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Buon Anno, Bonne Année, Happy 2011!!

31 December 2010

Buon Anno, Bonne Année, Happy 2011!!

Sono in ferie

21 December 2010
Its the holidays, even for those who do not celebrate Christmas, me included. My blog is taking a break until after the first of the year. I am going south with my friend for Christmas. We will be in Foggia, her home town. No one wanted to leave me alone in Bologna without a friend in the world. And since I do not have the extra cash to travel the best thing to do was to travel home with a friend. I am grateful to her.

Another friend will be visiting me on the fifth of January. He is coming in from the States and I cannot wait to see him.

I want to wish all of you Buone Feste, Happy Holidays from Odissea Italiana. Enjoy this time with family and friends and take nothing for granted. I hope your winter solstice and New Year get off to an amazing start.

Make sure to follow my writings on The Examiner. I will be writing about traveling and culture in Italy. Separately from this blog. Until next year, toodles!



Sono in ferie

Its the holidays, even for those who do not celebrate Christmas, me included. My blog is taking a break until after the first of the year. I am going south with my friend for Christmas. We will be in Foggia, her home town. No one wanted to leave me alone in Bologna without a friend in the world. And since I do not have the extra cash to travel the best thing to do was to travel home with a friend. I am grateful to her.

Another friend will be visiting me on the fifth of January. He is coming in from the States and I cannot wait to see him.

I want to wish all of you Buone Feste, Happy Holidays from Odissea Italiana. Enjoy this time with family and friends and take nothing for granted. I hope your winter solstice and New Year get off to an amazing start.

Make sure to follow my writings on The Examiner. I will be writing about traveling and culture in Italy. Separately from this blog. Until next year, toodles!



Photo Workshop

19 December 2010
It's what I have been up to lately. I went to a workshop this past Friday in the snow or as they say in Bologna, ice, to build my portfolio and get my name out there as a make-up artist.

While studying I need to find my niche, a spot carved out for me so that I do not have to be concerned about money for a while. That is the only glitch in my happiness right now, money. I have been offered a job teaching English in Milan 3 days a week while I am in school starting in February. Hopefully, I am able to find a job in Bologna instead. I will begin looking in January. At the moment it is the holiday season and Europeans are on vacation at the moment and not concerned about my woes.

However, I was invited to a workshop on Friday to be the lone make-up artist for a photo shoot of six models and photographers, Andrea Bernardi, Massimo Persiani and Luca Guidetti. The event was organized by Veronica Rubini. The workshop went well despite the fact that it was snowing and the meet-up spot was outside of town. We met in a cool American Bar ran by Francesco called Casinò Café. Weather permitting, the next event will be better and maybe I will get paid this time. But until then enjoy a few of the photos I have received so far. As the rest come in I will post them here. My models wore looks inspired by an Ice Queen, Golden Goddess, Babydoll, Cleopatra and Cat Eyes.

[slideshow]

Photo Workshop

It's what I have been up to lately. I went to a workshop this past Friday in the snow or as they say in Bologna, ice, to build my portfolio and get my name out there as a make-up artist.

While studying I need to find my niche, a spot carved out for me so that I do not have to be concerned about money for a while. That is the only glitch in my happiness right now, money. I have been offered a job teaching English in Milan 3 days a week while I am in school starting in February. Hopefully, I am able to find a job in Bologna instead. I will begin looking in January. At the moment it is the holiday season and Europeans are on vacation at the moment and not concerned about my woes.

However, I was invited to a workshop on Friday to be the lone make-up artist for a photo shoot of six models and photographers, Andrea Bernardi, Massimo Persiani and Luca Guidetti. The event was organized by Veronica Rubini. The workshop went well despite the fact that it was snowing and the meet-up spot was outside of town. We met in a cool American Bar ran by Francesco called Casinò Café. Weather permitting, the next event will be better and maybe I will get paid this time. But until then enjoy a few of the photos I have received so far. As the rest come in I will post them here. My models wore looks inspired by an Ice Queen, Golden Goddess, Babydoll, Cleopatra and Cat Eyes.

