2021 Memory Book
So many participants have let us know, in so many ways, how much an experience at La Romita has meant to them. One of the most fun and creative ways that our participants have let us know is through our “Memory Books”…the scrapbooks in which each group is encouraged to leave some artistic or poetic message for us, and for future groups to see. Teachers and their students have collaborated on...
End of Year Aperitivi
It's time for our new La Romita tradition, the End of Year Aperitivos! When the pandemic hit, we scrambled for a way to establish something positive, something aligned to our mission, and the Aperitivos quickly became our primary tool. Last year, we hosted a three-part series to cap what we thought would be the year lost to pandemic, expecting that by summer we'd be able to host workshops...
2021 Memory Book Fundraiser
15 December UPDATE: Our Memory Books campaign has ended for 2021, but it was a great success! We were so thrilled with the response and the show of love that we will definitely do something like it again! In the meantime, check out our Memory Books 2021 online gallery, featuring all the submissions we received, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter to stay in touch! We...
Self Portrait of My Selves with No Self-Pity – by Susan Landgraf
In December 2020 we held a special online event titled "Self Portrait in a Bathroom Mirror" as part of our Tre Aperitivi fundraiser. Susan Landgraf, Auburn Washington Poet Laureate, submitted the following poem and graciously allowed us to publish it here.Self-Portrait of My Selves with No Self-Pity “Be the statue on the dashboardtraveling hopefully.”Kelli Russell Agodon To be is not...
Stuart Schwartz and Jeff Zaruba
Stuart Schwartz, photographer and founder of “The Image Flow”, a photography learning center and gallery in Mill Valley California, along with photographer Jeff Zaruba, brought a group of photography students to La Romita in 2017 to spend ten days combining these two arts in the most tantalizing ways. To help us we enlisted the support of a longtime La Romita friend and collaborator, Alberto...
The Arts and Healing: Words from Dr. Raymond Brown
Our aperitivo on January 28 featured some amazing voices of artists working to help people to endure the hardships of life. Unfortunately, we were unable to hear our fourth guest, Doctor Ray Brow, because of technical difficulties and will instead be our first guest for our Feb 25 Aperitivo. Doctor Ray works on the front lines of this battle. As a specialist in Geriatric medicine, he has many...
In Memory of Carol Maddox
Our hearts go out to Ed and Kathy and the family for the passing of our longtime teacher, collaborator and friend Carol Maddox. She first taught at La Romita in 1994 and taught every other year for 20 years. As an artist Carol’s many awards include the American Watercolor Society’s Gold Medal in 2004, its Signature Award in 2008, and the H. Gramatky Award in 2011, along with three awards from...
Art as a Form of Healthcare – our Guests
Our January 2021 Zoom Aperitivo will be about healing and the arts. We have five special guests, experts in using the arts for healing, lined up to bring their perspectives on how the arts and acts of creation influence our well-being. Here is some more information about each guest.About Claudette Gamache Painting has been second nature for Claudette since the age of 9. Although she followed a...
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
On November 30th, 2020 we hosted an online apertivio entitled "The New Grand Tour", as part of our Tre Aperitivi Fundraiser. During that Aperitivo, Valerio shared a video he made of Egizia preparing spaghetti alla carbonara in La Romita's own kitchen. The recipe is featured in our very own cookbook, "Palates and Palettes: La Romita's Cookbook". Spaghetti alla Carbonara Ingredients 1 lb of dried...
Guests for “Self-Portrait in a Bathroom Mirror”
On December 5th 2020, we hosted an online aperitivo titled "Self-Portrait in a Bathroom Mirror" as part of our Tre Aperitivi fundraiser. We welcomed twenty artists and poets to share works that they felt reflected something important about themselves, either generally or in response to the Pandemic Year. Kim Addonizio https://www.kimaddonizio.com/Robert Armetta https://robertarmetta.com/Suzi...
Tre Aperitivi
Three free social* events celebrating creativity, expression, and Italian culture to raise funds for La Romita SchoolPainters and poets and sketchers and musicians…all of us who work in the arts as teachers or practitioners or promoters or in any of a number of support services…have seen our entire world shuttered for months. For La Romita, the shutdown has been pretty complete and we have had...
Valerio Belloni – Isolation Art and the story of Casco
We had a lot of marvelous content to include in our November Alumni Newsletter - too much, in fact - and we couldn't bear to resign any of it the cutting room floor. Here's everything, including a beautiful quote by Valerio.Valerio’s “second wave” of isolation art is now ready and mounted in a gallery in downtown Terni, and has been selected to represent Terni and Umbria in the gigantic annual...
La Romita 2020: Season Cancelled
Due to increasing concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the World Health Organization and US CDC recommendation to postpone travel to and from Italy, we have had to cancel our 2020 season. La Romita has been a center of creativity, community, and family for centuries. For over 50 years, we have offered that space to students and teachers, friends and families, and the...
La Romita Letters – February 2020
A continuation in our series of Letters from the Board. This month: Mike Wenger who joined the Board in 2014 and is serving his second term.La Romita Letters - February 2020 from Mike WengerHow shall I follow Ben’s lovely, informative reminiscence of La Romita? My experience at La Romita pales in comparison. He’s lived there on and off for over 50 years and has seen the school grow from an...
La Romita 1972 – Photos from CU Denver and K State
We received this fantastic collection of photos from Edward Golberg - some time ago, actually, but we thought they made a great follow-up to last month's newsletter. They're from the 6 week session he attended in the summer of 1972, a joint group from University of Colorado and Kansas State University. Take a quick scroll, see what's different and what's still the same!
La Romita Letters – January 2020
Continuing our "Letters from the Board" series, this month we hear from Ben Benson, husband of founder Enza Quargnali, who is currently serving as President. His letter is a fantastic slice of the early history and origins of La Romita. La Romita Letters - January 2020 from Harold "Ben" Benson As one of the few people who has been connected to La Romita since the school was founded 53 years...
La Romita Letters – December 2019
Many of you reading this have been to La Romita, have met Edmund, Valerio, Ivo, Raniero, Silvana, Egizia and Franca, Tracy, and all the others who make up our staff. We cannot overstate our appreciation for their dedication and commitment to making every student's experience at La Romita special, but you may not be aware of a larger circle of people who donate their time, energy, and expertise...
Scholarship Recipient: Cheri Burke ’19
Cheri Burke 2019 Dolores Levin Memorial Scholarship Cheri was awarded a Delores Levin Memorial Scholarship to attend a workshop with Mark Eanes at La Romita. As a public school art teacher (Clymer Central School) in a rural farming community and a mother of two children in college, this experience was far outside her current financial reach. Since her return, she has been using the techniques...
Support our Scholarships 2019
Support our Scholarships Those of you who have been to La Romita understand that the experience is much more than day-trips and delicious meals - it changes lives. Many of our scholarship winners have used the experience to make noteworthy contributions to La Romita’s own community and the greater creative community. Scholarships are not just a way to change someone else’s life, but a way to...
Giving Thanks to Delores Levin
Giving Thanks to Delores Levin Edmund Zimmerman first met Dee in person in 2003 at the San Rafael studio of artist Kay Russell at an open house for Kay's upcoming La Romita workshop. Edmund recalls Dee as "flamboyant and enthusiastic", and her first visit to La Romita cemented her as a friend. She was warm and kind, and many have shared stories of the ways she gave to those around her, most...