We Look Forward to Seeing You!

Hi , 

I hope you are excited about the upcoming workshop! 

We are looking forward to having you all with us soon for The Art of Paper, beginning on Sunday, September 18, and ending on October 2. 

Together we will celebrate fall in Italy with an adventure in the fabrication and artistic use of paper in the fabulous Italian hill town of Monte Castello, Umbria!

In the session, our goal is to explore the potential of paper as a basic material and a medium for creative pursuits. We are thrilled to have you with us and to have Carol, Amanda, Helen, and Denise leading our group!  As you all know, they are internationally-known instructors, Amanda Degener (co-founder of Cave Paper), Carol Barton (paper engineer and owner of Popular Kinetics Press), Helen Hiebert (owner of Helen Hiebert Studio) and Denise Carbone (University of the Arts, Philadelphia) will lead workshop in various aspects of the paper arts:

Carol Barton                cbarton@mindspring.com

Amanda Degener       cavepaper@gmail.com      

Helen Hiebert              helen@helenhiebertstudio.com

Denise Carbone          dcarbone802@gmail.com

Students are enrolled for the complete session, with sixteen hours of instruction in each area: 

• hand papermaking
• creating paper-based objects
• sewn bookbindings 
• and designing pop-ups. 

In order to preserve social distancing and to expose participants to all aspects of the curriculum, our group of approximately 16 participants will break up into two smaller groups and alternate between two, “morning instructors,” and two “afternoon instructors.” 

On the next day, the morning and afternoon instructors will switch groups, thus allowing all participants access to all instructors. 

In addition, Amanda will be offering optional morning Tai Chi sessions to be held near the fountain in our lovely public garden overlooking the surrounding mountains at 7:00 AM.  

You can also reach out to the following individuals for any questions you may have:

David Voros                        +1 (803) 261-2438
Valentina Polito                    075 8780059

Supplies/Supply Fee

1. Hand tool kit 
   
2. Bone folders (bone and Teflon) small and medium
3. Olfa or Exacto knife with extra blades (small and large blades)
4. Awls: Lightweight and heavy weight
5. 12” Metal Triangle 30/60/90
6. Small triangle 45 degree
7. Steel Ruler 12 or18”
8. Scissors
9. Dividers (optional)
10. Paper knife for cutting sections open (old table knife. Probably can get there)
11. Tweezers
12. Pencil
13. Note book
    
    
    Cutting mats supplied by school.

Airport Pick Up

For those of you arriving by air, as we discussed, pick up at the: Rome/Fiumicino, Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) will be on the morning of September 18.  

1. You will arrive at Terminal 3 of FCO,  and after deplaning, you will follow signs to Immigration to stamp your passport. From here you will follow signs to Baggage Claim - please check the monitors carefully to identify which conveyor received your bags.  
2. After Baggage Claim, you will follow the signs to Customs - you should just pass directly through this area as it will be unlikely you will be stopped for any inquiries.  Alternately, follow instructions.
3. Immediately after Customs, you will pass through some very large frosted glass doors.  After passing through the doors, immediately turn left. Ahead, you will see a large white column marked Information Point.  Our representative will be waiting here with a sign, identifying himself with ICA. 
4. We plan to depart FCO at about noon, on a bus operated by the Provenzani  company. The ride to Monte Castello is approximately 1hour: 45 minutes. 
5. Approximately midway, we will stop for a bathroom break and refreshments.  

For those of you arriving by car, set your GPS to ICARTS, SRL; Via Unita d’Italia, 2; Monte Castello di Vibio, Umbria (PG), Italy.  This will avoid confusion with other villages of the same name.  You can park anywhere around the village wall, unless these is a specific instruction by our Commune not to park in a particular area. Our main facility and office is immediately behind the church of San Giacomo e Filippo.

Arrival:

The airport bus will arrive at about 2:00 PM and participants will be shown to their rooms followed by a late lunch. Afterward, at about 5:30 PM, we will have a brief tour of the village, followed by refreshments at the Cafe Centrale. Dinner is at 8:00 on the terrace. 

