Lucca —Day 3: Painting our Ceramic Plates

What an extraordinary day! We took our prepared plates to the studio and home of the ceramicist Katinka Kielstra, where she and her husband, Robert, greeted us with coffee and Prosecco, and Katinka helped us glaze them. I have never drawn or painted, but I have to say it was a magnificent experience. Some of the women, as you see above, were exceptional artists, but all the plates turned out to be quite beautiful.

After a scrumptious lunch of homemade lasagna prepared by Katinka, we walked up the hill a short ways to the olivewood studio of Stefano Geminani, who demonstrated how he creates olive bowls and other beautiful pieces on his hundred-year-old wood-carving machines. It takes a minimum of 15 years to produce an olive wood bowl, because it takes that long for the wood to season. Sadly, his daughters have no interest in carrying on his craft, and he is forbidden from hiring or teaching anyone else the skill because his ancient machines have no safety equipment. When Stefano retires or dies, another tradesman of the old craft will be gone forever with no one to take his place.

As we walked back to Katinka’s, I was struck by the vision of the hills that hold these beautiful orchards and groves. They are stunning in their variations of color and depth—punctuated by bright red poppies and other colorful flowers; the wisteria especially was extraordinary.

Back at Casa Fiori, Karolina prepared another delicious dinner with wine, and limoncello for dessert, of course. On Wednesday, Katinka will bring us our fired plates to bring home. Tomorrow, a day at the market in Lucca. 

Walking through the olive orchard at Il Gallo

Helena with the bowl Stefano carved

Casa Fiori, Lucca, Italia—Day 2

The entrance to Casa Fiori

We spent this morning writing and talking about creativity and Julia Cameron’s wonderful book, The Artist’s Way. After lunch we designed our ceramic plates, with Helena’s expert advice. Tomorrow we will visit a local ceramicist’s studio to paint them, then Katinka will fire them so we can take them home at the end of our retreat. 

Limoncello

We also made traditional limoncello, a potent liqueur made from lemons (recipe below). It will “cook” for nine days and we will toast with it on our last evening here.  

The architecture and landscapes in this part of Tuscany are stunning—everywhere you look something extraordinary draws your eye: centuries-old villas, olive groves, soaring cathedrals with columns, statues, and murals. 

Casa Fiori Chef and manager Karolina Lenart’s food is exquisite Italian—simple, organic, and delicioso. My only “complaint” is there is too much of it. Every meal consists of at least four courses—appetizers, primi, secondi, and salade. If you count dessert, it’s five. 

Limoncello

Zest of eight lemons (do not grate the lemon peel; use a knife to slice the rind, being careful not to cut into the white pith) 

1 liter grain alcohol (or vodka)

Place in an airtight jar at room temperature for at least eight or nine days (if using vodka, at least three weeks) 

Add 1 liter water and 250 to 270 grams sugar (about one cup)

Freeze

Enjoy! 

Designing our plates

My writing and painting journal  

A beautiful old dovecote

Lunch!  (first course)

Karolina with our afternoon spritzers  

Ciao from Lucca, Italia!

Greetings from beautiful (and, today, rainy) Tuscany. My colleague, Helena Hill, and I arrived two days ago with one of the eleven women joining us on this writing and painting adventure for the next ten days. All but one of the rest of the group are expected within the hour. 

We are at a 400-year-old villa run by the inimitable Karolina Lenart, a fabulous chef, and her husband and family. We were welcomed warmly with a lovely pasta lunch and wine. 

Yesterday morning I walked down from our rented flat in Lucca (we came two days before the retreat) to the cafe below to be greeted by Boris the bulldog and the friendly, and, thankfully, English-speaking staff.  I gobbled a sticky and sweet rice pastry with my cappuccino as I wrote. Boris was friendly but not so much that you were assured he liked you. Coincidentally we encountered another bulldog this afternoon at the villa— Bonito. See if you can guess which is which.

The overnight flight from LAX was uneventful and I even managed to sleep about five hours, though fitfully. I was pleasantly surprised to find I had the entire row of three seats to myself. I also watched two movies and listened to almost four hours of my audio books—Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow and Pam Houston’s new memoir, Deep Creek, Finding Hope in the High Country. I finished Pam’s book early this morning when I awoke at 2:30 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep.

Honestly, every human being who cares about the natural world—and perhaps more importantly those who don’t—needs to read this book. It is a lovely treatise on the value of hard work amid the reality of nature and death and grief and loss, humanity and animals and the environment, human folly and hope and despair. It’s funny how someone whose life experiences are so vastly different from your own nevertheless can feel like a deeply connected sister or best friend. 

