ‘out’, a break from day-to-day routine. I’d spent hours on dial-up internet (this trip was a while back) planning and researching.
Just an hour from Rome by train (plus a hop-skip-jump 24-hour flight from Melbourne), Casperia is 11 km from the nearest station and only accessible by road.
Time out in Italy
There’s not much to do in Casperia. In fact, truth be told, there’s nothing to do unless you’re an olive…growing, maturing, and being pressed for your oil.
No shopping, no tourists—well, a few, but you could number them with one hand, and I guess I was one of them—just peace, quiet, and fabulous scenery.
However, the nothing-at-all-to-do is part of Casperia’s charm.
Most people visit Casperia on day trips. But I’d decided to hang up my coat there for a few days to acclimatise to the Italian summer, destress, soak up the warmth, eat and enjoy the wine.
With a carafe and a platter of lettuce, ruby-red tomatoes, and tastebud-tingling mozzarella buffalo, what more could a girl want?
Whiling away aimless hours exploring the cobbled streets and mysterious laneways was like entering a different world after the bustle of city life at home.
After settling in, I’d like to say my thoughts turned to creative things like quilting and thread sketching, but no. That’s not how it happened.
I was on holiday.
Inspiration—a balance of creative needs
My admiration knows no bounds for people who continue stitching or knitting or painting or doing whatever creative thing you like to do when you’re travelling.
While I often keep a journal, write, plan new classes or projects, and even venture into a little sewing when away from home, it wasn’t going to happen on this trip. Oh no!
Sometimes I just need creative ‘time out’. And this holiday was my respite. Nevertheless, I did take thousands of photos, which continue to inspire all these years later.
Which is kinda what brings me here today, writing this story.
This year has seen me dive into a ton of writing, so thread sketching and sewing has been limited.
Often, my creative focus veers from images to words, and back to images again. I love doing both. That’s just the way I work—it’s about finding a balance of creative needs, I guess.
Revisiting treasured memories
Late in 2020, during the relatively early days of Covid, I was locked down in my city and travel was limited to 5 km from home.
Hankering to get away, visit somewhere new, taste new food, experience new cultures — just to get on a plane and go somewhere, I decided to revisit some fabulous trips from the past to explore how they influenced my creative work.
If you looked at the photo at the top of this post, you might recognise the origin of my thread painting Bella Casperia.
Although this piece seems rather simplistic all these years later, it marks the first occasion I used only free motion zigzag stitch in a thread painting.
It also pinpoints the beginning of my love affair with working in an Impressionist style and stitching on edited photos printed on fabric.
Another early work inspired by that trip to Italy (though not Casperia, obviously), is The Mooring.
Bella Casperia and The Mooring led to my focus on this technique and the thread painting series Journey Through Landscape.
One more recent work is Journey to the Sabine Hills (#5 in the Journey Through Landscape series); a more contemporary use of the very same free motion zigzag technique.
So what’s my point?
Creative sabbaticals are healthy. Zoning out from the need to continually make things refreshes and rejuvenates, stimulating ideas, and the energy to explore new concepts.
Or you might choose to go in a different, yet complementary direction, using your creativity to explore innovative ideas or media.
Many of us have had a lot of time on our hands this year, using that time to dive into projects that may have been put off for years.
But when you’re on holiday, or perhaps just not feeling creative, take lots of photos. It doesn’t matter if they’re good, bad, or indifferent—each has a use.
Many of the photos from Casperia and Italy that year, as well as from other holidays, have subsequently found their way into my work, either directly or indirectly.
Give yourself permission to take a break from whatever it is you’re doing.
Especially right now.
But returning to the story…
It turns out there was more going on in Casperia that week than I expected.
I’d spent a day roaming the surrounding countryside, wandering through olive groves, exploring country lanes. I knew I was in rural Italy after taking a bus to a nearby hill town, sharing the ride with a live chicken in a handbag on the seat in front.
Alarmingly, the bus driver persisted in keeping up a lively phone conversation and only one hand on the wheel while negotiating the road as it wound through the steep terrain.
Later, safely back in Casperia, I retired to the piazza to enjoy an ice cream and bask in the afternoon sunshine.
That was when it all started.
First came the marching girls and the Casperia City Band—molto enthusiasm, meno talent. But having oh-so-much-fun. Enjoying their own cacophony, they paraded across the piazza, eventually disappearing through the old city gates, up the hill into the old town, and fading from earshot.
With hundreds of locals pouring into the piazza, priests set up a makeshift altar on the steps of la chiesa. As evening settled, the crowd lit candles.
It turns out I was there for Ferragosto—a traditional public holiday for agricultural workers—coinciding with the religious celebration of the Assumption of Mary, August 15.
But I wasn’t aware of this at the time, and as darkness fell, I sensed something else was about to happen. Finding a vantage point on the old city wall, overlooking the piazza, I waited.
That was when my head was nearly blown off.
Rocket fireworks zinged past…closely followed by thousands of exploding string crackers, niftily concealed just under the lip of the wall.
This was undoubtedly not a show staged just for tourists. There were no Occ-Health-and-Safety regs here!
Heart racing, I joined (fast) a small throng of people under the canopy of a nearby café, watching, transfixed, as the sky lit up, and hundreds of blackened shells rained onto the terrace.
Pungent smoke filled the warm, night air, tickling my nostrils. I felt energised and alive (and thankful that I was).
It was magic.
Hello,
You never cease to AMAZE me. You wonderful talented woman.
