Icona

Here‘s a secret: you will never be fully ready to do the things that scare you. Don’t waste your life waiting for ideal conditions that never come. Write that novel now. Start that project today. It will never get easier, but you can choose to get braver.

I just wrote a Substack post about the YouTube channel I will be starting this summer. Let me know in the comments there if there is a particular type of video you would like from me. Thank you. 💛

I have a lot to say about how to read the Roman and medieval classics that may appear inaccessible, why artists need to study the Renaissance and learn about art history, and underrated beautiful museums in Italy. Perhaps I need a YouTube channel.

STEM and the arts are so often pitted against each other nowadays. It would seem nonsensical to Leonardo da Vinci, who was both an artist and an engineer. We need science to improve life, and art to give meaning to it. It’s a partnership, not a war.

If you want to be a writer, never stop reading. Pay attention to the words and phrases authors use. How do they make you feel? How does the author build tension and transition from one scene to the next? Ask questions, stay curious, and always keep learning.

I see too many online young artists who don’t study art history. They say using references is “cheating”, and don’t know that Titian used courtesans as models. They cannot recognise Renaissance symbolism. They don’t get that the humanities are vital.

You must never abandon hope. There was a time when so much of the beauty we have today — Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Saint Peter’s Basilica — could not even be imagined. We human beings can always, always build a better world.

C. S. Lewis said that art has always had to exist in the shadow of something more important. Humans have always created art amidst wars, struggles, and emergencies because they wanted beauty now and didn’t want to wait for perfect conditions that never come.

You won’t get to do everything you want to do. You have limited time and energy; acquiring skills and completing projects takes a lot of both. You must get to know yourself deeply enough to discern what is most essential to you, and focus on that.

I just published a Substack post (Recent Ruminations). Writing this book is taking up most of my time and energy, so this post is a short update, but it mentions some interesting Italian art and literature you might want to check out. It’s free to read. Link in bio!

Society tells us happiness comes from accomplishing our career goals. Personally, I was happiest as a teen in Italy wandering down the alleys of Venice, reading in cafes, looking at Titian paintings, enjoying what we call “dolce far niente” (the sweetness of doing nothing).

An artist will always have more ideas than finished works. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are full of concepts that were never realised. What matters is your ability to choose which of your ideas deserve your time and energy, and the skill with which you execute them.

I went to my father’s house near Venice and saw his books on Renaissance art, Catholic icons (my parents named me “Icona”, the Italian word for “icon”) and Italian literature, and realised how deeply they shaped me.

The books your children grow up surrounded by matter. 💛

Every time I visit my parents near Venice I am reminded of what a great life you can have if you live in a walkable town, have access to fresh produce, are surrounded by art and live in a culture with a strong sense of community.

In order to make art, you must first see great art! I was lucky to grow up near Venice where I could regularly see Titian’s paintings, but wherever you are, borrow art books from the library, study the drawings of the masters, sketch in museums. Keep getting drunk on beauty.

In more mundane news, today I completed a quest akin to Aeneas finding the golden bough: I finally, after much searching, found one nail artist in my area who does dip nails without using UV light (which I don’t want on my skin). I am very pleased with the result.

In order to write you must live! You must go out into the world and experience tragedies and triumphs, beauty and betrayals. Dante watched the woman he loved marry another man and die young, then he was exiled from Florence. That, I’m afraid, is how you write The Divine Comedy.

Additionally, I can also reply to more of you when you leave me comments in different languages. 😊

Education is not just a mean to a job. I speak English, Italian, French and Spanish and I have never made a career out of it, but all the literature I read in the original language expanded my mind and worldview beyond recognition. Learning shapes you as a person.

I am tired of all these tourists going down the same old tourist trail in Venice. I am soon taking my English husband to visit my parents near Venice where I grew up. When I do, I’m going to show you where I as an Italian go, what I eat, etc. I hope this will help someone!

It’s not just a matter of aimlessly writing a lot; in order to improve you need to practice intentionally by studying the great masters and figuring out the techniques they use, exactly as you would do while learning painting.

I think many writers get stuck because they try to write a novel without having practiced writing much before. They are not at ease with personification, descriptive body language, transitions, dialogue, etc. It’s like trying to paint a fresco with zero preparatory drawings.

This is the way! Read intentionally!

“In order to write you need to read a lot.” Yes, but you need to read like a writer. You need to pay attention to how different authors build tension, describe characters, transition from scene to scene. This is the one, most crucial practice that will improve your writing.

I think this can be a great way of getting started with the classics if you are struggling. Watch a video where someone explains the themes and the story in simple words, then read the original and focus on understanding the language, the similes, etc.

When I was very small, my father would tell me a simplified version of The Iliad and The Odyssey before bed. This meant that I started reading the originals at quite a young age; it was a matter of understanding the vocabulary, but I already knew the themes. 💛

If you want to write a book, your first goal is to create a writing habit. Write every day, even for just ten minutes. Do it even when your brain is tired and fuzzy and you think it’s pointless. Don’t wait for inspiration; make writing your everyday second nature.

Making art is always worth it. I am writing a children’s book. Even if kids don’t like it, doing the historical research for it, developing the discipline to write and reflecting on human nature in order to create characters has made me an infinitely better person.

The classics are worth reading even if you don’t fully understand them. Even if you don’t get every simile in The Iliad, reading such an honest description of the brutality of war and the horror of losing a loved one will shape you as a human being. That’s what matters.

Your time and energy are finite resources. You can spend your life fretting that you are not a good enough artist or writer, or you can practice as much as you can and do your very best to bring some more art into this world. Choose wisely.