Our flat in Lucca was vast by European standards—three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the heart of Lucca town. Lucca is a medieval walled city filled with colorful buildings, fine leather shops, boutique clothing and pottery shops, restaurants and gelateria. Oh, and churches, towers and cathedrals. 

Tomorrow—Casa Fiori, painting and writing, on our Call to Adventure.  

Have You Heard About 'Girl Talk,' the Podcast?

I started a podcast last fall called “Girl Talk, Women, Aging and Sexuality.” It’s a 20-minute romp through all things related to women, health, aging, and sexuality, not necessarily all at the same time or in that order.

What a wonderful learning curve this has been! And thank goodness for my awesome sound engineers, who make me sound halfway decent (and know how to delete those pesky “ums”). Give a listen to my latest, featuring NYT bestselling author Gail Hudson. And while you’re there, check out earlier episodes with such luminaries as philanthropist Eva Haller, psychologist (and my co-author of Unmasked) Kathleen Barry; professor and author of Becoming Clitorate Laurie Mintz, hormone expert Dr. Erika Thost, and others. I am having a blast getting to know them and also bringing these important topics to you. Please subscribe and consider sponsoring the podcast. (Here is the interview with Gail.) And do tell me what you think!

Wishing You a Wondrous Holiday Season

Haven’t written much on this blog this year. My only excuse is work and life have taken more of my attention. But I didn’t want to let this season of love and peace go by without expressing my gratitude for all of you who are (or have been) clients, family and friends. You sustain me throughout the year.

I will be taking on new projects in the new year, and I’m excited about what will come into my life. I am so grateful for the clients I have had over the years, and especially those who have become friends, as well. If you have a book you’ve been working on that’s ready for an experienced development editor, or you would like the little nudge that comes from working with a writing coach, I would love to hear from you. May the peace and promise of this season settle upon you. May the love of family and friends surround you. May the abundance of the natural world visit upon you the nurture of nature. May you feel the love of the people who hold you in their hearts. Happy Holidays.

How to Know When Your Book is Done

One of the issues that comes up frequently with my clients and students, especially those who have been working on a particular project for a long time, is “How do I know when it’s done?”

1)    The most telling indication, I believe, is when you realize you are simply moving furniture around and not revising. You are no longer improving your work, but simply changing it. It’s not better, it’s just a different way of expressing what you want to express. When that happens, it’s time to put down the pencil (pen, cursor, etc.) and let it be.

2)    When you find yourself having trouble choosing between one word, one phrase, one sentence, one paragraph or another, it’s time to stop. You’re not improving, just changing things. (See above.)

3)    You spend inordinate amounts of time in indecisive revision. Despite the stories of famous authors spending days on one word, you’re not them. Hemingway is said to have rewritten the ending to A Farewell to Arms forty-seven times. Fine, he’s Hemingway, and he probably drove his editor to near suicide. Don’t be that crazy.

4)    Read your work out loud. How does it sound? If it flows, let it go. If not, fix those spots, but don’t agonize over the whole manuscript.

5)    Let it marinate for a while. Put the book (story, poem) in a drawer for a period of time. Advice varies on this—I would say at least a month, some say a year. Whatever it turns out to be, you will come back to your work with fresh eyes (and a fresh sensibility). Things will jump out needing work, or the whole manuscript will wow you. Either way you will know what to do.

6)    Go for a walk! Get away from the work. Put some space between you and the writing. This is similar to No. 5, but it’s more appropriate while you’re in active revision. I have always found a sojourn into the woods or to the beach opens up new approaches to the writing. Get away.

7)    Recognize when things aren’t working and likely never will. Sometimes the story just isn’t working. LET IT GO! At some point it may morph into something else. But sometimes you have to be brutally honest with yourself and realize some projects just aren’t ever going to work.

8)    There are writers who outline and writers who don’t. If you’re one who doesn’t, and find yourself stuck in a cul de sac, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Consider an outline.

9)    Do you still care? If you have come to the place in your heart where you HATE this project, it’s time to step away. Perhaps not forever, but for now.

If any of these things are true for you, take stock. You may be ready to submit. Or perhaps not.

One final thought: I am assuming you are in a writing group or have been able to take advantage of writing workshops or the expertise of a good editor to get feedback along the way. If not, get yourself into a competent group or hire a good writing coach. You can’t learn how to write in a vacuum; it takes years of practice and mentoring. Take advantage of every opportunity to master writing. Then trust your gut and heart when deciding if your book is done.