Cortona Experience
Be part of an extraordinary travel-learning experience hosted by the University of Georgia’s Cortona Studies Abroad Program! The Cortona Experience offers expert instruction, studio demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and educational activities to artists of all levels—from absolute beginners to advanced professionals.
Come to Cortona for a cultural immersion that blends the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Tuscany with stimulating intellectual engagement. Take this unique opportunity to practice your art with the helpful guidance of teachers and the collegiality of fellow Cortona Experience travelers. Give yourself, or a friend, an unforgettable, life-changing experience. Come away with a richer appreciation and understanding of what our studies abroad students have experienced each year since the inception of the Cortona Program in 1970. A unique camaraderie is woven, making lifelong connections with fellow participants and Cortona!
In 2013 the Cortona Experience will offer a variety of workshop experiences: photography, travel journaling and painting, designed for all skill levels. Whether you have never held a paint- brush or want to hone well-developed skills, teachers will provide guided instruction and a range of techniques in your chosen course. Individualized critique and feedback will encourage you to develop your own personal style.
For more details, please read the instructors' biographies below. We invite you to meet our teachers, find inspiration, and discover your talent, following in the footsteps of generations of artists who have worked in Cortona before you.
Del Martin: Watercolor
Del Martin has been a practicing artist all her life. She recently completed her 5th one-woman show at the Creative Arts Guild in Dalton, GA. Her work has also been featured in exhibits in Atlanta, Athens, Michigan, North Carolina and Cortona. Del earned her B.F.A. at the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art. Besides being a “journalist”, her media include watercolor, ink, acrylic, and pastel.
Lanny Webb: Photography
For over forty years Lanny Webb has photographed both the bucolic beauty of rural landscapes and the aesthetics of the mundane and inconsequential of everyday life. Since 1985 he has taught digital image making and photography at the University of Georgia in Athens and more recently at the UGA campus in Cortona, Italy. He is past associate director of the Lamar Dodd School of Art and is currently head of their Graphic Design Program. His work has been included in over one hundred invitational exhibitions throughout the United States and is in numerous collections including the Georgia Museum of Art, where his work was recently on exhibit in the Knox Gallery. You can see his work at his site.
Discover the artist within, explore new techniques of creative expression, and hone your talent while in the heart of Tuscany.
Cortona Experience Spring Itinerary:
April 2-12, 2013
Day 1: Tuesday, April 2nd
Leave the United States and arrive in Rome, Italy on April 3
Day 2: Wednesday, April 3rd
Travel to Cortona
Welcome meeting with information distribution
Welcome reception, followed by dinner
Day 3: Thursday, April 4th
Orientation and walking tour of UGA campus and Cortona’s historic sites
Classes and workshops
Informal Italian lesson
Dinner with UGA students and faculty
Day 4: Friday, April 5th
Classes and workshops
Free time for getting to know Cortona
Day 5: Saturday, April 6th
Field trip with UGA students, Pienza/Montepulciano
Day 6: Sunday, April 7th
Optional travel on your own to a choice of Tuscan cities to visit museums, churches, and other sites of historic, architectural and artistic interest, or work and play in Cortona
Day 7: Monday, April 8th
Classes and workshops
Visit to library to view medieval manuscripts
Bookmaking workshop
Day 8: Tuesday, April 9th
Printmaking workshop
Visit to olive grove and mill
Olive oil tasting
Presentation by UGA faculty
Day 9: Wednesday, April 10th
Classes and workshops
Presentation and tasting of hand-crafted Italian liquore
Pizza dinner
Day 10: Thursday, April 11th
Morning dedicated to finishing art projects
Exit exhibition of photography and paintings
Celebratory dinner
Day 11: Friday, April 12th
Departure (bus to Rome airport)
Travel Arrangements and Expenses
Cost per person is $2,850, which may fluctuate slightly based on actual group size and rate of exchange at the time of travel. Included in the cost is a non-refundable deposit of $500, which will reserve your space and also serve as your tax-deductible donation to the Friends of Cortona Fund that supports the University of Georgia’s Cortona Studies Abroad Program.
The cost of the Cortona Experience covers tuition fee, receptions, most dinners, occasional lunches, museum entrances, wine tastings and other cultural/educational experiences, art demonstrations, guest lectures, and ground transportation on field trips and group excursions. Please note: the fee does NOT include airfare, hotel accommodations, personal expenses, art supplies, travel insurance and medical insurance.
Lodging
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Hotel San Michele, a four-star hotel located in the heart of historic Cortona. The hotel is a modernized Renaissance palace that once housed the Etruscan Academy during the 17th century. Each room features a bathroom, telephone, minibar, air conditioning, and television. A full breakfast is served each morning, which is included with your lodging.
We encourage participants to make their own reservations. Mention the group rate for the “University of Georgia Cortona Experience”. Please visit www.hotelsanmichele.net.
Reservations
Class size is limited and places are secured on a first-come, first-served basis. Please submit your deposit as soon as possible. Hint: a trip to Cortona makes a wonderful birthday present, anniversary gift or holiday surprise.
Deposit/Payment
Make checks payable to The UGA Foundation (in memo line, write “Cortona Experience”) and send to Suzi Wong, Director of Development, c/o Lamar Dodd School of Art, 270 River Road, Athens, GA 30602.
View an online version of the printed "Experience" brochure.
Visit the UGA Cortona Studies Abroad website for more on the campus and Cortona.
Visit the Facebook Group from the 2011 Experience to see photos and memories.