[slideshow]

Sei Pazzo

15 December 2010
Pazza/pazzo/pazzi/ pazze- crazy

Sei pazzo/a= you are crazy or mad. Yes I know I am crazy but let me give you a bit of a history lesson today.

The Pazzi family were a noble Florentine family of bankers who originated from Il Pazzo, one of the first soldiers over the wall in the Siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade--which was the only Crusade campaign that the Christian empires won--in 1099 A.D. against the Ottoman Empire. The Pazzi family were open rivals of the Medici family and being frank, they were quite jealous of their power and wealth and wanted to usurp their rule over Florence, therefore they cooked up a crazy, pazzo if you will, scheme to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano during High Mass on April 26, 1478 at Il Duomo before a crowd of 10,000 people. Giuliano died from 19 wounds inflicted upon his person by a mob that included members of the Pazzi and Salviati families and a priest. Lorenzo was rescued by humanist Poliziano escaping with non fatal wounds and reappeared later in the safety of the sacristy.

Francesco de Pazzi, Francesco Salviati and a few priests and others were hung by a Florentine crowd in support of the de Medicis for what was later dubbed the Pazzi Conspiracy. It was because of this incidence and the craziness of the Pazzi family that word pazzo is now synonymous with craziness or madness in the Italian vocabulary.

The Renaissance was an amazing and intriguing period. Pulling the world forward kicking and screaming into modernity. There was love, romance, conspiracies, debauchery, the birth of art, science and modern astronomy. There were empires collapsing and being born and history being made that will change people and empires the world over. This was a time where a family of merchants could become a part of royalty and the richest family in Europe during this time.

The Renaissance proved to be an era of endless possibilities.

Sei Pazzo

Pazza/pazzo/pazzi/ pazze- crazy

Sei pazzo/a= you are crazy or mad. Yes I know I am crazy but let me give you a bit of a history lesson today.

The Pazzi family were a noble Florentine family of bankers who originated from Il Pazzo, one of the first soldiers over the wall in the Siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade--which was the only Crusade campaign that the Christian empires won--in 1099 A.D. against the Ottoman Empire. The Pazzi family were open rivals of the Medici family and being frank, they were quite jealous of their power and wealth and wanted to usurp their rule over Florence, therefore they cooked up a crazy, pazzo if you will, scheme to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano during High Mass on April 26, 1478 at Il Duomo before a crowd of 10,000 people. Giuliano died from 19 wounds inflicted upon his person by a mob that included members of the Pazzi and Salviati families and a priest. Lorenzo was rescued by humanist Poliziano escaping with non fatal wounds and reappeared later in the safety of the sacristy.

Francesco de Pazzi, Francesco Salviati and a few priests and others were hung by a Florentine crowd in support of the de Medicis for what was later dubbed the Pazzi Conspiracy. It was because of this incidence and the craziness of the Pazzi family that word pazzo is now synonymous with craziness or madness in the Italian vocabulary.

The Renaissance was an amazing and intriguing period. Pulling the world forward kicking and screaming into modernity. There was love, romance, conspiracies, debauchery, the birth of art, science and modern astronomy. There were empires collapsing and being born and history being made that will change people and empires the world over. This was a time where a family of merchants could become a part of royalty and the richest family in Europe during this time.

The Renaissance proved to be an era of endless possibilities.

La Maison de McRae

11 December 2010
Is my new blog named after my Great-great grandmother Louise McCray (McRae). Being the scholar that I am, I want to give you a little history on the name McRae. My blog title implies that it is the house of a king. Rey is the old Spanish word for King. Any form of the word--Rey, Rae, McRae, McCray, McRey, Reyes, Roy, Rei, Rè, Ray etc-- signifies that that particular family was nobility. Of course my forebear inherited the name from her slave owner but I digress. I decided to create this blog so that I would not bore my followers here with my love for all things fashion, including home decor, fashion, make-up and wedding inspirations.

