Sarah Holt, Nipissing Students shares about "Life Changing" travel abroad course to Italy
This past June a group of students was fortunate enough to partake in an intensive ten-day course in Carrara Italy carving marble at Studio Corsanini with guest artists Stephen Shaheen and Fred X Brownstein. Students had the choice of either carving a traditional Italian mortar or a building cornice. There were twelve students who participated in the all-inclusive course, which earned each of them 3 FAVA credits and lasting memories. The students began fundraising for the course back in November of 2018 and put on numerous events to raise funds for the trip, including student-run paint nights and art sales. All events the students ran were a huge success.
The course was very studio-based, with almost every day being spent in the open-air studio which was nestled on the edge of the mountains. Andrew Ackerman the organizer and professor responsible for the trip, had many other excursions planned to balance out the heavy workload. The students had the opportunity to tour a functioning marble quarry as well as visit the Staglieno Cemetery in Genova which is known for its hyper-realistic figurative marble monuments. In addition, there was a day trip to Florence where the students were exposed to works by Michelangelo, Donatello, and other master stone carvers.
While in Carrara the students were fortunate enough to visit stone carving tool shops that featured authentic handmade tools and equipment as well as receive the opportunity to learn about each tool and how to use them. In addition to the stone carving at Studio Corsanini, the owner Leonardo Corsanini had many workshops in place featuring his master carvers to show the students ancient techniques used to enlarge and or transfer plaster sculptures into stone.
All in all, the students involved with the course developed life-changing skills, memories, and friendships made possible by Nipissing offering the first Fine Arts abroad course. Each student came away with multiple connections for further artist development and opportunities that would not exist had they not been given the opportunity to take their studies outside of Nipissing’s campus.