Art and Social Justice: Letter-Writing Workshop

Over the MLK weekend I attended the 3rd annual Moishe Kavod House Arts Retreat at the Peace Abbey, in Sherborn, MA. The weekend was full of art making and various artistic expression. My favorite workshop was the Art and Social Justice workshop. We created mail art and wrote all sorts of letters to people who need to hear specific messages, mainly politicians. I am particularly interested in this topic as it relates directly to my thesis topic! (Strengthening and facilitating interpersonal connection via letter-writing and mail art) Letters

Around Venezia

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Paper dragonflies pop out of the wall paper in a Venetian storefront"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="The Venetian lamps have turned pink over the years due to the amethyst in the Murano glass."]Venetian pink lamps[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="I love Renaissance fashion! I might need to start a line of shoes inspired by Renaissance paintings. Can we say gladiator sandals anyone? Taken at the Accademia"]Renaissance Shoes[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Gorgeous hand painted hanging lamps in Venice, yours for only 2,000 euro! Maybe I'll buy one when I move into my palace. "]Venetian Lamps[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="The icons on this sign are hilarious! We need to use the pregnant woman icon in the states."]Reserved Seating Sign[/caption]

Islands of Venice

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="The houses on the island of Burano are technicolor! It's so beautiful and very fun to paint."]houses on burano[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="I thought this quote captured the vibe of the islands"]Color quote[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="A chandelier in the showroom of the Murano glass blowing studio I visited. I thought it looked like it should belong in Willy Wonka's factory."]blown glass chandelier[/caption]

Carnivale in Venezia

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="I love Carnivale costumes! The paniers on this dress are insane. This way, if I ever feel fat, bloated and like my hips are too big, I'll just think about what these women went through every day in these things!"]Costume[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="I am absolutely in love with the green mask above. Sadly, I couldn't afford it, as it was 80 euro!"]Masks[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Love these shoes!! Taken in a shop that made shoes by hand. They only started at 800 euro..."]Red Shoes[/caption]