All things Gelato - my favourite Gelateria's and flavours in Florence

I have been eating my way around Florence, particularly when it comes to gelato. I quickly discovered that for the best gelato you must seek out Gelateria's that make the delicious goodness by hand.

The most delicious I have discovered are:

Antica Gelateria Fiorentina - this one is just around the corner from Academia Riaci, making it a great place to stop. They make some very unusual flavours such as Persian (rosewater and pistachio), and stracca (yoghurt, cinamon and honey)

Carabe  - a delicious stop on my walk home from school. Delicious flavours included kiwi fruit and watermelon

Delicious flavours of Gelata Santa Trinita
with the Ponto Vechio in the background

Gelata Santa Trinita - this place is so well known that there was a long line out the door, even at 11pm at night! And understandably so. I tried black sesame seed, and passionfruit. Absolutely delicious and unusual flavours.

Gelateria Edoardo - In the square of the Duomo. Try the red wine, combined cinnamon. Absolutely delicious! And perfect for a hot day. And the best time to go is lunch time around 12.15pm. For some reason this is when the line is shortest!

Vivoli -  - a little out of the way of the touristy places, this is the oldest gelateria in town. The make a particularly delicious coffee gelato

Delicious colours of the gelato spoons

I have also been charmed by the delightful colours of the gelato spoons and have been collecting them on my gelato foraging around Florence.

Gelato spoon necklace #1

I have been having a bit of fun creating some jewellery using my collection of plastic gelato spoons.

Gelato Spoon necklace #2

detail of Gelato Spoon Necklace #2

Making the jewellery is a good excuse for me to continue to try all the delicious flavours of gelato! That's my excuse anyway :) 

Artist spoons out experiments

A big thank you to Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design who lined up this interview with Arts Reporter, Elissa Barnard of the Halifax Chronicle Herald Newspaper, who is such a lovely person to talk to.

The article below is the result of our chat.... (double click on the image to read the article) 

Halifax Chronicle Herald, 18 September 2013, D3

The countdown begins

Its hard to believe that there are less than three weeks to go 'til we have to have our work finished and displayed in the gallery.

This week the ten participating artists met to discuss the name of our show. After about an hour of brain storming we decided upon Traversing Boundaries which we felt described our experience over the past couple of months with the ability to explore our ideas and share techniques in the different workshops.

It was also the deadline to have an image and artist statement for the catalogue. So the image below is a detailed shot of my etched silver spoons with domestic scenes from the Quaker House in Dartmouth.

Etched silver spoons

Meanwhile my work is progressing with more experiments with the ceramic and wooden spoons - and I am continuing to read about the history and experience of pioneer women in Nova Scotia. I have stumbled across two authors Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie, two sisters who emigrated from England to upper Canada in the early 1800's. They wrote about their experiences and the hardships they endured in the Backwoods including Roughing it in the Bush and The Canadian Settler's Guide, a book full of practical information from cooking, growing food, luggage to bring with you, how to make candles and other household goods through to how to chop wood to build a house. It's fascinating reading.

Wild flowers and old mining cottages

Rural scene of Cape Breton

And I had the chance to explore some of Cape Breton, a gorgeous island of forest, coastal mountains, ocean views, hiking trails with a mix of Celtic and Acadian culture, and of course interesting architecture only four hours north of Halifax. 

The humble spoon

My first week in Halifax was spent getting to know the city.

My second week has been about getting the bits and pieces needed to explore my ideas and concepts. Continuing my research into pioneering women and domestic spaces, upon my exploration of some of the historic sites I first noticed spoons at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Spoons recovered from shipwrecks help archaeologist's identify the ship and the number of crew aboard, as each crew member had their own spoon marked with their initials. The spoon can also assist with dating the shipwreck as the spoons can be identified by the styles produced in particular periods. 

Pretty important stuff for the humble spoon!

Since the humble spoon is so important in identifying shipwrecks I have decided to explore this object in my work. It has strong links to the Maritime. It is a domestic object. It can also be a souvenir.

Table settings apeared again at the Citadel Hill National Historic Site. 
 I like the bent spoon.

Kitchen implements and wood spoons also featured in the Quaker House in Dartmouth.

I have also been sketching the interior scenes of the Quaker House which I plan to integrate with the spoons I create.

At the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is Canada/Nova Scotia's folk artist Maud Lewis's tiny house in which she covered every surface with her bright colours and designs.

image courtesy of Dean Bouchard

image courtesy of bitesizetravel.blogspot.com

Maud's delightful house lacked the modern conveniences of indoor plumbing and electricity but contains a lot of charm, which reflects the personalities of Maud and her husband. More about Maud can be found here.

A sketch of Maud's house.

I also hope to visit during my residency and gather more inspiration and sketches of domestic life at: 

The Fishermans Life Musuem 

Ross Farm Museum

Perkins House Muesum 

The French Acadian Village
The Highland Village
AND
Green Gables (the house that inspired LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. How cool that this place actually exists!)

This week I have been reading:
A short history of Nova Scotia by Dr Ed Whitcomb
A lady of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia 1752 by Laurel Pardy. A fascinating novel based on fact and embellished to describe pioneering life.

If you would like to see more images from my adventures click here.