Emily Kissenberth, a New Jersey native and alum of the Florence Art '09 Program, shared these delightful and enthusiastic words with us about her summer experience with Abbey Road. It's always fun to hear first-hand accounts from students so we thank you for your input, Em!
"I explain my time in Florence as exciting and informative, but more then that I consider it life changing and inspiring. When I first stepped off the plane in Italy, I felt nervous and confused, I was in a place that I have never been, I felt isolated because I couldn’t communicate, and overwhelmed because I was jet-lagged, tired, and I wanted to hide. But then Stefano, who I later found out would be my art history teacher, came around the corner, with a huge sign that read “Abbey Road! Emily, Mica, Eden?” and a huge smile. Suddenly I felt relieved and I excited for the upcoming month.
The most important aspect of living in Italy was figuring out how to live with five other people that I have never met in my life. The six of us were from all over the world, stretching from Brasilia to New York City and from small town Florida to Boston. We were all so different but bonded over the fact that we were all first time visitors to Italy and we were all absolutely confused about how to start our life for the next month. We stayed up late and played cards, learned to cook authentic Italian meals and made messes with our bubbly cooking instructor, William, laughed and talked about our lives at home, scattered makeup and hair products all over the apartment, hosted residence night at least weekly by inviting everyone to come and hangout with us, but most importantly we helped each other with our work and sat down and made art together. We all shared a simple interest and we all helped each other grow individually. For me, being surrounded by centuries of fine art and living with five other artists was the most inspiring thing about being in Italy.
My main class was oil painting, which I had in the morning. I have never been so excited to wake up at 7 o’clock in my whole life. We went to our studio and worked until 11:30. Antonio, my painting instructor, was so talented and inspiring, and I think I have completed some of my best work while working with him. Also, there were only 7 other students in my class, so it made time for a lot of personal teaching and lessons from my instructor. In the afternoon I had art history with Stefano. He is so smart and knows so much information about art in Florence and Rome. I was really thankful that I chose to take art history because as a freshman in college I am taking art history now, being in Italy and seeing all the paintings in real life that I am learning about has made it much more interesting.
Most importantly, being in Florence, with a helpful, caring staff, meeting new people that are now life long friends has been the best experience in my life so far. Every time i see something that reminds me of my trip, I just smile, because all I have are good memories and stories. There is nothing like being in a beautiful country, filled with ancient artwork that built the framework of want I want to pursue for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go to Florence and participate in Abbey Road Summer Programs. " -EMILY KISSENBERTH, FLORENCE ART, SUMMER 2009
"I explain my time in Florence as exciting and informative, but more then that I consider it life changing and inspiring. When I first stepped off the plane in Italy, I felt nervous and confused, I was in a place that I have never been, I felt isolated because I couldn’t communicate, and overwhelmed because I was jet-lagged, tired, and I wanted to hide. But then Stefano, who I later found out would be my art history teacher, came around the corner, with a huge sign that read “Abbey Road! Emily, Mica, Eden?” and a huge smile. Suddenly I felt relieved and I excited for the upcoming month.
The most important aspect of living in Italy was figuring out how to live with five other people that I have never met in my life. The six of us were from all over the world, stretching from Brasilia to New York City and from small town Florida to Boston. We were all so different but bonded over the fact that we were all first time visitors to Italy and we were all absolutely confused about how to start our life for the next month. We stayed up late and played cards, learned to cook authentic Italian meals and made messes with our bubbly cooking instructor, William, laughed and talked about our lives at home, scattered makeup and hair products all over the apartment, hosted residence night at least weekly by inviting everyone to come and hangout with us, but most importantly we helped each other with our work and sat down and made art together. We all shared a simple interest and we all helped each other grow individually. For me, being surrounded by centuries of fine art and living with five other artists was the most inspiring thing about being in Italy.
My main class was oil painting, which I had in the morning. I have never been so excited to wake up at 7 o’clock in my whole life. We went to our studio and worked until 11:30. Antonio, my painting instructor, was so talented and inspiring, and I think I have completed some of my best work while working with him. Also, there were only 7 other students in my class, so it made time for a lot of personal teaching and lessons from my instructor. In the afternoon I had art history with Stefano. He is so smart and knows so much information about art in Florence and Rome. I was really thankful that I chose to take art history because as a freshman in college I am taking art history now, being in Italy and seeing all the paintings in real life that I am learning about has made it much more interesting.
Most importantly, being in Florence, with a helpful, caring staff, meeting new people that are now life long friends has been the best experience in my life so far. Every time i see something that reminds me of my trip, I just smile, because all I have are good memories and stories. There is nothing like being in a beautiful country, filled with ancient artwork that built the framework of want I want to pursue for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go to Florence and participate in Abbey Road Summer Programs. " -EMILY KISSENBERTH, FLORENCE ART, SUMMER 2009
