4/30 Monday

I am preparing for the second lecture on my work on Wed evening. Again a different way of doing things. it will begin at 9 and go till 11. Then home for supper.
It will be digital from 1987 till now. I am using Lightroom to make a slideshow. Antonius says he would be in panic mode.

We had our first field trip yesterday. The subject was the view camera. Below, a few snaps from the class working with an assignment.

The students say it is so much less expensive to roll your own than to buy a pack. A bit strange to see the students getting out the pouch and rolling one.

Later in the day, going home one can see why you come here to sit by the sea and have coffee.

Back home, so to speak. this shows the wood stove they use in the winter to heat with. The view of the textures out the window are stimulating.

Tomorrow night will be the opening for the annual student show. Then I will have three days of crit with the students on the show. That will be followed by several weeks of individual meetings/crits with the students. It seems to be going well.

For all the boaters.

PS

What do you see that you can not do at Windmill Village

4/29, Sunday

The blog is fun. I am enjoying sharing. this is a screen shot from a short movie clip of Antonio getting fruit from a tree out their window. I think movies might be to much to add to the blog. I will research.

Antonio has been writing a book since Sept. He wants to introduce a method for approaching the study of the history of photography. You can see some of his notes. He is working on both the writing and translating it into English. We sit across from each other and tap on our keyboards. His is more serious.

Anbtonio's formal training before his grad work in photo was Architecture. He has his degrees and worked in several "offices". But like my friend, Sam Russell he has not finished the wiring in his house. We do not know when the fixtures will be installed.

This is the second floor living room. The cello and piano are to the right. As I said, the house was built around 1670. Antonio has designed and installed a unique truss system to support the beams.

I am attracted to the beautiful worn quality of the steps in the house. They look and feel warm. A nice place to walk in bare feet.

I have not said as much about Maria. She teaches at a high school and also a private school. She studied for her doctorate at the University of Kentucky in Sociology at the same time Antonio was at Purdue. 

Since Elena has won her scholarship to Bologna I was telling her about my friend Shelia Schonbrun, a professional choral musician and director of "The Canby Singers".  Arianna went to the web and almost immediately found a YouTube link to one of their presentations. (As I understand it) Here you see that Arianna has found the link and handed the laptop over to Maria who is watching it. (Arianna is back to her iPhone) Sheila is the women on the left in the screen image.

And Finally

My first real 2% Greek Yogurt

Antonio says there should be a picture of me in the blog.

So he took one

The sun comes in the house so nicely.

4/28, To the Museum and Sight Seeing

Antonio took me to a museum, which had been a former British Governor's mistress's home he had built for her. Among the collection is a strong presentation of Collodion photographs made between 1856 and 1860 when England ruled the area. Both a historical and esthetic experience.

This is  view from the front plaza looking towards the main land about seven miles away. The grounds are a wonderful arboretum with many species introduced by the British.

Down the hill, through the gardens and across the road are some ruins. I know they are almost to small to see, but look at the two columns at the far end of the structure. They are pre BC from an ancient temple. Later additions were made to make a church. It was built and rebuilt. The normal, but stunning, Cypress trees are around it.

The family cat comes out the front door to eat some of the green leaves. The gate on the right is the original entrance (now a small garden). Behind the cat is the current entrance which used to be the door into a tailors shop. The walls on the ground floor have been removed and it is now one open space. The street going off into the distance is one of many ways to go to the harbor and the main vehicle street which borders (rings) the edge of the town at the sea's shore.

You  have now gone down the street to the sea's edge and you are seeing one of the cruise ships come into the harbor. Antonio says this is one of the small ones. Maybe only 3000 passengers. It is from Spain.

You are back at the house. You can see the gate with the mailbox on it and the entrance. The second floor is the living room with all of the musical instruments, the couch and the main bathroom. The third floor has the dining room, another couch, the kitchen, the guest bedroom, and a small bathroom. The ceiling is high and their is the parents sleeping loft over the kitchen and guest bedroom.

The house was built around 1670 (take that Colonial America) and Antonio has done a wonderful job of rebuilding and fixing the structure since they moved in eight years ago. Beautiful white plaster and exposed brick wall. As you know, one builds vertically because land is at a premium.

Tomorrow since school is different here we will have the first view camera class. Students are under NO obligation to attend classes. And classes can be arranged for the weekend and it is normal for them to run until 8 and night.  

Enjoy.

