Experiential Learning students Madison Argo, Lia Butterfield, and Guneet Singh.
By Guneet Singh
All photos by author
Journalism student Guneet Singh teaches us how to paint with coffee.
If there’s one thing Florence has a lot of, it’s coffee. You’ve seen the cafes lining every street corner. You’ve noticed the restaurants and even the gelaterias with dozens of coffee options to choose from. But coffee is more than just a caffeinated drink you can use to keep yourself awake.
You can actually use it to paint and that’s what blogger and artist Maham Iftikhar does.
She combines her love for coffee with her passion for art. Her blog contains tons of reviews about different coffee places from around the world and she even teaches people how to paint with coffee. “I encourage people to overcome their fear of mistakes and paint,” Maham said.
So how exactly can you paint with your morning beverage?? Well, we tried it so you can too!
1.Get cups of water, paintbrushes and a canvas or piece of paper ready
2. Take some coffee powder and combine it with water. Instant coffee will get you quicker results
3. Keep adding powder as you go. The more powder you add, the darker your “paint” will be. Adding more water will make the color lighter
4. Be prepared to smell like coffee afterwards
So if you ever have too much coffee, don’t let it go to waste! Paint yourself a picture.
Maham also paints with wine, matcha tea and plans to use other natural materials in the future.
Photograph on right: by Sailko, distributed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license
By Gregg Casazza
On the first Sunday of each month Florence opens up its museums free of charge, so why then were you able to stumble into the Uffizi on Feb. 18th without paying? You consult with your calendar, count back the weeks of the month, and are utterly stumped. Perhaps there was some mistake at the ticket counter, have you just snuck into one of the most famous museums in Italy? You hurry into the museum hoping no one will notice that you did not pay, completely unaware of this momentous anniversary.
Each year on this historic date, Feb. 18, the city of Florence remembers one of the most instrumental people in its history, Anna Maria Luisa de’Medici, by opening the Medici museums and tombs free for visitors. The last of the Medici’s, Anna Maria Luisa was a woman made of fire, steel, and an intense love for her country.
Sometimes referred to as “Principessa Saggia,” the wise princess, Anna Maria Luisa is the reason all of the art in Florence remains the property of the city. She was so wise that her own father thought that she would have made an excellent eldest son of the family, and tried to make arrangements for the Medici rule to be passed to Anna Maria Luisa in the case of her brother’s death. This was ultimately unsuccessful, and so after both her and her brother failed to produce heirs, and her brother passed away, Anna Maria Luisa was faced with a difficult decision. She realized something had to be done to ensure that the next family in line, the Lorraines, did not sell the many works of art for which Florence was and is famous for. She saw how this happened to another family which fell from power, the Gonzaga family in Mantua, and so she was determined to make sure this did not happen to Florence.
Anna Maria Luisa spearheaded this cause, and eventually created the Family Pact (Patto di Famiglia.) This formal legislature declared that the patrimony of the art must remain “ornaments of the state for the use of the public,” that would “attract the curiosity of foreigners.” This pact made it so that the art of Florence would forever remain in Florence. This single action ensured the longevity of the city, and has made Florence the destination that it is today. Anna Maria Luisa can be thanked for many things: tourism in Florence, the many museums and their works, music and theatre, and of course study-abroad. As a student, Florence is one of the greatest cities to study in, the universities and the culture offer an experience unlike anywhere else in the world, all because of Anna Maria Luisa.
Anna Maria Luisa is a figure unlike any other in history. Her sacrifices and dedication have made Florence what it is today; the birthplace of the Renaissance, as well as a destination for art enthusiasts and students all over the world. The legacy she left behind is the legacy of Florence as a whole, and although she is only remembered on Feb. 18, her impact can be seen every day in each street and each painting.
