A few months ago, we told you that the work of local artist Virmarie DePoyster—artist in residency with the Arkansas Arts Council and teacher at the Arkansas Arts Center—had been chosen by the Tri-Mission Art Gallery at the U.S. Embassy in Rome to feature throughout the entire month of September.
She made the voyage to see it for herself, and graciously shared some of the highlights from her once-in-a-lifetime trip with us. Take it away, Virmarie.
My first few days in Rome were spent getting acquainted with Italy, visiting the embassy daily and meeting embassy personnel and diplomats. This was my first time inside an embassy, and I was blown away by the size of the property. The embassy is a city-block-long compound, which includes a 300-year-old Renaissance-style palace that was once the home of Queen Margherita of Savoia, the first queen of Italy. (The Margherita pizza was named after her!) During World War II, the property managed to avoid destruction by serving as a convalescent home for the Italian military. It was acquired by the American government in 1946, and carefully preserved and upgraded to meet modern security requirements.
I felt butterflies in my stomach as we walked up to the building to see my exhibition for the first time. My mind was racing and wondering how it was hung, what the would lighting be like in such an old building and if viewers could even read the artist statement! I was delighted to see the exhibition was in the entryway of one of the embassy buildings with very tall ceilings, beautiful glass chandeliers, amazing marble floors and right next to the Embassy to the Holy See. Employees happily greeted me and said how much they had enjoyed reading each painting’s stories and seeing the works.
The embassy employs many people and is its own community within the city. The artist reception was held during the day to allow staff and family members to attend. I even go to meet a couple of UCA graduates. What a small world! Curator Anna Maria Volpacchio graciously spoke about my work, commented on my use of color, loved how personal it was and I sold a few pieces. My El Dorado High school classmate and friend Craig Karch and his wife Eve took care of every detail imaginable and made sure we had a marvelous time! As always, embassy security was a huge concern so very few pictures were taken.
Of course, I love sharing with others my passion for pastel, so I taught a children’s class at the embassy. We talked about how impressionist artist Claude Monet developed a way of painting that didn’t blend colors together and how he used optical blending to make his paintings come to life. The children used watercolor underpaintings and pastels and experimented with color, texture and pattern to create their own mini-Monets. The kids were wonderful and very enamored with my spray bottle!
To decompress, I had to go check out the city! The embassy suggested a fabulous tour company and for four hours, our guide took us for all over Rome in a golf cart! Taxi drivers and mopeds weren’t too happy with our slow speed, but it was awesome. It was a wonderful way to see all the major historical places in the city and hear the Roman history.
A dramatic and heavenly sunset greeted us as we walked to the Vatican for our night tour.
Our last week in Italy, I took my first high-speed train ride (186 miles per hour) to Venice. What a beautiful city. It has 118 islands connected by 400 foot bridges and 170 boat canals. There was something about the light there that made every building and gondola glisten.
I read online about a pigment shop in Venice, and I was on a mission to find it. After walking for three hours (and thanks to Google Maps), we found it! The powdered pigments come from Verona, Italy, and are sold in bags or small glass jars. I had to contain myself as I bonded with Alice, an artist, over pigments and came home with only a few jars.
This opportunity made me grow so much as an artist. I learned about specialty shipping boxes, international shipping, but mostly to be patient, take deep breaths and let life happen.
The exhibition will be on display at the Argenta Gallery from Dec. 3 – Jan. 4, with an opening reception will on Dec. 3 from 6-8 p.m. I hope you can join me!
To learn more about Virmarie’s personal journey, check out our Person of Interest feature on her, or click here to find out how this whole Italy trip came together.