The First Lecture went well

Standing room only. Antonio had made certain everyone knew about it. He and Maria said I spoke slowly and simply. But they thought that some of the student's grasp of  English is not as strong as desired. Tomorrow is a field trip with the view camera being the subject. Tuesday is the opening of the annual student show. Wed another lecture. I find it interesting that class attendance is entirely voluntary. So such a large audience was impressive.
Antonio and Maria have two daughter's, 16 and 18. Iriana and Elana. Iriana speaks faultless english. She would easily pass for an american teenager. Her accent and vocabulary comes, she and her parents agree, from countless american movies viewed without subtitles. She has no special academic interests. Elana has won a scholarship to a prestigious music school in Bolonga Italy and will go next fall. She plays the cello. (since she was eight). Now to more pictures.

I wish I could load the images in a larger size. Maybe I will learn how to do that. In any case. Two "tourist" ladies being followed by a mother with her two children. The entrance to the street to Antonio's and Maria's home is around the far curve to the right. The mainland is in the background.

The light is wonderful. More delicious than the air (maybe it is a tie). This view is just down the street from their house. Antonio says the tower is left from a Venetian church that was over 400 years old. Much of Corfu was bombed during WWII. By everyone they say. The Germans's, the Ialian's, the British. Each nationality wanted to prevent the other from having something to occupy.

A very old church that survived, also just down the "block". I will post a view of their home soon. Enough for now?  Vern

My Host

He does not think of himself as Magritte but I think he has that intensity.

Antonio Zivas

4/27 First Lecture Tonight (and) Boat

Tonight, Friday will be the first lecture. A special outside of normal class hours event. I went over what I would say with Antonio last night. Stayed up till after two.
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We walked to school yesterday (15 minutes), then the post office, then past the boat.
Below you see the boat. It is the one in the middle with the emergency life raft on top of the cabin. Four fenders on it's side. You look past it to the mainland of Greece.

From a different angle you are looking past the mole (jetty) at one of the two forts on the hill behind it.

The old fort is from 1540, the new fort from 1570. You can not see the boat except for the mast because it is protected by the mole. You can see the temple (office building) at the foot of the hill.

Looking past the men painting (just like me they have more paint on their clothes than they do on the railing) you can see the fort that is in the upper left of the snapshot above. Even though it is small maybe you can see the temple on the very right of the image. 

The light is wonderful. I will report on how the talk went tomorrow. Fro now, I will continue to do short words and more pictures.

Thursday, 4/26

Acclimating. Dinner is at 9pm. We ate and talked till 1AM.  Did not go to sleep for a long time. Late aftn coffee or jet lag. No idea. Up at 9:30. Bkft below. IN MY Element.

Off now with Antonio to do shopping for elec plug for charging camera battery. First lecture tomorrow night. I feel tentative. I think to much has been made of my visit. We shall see. BUT, it is wonderful to be here. I want to come back again. More later.

First, Full Day

Wed, after twelve hours sleep.

Woke up and made my first Greece image

Then, from this floor (third) two images.
At noon, local time, when I got up.

And six o'clock, when I got blogging.

I am so luck to be staying with a warm family.

Start teaching Friday evening with a general, introductory lecture.

Let me know what I should do to make this a pleasant experience for you involvement.

I mean to talk less and place more images.

Vern

Flying There

I will try this first "post" from Corfu. (I needed help because the blog page came up in Greek and I needed one of the daughters to help locate the english choice). I will make this a short post and see what happens. Arrived safe and sound with no ticket at airport (to begin with) and no luggage at destination (to end with), Good food and talk. Wonderful, warm family to be with. I am so lucky. Slept over twelve hours and now plugged in with my European electric adapter I brought (from Apple).

Took off at 18:00. Four hours later it was surprise over Ireland. You can see the plane flying along side us in the upper left.

V.

Can't find way to change font on iPad version.

Third attempt

Can't find way to change font on iPad version.

Second Attempt

This is a second attempt to create a blog and publish it.
I have been asked to share my "notes" from my Greece adventure (in the classroom)

Image below from my Sat visit to MOMA in NY.
Had fun making it.

Will see how this goes.

Vern

First Day, Thurs, 04/19/12

First Day on the Blog. Will post a picture and go from there.
Reading about Greek Mythology.
Staying at Sheila's before going to MOMA to see the Cindy Sherman Show.
Bill Hochhausen, the sculpt and friend from as way back as early Purdue days now teaches at Pratt in Brooklyn and has been a long, longtime friend of Sheila Davenport.
The image is looking at Bill's Teapot sculpture outside Sheila's bedroom door.
(Center right)

Will see how this first posting goes and work at it from there.