Eventually, I am planning to open an online store with some of my creations once I am settled in here. I am planning to sign up for TEFL so that I can begin working in January to refill my rapidly depleting coffers and coming up with other ways to use my talents to stay afloat. I think those who survive during tough times such as these are those who are very adept and inventive--Renaissance Souls, if you will. I've decided to put my dormant skills to use and make a living for myself. Of course this will not be until around March of next year but it is in the making and I will keep you posted. Until then take a look at some of my past creations--things I made before becoming adept with a sewing machine-- and if you are interested get ye over to my new blog

[caption id="attachment_566" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A Venetian Spread"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_567" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Marie Who"][/caption]

La Maison de McRae

Is my new blog named after my Great-great grandmother Louise McCray (McRae). Being the scholar that I am, I want to give you a little history on the name McRae. My blog title implies that it is the house of a king. Rey is the old Spanish word for King. Any form of the word--Rey, Rae, McRae, McCray, McRey, Reyes, Roy, Rei, Rè, Ray etc-- signifies that that particular family was nobility. Of course my forebear inherited the name from her slave owner but I digress. I decided to create this blog so that I would not bore my followers here with my love for all things fashion, including home decor, fashion, make-up and wedding inspirations.

Eventually, I am planning to open an online store with some of my creations once I am settled in here. I am planning to sign up for TEFL so that I can begin working in January to refill my rapidly depleting coffers and coming up with other ways to use my talents to stay afloat. I think those who survive during tough times such as these are those who are very adept and inventive--Renaissance Souls, if you will. I've decided to put my dormant skills to use and make a living for myself. Of course this will not be until around March of next year but it is in the making and I will keep you posted. Until then take a look at some of my past creations--things I made before becoming adept with a sewing machine-- and if you are interested get ye over to my new blog

[caption id="attachment_566" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A Venetian Spread"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_567" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Marie Who"][/caption]

Finally Published

06 December 2010
I am finally a published make-up artist so get ye over to The Wedding Chicks and the photo shoot that the girls did in October.

Here's a preview



Finally Published

I am finally a published make-up artist so get ye over to The Wedding Chicks and the photo shoot that the girls did in October.

Here's a preview



The Age of Innocence

My focus of study here in Italy is Renaissance and Modern History studies. I mostly focus on the Italian Renaissance and the culture of that time period. I am planning to do my dissertation in the future on Afro-European leaders of the Italian Renaissance, however, I would like to write not just about the ones in Italy but in other countries all over Europe during the "modern period" here on my blog. Starting next week I will write a post a week on these leaders; providing you with facts and ultimately ending with where their blood lines ended up today. But today I want to talk about the age of innocence, the romance period, the period of enlightenment and indulgence.

Italy brought the world out of the period of The Dark Ages with the dawn of the 'rebirth' or age of enlightenment, also known as the rinascimento aka renaissance. During the Dark Ages, there were numerous religious wars, pestilences, plagues, darkness. Most people could not read and the nobility had a strangle hold on the peasantry. The Church, was corrupt and controlled everything and women were subjugated.

The Renaissance brought about the Romantic Period of chivalry, courtly love, knights of valor, Protestantism, new ageism, literature, artistic expression, opera, the middle class, the use of the vulgar (layman's) language, literacy, polyglotism, new world discoveries, world trade and indulgence.

This is not to say the Age of Innocence was not fraught with problems, there were still wars, intrigue, over indulgences, assassinations, The Inquisition, modern slavery, Cristoforo Colombo, new world discovery* (yes I put it on both lists) and corruption. The church still had a stranglehold on power, but it was losing its grip on the minds of the people--well the more enlightened/educated group of people. The peasantry of course was still superstitious and easily controlled and many in the nobility as well. Latin was being used less in everyday life and literary works thanks to Dante Alighieri (Dante's Inferno) and the nobility were fighting wars in the name of God for power and nothing more. Seems things never change, eh?

