Textures

One thing that has been inspiring me artistically is the variety of textures present everywhere. Although there are many, many different textures in the U.S., there is still a tendency towards perfectly straight, clean-cut lines, pure white houses with uniform black shutters, neighborhoods with matching mailboxes, and smooth, flat blacktop streets. When I walk down the street in Sansepolcro, I begin my journey treading on a stone tile-like street, eventually encounter classic cobblestone, sometimes run into bumpy rock paths, or sometimes meet rustic steps, of which there are no two alike. None of the buildings have smooth vinyl siding. Instead, they are covered by creamy yellow- or rose-colored plaster, which peels off in grungy patches, revealing the gray walls beneath. Some walls are made of bricks, some of stones, some of large slabs of rock. Even the roofs are highly textured; it is a mystery to me how crumbly terracotta relics can keep rain from leaking down inside, yet they seem to work well enough.

Some of these textures may seem like small details, and of course they are. But however subtle, the many textures of the streets serve as a backdrop for Italian life—a blending of vecchio and nuovo, a mixture of preserving the past and living in the present. I hope to continue discovering and relishing new textures and to incorporate them into my own art this semester. As of yet I have only observed and photographed them, but before long my art projects may begin to be very texturally influenced.