Bloomington, Indiana

When Mystophur and I arrived in Bloomington we had slept only three hours the night before. It was cold and raining and although Mystophur’s mom had picked us up at the airport, fed us lunch, and then delivered us to Mimi & Ric’s—we were dead on our feet. And then…. we crossed the threshold into the Martino’s house it was like stepping into an oasis. Toasty warm, comfy couch, rich colors, loads of pictures effusing the magic that was their wedding, candles flickering, and if you can believe it, Ric was just taking cookies out of the oven. It was a middle-American dream.

Mimi was one of the very first collaborators who joined the project. She been a travel agent and running her own travel company for years and years. She specializes in custom tours of Italy. After years of relentlessly working to create really special deeply unique traveling experiences for people, she realized that no matter how perfectly everything is arranged, you still don’t live in Italy. Having dreamt about her own arts-based community (Villa Alchimista), Mimi was really psyched when she heard about us and our project. Our minds are clearly aligned and she dove in, offering her enormous knowledge and saco di gente to move the project forward in so many ways. We’ve traveled with Mimi for weeks at a time, all over Italy, looking at dozens of monasteries, convents, villas, and castles. Suddenly, we found ourselves in her home, and it was such a special experience. I’ve been so grateful to her and her perspective and as we’ve grown closer somehow being in her home brought everything together. It was simultaneously soothing and exciting.

That night we had dinner at Keates’ house. A monumental art project in itself. Keates has more than doubled the size of his house, personally building using the incredible ecological technique of straw bale. The finished parts were stunning– creative and gorgeous while functional and liveable. The unfinished parts were fascinating and I found myself encouraging him leave them that way.

(This is not his house– but this is what straw bale building is like.)

Keates, Mimi, & Ric, together with J&J, masterminded the Bloomington event, which took place the following night. The event was hosted by the Bloomington Cooking School (and when I say hosted, I mean hosted: the location, food, wine, labor, and service were all donated by the Bloomington Cooking School, not to mention that their mailing list and reputation provided many of the guests!).

Frans Hals, Jester with a Lute. c. 1620-25
Oil on wood, 28 x 24 1/2 in. (71 x 62 cm). Musée du Louvre, Paris

The musical entertainment was, once again, other worldly.
The Early Music department at the University of Indiana in Bloomington is among the top in the world. Their student ensemble, lead by Nigel North, world-renowned lutenist, performed multiple times throughout the evening. For me the highlight came at the end of the evening, when Nigel played by himself, sitting just feet from where I was seated. I developed an entirely new understanding of the music of that time and specifically of the lute. So intimate and personal, it was a unique treat to have such a private performance. We are honored and delighted at the prospect of developing a relationship with Nigel North and with the Early Music program at IU: to host study abroad programs, for them to endow a room to host professors on sabbatical, exchange of musicians, ideas, and projects. The possibilities are abundant.

Completely different from our previous events, the Bloomington event was a five-course sit-down dinner– and some of the participants didn’t even realize they were attending a fund raiser. Truly organized by the local team, the real donations came from Keith, Jan, Jack, Mia, and Eric. Mystophur and I just breezed into town, showed up for a fabulous meal, listened to virtuosic music, talked about our dream, and raised a whopping $5800. What an experience! I keep saying that something in this project must be really right on because it attracts the most inspiring and fascinating people. Thank you Bloomington crew!When Mystophur and I arrived in Bloomington we had slept only three hours the night before. It was cold and raining and although Mystophur’s mom had picked us up at the airport, fed us lunch, and then delivered us to Mimi & Ric’s—we were dead on our feet. And then…. we crossed the threshold into the Martino’s house it was like stepping into an oasis. Toasty warm, comfy couch, rich colors, loads of pictures effusing the magic that was their wedding, candles flickering, and if you can believe it, Ric was just taking cookies out of the oven. It was a middle-American dream.

Mimi was one of the very first collaborators who joined the project. She been a travel agent and running her own travel company for years and years. She specializes in custom tours of Italy. After years of relentlessly working to create really special deeply unique traveling experiences for people, she realized that no matter how perfectly everything is arranged, you still don’t live in Italy. Having dreamt about her own arts-based community (Villa Alchimista), Mimi was really psyched when she heard about us and our project. Our minds are clearly aligned and she dove in, offering her enormous knowledge and saco di gente to move the project forward in so many ways. We’ve traveled with Mimi for weeks at a time, all over Italy, looking at dozens of monasteries, convents, villas, and castles. Suddenly, we found ourselves in her home, and it was such a special experience. I’ve been so grateful to her and her perspective and as we’ve grown closer somehow being in her home brought everything together. It was simultaneously soothing and exciting.

That night we had dinner at Keates’ house. A monumental art project in itself. Keates has more than doubled the size of his house, personally building using the incredible ecological technique of straw bale. The finished parts were stunning– creative and gorgeous while functional and liveable. The unfinished parts were fascinating and I found myself encouraging him leave them that way.

(This is not his house– but this is what straw bale building is like.)

Keates, Mimi, & Ric, together with J&J, masterminded the Bloomington event, which took place the following night. The event was hosted by the Bloomington Cooking School (and when I say hosted, I mean hosted: the location, food, wine, labor, and service were all donated by the Bloomington Cooking School, not to mention that their mailing list and reputation provided many of the guests!).

Frans Hals, Jester with a Lute. c. 1620-25
Oil on wood, 28 x 24 1/2 in. (71 x 62 cm). Musée du Louvre, Paris

The musical entertainment was, once again, other worldly.
The Early Music department at the University of Indiana in Bloomington is among the top in the world. Their student ensemble, lead by Nigel North, world-renowned lutenist, performed multiple times throughout the evening. For me the highlight came at the end of the evening, when Nigel played by himself, sitting just feet from where I was seated. I developed an entirely new understanding of the music of that time and specifically of the lute. So intimate and personal, it was a unique treat to have such a private performance. We are honored and delighted at the prospect of developing a relationship with Nigel North and with the Early Music program at IU: to host study abroad programs, for them to endow a room to host professors on sabbatical, exchange of musicians, ideas, and projects. The possibilities are abundant.

Completely different from our previous events, the Bloomington event was a five-course sit-down dinner– and some of the participants didn’t even realize they were attending a fund raiser. Truly organized by the local team, the real donations came from Keith, Jan, Jack, Mia, and Eric. Mystophur and I just breezed into town, showed up for a fabulous meal, listened to virtuosic music, talked about our dream, and raised a whopping $5800. What an experience! I keep saying that something in this project must be really right on because it attracts the most inspiring and fascinating people. Thank you Bloomington crew!