Such a list for life and all it holds
Almost 1:00am here, I do not sleep a lot.. Afraid I will miss something.
Your story put me right where you were. Could almost hear the noise and enjoy the laughter and aromas around. How exciting.
I miss just roaming! I am a free spirit also.
Heck I miss kissing Daughter, Grandchildren Son inLaw., Sitting in church, shaking hands, just being. Instead of going to Material Shops, order on line. No fun. I am a touchy feely person.
Not a happy thing to talk about, but it’s life.
Re-arranged will etc. I requested no funeral, creamated, thrown to the the Wind. Family has plot in another city. No one can visit.
At my age most all my friends have passed.
Excellent health take no medicine, never had
a headache, Just lucky. Had to laugh, few years back Medicare called wanted to know if I had passed. Why do you ask me that? Lady said you have never requested prescription rebate! Really.
My doggie and I take drives. Traffic sparse,
sad to see stores boarded up. Can you imagineThe Kentucky Derby without people!!?!
I always wanted to go to Spain. If you have been there, tell us a story. I love Poetry,
When in school lucky to have English teacher that loved Poe. She read the Bells often and would give you chills. Sounded like you could hear them.
Bent your. Ear long enough. Stay safe and well. Create and pray for better tomorrow’s.
Your Kentucky Friend.
Joyce Boyer.
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Joyce, you are such a treasure! An inspiration, too, to us all as we live through these extraordinary times. I’m glad Medicare was wrong about you – fancy calling to see if you’re still in the land of the living!! I’m glad you have your dog to keep you company. It’s sad to see the suffering around the world. Things are getting mightily better here in Melbourne, due to the lockdown, so we need to hold our nerve and sit tight a while longer.
Stay well and keep up your wonderful comments!
Deborah 🙂
I lived near Trieste for two years 1978/9, I have lots of photos. But how do I get them onto fabric to stitch over? I had some photos put onto fabric but they were like the plasticky ones that one can have on tee-shirts or sweat-shirts. Not actually printed with ink into the fabric! Help with suggestions, please. Jenny, (who loves all things Italian – and speaks it still!)
Hi Jenny – lucky you, spending all that time in Italy! My Italian language skills are minimal, despite taking lessons for 5 years – I’m a little out of practice now, but could pick it up again, if necessary, I guess!
I use my home printer to transfer the photos to fabric. I usually edit the photos first to enhance the colour, but that’s not always necessary. Just make sure you stabilise the fabric before running it through your printer. You can use either freezer paper or fusible web, as I do. (My course, Shading & Blending Secrets, explains more about how to do it). I agree, that trying to stitch over the plastic-coated photo transfers could be tricky!
I haven’t been to Trieste…I’ll add it to the ‘one day, maybe’ list.
Deborah 🙂
Thanks for an inspiring article! regards
Hi Fran – glad you enjoyed the article. I enjoyed writing it!
Deborah 🙂
Your story was a lovely way to start my day! I so enjoy your enthusiasm, and so admire your talent. I’ve tried my hand at zigzag thread painting a photo on fabric, and was pleased with the result. It’s my white cat, who was dozing on my quilt. I “painted” him, then appliquéd his cut-out shape to a little patchwork-quilt-on-a-bed background, and made a wall hanging. You’ve inspired me to try things I’d never thought of or even known about!
Barbara, your thread painting/quilt of your cat sounds delightful! I’m so happy to have inspired you to have a go.
Thank you for such a lovely message…it’s a delightful finish to my day (we’re obviously on opposite sides of the planet!).
🙂 Deborah
Hi Debrorah
Thank you, as inspiration as always!
Keep well
Thank you, Christa — I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate your interest in my work. You keep well, too!
Deborah 🙂
A wonderful story that inspired your art! I have been traveling in my camper and taking lots of pictures with hope that I could do the same.
Thank for sharing. I love your work!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, You are in the perfect position to take the photos to inspire your future artworks! Travelling is the ultimate way to capture new ideas. Thank you for your kind comments. Deborah 🙂
Deborah, thank you for sharing your visit to Casperia…I love your thread painted scenes! I look forward to your emails with so many ideas to consider. I need to get going with some of my California photos. Fall has arrived and now there’ll be time to sit at the machine once again, Thank you for your inspiration!
Hello again, Barbara. I wanted to share the magic of those few days in Casperia—it was a wonderful introduction to my first trip to Italy. Yes, now that you have cooler weather ahead, it’s a good time to turn to indoor pursuits! It’s spring here now; had a few gloriously warm days last week, but today winter’s tail is whipping! Hopefully, it will only last a few days so we can get some warmth and sunshine back.
Deborah 🙂
Hi Deborah
What a brilliant idea! As we go into a wintery autumn and yet more lockdowns, revisiting previous journeys is a wonderful way of inspiring me to make new work. As all my photos seem to be sunny, it’s also a reminder of the summer warmth. Thanks, as always, for your enthusiasm and inspiration. Enjoy your springtime – so hopeful a time of year. Best wishes from Clacton in England.
Hi Barbara. Thank you – I enjoyed ‘revisiting’ Italy and writing about that trip. It goes some way toward filling the void of not being able to travel. The springtime teased us last week, before plunging back into winter yesterday (hopefully for only a few days), but I ventured out into the rain and stiff, chill breeze to get some exercise. We have to make the most of the time we’re actually allowed outside! Take care in the UK. The lockdown has seemed never-ending here, but we are making excellent progress, and close to the position where we can begin to cautiously open up a little again. That is still a few weeks away, I suspect. Deborah.