The Renaissance produced the first world banking system courtesy of the Medici family, checks (as in check books), loans, patronage of the arts and greats such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Petrarca, Machiavelli, Casanova and Shakespeare.

Needless to say, I love this time period to say the least. In fact I truly believe that I lived a past life in Florence during this time period. I hope to eventually do a fashion shoot using the clothing from the Venetian Romantic Period and make-up. I have been spending lots of time looking for work and watching make-up tutorials on Youtube. For now I will leave you with my make-up inspiration of the day.

[slideshow]

The Age of Innocence

My focus of study here in Italy is Renaissance and Modern History studies. I mostly focus on the Italian Renaissance and the culture of that time period. I am planning to do my dissertation in the future on Afro-European leaders of the Italian Renaissance, however, I would like to write not just about the ones in Italy but in other countries all over Europe during the "modern period" here on my blog. Starting next week I will write a post a week on these leaders; providing you with facts and ultimately ending with where their blood lines ended up today. But today I want to talk about the age of innocence, the romance period, the period of enlightenment and indulgence.

Italy brought the world out of the period of The Dark Ages with the dawn of the 'rebirth' or age of enlightenment, also known as the rinascimento aka renaissance. During the Dark Ages, there were numerous religious wars, pestilences, plagues, darkness. Most people could not read and the nobility had a strangle hold on the peasantry. The Church, was corrupt and controlled everything and women were subjugated.

The Renaissance brought about the Romantic Period of chivalry, courtly love, knights of valor, Protestantism, new ageism, literature, artistic expression, opera, the middle class, the use of the vulgar (layman's) language, literacy, polyglotism, new world discoveries, world trade and indulgence.

This is not to say the Age of Innocence was not fraught with problems, there were still wars, intrigue, over indulgences, assassinations, The Inquisition, modern slavery, Cristoforo Colombo, new world discovery* (yes I put it on both lists) and corruption. The church still had a stranglehold on power, but it was losing its grip on the minds of the people--well the more enlightened/educated group of people. The peasantry of course was still superstitious and easily controlled and many in the nobility as well. Latin was being used less in everyday life and literary works thanks to Dante Alighieri (Dante's Inferno) and the nobility were fighting wars in the name of God for power and nothing more. Seems things never change, eh?

The Renaissance produced the first world banking system courtesy of the Medici family, checks (as in check books), loans, patronage of the arts and greats such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Petrarca, Machiavelli, Casanova and Shakespeare.

Needless to say, I love this time period to say the least. In fact I truly believe that I lived a past life in Florence during this time period. I hope to eventually do a fashion shoot using the clothing from the Venetian Romantic Period and make-up. I have been spending lots of time looking for work and watching make-up tutorials on Youtube. For now I will leave you with my make-up inspiration of the day.

[slideshow]

Its been a while

02 December 2010
But I have been running around like a chicken in search of a job which seems to be scarce everywhere these days. I have also been working on a few projects that I hope pans out in the upcoming new year cause I need it.

The number crunching has begun but I am not as stressed as I usually am about it. Both of my new websites are up and I am very satisfied with them. Today I was planning to go look for work but it is rainy and cold so I am postponing until tomorrow and Saturday I am going to Tuscany for the bi-annual, Wedding Blogger festaggiare. School is going well, my first test is at the end of January and my new classes do not begin until the end of January.

On Tuesday I received my Permesso and I have been screaming since. I finally feel official here.

Hope all is well in your world.

Its been a while

But I have been running around like a chicken in search of a job which seems to be scarce everywhere these days. I have also been working on a few projects that I hope pans out in the upcoming new year cause I need it.

The number crunching has begun but I am not as stressed as I usually am about it. Both of my new websites are up and I am very satisfied with them. Today I was planning to go look for work but it is rainy and cold so I am postponing until tomorrow and Saturday I am going to Tuscany for the bi-annual, Wedding Blogger festaggiare. School is going well, my first test is at the end of January and my new classes do not begin until the end of January.

On Tuesday I received my Permesso and I have been screaming since. I finally feel official here.

Hope all is well in your world.