La Dolce Vita- La Creativita`

For more about La Dolce Vita click here

In collaboration with my new blogging buddy over at Ciao Christy I will now be participating in her Dolce Vita series every Monday on my blog. It's really a wonderful idea that will help me to stop and think about all of the things I am thankful and grateful for. The idea is that each Monday a group of bloggers will write a post about something that enriches our lives by living in Italy or something that enriches our lives in general.  It is easy to get caught up in the daily stresses and rushes of life and that means we tend to take certain things for granted, its a great way to start the week on a positive note and remember how fortunate we truly are.  So thanks Christy for coming up with such a great idea and for inviting me to participate! 

Creativity is a fundamental part of my life. Not just being creative myself but also being surrounded by other creative people and things.  As we know Florence is full of art in all its forms, from the classics to the contemporary to the sculptors to the painters to the fashion designers to the chefs, its all here in this beautiful city. Since quitting my 'day job' in January of this past year, (the best thing I ever did)  I have had the opportunity to get to know Florence in a new way, to remember all of the reasons why I feel in love in the fist place.  For many years I was jaded by an environment that was not my passion nor my calling and caused me to overlook some of the fantastic things that this city has to offer.  Contemporary art has been gaining a lot of speed around here in Florence lately and more and more artists are attempting to get their work in public spaces. La Rinascente, the countries biggest department store chain has made their windows available for exactly that purpose for the weeks surrounding the holidays. 

I was very excited on Saturday night as I was crossing town to find these gorgeous window displays, so of course I had to take some photos! They made me happy for so many reasons. Not only are they fun to look at but they are also giving contemporary art a broader audience.  So I do indeed feel that they enrich my life but instilling joy and giving me inspiration as a contemporary artist and designer myself.  What I love so much about this is the materials that are used, I am noticing that it may be a little hard to tell from these photos but each work is made of recycled materials such as paper, plastic bottles, writing pens, bottle caps and plastic cups.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Oh and I took A LOT of pictures!