Daily Routine to expect once you are here:

Typical Workshop Schedule (The schedule below is meant to provide a general guideline -final class timetable will be described by the group leader):

Daily Schedule
Tai Chi: 7:00 AM
Breakfast: 8:00
Class: 9:00 as follows:
Group A: Carol
Group B: Helen
Lunch: 1:00- 2:00 PM
Class 3:00 – 7:00 as follows:
Group A: Denise
Group B: Amanda
8:00 PM: Dinner
9:00: Group Activities

Tai Chi: 7:00 AM
Breakfast: 8:00
Group B: Carol
Group A: Helen
Lunch: 1:00- 2:00 PM
Class 3:00 – 7:00 as follows:
Group B: Denise
Group A: Amanda
8:00 PM: Dinner
9:00: Group Activities

The session will also include field trips to the Fabriano Paper Mill and to the city of Florence,
along with several other excursion stops. Please note that no meals are provided on excursion days and our kitchen is closed on Fridays.
 
As you know, your tuition includes basic accommodation in our Asilo building (unless otherwise
arranged), which is a former convent. As one might expect, rooms here are simple but
comfortable and are equipped with a single bed, ceiling fan, sink and vanity and are with shared
bathroom (two to three rooms to a bath). Additionally, we include three daily chef-catered
gourmet meals (with brunch and dinner only on weekends and no meals on excursion days), two
excursions, Wi-Fi connection, and 24/7 bi-lingual site-support and access to studios and library.
 Participants will all be assigned shared studio space in our Studio building in addition to
workspaces provided for each unit of the workshop.
 
As Carol describes: “this is an ideal session for teachers, graphic designers, creative artists, and anyone who likes to play with paper."

Meals

We take great pride in our meal service.  We provide chef-catered meals made on site from fresh ingredients. Vegetarian and Vegan diets are accommodated with notification.  

3-meals per day will be served while in Monte Castello, except on weekends when a 11:00 AM  brunch and 8:00 PM dinner are served.  No meals are served on Friday, which is a typical excursion day.

ANY FOOD ALLERGIES MUST BE IDENTIFIED ON THE HEALTH FORM. IF YOU WILL MISS ANY MEALS, PLEASE NOTIFY US 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. NON-PARTICIPANTS MUST PAY A MEAL FEE OR DAY-VISITOR FEE.TAP WATER IS SAFE FOR DRINKING THROUGHOUT THE VILLAGE.

Typical meal times are as follows:

• Breakfast (Colazione) 8:30 AM
• Brunch (Sa and Su). 11:00 AM
• Lunch (Pranzo) M - Th 1:00 PM
• Dinner (Cena) M-Th/Sa/Su
• Friday: Typical excursion day - no meals served

Except for breakfast - or brunch buffet - meals arrive plated as follows:

White and Red house wine is provided on table in carafe. Bottled wine from Wine List is available for an additional fee. Sparkling and still water are provided on the table. 

Breakfast Buffet:

Several types of eggs, artisanal meats, several types of cereal, artisanal cheeses and yogurt, fresh bread and pastry, fruit salad, Yoga brand fruit juice, Fresh and dried fruits, jelly/jam, local honey, coffee/tea

Typical Lunch/Dinner Menu

Lunch/Dinner: Two courses will arrive at the tables, plated.  Two courses will be served at the buffet.

• Appetizer (antipasto)
• First course (Primi) Pasta course
• 2nd course(Secondo): meat chicken or fish, served with vegetables and starch or legumes
• 3rd course (Contorno): Salad
• 4th course (Dolche): desert or fruit
• Digestivo Lemoncello, digestif, or coffee are offered after meal. 

Additional Notes

Excursions

Final Exhibition/Performance/Presentation/Reading

Departure

Final Notes

COVID:
COVID protocols currently vary from nation to national and airline to airline.  We strongly encourage you to check with your consulate and airline about current protocols.  Those needing a COVID test before departure will be able to do so the day before at the pharmacy in Monte Castello.  The cost is 30€. Results are available within about 30 minutes. Should you test positive for COVID we have a quarantine option available for a fee. 

Any travel restrictions at the time of the workshop for which you are registered, may result in re-scheduling. ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE REQUIRED TO FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH ALL ICA POLICIES INCLUDING REFUND/CANCELLATION POLICIES.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Again, we look forward to having you with us. 

Best,

David