“I realize everything I do can be art.”

When British musician, artist, and college student Lizzy Laurence came to Art Monastery Italia as a volunteer this summer, she thought she knew what to expect.

“I pictured you all shut up in your little chambers wearing robes and painting the night away,” she said.

Instead, she found a vibrant community of artists and administrators, chefs and carpenters, musicians and meditators, all aiming to apply contemplation and creativity to all parts of their lives, no matter the task – or the outfit.

And she quickly got involved. During her three weeks in central Italy, Lizzy helped cook meals for 15 people, tend tomato and herb gardens, level the ground and beautify the area in “Tent City,” design a handmade guide to native edible plants, act as safety for fire dance shows, and perform in a Commedia dell’Arte piece.

“Often in my life at university there are parts of my self that don’t really get much of a looking,” she said. “At the monastery, every single part of me was being scintillated, like a really happy sea anemone.”

And though she expected to learn about art, she was surprised about the true lesson.

“There is not specifically art in one place,”  she said. “It’s the way you decorate the house, the way you cook meals together, the conversations that you have, it’s everywhere…your life is art, and that’s a revelation.”

Please join the Art Monastery Project in taking a stand to support living life as a work of art. Your tax-deductible donation of $5, $25, $50, $500, or $1500 goes to supporting the creation of world-class art, produced through an inspiring and authentic process that touches the artists, audiences, and volunteers who experience it.